Self Chiropractic: Is it Good or Bad?

Self chiropractic

Last Updated on March 15, 2024

Someone once joked that if you start experiencing back pain, it is a constant reminder that youth is leaving your body.

However, back pain for many people is not a laughing matter. And this is especially true for people who deal with chronic and life-altering back pain problems.

Chronic pain is unceasing and severe pain that lasts for days, months, or years. Chronic pain problems are resistant to medications and most forms of medical treatment. Some forms of chronic pain can come and go like a switch. 

But other forms of chronic pain are constant.

Over 20.4% of Americans are dealing with chronic pain issues. 

Another 7% of Americans are afflicted with a kind of chronic pain that is life-altering, socially crippling, and constant.

And one of the most severe kinds of chronic pain is chronic back pain.

Over 16 million American adults are grappling with daily chronic back pain issues. That is the equivalent of 8% of American adults.

Back pain can be caused by obesity, bad posture, psychosomatic psychological distress, genetic predisposition, and violent trauma inflicted on the area.

Some forms of chronic back pain come and go in ebbs and flows of pain. Other forms of chronic back pain are severe, unceasing, and highly resistant to medical treatment.

And while most sufferers of chronic back pain believe that medication or surgery may be the best course of medical treatment, this is not the reality.

Most medical research suggests that the strategic manipulation of the spine through holistic treatments like chiropractic treatment is a medically efficient and safe way to deal with chronic back pain.

Recent studies have suggested that people dealing with persistent and chronic back pain should first consider the most conservative form of medical treatment. Chiropractic treatments have been proven to be just as effective as most standard medical treatments while being beneficially non-invasive.

Chronic back pain sufferers tend to opt for surgery when it may not be needed because they never considered chiropractic treatments. 

And chiropractic treatments can decrease the potential of chronic pain sufferers becoming addicted to powerful painkillers.

So, now that you know that holistic chiropractic treatments can alleviate back pain problems do you need to see a professional chiropractor?

Can you perform self chiropractic adjustments on yourself, saving time and money?

Yes.

But it is not a good idea, and we will explain why. Firstly, what is a chiropractor, and what do they do?

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Related: How Often Should You Go See a Chiropractor?

What is a Chiropractor?

While chiropractors are not medical doctors, they spend years undergoing specialized training to practice their expertise.

A chiropractor is a certified, licensed, and highly skilled medical practitioner. Chiropractors are experts at treating ailments and disorders affecting the human body’s ligaments, bones, nerves, and muscle mass.

The average chiropractor must undergo eight years of higher education, four years of undergrad education, and thousands of hours of training and certification courses before they can become a licensed chiropractor.

And while a chiropractor graduates with a “doctor of chiropractic” degree, they are not a doctor in the traditional medical sense.

What do Chiropractors Do?

A chiropractor is highly trained to strategically adjust, manipulate, and realign the bones and ligaments of the body and the spine especially, to alleviate pain and improve the body’s functions.

Sometimes bones will become misaligned or dislocated. Chiropractic treatments can be used for regular treatment of such issues.

The average chiropractor will not just start realigning or readjusting your spine or bones in your body on a whim. The chiropractor will study your medical history and records to design the best course of treatment.

Many people visit a chiropractor as a preventative form of medical therapy to prepare the body to heal before an injury occurs.

And chiropractic treatment is an exacting science. 

The chiropractor understands how the bones and ligaments of the human body are connected. Professional chiropractors understand how to strategically apply the right amount of pressure and physical manipulation on bones, ligaments, and muscles without causing harm.

Some medical experts believe that chronic pain is caused by pain signals between the brain and the nerves along the area of injury that are constantly firing or misfiring.

The concept of chiropractic medicine is that physical manipulations and adjustments of the bone, muscles, and ligament may help the brain and damaged nerves communicate more efficiently.

Standard medical treatment for chiropractors is the treatment of chronic pain issues related to the spine, neck, and joints.

Over 94% of patients who receive chiropractic treatment report a 30% reduction in their pain symptoms. Only 69% of people who use traditional medicine to treat chronic pain can report the same.

If you are considering self chiropractic adjustments after reading all of this, then you should be reconsidering. 

Related: Inner Gate YouTube Videos

Are Self Chiropractic Adjustments Safe?

So, what is a self chiropractic adjustment? Its self-performing chiropractic treatment techniques on yourself akin to what a professional chiropractor would do.

This is not a good idea for many reasons.

For one thing, chiropractors are highly trained medical practitioners. 

The average chiropractor may have spent over 4,200 hours training to learn how to realign safely, physically manipulate, and readjust bones without injuring or breaking them.

Chiropractors innately understand how the human body, bones, ligaments, and muscles work and are connected. In other words, chiropractors need to memorize the human anatomy before they become licensed.

And chiropractors practice this technique on other people. They are highly skilled in assessing how to apply physical pressure at strategic points through muscle memory on others.

Without such training, you are more likely to injure yourself with self chiropractic adjustments than help yourself.

Do you really think it is a great idea to try to readjust your neck or your spine on your own? How would you know which bones or ligaments, or muscles to manipulate? How would you know if you were helping the situation or making things worse?

Do yourself a favor and don’t perform self chiropractic adjustments on yourself. Even a highly skilled chiropractor would visit a chiropractor instead of trying to treat themselves.

Are you in need of holistic treatment? Then visit Inner Gate today. Inner Gate is the best holistic treatment center in Portland, Oregon.

Related:Chiropractor Vs. Physical Therapist: The Ultimate Guide