Did you know that chiropractors can treat more than just your neck pain? It may come as a surprise, but extremity adjustments are just as popular as spinal adjustments. However, not all chiropractors perform them, and they are not part of a spinal plan they are in addition to.
Let’s review what extremity adjustments are, how they can benefit you, and which conditions they treat.
What is Chiropractic Extremity Adjusting
Have you ever had a bothersome ache or pain in your wrist or ankle that won’t go away? Maybe you try to ignore it by taking over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen, but the aching returns later in the day. Extremity adjustments are meant to safely and effectively alleviate the aches and pains associated with misaligned joints. The term “extremity” refers to extremity joints, which include the following:
- Shoulders
- Elbows
- Wrists
- Hips
- Knees
- Foot and Ankle
Like with vertebrae, when a joint moves out of alignment, this can trigger some problems, including pain and compromised movement patterns. When a chiropractor performs an extremity adjustment, they carefully realign the joint so that proper movement is restored, and painful or irritating symptoms go away.
Did you know?
Numerous conditions can be treated with extremity adjustments; here are the most common treated:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome and other wrist pain
- Elbow Pain
- Shoulder Pain, including Frozen shoulder
- Joint pain
- Foot and Ankle Pain
- TMJD
Extremity adjustments are often part of a more extensive treatment plan to restore total body movement. They are often combined with other forms of therapy such as spinal adjustment, massage, or acupuncture.
Benefits of Extremity Adjustments
Due to the complexity of the joints and the vast number of possible causes of your extremity pain, it is important to have a professional evaluation to determine the source. Using a combination of a thorough review of your medical history, a physical examination, and advanced imaging techniques, a chiropractor can get a comprehensive picture that will lead to the root cause of your pain. Extremity adjustments have been shown to provide the following benefits, especially when they are a part of a more comprehensive treatment program:
- Alleviates muscle tension
- Reduces aches and pains
- Decreases inflammation
- Restore optimal range of motion
Using non-invasive and carefully applied adjustments, chiropractors assist the body in gently re-positioning the vertebrae which can provide both instant and long-term relief. If you are experiencing extremity pain, don’t wait for it to become unbearable, schedule a consultation with our team at Alive Health Chiropractic today.
Treatment of Arm and Leg Pain
The shoulder and hip joints are two of the most mobile and frequently used joints in the body. They are also a frequent site of injury and pain for many people we see in our chiropractic clinic. From overuse to sports injuries, the causes are many, and the results range from slight discomfort to complete immobilization. The following article from Alive Health Family Chiropractic + Wellness gives information on some of the most common issues that lead to shoulder and leg pain, as well as a description of how chiropractic adjustments can help to reverse it.
The actual cause of arm or leg pain can be difficult to self-diagnose. If you have had an obvious injury, such as stressing a joint through a repetitive pattern at work, dislocating a shoulder playing sports, or pinching a nerve by falling asleep in an awkward position, the source of your immediate pain may be obvious. However, when pain in the arms or legs develops slowly over time without the occurrence of an obvious injury or accident, or when the pain from an injury has become chronic and the source becomes perplexing, you may be in need of a more thorough assessment to determine the source.
There are a number of different possible sources of the pain including bursitis, arthritis, and tendinitis, but misalignments (subluxations) of the vertebrae in the neck and lower back are responsible for the vast majority of chronic arm and leg pain. If the spaces where the nerves leave the spine become narrowed because the vertebrae or discs are out of position, the nerve can become irritated, and often produces pain down its entire path. Many patients are surprised when they see that the nerves travel from the spine all the way to the ends of their fingertips and toes.
As a result, injuries to the vertebrae in the spine can create the sensation of pain anywhere along the entire length of the arms and legs. The pain patterns associated with sciatica, which run from the hip all the way to the foot, are a good example of how this works.