Bet you didn’t know we did that! — Part 2 of Things Chiropractors Can Help With That You May Not Have Been Aware
Headaches and Migraines
This one is tricky, because many headaches come from a perfect storm of several factors. Some of those factors include hormone levels, cardiovascular anomalies, stress, and digestive issues. But a big contributor to headaches and migraines is mechanical. Examples of mechanical contributors include improper curvature of the cervical spine (neck), nerve entrapments, muscular tension, and improper TMJ (jaw) function. I have found that in many cases, even when the other non-mechanical causes are involved, helping the mechanical contributors is enough to bring the patient below headache threshold. In most cases, we can decrease the frequency or eliminate the headaches altogether.
Ear Infections
Many ear infections are caused by inadequate drainage of the eustachian tube (ear canal). The muscles of the head, neck and jaw interact significantly with the ear and its drainage. Adjustments to the neck and jaw, as well as myofascial release techniques can have a huge effect on the drainage of the ear and help clear the infection more quickly. In addition, we have seen great results combining the above methods with high powered clinical grade cold laser therapy. The use of cold laser speeds healing times of many common problems by decreasing inflammation, speeding healing process and decreasing pain.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy is the loss of nerve function in the periphery, typically the hands and feet. There are multiple causes of neuropathy. The most common is a complication from diabetes, but there are others, including drug interactions, chemotherapy, direct injury, and in some cases for undefined reasons. The main goal with treatment of neuropathy is to improve blood flow to the affected areas. Chiropractic care can help with this on multiple fronts, both by directly working with the tissue manually and by improving body function so that the patient can be more active (exercise is important for circulation, blood sugar balance and health in general).
The most impressive treatment I have found for neuropathy has by far been the use of cold laser therapy. Our clinical grade cold laser helps peripheral blood vessels dilate, improving blood flow to the area. It’s not an overnight treatment, but we have seen life changing results.
One thing that separates chiropractors from other healthcare providers is our ability to think and act outside of the box. This gives us the ability and freedom to treat or at least support a wide variety of issues that others can or will not. If in doubt about whether or not we can help with something, ask! You might be surprised.
