Can Chiropractic Help With Herniated Disc And Sciatica?

People commonly think, maybe through the fault of their MD, that chiropractic care can hurt or harm someone with a herniated disc.  However, that isn’t true.  In fact, chiropractic care can actually help with herniated discs in some cases. 

A herniated disc is the soft tissue that is found between each of our vertebrae.  This disc is meant as a cushion to the spinal bones.  However, during a car accident, lifting something wrong or well, just getting older, the discs tend to slip out of their natural place. 

But, with the help of a chiropractor and some careful and gentle care, we can manipulate the disc back into position.  When the disc is out it can cause some severe pain or the pain might even be slightly moderate. 

While your medical doctor may have told you otherwise, a chiropractor is a less invasive way to help your herniated disc.  Many doctors recommend surgery, because well, they are in the business of surgery and not manual manipulation. 

Think about it.  Surgery is their medical training and business and that is what they are going to suggest to you.  In some cases, surgery is definitely necessary.

However, if you are looking for less invasive options, then you should speak with a qualified chiropractor on your back issues.  This is a very safe and all-natural approach to back pain and slipped discs. 

Chiropractic vs Surgery for herniated disc

While we often hear of people having surgery for herniated discs, we may not hear about people raving about their chiropractor.  However, chiropractic care is very important and can minimize the need for surgery. 

It is a natural way to approach the issue and it leaves no side effects or needs for recovery time.  It does require you to go to a few visits and maybe even do some exercises at home.  However, it is not as invasive to your life as surgery and there are little risks involved with the proper chiropractor.

When visiting a chiropractor, you should expect them to do some sort of an x-ray right in the office.  Most chiropractic offices have digital X Rays now, which are far less expensive for offices to have in house. 

This allows them to see what is going on within your spine.  The x-ray will show them in detail what exercises, massages, and manipulations that you will need for treatment. 

They should go over that with you and your treatment plan.  Typically, it is not a one time visit and you are good.  But, a series of visits and checks to see how you are progressing.  This is because your body has been in that bad position for a while. 

This means that you will have to retrain your body for this new, healthier position. It will take time, but not as much time as it did to get out of position. 

Chiropractic treatment for leg, head, arm and joint pain.

While most people think that chiropractic care is only for back pain, it is actually helpful for headaches, arm, joint and leg pain as well.  Yes, a chiropractor can help with leg pain. 

In fact, you could simply be out of alignment. Think about it.  Your alignment starts at your feet and goes up the body.  Should your knees not be lined up to your feet as they should, then your hips will be off and the entire spine will be off.  This means that your body is essentially crooked or for better terms…misaligned.

Our bodies were designed in a way that there are soft cartilage tissue in our joints to help with the daily grinding of the bones.  However, if you are crooked (misaligned), that tissue can slip, causing the bones to grind together and cause pain. 

This is simply one scenario.  There are many. When you are not aligned as you are meant to be, there are all kinds of things that can go wrong throughout the body. 

When your body is crooked, it can cause your shoulders to not be straight.  This can even be noticeable in a mirror.  When they are not straight, there is a reason. 

You have a misaligned body that needs chiropractic care.  This misalignment can cause pain throughout the body, sometimes not even where the misalignment issues start. 

For example, a misalignment in the shoulder can be the root cause of carpal tunnel and problems in the wrists.  While many people opt for surgery for such things, it is possible that all they really needed was some chiropractic care. 

While surgery is a quick way, it is not always going to the root of the problem and most likely the secondary issue will become an issue again. 

A whole-body approach.

These are great examples of how a chiropractor will look at your body as a whole. While a knee surgeon only looks at the knee and not really at the rest of the body. 

They see that the knee is in need of a repair of some kind, but oftentimes don’t go into any further.  Would this knee issue be caused by the body not being in alignment? 

The possibilities are high for this, however, a medical doctor doesn’t look at the body as a whole, but as individual parts.  This approach can be unnecessary surgery and time off from work or school. 

It also means that you are possibly not targeting the root cause of the issue. While there are some things that will require surgery, there are many other things that don’t and surgery could be avoided.

Once you have surgery, you have disrupted the natural alignment of the body.  This alone can cause further problems down the road.  Compounding the need for surgery in various areas of the body. 

Be sure that you are really ready for this and see if there are alternatives by going to a qualified chiropractor.  There they can do an evaluation and go over a treatment plan that they believe works for your particular case. 

Each case is different as well as everyone’s body responds differently, so this plan is a guide but certainly not set in stone.  As the treatments start to work, they will reevaluate the current situation to ensure you are on track.