You work hard, you play hard, and you get injured even harder. For most people it’s quite common to ignore the little aches and pains screaming from an ankle, knee, hip, or wrist. In many scenarios a trip to the doctor or ER doesn’t take place until a major injury such as a break or a disc herniation occurs. Unfortunately, many of the smaller injuries that we write-off can be more detrimental to our health as time progresses. While most breaks, herniations, or sprains and strains heal fairly well sooner or later, most people continue to endure the nagging little aches and pains ever since their injury occurred. Many people assume that if the injured area is still intact, functions acceptably, and is not broken or severely damaged then no care is necessary or even possible when in actuality treatments exists for just about any type of injury regardless of how long ago it occurred or how severe it was. One primary form of successful extremity treatment is through chiropractic care. When I mention to people that a chiropractor like myself can adjust ankles, shoulders, ears, and more I often get surprised reactions such as “you can really treat that?” With dedication, proper training, and a focus on the entire body, chiropractors who treat the extremities have the ability to restore joints toward a more normal range of motion with great success. As a result of the joint moving as it’s intended, secondary symptoms such as pain, swelling, neurological/muscular problems, and immobility begin to mitigate. As our bodies age, we usually require more time to heal and any wear and tear within us begins to take a toll. Untreated conditions often snowball into more serious conditions. When people start to ignore those little road bumps in their gait cycle (walking pattern) sooner or later more and more secondary symptoms may appear. One scenario would be a poorly healed sprained ankle with an associated minor limp. In most cases as time progresses the limp worsens and localized joints begin to ache, muscles begin to tighten, and overall health declines. An example would be to walk around for a few minutes wearing a shoe on one foot and nothing on the other. Now imagine walking like this for a few days, weeks, months, or longer. The imbalances occurring in the body can lead to back pain, fatigue, headaches, joint degeneration, and more. That’s why it’s essential to get those nagging little injuries evaluated and treated as early as possible. A good health care provider will take a thorough history regarding the cause of your injury, conduct a physical examination, formulate an appropriate diagnosis and corresponding treatment plan, initiate in-house treatments, and educate you with home rehab exercises. The goal of treatment is to find and repair the source of the problem, not treat the symptoms. As you can see in the above example, someone may overlook the ankle altogether assuming that the pain is originating in the low back region which is why assessing and treating the entire body is recommend. So for those of you have some little aches and pain remember that regardless of your age, regardless of your past injuries, and regardless of how fit you think you are, you may not have your hip moves anymore. So why not improve your health and your extremities with natural holistic chiropractic care today? You’ll feel like you’ve gone back a generation or two. After all, your body deserves it.
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