When you think about a chiropractor, you most likely envision someone that can take care of your physical back and neck pain. While it’s true that a professional chiropractor can alleviate pain, they are also capable of helping out in a variety of other facets of your life as well.
The human body is like a complex machine. Everything needs to work together to achieve and maintain overall health and well being. While medical doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and even fitness trainers can help in some areas, there is an abundance of benefits that can be achieved by seeing a chiropractor as well.
Did you know that there are mental health benefits that chiropractors can procure? Well, there are. There is no better time than the present when it comes to discovering the many ways you can achieve a better mental health state with regular care.
Mental Health and Chiropractic Care
The chemistry within your body regulates the way that you feel emotionally and mentally. More traditionally, when a person was feeling unstable in their mood, they would head to see their regular family doctor. That doctor would prescribe a medication that would help in adjusting the body chemistry.
With all the dangers emerging related to pharmaceuticals, within the past couple of decades, people are starting to lean towards a more holistic approach to their healthcare needs. Some common mental health conditions that are treated effectively with natural chiropractic care include but are not limited to:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Insomnia
It’s important to understand that a chiropractor or a professional practitioner found anywhere in the country understands not only the physical makeup of the body; they also know how everything works together inside.
Your brain and organ chemistry are both regulated by your nervous system. When the alignment is off in the spine, there can be a direct pressure put on the brain stem, because one area of the body is always related to other parts functioning. That pressure can lead to chemical and neurological imbalances or mental health issues.
A qualified chiropractor that gets a patient dealing with mental health conditions can look for that misalignment, which generally is found in the first, second, or third vertebrae. Once they move it back to where it’s supposed to be, then that pressure is released. As a result, the chemical and neurological imbalances can start balancing themselves out once again.
Chiropractic Treatment for Depression/Anxiety
After trying everything that you can think of to alleviate your symptoms from mental health issues, have you ever thought, “Can chiropractic care help with depression and anxiety?” With the plethora of psychological benefits of chiropractic care, it should come as no surprise that there are ways to decrease the effects that depression and anxiety have on the body.
Some of the most common problems for people with chronic back pain are anxiety and depression. A study showed that about 70% of people with back pain also have some form of these two mental health conditions. Depression can be the result of pain or vice versa.
The relationship between pain and anxiety hasn’t been quite as well researched. However, it is guessed that pain can give feelings of anxiety. That anxiety can cause a person to be more sensitive, therefore intensifying the pain.
With proper alignments done by a well-trained chiropractor, the pain can be relieved. Like a domino effect, the anxiety and depression can be relieved all with the treatment of the spinal cord. It’s where all the primary operations for the body originate. As long as the spinal cord is in balance, the rest of the body will function as it should. That goes for both physical and mental conditions.
Chiropractic and Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is best defined as drastic highs and lows in moods. It includes reaching levels of the highest emotion, mania, down to the lowest of depression. This kind of disorder is most commonly treated with medications. The problem with medicine is that it only covers up the problem. There are no actual changes taking place.
While bipolar disorder can sometimes come at birth, there are also injuries or incidents that can trigger it. One study done on a gentleman that suffered a neck injury at the age of 17 led to the conclusion that regular treatment from a chiropractor can reduce and even eliminate bipolar disorder effects. That same research also proved that improvements to migraine pain, seizures, and sleeping problems could be achieved through continuous chiropractic care.
Mental Health and Chiropractic a Multidisciplinary Approach
In the past, it wasn’t often typical to find a chiropractor working within a healthcare team. There would be the more standard group of doctors, nurses, psychiatrist, nutritionists, caseworkers, and other people of the like. However, now that there have been proven benefits to mental health care as a result of regular chiropractic visits, these experts are being added to the team more and more.
Chiropractors can offer a natural way to cure problems that are occurring in the body. While more people are steering clear of medications for themselves and their loved ones, they are implementing all that they can get from the proper alignment of the spine. When the spinal cord is balanced, there is a much better chance that the rest of the body and mind are going to work together harmoniously. It will improve the quality of life, health, and wellbeing overall.
Going Beyond the Proper Chiropractic Adjustment
While the chiropractor you visit for a mental health condition can help physically by doing the alignment in the spine, there are other services that are offered. These can help with your current problem, and they can also help to ensure a more positive future for your mind and body:
- Nutrition advice
- Exercises to continue at home
- Massage therapy
- Relaxation technique
It goes without saying, eating right, exercising regularly, and taking care of yourself are your main responsibilities in life. If you are struggling in any of these areas, a chiropractor can help put you on the right path and give you some expert advice. When you feel good about yourself, your mental health state is automatically going to improve.
Author Bio:
Dr. Brent Wells is a graduate of the University of Nevada where he earned his bachelor’s of science degree before moving on to complete his doctorate from Western States Chiropractic College. He founded Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in Alaska in 1998.
He became passionate about being one of the best chiropractors in Wasilla after his own experiences with hurried, unprofessional healthcare providers. The goal for Dr. Wells is to treat his patients with care and compassion while providing them with a better quality of life through his professional treatment.
