Pain, particularly low back pain, neck pain or headache, has often been the qualifying feature in people’s minds as to whether they have need for chiropractic care.
I frequently hear from people that they know they should be seeing a chiropractor because they are in pain, and conversely, that they have no need for a chiropractor because they have no pain. But how reliable is pain as an indicator of the need for the unique care that chiropractic can provide?
A 2016 study was conducted on subjects who had spinal dysfunction (segments of the spine not moving well) but who also had no pain. The study demonstrated positive affects of chiropractic adjustments of the spine on the pre-frontal cortex, known to be the main structure in the brain responsible for enabling the coordination and control of multiple neural systems, the “executive functions” of the brain. That is, it co-ordinates and controls our behaviour, decision-making, memory, processing of pain and emotional responses. When the pre-frontal cortex is damaged, there is an inability to create new and appropriate responses to changes in our environment.
Of interest in this study is that these results were seen in subjects who had no pain. This suggests that where spinal dysfunction has been identified on assessment, it is possible to receive benefits from chiropractic adjustments even if you have no low back pain, neck pain or headaches.
It is possible to receive benefits from Chiropractic care even without low back pain, neck pain or headaches.
As chiropractors, we don’t know if you could benefit from the care we provide until we have made an assessment to determine what, if any, spinal dysfunction is happening. It is also very likely that until you have had a chiropractic assessment, you will be unaware of any spinal dysfunction and the need for chiropractic care. This would be like going to your dentist to check the health of your teeth or your optometrist for changes in the health of your eyes rather than waiting until your teeth are sore or you are experiencing problems with your vision. Many more serious problems can be avoided by seeking appropriate expert care before you experience symptoms and become aware of more significant changes. Often once you do start to get symptoms, the problem can be more serious and require more involved procedures or intervention to address the problem.
Chiropractors have five years of university training and are required to complete ongoing professional development to identify where changes in your spine are affecting the health of your Nervous System and to know when it is appropriate to refer for more appropriate care.
Give us a call today and see if there may be a need for some expert care to help improve your memory and brain function, not just to help with your pain.
Dr Steve Osborne has been practising for over 19 years and is more passionate than ever about what Chiropractic can do!
He enjoys traveling with his family, discovering new foods, new customs and new landscapes both in Australia and overseas, meeting people from all walks of life and making enduring friendships.
Reference: Lelic, D, Niazi, IK, Holt, K, Jochumsen, M, Dremstrup, K, Yielder, P, Murphy, B, Drewes, A and Haavik, H (2016), “Manipulation of dysfunctional spinal joints affects sensorimotor integration in the pre-frontal cortex: A brain source localization study,” Neural Plasticity, Volume 2016 (2016).