03 Jan Is Your Spine Misaligned? What to Know about Symptoms and Treatments
Your spine plays a starring role in your body’s mobility and overall health. Good posture and spinal alignment are vital to your quality of life. Our team at Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic shows our patients that there’s a lot they can do to promote lifelong spinal wellness.
Why an Aligned Spine is Essential
Misalignments happen when parts of the spine move out of their natural position.
Signals from brain to body sent through your nervous system require a correctly aligned spine. Because the nervous system enables your immune system to work properly, good spinal alignment helps you to stay healthy.
Good alignment also reduces strain on the ligaments that hold your spinal joints together, protecting your musculoskeletal system.
How Your Spine Can Lose Alignment
A sedentary lifestyle can create misalignments, weakening the muscles that support your spine and worsening posture. Sometimes, the cause is degenerative disease, such as arthritis. Additionally, common life mishaps—falls, repetitive and sports injuries, accidents, and emotional stress–contribute to misalignments.
Damage Caused by Misalignments
Spinal misalignments are common. The resulting wear and tear on the body and disruption of the central nervous system may lead to increased risks for a variety of problems, such as:
- Compressed and irritated nerves
- Back pain and sciatica
- Increased stress
- Poor sleep quality
- High blood pressure
- Reduced range of motion and mobility
- Poor circulation
- Joint, nerve and muscle damage
- Reduced immunity
- Breaks and deformities in joints and bones
- Chronic pain
Signs that May Indicate Spinal Misalignment
- Joint stiffness
- Pain in neck, hip, lower back or knee
- One leg longer, or one shoe more worn down, than the other
- Limited range of motion in the neck
- One shoulder, hip, knee, or ankle lower than the other
- Fatigue
- Frequent headaches
- Chronic illness
- Numbness in feet or hands
- Trigger points (painful muscle areas)
Chiropractic Care Aligns Your Spine
Your chiropractor is trained to diagnose misalignment in your spinal joints and provide treatments such as spinal adjustments to restore the correct position. This helps to resolve pain, inflammation, and muscle strain.
Other benefits include improved mobility and better sleep, which promotes healing and lowers stress. Your chiropractor can also offer wellness advice, such as counseling about exercises and nutrition.
And, importantly, the wellness benefits of your chiropractic sessions come noninvasively, without the risks of medications or surgery.
Keeping Your Spine in Line
All the daily stresses of life cause your muscles to tighten up, making you more prone to injury and spinal misalignments. Activities that promote good posture and mobility will improve your overall function and reduce pain.
Get regular exercise, stretch, take walks, don’t sleep on your stomach, avoid prolonged sitting, and add lumbar support to your chair when you must sit.
Activities such as yoga, tai chi, massage therapy, and Pilates are beneficial. These help to relax muscles, slow down your movements, and improve concentration, balance, and flexibility.
Keeping your body well-tuned between your chiropractic visits helps you maintain the alignment you’ve achieved, so you can enjoy a lifetime of good spinal health.
Contact Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic Today
Call us at 918-940-4630 to schedule a complimentary consultation with our supportive team in Broken Arrow.