Good health is central to handling stress, to living a longer and more active life. Nowadays people are more concerned about their health and well-being than they were in the past. World Health Organisation says: “Health is central to well-being and wealth. It also reflects the progress of societies.” One analogy is that regular chiropractic is just like regularly having a piano tuned. Keeping your body and spine “adjusted” is a reliable way to achieve optimal health.
The regularity with which you get your body (including your spine) adjusted varies depending on personal circumstances, as well as your lifestyle and your demands on your body. For example, professional athletes who have chiropractic care will be checked and adjusted before every game/ competition to ensure their body is optimised. For people who have developed pain, the frequency of repeated Chiropractic adjustment would commonly increase for a short period. We recommend anyone suitable for preventive chiropractic have a session once every two to four weeks. Whether it is about self-treatable conditions, long term problems, or lifestyle choices, this will help to ensure better physical health and wellbeing.
The basic principle of chiropractic adjustment
Normally functioning Spine
In this diagram, we use the lower part of human spine as an example, please note the principle is also applied to other joints in the whole musculoskeletal system.
This picture shows how a section of spine normally sits and moves. You can see that when in neutral / upright position (ie sitting, standing or lying flat) all the vertebrae bones should sit in an optimal alignment, and when the spine bends to various directions they should all move about the same amount to maintain a balanced alignment.
What happens to Abnormally Functioning Joints
Rather than thinking the cause is due to a “bone out of place” which is an overly simplified way to explain the cause, what happens is certain joints become stiffened and often tilted or twisted when you're moving and staying still. This is due to maladaptation and functional compensation.
The picture below shows a typical example. The last lower backbone (L5) should be able to move freely from side to side but instead is stiffened and tilted in neutral position and bending to the right-hand side. This dysfunction spinal segment also causing many joints above and below to move far more than normal, this is known as "compensation".
What are the common causes of functional misalignment
Repeated abnormal stress (eg. bending and twisting)
Prolonged stress (eg. imbalanced postures)
Prolonged muscle tightness (eg. sitting at a computer, emotional stress)
Dis-use and/or Mis-sue (er. not getting enough exercise to maintain movement or exercise without proper technique)
Trauma (past or repeated)
Look after your body with regular chiropractic
There are plenty of reasons for you to get your body “adjusted”, and here is why it matters so much:
Protect your body – A body that has not been properly looked after will not be in the best condition. Restoring optimal joint and muscle function may require a highly qualified and experienced practitioner to carry out remedial treatment or even lifestyle guidance. Regular chiropractic will help to protect your body and if you should ever wish to increase physical activity in the future.
Moving enjoyment – This is what it is all about really. If your body developed functional misalignment your movement quality is diminished, gradually making you less likely to move or more difficult to achieve a positive result from your exercises. Regular chiropractic can keep your joints moving at their best and reduce muscle imbalance.
Prevents damage – The prevalence of physical pain is huge. When physical symptoms persist longer than three months, they drive our nervous system to become more and more protective; the system feels danger for no apparent reason and sends warning signals - and those overly sensitised messages contribute to stiffness, tension, mechanical imbalance, aches and pains. Regular chiropractic especially low force adjustment helps to correct mechanical dysfunction in your body without driving your nervous systems to become protective.
Preventive chiropractic is one way to protect your body for the long run as well as to maximise your movement quality. We recommended that preventive chiropractic takes place in our practices around every two to four weeks and that it is always carried out by a qualified professional who will also be able to spot any potential issues with your musculoskeletal system.
Harvey Young Advanced Holistic Therapy offers high-quality holistic chiropractic in Central London. Our appointment can take anywhere from 30 mins to an hour, and needs to be booked in advance.
Our qualified and licensed expertise makes your journey to nervous system and musculoskeletal healthcare a reassuring one. To book a #Chiropractic consultation or find out more about the procedures we offer at our clinics use our online appointment request form or call +44 (0) 20 7193 6272.
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