How are braces & chiropractic care similar?
For the longest time, my kid has talked about wanting braces and despite me telling him they really aren’t as fun as they look, he wouldn’t listen. And then, sure enough, earlier in June his orthodontist told him he would need them because things just weren’t developing the way they should be. The night before he got them, we were talking about all the foods he could no longer eat – you know, popcorn, hard candy, pretzels, gum, gummies (even though I’ve started cutting up our Juice Plus chewables so he can continue to take them…..). He certainly doesn’t eat that kind of food all the time, but he’s a kid and we allow him those indulgences every so often.
Anyhow….as we were chatting about this, he told me he was excited about Halloween when he could eat those foods again. Huh? Listen kid, sorry to disappoint you, but October 31st is only four months away, and these braces will be on for the next 18 months. He was shocked. What? You mean it’s not a two week thing? It’s not just a quick fix? It doesn’t work that way. Sorry, these new braces will be with you until you are about 14 years old.
What is the point of braces? It’s to straighten out the teeth, get them better aligned, reduce the crowding, and have kids/adults look better, right? That’s a fairly common analogy to chiropractic care – it’s not a quick fix; it’s something for the long term. Chiropractic adjustments work to restore movement in the spine & improve function in the nervous system. And it’s an ongoing thing, as the body is constantly changing, constantly adapting.
Every now & then we have people come in who want that quick fix, the 4 or 5 adjustments until they feel better – and really that only makes someone feel better (most of the time), but it doesn’t work to correct a long standing problem. Just like braces don’t go on the teeth for two weeks or two months, chiropractic isn’t something you do for just two weeks or two months. The way to get best results and ensure proper functioning of the spine and nervous system, is to be consistent. And when that happens, great things often happen.
We love it when people tell us that their headaches have gone away, or their menstrual cycle has become more regular, that their allergies are gone, or their sinus pressure has decreased. Sometimes I take these things for granted because I’m so use to positive changes while someone is getting adjusted. And often times, those positive changes happen with babies, toddlers, and teens. Nervous system interference can happen at any stage in life, it often starts with the birth process (if not in-utero) and can continue if it’s not corrected.
We certainly recommend that people get checked by a chiropractor to ensure that their nervous system is working as efficiently as possible. Let us know if we can help.
