Chiropractic Isn't Just for the Spine

Even if you aren't new to the chiropractic world, you might not know how much chiropractic can do for your body beyond the spine. Did you know that chiropractic care can help you from head to toe? 

Hey everybody! It's Dr. Bob Salamon here at Lowcountry Chiropractic. I hope you're doing well! Today we are going to be talking about the expanded role of chiropractic in treating the non-spinal joints in the body.  Most people understand (if they know chiropractic) that chiropractors adjust or work on the spinal bones. In reality, chiropractors work on all the joints of the body. Why is that? Every joint in your body, if it is not moving properly, can cause problems or pain.  The chiropractor's role is to realign the bones that are out of alignment, and then restore the range of motion and get rid of any malfunction and pain. So let's start with the very top of the body and work our way down to discover how a chiropractor can help you. 

• Let's start with the bones of the skull. There are sutures found in the skull that are slightly moveable and can be adjusted.  The benefit of adjusting the skull is reduction of headaches and increase in mental focus.
• A chiropractor can adjust the sinuses, just above and below your eyes. This helps tremendously with allergies and sinus infections.
• Chiropractors can help with TMJ, which is a jaw issue that can be very painful when you're chewing, talking, and even sleeping. 
• Shoulder problems can also be addressed. If you have a torn rotator cuff in your shoulder, chiropractic care isn't necessarily going to help with that, but if you have other joints like the acromio-clavicular out of alignment, it can be very painful. Sometimes just one adjustment can fix this pain. I had a patient come in who is a construction worker, and he had a chronic shoulder issue. I adjusted his shoulder once, and he couldn't believe how much better it felt. 
• As we continue to move down the body, we hit the elbows. Elbows can give you all kinds of problems, the most common of which is pain.
• The bones in your wrists and hands can be adjusted. There are over 20 bones in just one hand! That goes for your feet as well! 
• The hip bones and hip joints often get out of alignment. When this happens, you're not walking symmetrically, which can put a lot of pressure on the feet and knees and can lead to joint degeneration. 
• Knees can be adjusted. I get a lot of people who come in with sports injuries or who have slipped and fallen, and it has caused them to misalign the kneecap or the tibia, fibula, and femur), and I can help adjust these issues. If you have a soft tissue injury like a torn ACL, chiropractic care isn't going to fix this issue. But it can certainly restore the proper motion in that joint that was lost with these soft tissue injuries. 
• We can adjust the feet, ankles, and toes. Again, in your foot, if one side is not working properly you will not be walking properly. The body will immediately be asymmetrical and when that happens, it can affect other areas of the body. The stresses will cause referred re pain back up into the knees, the hips, the lower back, and so on. 

I just wanted to spend some time on this topic because so many of my patients come in with an extremity issue, and don't realize that I can help them with it. Any articulation in your body can be effectively looked worked on by a chiropractor. If you are having any of these issues that are mentioned above and if you are trying to go the least invasive route (the least surgical and drug intensive route) look us up and give us a call. If it's a misalignment issue, we can help you! 

So again, it's Dr. Bob, and I hope you have a great day!

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