If you have back pain or problems in your spine, it affects your entire life. It’s hard to do things when they hurt, and when your spine is what hurts, that impacts everything. It limits your mobility and makes every kind of movement painful. When considering treatment options, you may have come across Spinal Decompression Therapy. As with many chiropractic treatments, there are those who wonder if spinal decompression therapy even works. Why not just get spinal decompression surgery, instead?

Here’s what you need to know about spinal decompression therapy and whether or not it is an option for you. 

What Is Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Spinal decompression is a process where the spine is stretched. It eases pressure on spinal discs with slow and controlled stretching. It’s a noninvasive treatment method that is meant to help spinal injuries without surgery. It pulls weight off the spine, allows discs to go back in place, and helps to relieve pinched nerves and stimulate blood flow to hurt areas, ergo stimulating the body’s natural healing process. It’s a natural method of treatment, meant to help your body heal itself.

Why Does Your Spine Matter So Much?

Your spine is one of the most important parts of your body. Your central nervous system is in your spine which means that when something is off with your spine, it affects your whole body. A herniated disc can cause leg pain in addition to back pain. Your neck being out of alignment can disrupt the signals your optic nerves send to your brain, ergo impacting your vision. Your spine being hurt means you will find it much harder to move. Your spine matters a lot, which means it’s vital to take care of it.

How Can Spinal Decompression Help? 

Spinal problems like herniated discs cause lots of pain, and can lead to restricted movement. Decompressing the spine makes it less likely to degenerate, as we put a lot of pressure on our spine every day. Over time, all that pressure can be quite hard on it, especially if you have a job where you sit all day, as sitting places more pressure on your spine than if you were standing, especially if you have poor posture. Problems with the spine also lead to problems in other areas, like legs, butt, etc, as mentioned above. 

Spinal decompression helps by stretching out your spine, relieving pressure and stimulating blood flow.

How Does Spinal Decompression Therapy Work?

Spinal decompression therapy is an outpatient treatment process. Sessions run between half an hour to an hour, and many people report feeling some relief even after their first session. It may be combined with other forms of treatment. 

How it works is that you lay on a table of a decompressing machine and are strapped down. The machine’s computer determines what stretching level is best for you and gently pulls your body from a resting position into a stretched-out one. As stretching generally entails, it holds you there for a short period before releasing you, then starting the process again for the duration of the session.

The computer adjusts to you and senses if your muscles are resistant. If they are, it will change the force and cycle of the stretching in order to help relieve the tension in your muscles, as opposed to pulling them and causing more damage. The machine is controlled by a chiropractor, so there is no need to worry about if it might break and not adjust to you. 

Spinal decompression can also be done manually. It shouldn’t be a painful treatment. You should just feel a stretch in your spine. There’s no need to take your clothes off at all. It can also be coupled with other treatments, as well as stretches to be done at home.

What Is Spinal Decompression Good For? 

The goal of this treatment is to relieve pain and pressure on joints and nerves. It’s good for: sciatica, back and neck pain, stenosis, muscle weakness, bulging or herniated discs, degenerative disc disorders, and more. It helps relieve pain, arthritis, realign spinal discs and joints, and relieves pressure on nerves. It also improves oxygen and blood flow. It’s not meant to merely relieve pain, but also to help fix the problem causing it. 

While good for many, spinal decompression therapy is not a good treatment option for all. Some people for whom spinal decompression therapy is not recommended for include: pregnant people, people with broken vertebrae/implants/artificial discs, etc, those with tumors or infection, who are on blood thinners, who had a failed back surgery, and more. 

What Affects How Effective It Is?

The efficacy of this treatment depends on the same factors you would consider for any other. Things such as the skill level of your provider and how credible the doctor who diagnosed you is all play factors into whether or not it actually works.

Are You Considering Spinal Decompression Therapy?

Generally, it’s believed that surgery should be a last resort for your problems, so we recommend you to try spinal decompression therapy first. 

Here at Elevate Wellness, we offer spinal decompression therapy. We know how important your spine is to your overall health, and want to help you with any problems you may have not merely by treating the pain, but the root of the problem itself. If you would like to schedule an appointment or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at Elevate Wellness today! 

Are you experiencing numbness or tingling? What about sharp, burning pain from your extremities? Are your muscles weaker than normal and are you struggling to balance? Chances are, you might be suffering from a condition called neuropathy. Neuropathy is a degenerative nerve condition which causes a lot of pain and numbness in your body. If you have neuropathy, chiropractors can help you.

What Is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is when the peripheral nervous system, which is the network of nerves outside your brain and spinal cord, has nerves that have been damaged or destroyed. This affects how your nervous system works, disrupting how nerves communicate. It can affect different parts of your body. Neuropathy can be a mild problem or it can be quite severe. Depending on the severity of the neuropathy, symptoms and treatments vary.

What Are The Symptoms Of Neuropathy?

As neuropathy is a condition that affects your nerves, the symptoms you experience relate to what nerves can do. Most commonly, you may experience pain, numbness, tingling, and weakness, in your extremities or wherever the neuropathy is in your body. Your nerves impact your senses, so you may also struggle with sensitive skin, problems balancing, and weakness in your muscles. 

What Causes Neuropathy?

There’s no singular reason behind why one might develop neuropathy. There are many underlying causes. 

• Diabetes. This is the most common cause of neuropathy, with the majority of people who suffer from diabetes complaining of pain and numbness in their extremities. 
• Nerve Compression Syndrome. This is when there’s direct pressure on a nerve. As such, it can cause neuropathy, typically where the nerve is being compressed.
• Chemotherapy. Chemo is hard on your body in many ways, one of which is how it can damage the peripheral nerves.
• Aging. About 8% of adults over 65 in the United States reported experiencing neuropathy.
• Trauma. Injuries can cause neuropathy in how they hurt your body.

There are many other reasons why neuropathy can develop, including: medications, autoimmune disorders, vascular diseases, inherited disorders, and more. Sometimes, neuropathy can happen with no known cause.

Can You Prevent Neuropathy?

There are actions you can take to reduce your risk of developing neuropathy. Some of which include:

• If you have diabetes or any other medical conditions, you can make sure you are communicating with your doctor about any concerns and prevention methods. 
• If you worry about your medications being a cause, you can also talk that over with your doctor. 
• In addition, you can do simple methods of injury prevention, like keeping clean floors so that you don’t fall and hurt yourself.

What Do You Do If You Think You Have Neuropathy?

See a doctor! A doctor can run tests to see if you have neuropathy. If you think you may have neuropathy, it is important to get it diagnosed and treated, as it can develop into a serious problem and potentially lead to permanent nerve damage.

How Is Neuropathy Treated?

There are a number of treatments for neuropathy. It’s important to note that while some cases of neuropathy are curable, this isn’t the case for all of them. In the cases in which it can’t be cured, treatment is more so focused on symptom management and damage prevention. 

Here are some treatments for neuropathy. Doctors can prescribe medication for the pain. You can have mechanical aids, like braces and splints, to reduce pain by keeping your nerves in alignment. You can try different kinds of therapies, like occupational or physical. 

How Can A Chiropractor Help Neuropathy?

Chiropractors specialize in treating problems within alignment. Your central nervous system is within your spine, an area chiropractors know very well. If your body is misaligned, it can lead to nerve problems and pain and numbness. Because your central nervous system is in your spine, if your back isn’t aligned, it can cause problems in your peripheral nerves. Any problems within your central nervous system can lead to other nerve problems, like neuropathy.

So, how can a chiropractor help neuropathy? Chiropractors can help you find the underlying cause of your nerve pain, as well as pain relief. They work to try to treat the condition leading to neuropathy. A chiropractor will also work to prevent the progression of nerve damage.

A chiropractor can provide a natural form of treatment for neuropathy that is non-invasive. They can improve your standard of living in a gentle way. If you’re suffering from neuropathy, you may consider seeing a chiropractor among your treatment options.

Do You Want To See A Chiropractor For Neuropathy?

Here at Elevate Wellness Chiropractic, we offer chiropractic treatments for neuropathy, as well as other conditions. If you have any questions or would like to set up an appointment, contact us at Elevate Wellness Chiropractic today!

“I’m really struggling with walking,” You think to yourself. “I wonder if I should see a doctor?”

If you’re struggling with pain when walking or are starting to notice that you’re experiencing difficulty while walking, then it’s time to explore the possibility of having scoliosis. To help you understand what scoliosis is, this article will provide you with some of the key information you should know about this condition. It will also help you figure out what you should do if you suspect that you have scoliosis. 

Please note that the information we provide in this article shouldn’t be used in place of professional advice. Please see a chiropractor like those found at Elevate Wellness in order to know if scoliosis is the real issue behind the pain that you’re experiencing. 

What is scoliosis?

Scoliosis is when the spine is curved. This curving on the spine happens before puberty occurs. Once the curvature occurs, it usually becomes an issue later on in life. The severe scoliosis ranges from mild to severe cases. Severe cases usually involve some type of surgery so that the spine can be made straighter. According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2-3% of people in the United States have scoliosis. That’s about six to nine million Americans.

Symptoms of Scoliosis 

Signs of Scoliosis range from mild discomfort to extreme pain. Here are signs to keep an eye out for:

• You experience difficulty walking. Scoliosis can make walking difficult because of issues due to posture. Lack of correct posture adds to difficulties with walking.
• You’re experiencing fatigue. 
• You’re feeling a lot of pain and body aches
• You’re struggling with loss of height. When you’re posture changes due to a curved spine, you experience a loss of height
• Your clothes don’t fit well anymore.

These are just some of the issues associated with scoliosis. There are many other signs to keep an eye out for. 

Treating Scoliosis in 2 Ways With A Chiropractor 

With the help of a chiropractor, you can treat scoliosis. Here are 2 ways that a chiropractor can help you with this condition.

1. A chiropractor can help you with noninvasive methods

In severe cases of scoliosis, an individual is told that they will need to have a surgery where a pulley is placed in their back. This pulley helps straighten out your back. For individuals who don’t want this invasive method, a chiropractor can do a chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractic adjustments help with spinal misalignment (spinal misalignments are a sign of scoliosis). For mild cases of scoliosis where medication is seen as a solution to chronic pain, a chiropractor can try methods that have less side effects. That’s because medications have side effects. But with a chiropractor, you can try different exercises and even massage therapy to help you with your condition. 

2. A chiropractor can help you learn techniques you can use on your own

A lot of times, learning techniques to manage scoliosis on your own can help you with this condition. That is, rather than waiting for medications or other methods to help you, a chiropractor can teach you techniques that you can use on your own. The techniques that your chiropractor teaches you will range from simple to complex exercises. Additionally, a chiropractor will go over lifestyle changes that can help you manage your condition. 

Elevate Wellness–Chiropractic Care Taken To Another Level

At Elevate Wellness, we can help you with scoliosis and many other conditions. Reach out to us at 801-214-0454 or here. We can help you in a variety of ways–from chiropractic adjustments to massage therapy to lifestyle changes. We look forward to hearing from you!