Porterfield Family Chiropractic’s chiropractic care consists of an expert team of chiropractors in Valparaiso, Indiana who treat a variety of conditions from joint pain to brain balance. Chiropractic is a completely natural treatment option for pain that does not require the use of medication or surgery for quality of life to return.
A study in 2016 showed that 65% of Americans seek care for neck and back pain, with approximately 35.5 million adults visiting a chiropractor each year. Chiropractic is a holistic approach to pain care that can help those suffering from a wide range of pain-inducing conditions, such as a sports injury or auto injury.
As a top chiropractor in Valparaiso, Porterfield Family Chiropractic provides a natural solution for those suffering acute and chronic conditions. Chiropractic promotes healing in the body to optimize health and wellness.
What Is Chiropractic?
The simplest explanation of chiropractic care is when a chiropractor performs an adjustment for the body to ignite its natural healing process. Most chiropractic sessions make adjustments to the spine, however, other parts of the body can be adjusted to reduce pain. A chiropractor can also focus on the muscles, joints, and nervous system to relieve pain and ignite the body’s natural healing process.
The word chiropractic translates to “done by hand,” stemming from the Greek origin cheir (hand) and praktos (done). Chiropractors work gently with the patient to correct misalignments within the body, getting the bones back into their proper position. Since treatment is done by hand, chiropractic is a safe and non-invasive treatment.
The goal of chiropractic is to correct the alignment of the body, ease pain, and support the body’s natural healing process. When the body is misaligned, a blockage occurs; this blockage disrupts the flow of energy and blood. Without proper flow within the body, you may begin to experience irritation and pain.
How Does Chiropractic Care Work?
As a chiropractor in Valparaiso, we evaluate each patient thoroughly to assess their needs and how they will benefit from chiropractic the most. For some, a few adjustments in their neck is needed but others may need adjustments in their legs. The number of adjustments needed for relief will be determined by the chiropractor, as some cases may need more adjustments than others.
To determine what adjustments are needed and to reach a more precise diagnosis for the patient, your chiropractor will perform a physical examination. This exam will consist of the chiropractor applying gentle pressure or stretches to stimulate pain trigger points in the spine. In more severe cases, such as a herniated or slipped disc, an x-ray may be necessary for a thorough diagnosis of the patient’s pain.
After a chiropractic adjustment, the patient may begin to feel improvement quickly. However, in order to maintain health and prevent the pain from returning, chiropractic treatment must be continued for an extended period to ensure the body has healed. Without reoccurring chiropractic adjustments, alignment can disrupt as bones slip back into the position that caused pain.
The number of chiropractic visits is determined by the chiropractor, but it could take approximately 6–10 visits before a permanent change will occur.
How Does Chiropractic Help?
Although chiropractic can treat a wide range of conditions, the most common use of chiropractic care to treat neck pain, back pain, and headaches. However, Porterfield Family Chiropractic’s chiropractors in Valparaiso also treat a number of cases for shoulder pain, knee pain, and foot pain. The purpose for chiropractic care is to provide relief for the patient and improve their body’s functionality.
Our bodies were designed to heal themselves on their own. For example, after a cut to the skin the body works to repatch and repair the wound. However, this natural process of healing can be disrupted with there a disruption with the body.
Disruption can occur if the spine is out of place or if bones are misaligned. Chiropractic care increases the flow within the body, removing any disruptions, by realigning the bones. Once realignment occurs, the body can start the healing process.
As a natural treatment option, chiropractors rely on your body’s own healing methods rather than other substances like prescription drugs. Medications only provide a short-term solution as they can only temporarily mask pain and discomforts. With chiropractic care, patients can see a long-term improvement as permanent change occurs within the body. The body can heal itself and chiropractors work to assist the body in doing what it was designed to do.
Pain Management and Relief
Pain management is the most common cause for needing a chiropractor. Whether it be whiplash from a car accident, joint pain from physical activity, or hip pain from aging, chiropractic care brings pain relief as the body realigns and begins to heal.
Living in pain can be debilitating and plenty of daily activities can become uncomfortable or difficult to accomplish. Because of this, those in pain have a decreased quality of life. Being a chiropractor in Valparaiso, we give people an alternative healing option for pain so they can live the life they want and not have to rely on medications.
Medications, either prescribed or over the counter, only provide temporary relief and can cause long or short-term side effects. Medicines can also create dependence as you can become too reliant on medications to reduce your pain. Chiropractic care is a natural healing method without the risks that come from medications.
A pain-free life is possible with chiropractic care with long-term relief. Other than pain, chiropractic care can also help with injuries and posture correction. Patients can also begin to have relief for their migraines and headaches.
Health Balance and Nervous System Function
As a chiropractor in Valparaiso, Porterfield Family Chiropractic assists patients in balancing their health. When health is imbalanced, quality of life can diminish. The most common effect of misalignment in the body is pain, however, other effects can occur.
Chiropractors help to restore health by removing the imbalance that was impeding your health. Once health is back in balance, your body is able to correct any dysfunction and begin to heal itself.
Mental health can be greatly impacted when the body isn’t properly aligned because of how our nervous systems are affected. For example, after a chiropractic adjustment patients can begin to experience an improvement in their sleep. This is because once the body is in a proper alignment, natural melatonin secretion can increase.
In addition to sleep, stress and anxiety can also be impacted by misalignment. With chiropractic care, blood pressure lowers and blood circulation improves. As the nervous system’s functionality improves, patients can begin to see an adjustment to their mental health.
Chiropractic adjustments can affect the nervous system to provide positive results. Health can be optimized with chiropractic care as an adjustment can improve blood flow to the brain.
Nervous system functions are repaired after chiropractic adjustments as correcting alignment results in a stimulation of the nervous system. This stimulation increases communication within the body to improve functionality in the brain, hormones, and other areas of the nervous system.
Pregnancy and Chiropractic Care
Many are aware of the pregnancy symptoms like swollen feet, back pain, and morning sickness. What most don’t know is that pregnancy can also cause the spine and pelvis to shift and endure tremendous changes. Because of this, women can experience spinal day throughout their pregnancy.
Thanks to Porterfield Family Chiropractic’s chiropractors, the spinal and pelvis discomfort from pregnancy can be resolved and even avoided. Chiropractic care during pregnancy can ease the pain for pregnant women and reduce birth complications.
In addition to pregnancy care, chiropractors can provide treatment to children. Pediatric chiropractic care can help children at a young age have proper spine alignment. This not only helps relieve any potential back pain, but it can also avoid pain or other health complications as they grow older.
The birthing process can be traumatic for the mother and newborn. With Porterfield Family Chiropractic’s pregnancy and pediatric chiropractic care, both mother and child be more comfortable during and after labor.
Conclusion
Porterfield Family Chiropractic provides a natural healing option for pain, mental health, pregnancy, and more as a chiropractor in Valparaiso, IN. With unique techniques like VAX-D (that not many other chiropractors utilize), Porterfield Family Chiropractic’s team of chiropractors helps people find more relief and boost their quality of life.
To discover more about how chiropractic care can assist you and your family, contact our clinic for a consultation.
SOURCES:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/pain/chiropractic-care-for-pain-relief
https://www.palmer.edu/about-us/what-is-chiropractic/
https://www.acatoday.org/about/history-of-chiropractic/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chiropractic
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Qg5fpepKPvdX92BIIv3KK9hpqOgNx6LQSdiAWsHZ8dg/edit