| Chiropractic Adjustments Relax Tense Muscles
Most of us know the discomfort of tense, “knotted” muscles. But you may not know that you don’t have to live with this pain. Muscular tension, spasms or “knots” occur when muscles contract involuntary for a sustained period of time. Technically, localized areas of muscle tension are known as myofascial pain syndrome or trigger points. Bundles of muscular tension have altered circulation and nerve system activity. Traditionally, scientists believed that these areas endured excessive nerve impulses, causing the over-stimulated muscle to remain contracted. However, research suggests that the opposite may hold true. Muscular knots may actually suffer from impaired nerve flow or under-stimulation. Chiropractic is a unique approach to healing because doctors of chiropractic know that the body functions as a whole, rather than as a set of isolated parts. When caring for patients with muscle pain, doctors of chiropractic don’t just focus on the site of pain. Rather, chiropractors search for the underlying cause of discomfort. In the case of muscle pain, that cause often resides in the spine in the form of vertebral subluxation. However, correcting subluxations may do far more than merely drive away pain. Because these dysfunctional spinal segments may interfere with nerve flow to organs as well, chiropractic addresses the obvious — and the hidden — manifestations of spinal misalignment.Dr. Barbara Smith |
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