If you’re receiving chiropractic treatment for an ailment, you want the most effective treatment possible, but may not have considered how your diet can affect the efficacy of chiropractic treatment. Keep reading to discover three ways your diet goes hand in hand with chiropractic care.

Full-Body Health

Chiropractic care is part of whole-body wellness. A good diet and proper nutrition complement chiropractic care and contribute to your overall health. In order to get the most out of your chiropractic treatment and reach your individual health goals, you need to make sure you are paying attention to the foods you eat and how they affect your body.

If you have bad eating habits, your body won’t be able to perform efficiently and you may find yourself feeling sluggish and tired. An improper diet affects your nerves’ ability to share information, your organs’ functionality, and your body’s ability to repair muscle. As a result, your body may begin to break down, exacerbating the issues for which you’re receiving chiropractic treatment.

On the other hand, if you follow proper nutrition guidelines along with receiving chiropractic treatment, your body will have the vitamins and nutrients it needs to function properly and repair itself, increasing the efficacy of the treatment. 

Your chiropractor can help you evaluate the foods you eat and give you suggestions on how to improve your overall health through your diet. You may also want to consider consulting with a dietician, since they have specialized knowledge about nutrition and its effects on the body.

Inflammation Reduction

Many physical ailments are caused by inflammation. When your immune system is activated, your body sends out inflammatory cells, which attack bacteria or heal damaged tissue. This is a helpful, necessary bodily function; however, some people experience chronic inflammation, in which the body sends inflammatory cells even when there is no danger. 

Chronic inflammation occurs in people who have conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, autoimmune diseases, and cancer, among others. It can also affect people who smoke or drink alcohol in excess, exercise too much or too little, experience chronic stress, or are obese.

Chiropractic care is known to help relieve inflammation by identifying the root cause of the problem and treating the musculoskeletal system through modalities and adjustments.

In addition, many foods are known to be anti-inflammatory and work in tandem with chiropractic treatment to help you find relief. Including the following foods in your diet will help improve chronic inflammation and complement your chiropractic care:

• Leafy greens like spinach and kale
• Oily or fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel
• Olive oil and coconut oil
• Vegetables like tomatoes, avocados, artichokes, red beets, and broccoli sprouts
• Fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, pineapple, papaya, grapes, pomegranate, and oranges
• Tree nuts such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, and Brazil nuts
• Foods high in fiber such as quinoa, ground flaxseed, and oatmeal
• Herbs and spices like turmeric, ginger, rosemary, and garlic
• Greek yogurt
• Green tea and matcha tea

If reducing inflammation is your goal, you should steer clear of these foods:

• Refined carbohydrates (found in white flour, white bread, and white rice)
• Processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs, and cold cuts
• Full-fat dairy
• Baked goods
• Sweetened beverages like soda, hot chocolate, and coffee
• Trans fats or partially hydrogenated oils (found in margarine, shortening, fried foods, and processed snacks)

Healthy Bones and Joints

Many people seek chiropractic care for issues with bone and joint health. People with poor posture, aching joints, broken or fractured bones, or even conditions such as osteoporosis or osteoarthritis can all benefit from chiropractic treatment. 

Your diet also affects your bones and joints. Eating too many fatty foods with lots of calories can cause you to gain weight, which puts stress on your joints. This extra stress can lead to wear and tear in your bones, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments, causing pain and stiffness, which exacerbates the need for chiropractic care.

In addition to chiropractic treatment, in order to strengthen your bones and joints, you can make sure you get enough calcium, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants while avoiding foods that will cause weight gain. 

Chiropractic Care From Elevate Wellness

At Elevate Wellness, we help patients find relief from lower back pain, migraines and headaches, sciatica, neck pain and whiplash, neuropathy, spinal disc injuries, sports injuries, and more. We are proud to use cutting-edge technology and proven techniques to restore the body to its proper form and function. If you think chiropractic care can help you, schedule an appointment today. We can’t wait to see you!

A commonly searched question about chiropractic treatment is if an adjustment can make you taller. Chiropractors can do a lot to improve your posture, flexibility, and joint function, but can they help you reach your maximum height? 

A chiropractic adjustment is known to stretch out your spine, but does that automatically make you taller? Read this blog to learn more about what chiropractic adjustment can do for your body. 

How Spinal Adjustments Work

Chiropractors work on adjusting your spine and limiting subluxations. Problems with your spine are also the cause of many pain points in your body and can make other systems in your body malfunction. Chiropractors work to align your spine so that it can communicate with other systems like your digestive system, nervous system, and more. 

While spinal adjustment can help you be more flexible, limit joint pain, and help digestion, there is no real evidence to suggest that chiropractic adjustment will make you taller. Your spine may adjust and help lift your shoulders and neck to a better position, but this doesn’t mean you will gain inches. 

What Determines A Person’s Height?

Many people know that everyone’s height can vary depending on a few factors. Different families and individual members of the family can have different heights because of genetics. Genetics can play a big role in determining what your final height will be and there is often little you can do to make you taller. Some people grow at different rates as well and may not reach their full height until later in life. 

Nutrition is a large part of your overall health, including your growth. Eating the right amount of food and all of your food groups will help you reach your appropriate height. Protein is also essential to growth and ensuring your body and spine can function properly. Vitamins and minerals are also important contributors to height. Vitamin A and Vitamin D can be the most helpful in helping you reach your maximum height.  

Chiropractic Care Can Help Your Posture

When your spine is properly aligned and you don’t have back or neck pain, your posture can improve. Some people may believe that standing up straighter or having spinal adjustment makes them taller, but in reality, you already had that height ability. While the help of a chiropractor may make you stand up taller, your height is really predetermined by genetics and diet. 

What Chiropractic Adjustment Can Do For Your Body

While spinal adjustment may not be able to make you taller, there are other amazing benefits that you can gain when working with a licensed chiropractor.

One benefit that many may not associate with chiropractic is better digestion. Once your spine can communicate effectively with your brain, all your other bodily systems can better communicate. Improving your digestive system can help with constipation, IBS, or bloating. 

Chiropractic care is known for improving flexibility and giving patients an improved range of motion. Limiting inflammation helps your joints and muscles to move more freely, giving you the ability to exercise, reach, garden, or do any other hobby without pain. Improving motion and flexibility is a major benefit for athletes and the elderly. 

Chiropractic care can help limit injury while exercising or playing a sport. Limiting subluxations, inflammation, and slipped discs with chiropractic adjustment will prevent further injury from occurring. Even if you do not have any pain symptoms, seeking chiropractic care can lower your risk of injury. 

Elevate Wellness 

Dr. Simmonds has seen firsthand how chiropractic care can help athletes heal from injury and help other patients have a more fulfilled life. Our office provides friendly service and comprehensive care to patients of all ages and lifestyles. We take pride in being a trusted chiropractic office and helping patients achieve their health goals. 

Have questions about what we can do for you? Or just want to learn more about our office? Fill out our contact form to recieve more info!

Wrist pain can get in the way of lots of everyday activities. Nearly everyone — office and construction workers, athletes, musicians, and crafters — all need healthy, functioning wrist joints to perform their daily activities. So what should you do if you’re experiencing wrist pain? Thankfully, there are many different treatment options out there, including chiropractic care, to help you get back to normal.

Causes

Wrist pain can be caused by many different types of activities or underlying conditions. Here are some of the most common:

• Repetitive movement: Repeating the same movements over and over again can cause inflammation or stress fractures. These movements could be everyday activities related to work or hobbies such as typing on a keyboard, playing an instrument, using a screwdriver, knitting, or hitting a baseball.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: This condition causes the body’s immune system to attack its own tissues. Wrists are commonly affected in those with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Sudden impact: If you fall forward onto your hand, you may sprain, strain, or fracture your wrist. These injuries can also be caused by car accidents.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome: This occurs when there’s increased pressure on the median nerve, which runs from the forearm to the palm of the hand. This pressure can be caused by high-force activities such as hammering and may lead to numbness, pain, or weakness in the hand, wrist, or fingers. Previous injury to the wrist increases the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Chiropractic Treatments

The type of treatment for wrist pain varies widely depending on its cause. Minor sprains and strains often heal on their own when treated with ice, rest, and over-the-counter pain medication, but other conditions need specialized care from a medical professional. Chiropractic care has been shown to be effective in treating a number of different causes of wrist pain.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Chiropractic care has been useful in treating carpal tunnel syndrome. Chiropractic adjustments can decrease inflammation in the wrist and relieve pressure on the median nerve. 

Repetitive Stress Injuries

Patients with injuries caused by repetitive movement can also benefit from chiropractic care. Adjustments can provide relief from pain and discomfort, decrease inflammation, and increase joint flexibility and range of motion as you recover. 

Because repetitive stress injuries result in stiffness, soreness, and stress in affected joints, chiropractors may use both manual therapy (joint manipulation) and soft tissue therapy (massage) to relax muscles and release tension.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

If you have wrist pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis, gentle chiropractic techniques may help you find relief; however, manual therapy on active flare-ups should generally be avoided since it can further damage fragile joints.

Even if the chiropractor never directly touches the affected joint, treatment of the surrounding area is still beneficial. For instance, if a patient is experiencing pain due to rheumatoid arthritis in their wrist, they might compensate for lack of range of motion by overusing their elbow, shoulder, or finger joints. Chiropractors can treat those secondary pains, decreasing the patient’s overall level of discomfort.

Additionally, chiropractors can use specialized treatments such as ultrasound waves, electrotherapy, lasers, or infrared saunas to treat rheumatoid arthritis pain.

Other Injuries

Chiropractic care can also help those experiencing wrist pain due to a fracture, sprain, or strain. As you heal, chiropractors can relieve pain and help you regain strength and range of motion. Like in instances where wrist pain is caused by rheumatoid arthritis, these injuries may lead to secondary pain elsewhere in the body, and chiropractors can treat these areas as well.

Prevention

Building bone strength can help prevent wrist fractures. Getting 1,000-1,200 milligrams of calcium a day can help make sure your bones are strong enough to withstand sudden impacts.

The type of gear and equipment you use in your everyday activities can also make a difference. Using protective gear such as wrist guards when doing athletic activities can prevent stress injuries and cushion falls. Ergonomic keyboards and wrist supports help wrists stay in a relaxed, neutral position, making it less likely to develop pain from repetitive movement.

Chiropractic care has also been shown to prevent injuries throughout the body by correcting misaligned joints, which helps injuries heal quicker and prevent new injuries from occurring. Elevate Wellness specializes in sports therapy, which is helpful for anyone looking to prevent future injuries.

Whole-Body Wellness

Elevate Wellness is dedicated to helping patients in the Bountiful, Utah, area achieve their health goals and receive care for their individual needs. If you’re exploring treatment options for pain or injury, consider Elevate Wellness to help you live your best, pain-free life!