What is “Whole Family” Chiropractic Care in Maple Grove?
Whole family chiropractic. When your spine is out of alignment, it interferes with nerve signals and inhibits the way your body moves and functions. Misalignments are common throughout every stage of life. They can compress, irritate and pinch nerves in ways that result in mild to debilitating pain.
There's a common misconception that chiropractic care is only reserved for middle-aged adults. In reality, many chiropractic treatments and approaches address neuromuscular issues for young and old patients.
Several Maple Grove families rely on chiropractors like Dr. Tieri to treat grandkids alongside their grandparents and everyone in between. Here's what that looks like in detail.
Chiropractic Care During Pregnancy
As a fetus grows in the womb, the mother's body changes to accommodate the baby. Since the baby adds more and more weight in front of her body, her center of gravity moves forward, placing increased stress upon her pelvis and spine, especially her lower back.
The spinal cord connects to nerves that send and receive signals across the entire body. However, due to all the changes during pregnancy, the spine can be stretched and compressed in different places, often resulting in localized or radicular pain. For instance, sciatica – or pain in the lower back that radiates down the legs – is common among pregnant women.
The closer the baby's due date gets, the more pressure is placed on vertebral joints, sacrum, and hip joints. In fact, the inward curve at the lower spine (called the lordotic curve) increases. Such dramatic changes to the spine are not instantaneously reversed upon childbirth, and the back pains that develop during pregnancy may persist long after delivery. Tasks like bending over to pick up the baby, cradling him or her, and breastfeeding may hurt and transform into chronic pain if not adequately addressed.
Chiropractors at Total Spine Health & Injury Center are specially trained to alleviate the back pain pregnant women encounter. Some of our patients even claim they had an easier time with childbirth because of chiropractic treatments.
Did you know that men and women with large bellies experience similar issues? For every excess pound they carry around their waist, they place ten pounds of stress on their lower backs.
Chiropractic Care for Infants, Toddlers, and Teenagers
Children are prone to spinal stress and trauma from the moment they are born. During natural and Cesarean deliveries, the infant's spine may become misaligned due to the pressures exerted on it. Babies may sleep in awkward positions, and toddlers are constantly falling and tumbling when learning how to walk. Older children are always running around, wrestling with friends, and climbing on play structures.
Most childhood injuries are mild and part of growing up. But some are severe enough to result in spinal misalignments and could become longer-term issues.
Heavy backpacks and textbooks are just one example of a relatively new and unnatural problem. These physical burdens put stress on their spines. To prevent your child from experiencing back pain, make sure that their backpack does not exceed 10-15% of the child's weight and sits evenly at the center of their back. They must be able to easily put on and take off the backpack without assistance and should never wear the bag on just one shoulder (avoid one-strap and "mailman" bags).
When children enter adolescence, their bodies undergo rapid and drastic physical changes. This is a time of frequent growth spurts, which don't always affect a teenager's body evenly or in a balanced manner. For example, scoliosis tends to affect girls aged 11 to 13 and boys aged 14 to 16. And on top of the intense biological changes, high school years are fraught with this risky athletic and recreational activities like football, volleyball, and skateboarding.
Although intense physical activities frequently cause spinal misalignments, parents of teenagers also need to be wary of unhealthy habits when relaxing. Things like poor posture while studying or texting and too much inactivity. Exercising and playing sports help promote muscle and bone growth, which contribute to spine health. Being active also prevents kids from gaining excess weight, which can make them more prone to back pain later in life.
All in all, whole-family chiropractic care should begin early in a child's life. This ensures that childhood abnormalities are treated as soon as possible and healthy habits are developed to prevent lifelong issues.
Chiropractic Care for Adults
No matter your daily occupation, the likelihood of sustaining workplace injuries and spinal misalignments during adulthood is high. Left untreated, subluxations can cause various issues, including but not limited to body pain, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, and even a weakened immune system.
Don't ever think that pain is a fact of adult life you must bear. Instead, it's best to view pain as a signal from your body that something is wrong and that you need to address it. Even when Maple Grove residents experience back pain or persistent muscle aches that are mild, it's always worth getting checked out by a chiropractic doctor. If you wait, it could quickly worsen and become harder to treat. Seeking out proactive and preventative treatment makes things easier on your body and on your wallet.
Chiropractic Care for the Elderly
As loved ones age, their risk of slipping and falling increases. Their muscles and joints weaken, making it harder for them to maintain balance. Elderly family members also struggle with more aches and pains, which they often attribute to unavoidable wear and tear from decades of everyday life and osteoarthritis or osteoporosis.
Geriatric chiropractic care can address all of these issues. Common chiropractic treatments, such as spinal adjustments and specialized stretching regimens, restore nerve communication and enhance flexibility, mobility, and balance. Spine realignment and massage therapy help alleviate pain, while physical therapy helps strengthen joints and muscles.
For example, a chiropractor may create a care plan to help seniors with osteoarthritis, and non-severe osteoporosis to help handle the pain and discomfort that come with their condition. Regardless of the specific approach applied, chiropractic care is a safe and gentle way to help seniors become more grounded and steady on their feet.
The Best Whole Family Chiropractor in Maple Grove
You may think that a trip to the chiropractor is limited to middle-aged adults seeking treatment for run-of-the-mill back pain. That's far from the whole picture. Whole family chiropractic care is loved at all stages of life, working through a broad array of neuromuscular issues – from infants with colic to aging grandparents with sciatica.
If you're looking for an all-natural way to improve your family's health and well-being, schedule a consultation today. We'll create a tailored treatment plan explicitly addressing your family's needs and goals after discussing everything with you in detail.