Chiropractic is great for spinal care, managing back and neck pain, and allowing the nervous system to function at the best of its ability. What most people don’t know is chiropractic is also great for extremities. Chiropractors are trained to adjust the extremities, and re-establish normal joint function.
The extremities are:
- Shoulders
- Elbows
- Wrists/Hands
- Hips
- Knees
- Ankles/Feet
If my extremities aren’t hurting, why do I need them adjusted?
Just like the spine, you may not be feeling pain in a joint that is dysfunctional. A lot of the time, pain is felt in a joint that is moving too much, compensating for a fixed or dysfunctional joint that is not moving enough. When a joint is fixed, it causes extra or abnormal motion in another region to make up for it. For instance, if you aren’t having proper movement between the bones in your feet or your ankle, you will be shifting your weight and stepping differently, and that is going to change the motion going up into the knee, and lastly into the hip with each step you take. So a fixation in the foot can be changing complete motion up into the hip and can cause chronic hip and even low back pain. Every single extremity joint works together to maximize speed, power, balance, and function. So for you athletes out there who want to improve physical ability and any of those categories, chiropractic is a very important tool. As shown in the figure above is the kinetic chain. All of those components work together with proper movement. And as you can see the motion starts at the feet and works its way up. A disruption in the kinetic chain of force and movement is likely to cause dysfunction in: movement, motion, body function, balance, coordination, and posture, all of which can lead to pain and unhealthiness.
While extremity adjustments can improve motion and performance, prevent dysfunction, and reduce pain, they can also treat common conditions many people suffer from. Some of these might include:
- Plantar fasciitis
- Carpel Tunnel Syndrome
- TMJ
- Shoulder Bursitis
- Shoulder Impingement Syndrome
- Flat Foot
- Hip flexor problems
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
Restoring normal joint function is essential to restoring health. There is no need to take pain pills and other relief medicines every day. Dr. Josh Watkins and Dr. Aaron Pfaff can help your body to move the way it is meant to move, and feel the way it is meant to feel. Treat the source of the problem, not the symptoms, and that is exactly what chiropractic care does.
For a chiropractor in Savage, MN, contact Watkins Family Chiropractic today!
