You may enjoy how chiropractic care relieves your pain, but that’s not all it can do.

Here are 10 chiropractic benefits you can expect when you get regular adjustments.   If you’ve ever visited a chiropractor after a car accident or to treat your sciatica, you’re already aware of how regular chiropractic adjustments work on symptoms of pain and discomfort. But that’s not all chiropractic care can do! In this article, we’ll go over 10 of the most surprising chiropractic benefits to ensure that you’re getting the most out of every visit.  

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1. Treats Headaches

If you suffer from chronic migraines or tension headaches, you might want to consider a visit to the chiropractor before you take any pain medication. By relieving pressure on your nerves and blood vessels, regular chiropractic adjustments can reduce or even completely eliminate debilitating headaches that are keeping you from enjoying your life.  

2. Lower Blood Pressure

Prescription medications have long been the standard course of treatment for those with high blood pressure. But did you know that your chiropractor may be able to accomplish the same results (with far fewer side effects)? A 2007 study of 50 individuals found that correcting a misaligned Atlas vertebrae with a specialized adjustment was able to significantly reduce their blood pressure. How significant? The results were the same as taking two blood pressure medications at once!  

3. Improved Circulation

In addition to nerves, you also have a network of blood vessels that pass through and around your spine. A misalignment can put pressure on one of these blood vessels, essentially creating a “roadblock” in your circulatory system. By correcting the misalignment, a chiropractor can restore blood flow throughout the body.  

4. Improved Range of Motion

Your joints are designed to move with a certain range of motion, but when joints are not aligned properly, they can’t move properly. I like to use the analogy of a toy train on a track. If the train is in the right position, it will run smoothly. But if one of the wheels is knocked off the rails, it will throw the entire system out of whack. By straightening out your spine and other joints throughout the body, chiropractic care can not only reduce pain, but increase your flexibility and range of motion as well. Manipulating those joints back into place can also alleviate the strain on your ligaments and tendons, allowing them to relax so they can stretch out properly.  

5. Decreased Joint Degeneration

Left unchecked, a joint misalignment and reduced range of motion can have a more serious result: osteoarthritis. When joints are immobilized (due to pain, bone spurs, or some other reason), the cartilage between them begins to “dry out.” Without proper lubrication, they can degenerate and shrink, allowing the bones to rub together. This causes pain, which in turn leads to further immobilization, making the problem worse. Chiropractic care on these areas can help break the cycle.

6. Improved Muscle Tension

If muscles are chronically tense, they can develop painful  and even pull your joints out of alignment. If they are too weak or relaxed, they are unable to hold your joints in the proper position. Proper muscle tension is all about maintaining the right balance between these two extremes. Chiropractic adjustments work by restoring alignment, creating the conditions necessary for your muscles to contract and relax properly.  

7. Decreased Inflammation

When joints are misaligned, your body signals you that something is wrong in an attempt to draw your attention to the area. This signal can come in the form of pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, or a variety of symptoms. However, your body also attempts to fix the problem on its own…through inflammation. You may recognize inflammation as the redness, swelling, and pain you experience after an injury, but chronic inflammation that occurs throughout the body is much more serious (and often more difficult to treat). Luckily, chiropractic adjustments can help with that, too.

8. Boosts Immunity

At the root of chiropractic medicine is the belief that all systems of the body (musculoskeletal, circulatory, nervous, etc.) work together. When one of these systems is working improperly, it often affects the others. We’ve already spoken at length about how the skeletal system impacts the nervous system. Studies have also uncovered a link between the nervous system and the immune system. Thus, by correcting misalignments in the spine, chiropractors can relieve pressure on the nervous system, allowing it to fully work in harmony with the immune system. Studies have also shown an increase in white blood cell count following a chiropractic adjustment.

9. Easier Pregnancy

Not only is chiropractic care safe during pregnancy, it can actually help relieve many uncomfortable symptoms. As the baby and uterus grow, this extra weight can increase the curve of a pregnant woman’s lower back (one of the many reasons why back pain during pregnancy is so common!). And as a woman’s due date approaches, her body releases the hormone relaxin, which loosens up the tendons and ligaments in the pelvis, preparing her for childbirth. Looser tendons and ligaments, extra weight, and a shifting center of gravity create the perfect conditions for joing subluxations (i.e. misalignments) that cause so much pain and discomfort. Contrary to what you might think, your growing belly will not—and should not—prevent you from getting the pain relief you crave during this uncomfortable (yet exciting!) time.  

10. Improved Sleep

All of these other benefits usually culminate in another surprising—but much-welcomed!—benefit: improved sleep quality. When you feel better, it’s easy to find time to relax at the end of the day. Your pain relief may have finally allowed you to visit the gym for the first time in months. The release of chronic muscle tension makes falling asleep quicker and easier. And when your sleep quality improves, so does everything else!