While it’s common for many to see a chiropractor when there’s a specific issue to address, appointments don’t have to be reactive, they can be preventative.
Much like you adjust your diet to eat healthier, or schedule regular exercise, seeing a chiropractor regularly can play a part in your general wellness.
Based on your lifestyle and preference, utilizing a chiropractor as a preventative step can help you feel better all the time and possibly avoid future injury and the interruption to your daily life it could cause.
If you’re an athlete
Many athletes will, at some point, see a chiropractor. However, those visits are typically to address chronic pain that has arisen from a sport’s injury that happened a long time ago. It’s not until the pain won’t go away that many seek the care of a chiropractor.
While doing so can help you address the source of the pain and potentially live more comfortably without having to rely on pain medication, monthly visits in general may help reduce the risk of injury.
Leading an active lifestyle, putting your body through a more rigorous level of activity, can mean misalignment and small injuries happen without you even noticing. With a regular appointment to the chiropractor, these small issues get addressed and treated before they get worse and potentially become a source of chronic pain.
If you already have an underlying condition
Your medical history may also lend itself to needing regular chiropractic appointments to maintain a lifestyle with less pain. Certain conditions can cause breakthrough pain or flare-ups whose root cause isn’t related to an injury. Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, shingles and osteoarthritis aren’t treated by regular visits to the chiropractor, but maintenance appointments can make flare ups less painful.
Additionally, working with a chiropractor for your general wellness can help you learn how to manage your own pain better by developing new and appropriate habits.
If maintaining wellness is important to you
Even without an underlying condition or a lot of physical activity in your daily routine, seeing a chiropractor on a regular schedule can provide many benefits. Think about how you sit at work, how you sit in the car, even how you position yourself for sleep at night. These are all everyday postures you take, and even if they’re not causing you pain, they may negatively impact your body. If you slump or hunch or even use the wrong pillow, your spine can shift out of alignment. When this happens, your body tries to overcompensate, which can lead to neck and back pain.
Regular adjustments at the chiropractor can help with spinal alignment and reduce the stress you’re inadvertently putting on your body with your posture. Working with a chiropractor regularly can also help you develop better habits for how you sit and sleep. You may even learn a few exercises you can do at home to help keep your spine strong.
How often should you see a chiropractor?
There’s no automatic answer to this question, and frequency is something you should establish with your chiropractor. However, there’s no such thing as too many adjustments, so going regularly for maintenance and wellness is a perfectly acceptable practice. As you get used to how it feels to be regularly adjusted, you’ll begin to notice when something starts to feel off, giving you time to adjust your appointment schedule to avoid long-term problems.
Practicing self-care from a preventative position
Much like you have a regular schedule for seeing the dentist, or getting your eyes checked, seeing a chiropractor can be a piece of your preventative care. Not only can regular chiropractic visits positively impact your overall health, but they may also strengthen your immune system, keeping you healthier.
Once you connect with a chiropractor, they may suggest monthly visits, or another schedule of care that’s best for you. At Relief Without Addiction, we’re working to connect those in need of care with chiropractors in their area. Our goal is to help you find relief for pain, and to help you maintain your overall health, without the need for pain medications. Use our locator tool to find a chiropractor near you and schedule your first, of many, maintenance visits.
