The Main Reasons to Visit a Chiropractor: Part 4 of 4

The month of October brings the final installment of our four-part educational series from McAndrew Chiropractic.  Through our series “The Main Reasons To Visit A Chiropractor”, we have discussed how chiropractic care may be used to alleviate chronic issues such as misalignment, pain associated with physical injury, and more obscure issues not commonly associated with chiropractic care such as gut health and inflammation.  One common thread that we would like to reiterate is that chiropractic care should be seen as an alternative to invasive and extreme treatments such as injections, medications, or surgery only when the symptoms have been diagnosed and chiropractic care is determined to be a safe alternative to such extreme measures.  Certain ailments can be caused by more serious underlying problems that chiropractic care may not address, with the takeaway being that it always depends on the individual patient and their particular diagnosis.  With that being said, chiropractic treatment used as a prescribed therapy and routine maintenance is extremely effective in alleviating a wide range of problems in the body and can lead to greater overall wellness, as many people go through their daily lives not even consciously aware that they are in discomfort.  

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Misalignment in the body is extremely common.  Last month we discussed sciatica and how it is often caused by a modern condition known as “wallet sciatica”, in which the vertebrae may become misaligned and/or a disc may herniate due to the bad posture caused by sitting on a wallet.  Here it is important to remember that the key issue is misalignment due to poor posture.  Chiropractic care, whether it is through manual adjustment or a more specific and targeted method such as the Activator method, is addressing the symptoms of sciatica by getting at the root cause of misalignment.  In the same way, chiropractic care may address issues such as plantar fasciitis.  

In the common condition known as plantar fasciitis, the tendons in the bottom of the foot become hyper-extended and begin to tear, causing pain in the bottom of the foot.  The pain may be focused in the heel, the ball of the foot, the main arch, or a combination of these.  Common treatments include orthotics, prescribed stretches, and targeted exercise to develop specific muscles that will help to maintain a healthier posture.  When a chiropractor assesses a patient, they assess the alignment of the body.  Do the shoulders rest evenly?  Does the spine have an unnatural curve?  Is one leg slightly longer than the other?  The chiropractor uses these signs to understand what is happening in the body and why the pain is showing up as it is.  In the case of plantar fasciitis, the chiropractor will be looking at why the tendons in the foot are hyper-extending.  Perhaps the patient’s feet pronate, or maybe the patient is “flat-footed” with an unstable arch.  At McAndrew Chiropractic, patients are assessed with a 3-D foot scan to determine if orthotics are needed and the reading may be used as a prescription for a custom fit.  Through a series of prescribed stretches, orthotics, and re-alignment of the body, symptoms of plantar fasciitis may potentially be relieved without the need for injections or surgery. 

We hope that this series has been helpful in understanding why chiropractic care can provide such a huge benefit to a wide range of conditions.  If you would like to set up a free consultation to see if chiropractic care is right for you, contact us at McAndrew Chiropractic today!  

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