How Chiropractic Care Supports Arthritis Relief (May Arthritis Awareness month)

May is Arthritis Awareness Month each year, and while the condition is well-known, it may not be as well-understood as it could be. There are many who are surprised to find there are over 100 different forms of arthritis, combining to make it the leading cause of disability in the United States. 

The team at Active Care Chiropractic & Rehabilitation, with six Pennsylvania locations, specializes in chiropractic applications for arthritis relief. Since the goal of chiropractic care is to encourage your body to heal and maintain itself, it’s a natural drug-free match for this chronic and degenerative condition. 

Today, we’ll look directly at how chiropractic care supports arthritis relief, in terms of both mobility and pain. The more you know, the easier you’ll see the value of chiropractic care in arthritis management. 

The scope of chiropractic care

Chiropractic adjustments are often seen as a front-line treatment modality for back and neck pain. While this is certainly an excellent reason to seek care, it barely scratches the surface of the whole-body focus that chiropractors bring to the table. 

Consider that your spine has 33 vertebrae, most with multiple joints as well as connections to other parts of your body.  In all, there are 364 joints related to the spine. 

Chiropractic adjustments are all about the alignment and balance of joints, so many principles and techniques apply elsewhere in your body, potentially at many of the same places the various forms of arthritis can affect you. 

The first step in understanding how chiropractic care supports arthritis relief is realizing that adjustments aren’t only about the joints of your spine. 

Chiropractic care for arthritis

Since arthritis can produce pain that keeps you from wanting to move, it can be counterintuitive to think that movement can improve your condition, yet this is precisely the case for many arthritis conditions. The key is finding and using the right kind of movement. 

Your body depends on blood supply to heal and manage pain, and movement is an essential part of blood flow stimulation. Chiropractic joint manipulations directly encourage blood flow while also relieving soft tissue tension and restoring joint alignment. Let’s look at specific ways chiropractic care supports arthritis relief. 

Joint manipulation

When joints are unbalanced or out of alignment, blood vessels and nerve tissue may be hindered. This creates reduced blood flow and, potentially, pain signals to alert your brain that there’s something wrong. 

Chiropractic adjustments of the spine and other joints can free up pressure on these soft tissues, restoring full blood flow and releasing pressure on nerves. 

Rehabilitation therapy

Exercises like stretching and resistance training can build a soft tissue support system for your joints affected by arthritis. When support muscles are in better condition, they bear more load, relieving the burden on joints and their components. 

Soft tissue therapy

We provide a range of services that encourage muscle and myofascial relaxation and release. These too encourage blood flow while freeing up trapped nerve tissue. 

Chiropractic care often provides a return of flexibility as well as a baseline of pain relief that encourages activity, starting a positive cycle that reduces your dependency on pain medication and other therapies that carry side effects. 

Contact Active Care Chiropractic & Rehabilitation to learn more about chiropractic for arthritis. Call one number — 215-836-8888 — to book with any of our Penn Valley offices, or use the online link on this page. Get started on a drug-free arthritis management program today.