Your Tulsa Chiropractor

What does a Tulsa chiropractor do?

Chiropractors use manual manipulation of the musculoskeletal areas of the body, including the spine, for proper alignment and functioning of the body’s systems. Most frequently, adjustments occur in the spine and involve the surrounding muscles and the related areas of the nervous system.

In addition to providing traditional chiropractic care, look for Tulsa chiropractors who use an integrated approach while working with multiple disciplines to provide lasting relief for your continued overall wellness.

What can chiropractic care help with?

While chiropractic care typically involves the relief of pain from a debilitating condition or injury, this treatment can also provide you with the following benefits:

• Stability
• Flexibility
• Mobility
• Function
• Strength

What type of conditions can chiropractors treat?

Chiropractors are mostly known for treating conditions that result in pain. Pain management often involves the use of chiropractic treatment since ligaments that connect to joints can become tight or damaged from overuse or injuries, shifting the bones slightly out of their proper position.

Chiropractic care has been proven to be effective at treating multiple conditions, just a few of which are discussed further.

Back pain

Perhaps that most common reason that you might seek chiropractic care is due to back pain. Back pain may be a result of arthritis, pulled or strained muscles or injuries to the spine.

Scoliosis

When the backbone is curved sideways in the case of scoliosis, chiropractic adjustment may help to readjust the ligaments so that the vertebrae in the spine can align in the proper position.

Sciatica

Pain that radiates from the lower back or buttocks and through the hips or legs is often the result of compression of the sciatic nerve. While sciatica may resolve itself over the course of several months, recovery may be shortened through chiropractic manipulation of the spine that may reduce pressure on the affected nerve.

Accidents

Slips and falls as well as motor vehicle and sports accidents may result in injury to the spine, neck or other joints. Any damage or injury to the musculoskeletal system may be helped through the use of chiropractic treatment methods.

Migraines

If you’ve ever experienced a migraine, you know how debilitating this type of headache can be. Research is finding that chiropractic treatment can be very effective in the treatment and prevention of migraines without the use of medications that could have serious side effects.

Other conditions

Several other conditions may benefit from the use of chiropractic care:

• Asthma
• Bursitis
• Chronic fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Gastrointestinal issues
• Multiple sclerosis
• Pre-menstrual syndrome
• Tendinitis

Do chiropractors really crack your neck?

When you think about the word crack, it typically means to fully or partially break something open, such as when you’re cracking an egg. However, when it comes to chiropractic care, your provider isn’t actually breaking anything.

Cracking is simply a term that is commonly used when you manipulate ligaments surrounding joints. The reason this term is used is due to the sound that often occurs with such joint adjustment.

The crackling or popping sounds may occur for a couple of reasons. Joints contain fluid and several elemental gases. These gases collect into bubbles. When your joints are manipulated, the small but concise movement releases these trapped gases, resulting in a popping or crackling sound.

In other cases, noises may be heard as a result of tight ligaments or tendons releasing or due to arthritis. The reason the crackling appears to be so loud during a neck adjustment is simply because your ears are located very closely to this area.

When should I see a chiropractic care provider?

Whether referred for chiropractic treatment by your primary care physician or as a choice you’ve made on your own, there are times when it just makes sense to visit a chiropractor’s office.

Chronic back pain

As long as your pain issue isn’t caused by advanced degeneration of the joints, you could benefit from chiropractic care to help resolve long-term or chronic pain issues, especially when previous treatments only mask symptoms and don’t alleviate the root cause of the pain. Additionally, if pain is caused by slipped, ruptured or herniated discs, you should determine if chiropractic care could do more harm than good.

Joint or muscle pain

Many times, muscle or joint pain can be caused by improper alignment of the musculoskeletal system. A chiropractic care provider can help to determine what treatments will best return alignment, proper blood flow and better nervous system functioning.

Accident or injury follow-up

As long as no bones are broken, many chiropractors have extensive experience in helping patients to regain their mobility and function following an accident.

Unexplained shooting or burning pains, numbness or tingling

The musculoskeletal system can dramatically affect the functioning of your nervous system. If there’s pressure on nerves, this can result in shooting pains or a pins-and-needles sensation. With proper adjustment, pressure on nerves can be released to provide relief from your condition.

Frequent headaches

If you experience migraines or tension headaches on a regular basis, it might be because your body is out of alignment. Chiropractic treatments can release the buildup of pressure to reduce tension and prevent recurrent headaches.

Weakness in your arms or legs

Weakness in your limbs that results in unsteadiness or inability to effectively complete your daily tasks could mean that there is pressure on nerves or vessels that could decrease blood flow to the appropriate areas. Chiropractic manipulation can help to realign the appropriate body parts to allow better nerve function and appropriate blood flow.

How do I choose the right Tulsa chiropractor?

Choosing the right Tulsa chiropractic care provider is an important step in your healing and wellness. If you’ve never visited this type of professional before, there are several ways that you can choose a chiropractic.

Referrals

If you know of anyone, such as a friend, family member or coworker, who has had chiropractic treatment, you may want to ask them about their provider. Someone who is close to you is likely to point out all of the good and bad points about their treatment from a specific provider. This is especially helpful if you’re experiencing a similar problem to that person.

Check reviews

With the internet, finding information on specific chiropractic care providers couldn’t be easier. In fact, there are many websites that are solely there for the purpose of allowing patients to relay their experiences with others. Check specifically for reviews of chiropractors who treat your personal condition for the best results.

While a good place to start may be the websites for specific care providers, be wary of using only patient reviews from these sites as only the best reviews may be posted.

Read doctor Bio’s

A provider’s web page should include information about the specific chiropractic doctors in the office. Reading each doctor’s bio should provide you with information such as education, certifications, and years in practice. You might even find that a certain doctor specializes in treating the condition that you’re looking for help with.

A provider who is just starting out can give you similar quality of care as someone who’s been practicing for many years. Just make sure that the provider you’re considering has met all licensing and certification requirements. However, if you prefer someone with more hands-on experience, reading the provider’s bio will help you to find this information.

Read website

A chiropractic care provider’s website should offer plenty of information on the conditions that they treat as well as how long they’ve been providing patient services in the area.

Some providers will even have blogs to provide prospective and current patients with information about certain conditions and treatment methods. While a website that offers tons of information can be good, be sure you combine this knowledge with reviews from other patients to ensure that this provider will be a good fit for you.

Additional information

If you have additional questions, you can call or email the provider under consideration. It may take some time for someone with the appropriate knowledge to get back to you since they are busy with other patients during the workday. However, it’s still important that you receive the relevant information in a timely manner. Also, take note on how those who respond to you address your questions and concerns.

Additionally, once you’ve narrowed down your choices, you may want to make an in-person visit to the office. When you do this, you can note the condition and atmosphere of the office before you decide to become a patient. This can be especially beneficial if there are multiple chiropractic care providers close to where you live or work. You want to make sure that you’ll be comfortable while you’re there.