October brings upon fall colors, the smell of cider and pumpkin all around and everyone begins to feel the swing of the holidays coming right around the corner. However, what most people don’t know is that October is also National Chiropractic Health Month.

This year’s theme is Back to Basics. Here at Petett Chiropractic, we like to focus on the health basics and the simple ways to maintain overall health and injury prevention for every age.

Back to Basics: Understanding Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most widespread and disabling conditions worldwide. When experiencing neck or back pain, 54% of Americans choose an MD as their first choice. This is compared to 29% of people who prefer to visit to a chiropractor.

Maintaining a healthy spine can prevent back pain. People who are overweight, smoke, lift heavy objects, or even while texting are more likely to experience back pain. It’s important to keep your spine as healthy as possible to prevent this from happening. Maintaining a good posture, lifting by using your legs, and having a healthy lifestyle can help keep your back in good shape. The American Chiropractic Association recommends that the best way to have a healthy spine is to try and maintain the natural curve in your lower back.

Back pain has become one of the most common conditions for which doctors prescribe opioid pain medications. It’s important for both health care consumers and providers to understand that spinal manipulation and other approaches can treat musculoskeletal conditions effectively and safely.

Why is Chiropractic an Effective Treatment?

Chiropractic is a healthcare profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system. It’s often used to treat back pain, neck pain, pain in the joins of the arms or legs, and headaches.

Chiropractic doctors practice a hands-on, drug-free approach to comprehensive health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, chiropractic services may support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal aspects associated with a medical condition.

How Can Seattle Chiropractors Help You?

Spinal manipulation, or chiropractic adjustment, is one of the most well-known therapeutic procedures performed by chiropractors. The purpose is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become restricted in their movement due to a tissue injury.

Tissue injury is common, caused by traumatic event or through repetitive stress. The injured tissue is what can cause pain and inability to function in everyday tasks. The adjustment restores mobility, discharging the muscle tightness and allows the tissues to heal. The chiropractic approach offers a gentle, safe and effective option to releasing any pain.

Chiropractic care can treat the following issues and injuries:

• Headaches
• Neck pain
• Posture
• Back pain caused from traveling, wearing a backpack, etc.
• Sports injuries
• Chronic pain
• Depression

In 2017, the American College of Physicians released a low back guidelines that recommends first using non-drug treatments, such as spinal manipulation, for chronic low back pain. The services provided by chiropractors signify a approach for prevention that can often reduce or avoid the need for riskier treatments.

Schedule an Appointment at Petett Chiropractic

During this National Chiropractic Health Month, we encourage you to get back to the basics. Please call (425) 277 – 2225 to schedule an appointment with one of our trained and experienced chiropractic doctors. Our chiropractic clinic is conveniently located about thirty minutes from Seattle. Our staff at Petett Chiropractic is here to answer any questions on chiropractic care. We’re here to help you back to the basics and back into a healthy lifestyle.