One of the most sought after forms of alternative healing is chiropractic care. Amongst cancer survivors who seek chiropractic therapy, 84% do so to alleviate pain, improve mood and sleeping habits, as well as to relieve stress.

The purpose of chiropractic treatment is not only to relieve pain, but to improve quality of life by alleviating systemic problems relating to muscles and the central nervous system. Given the researched benefits of chiropractic care, it is likely that you or someone you know could benefit from this alternative therapy.

Let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons you might benefit from chiropractic care.

1. Elevates Sports Performance
Both athletes and non-athletes can benefit from sports-specific chiropractors. These specialized doctors have a focus on manipulating joints, soft tissue, and the spine to improve recovery time and prevent injury of strains, sprains, and even concussions.

Chiropractors can teach you how to focus on the proper techniques for the sport you play. This will include stretching techniques which can reduce the occurrence of an injury, the severity of an injury, and a recommended rehabilitation time frame for healing.

2. Reduces Headaches
Do you have frequent headaches? Do you find that headaches dramatically impact your health and ability to maintain the lifestyle you want? Neck pressure and movement can exacerbate the severity of headaches caused by abnormal head positioning such as hunching over at a computer during the work day.

Chiropractic therapy can remove obstructing structures causing the tightness in the back and strain on the spine. Receiving chiropractic care is an effective way to limit the occurrence of headaches, and lessen the intensity when they do occur.

3. Stimulates the Immune System
The immune system interacts directly with the nervous system affecting overall health. Again, obstructions with the signaling pathways between the nervous and the immune system impact the ability to heal adequately.

Without the use of surgery or medication, chiropractic care removes these barriers so that the body can properly repair itself at a genetic level and stimulate the immune system fully.

4. Wellness and Prevention
Chiropractic procedures manipulate the spine and entail a variety of procedures which treat underlying health problems. For instance, decompression exercises improve sleeping habits and have no known side effects.

Gastrointestinal Issues: Gut complaints are some of the most commonly reported problems which affect all ages in today’s society and are due to systemic concerns. Colic, persistent constipation, heartburn, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can be detected in infants to older adults and have likely affected you some time in your life. Irritable bowel syndrome is the most widespread condition worldwide.

Cancer: Education teaches all, especially cancer patients, how to improve wellness and prevent future occurrences or a secondary cancer. Chiropractic therapy focuses on some of the first common symptoms of cancer: musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction as well as chronic headaches.

In fact, 70% of advanced cancer patients, including those with cancer of the lungs, thyroid, breasts, kidney, and prostate have metastasized cancer in the skeletal system. Chiropractic treatment has also been shown to improve healing in cancer patients, as opposed to medication and other conventional therapies.

5. Alleviates Allergies and Asthma
Both chiropractors and parents of children suffering from allergies such as asthma support the positive results of chiropractic treatment.

Studies also support that chiropractic therapy benefits patients by decreasing the amount of medication needed. They suffer fewer asthma attacks and report an overall lessening of symptoms leading to an improved quality of life.

6. Pregnancy
Throughout pregnancy, many women experience chronic back pain due to the changing weight distribution on the pelvis and joints. Pain and muscle spasms may increase the likelihood that a pregnant mother will struggle during labor and delivery.

Chiropractic treatment focuses on balancing the muscles, pelvis, and ligaments during pregnancy to relieve pressure on the uterus. This treatment increases the likelihood that the child will be born via a preferable position while lowering the risk of being born through cesarean section.

Seventy-two percent of women report finding relief from pain during pregnancy and labor resulting from chiropractic care. Part of this success may due to the fact that women are encouraged and shown how to follow a proper exercise routine for pregnancy. This reduces weight gain, improves hormones, and allows for a more comfortable rest during sleep.

7. Mitigates Chronic Pain
Low back pain affects more than 10% of the population globally, and is the most common occupational injury in the United States and Canada. North America ranks low back pain sixth amongst contributing factors for increased medical cost. Compared to conventional health management practices, chiropractic care is low cost and improves the healing of the entire body.

Doctors of chiropractic also focus on education, which is critical to reducing injuries, disability, care costs, and adverse side effects. Chiropractic therapy is also a patient preference for providing pain relief.

8. Manages Behavioral and Learning Disabilities
Chiropractic procedures improve wellness and can help reduce hyperactivity and disruptive behaviors linked to ADHD and learning disabilities associated with autism.

Evidence supports that chiropractic treatment can better able a child to concentrate. In turn, it improves learning and behavior by limiting causes of agitation.

9. Weakens Dependence on Medication and Medical Interventions
There has been a 65% increase in patients seeking spinal treatment over an 8 year period, contributing to a significant rise in healthcare costs. However, approximately 96% of people with low back pain can find relief without surgery. This could lead to a remarkable lowering of costs.

Chronic pain is on the rise. The first line of treatment most individuals turn to for pain relief involves medication. Tens of thousands of people consuming drugs like acetaminophen and oxycodone have reported injuries and deaths directly resulting from drug use. Drugs have adverse side effects unlike chiropractic care.

Young adults are especially susceptible to drug overdoses. Dr. Joseph Wiley, Chief of Pediatrics at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, is quoted as saying “If you extrapolate from an adult dose to a pediatric dose, you may be right…you may be wrong.”

10. Normalizes Blood Pressure
Hypertension affects around 33% of Americans. Most of these individuals will use medication to manage the condition. Chiropractic care can significantly control blood pressure. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to result in a decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings.

In fact, tests show that chiropractic care works as effectively at managing hypertension as do two of the most commonly prescribed medications. Chiropractors focus on the bone at the top of the neck in proximity to the brain stem which may be the reason for the impact on regulating blood pressure.