Saturday, May 23, 2009

Massage Chairs Are Popping Up Chiropractic Offices

By Steve Esquire

Chiropractors are certified professionals in holistic health of the spine and back. By utilizing natural treatments, they help induce the spine to restore it back to health. This requires an understanding of the spine, the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system. A variety of therapies are used depending on the patient's situation. As massage therapy is being used extensively, massage chairs have automated some aspects of patient care in chiropractor's offices around the country.

The original practitioners of chiropractic treatment are the ancient Egpytians. They applied therapeutic treatments by hand. The Greeks picked up on the tradition and gave it a name in Greek cheir-praxis. Which is now known in English as chiropratic. There is a long history of providing treatments first by hand, and now supplemented by a massage chair. The Egyptians would marvel at the high tech massage chair of today.

Chiropractors specialize in areas like pediatrics, sports injuries, neurology and orthopedics. They have to know how to find the root causes of many conditions and also how to restore their health. In the long tradition of chiropractic medicine, they use only natural methods and do not prescribe pharmaceuticals. A chiropractor is licensed by the state and must have earned a D.C. (Doctor of Chiropractic) degree.

Chiropractic medicine is finally going mainstream after almost 5,000 years since being started in ancient Egypt. Big Government has started to cover chiropractic treatments with the inclusion in Medicaid/Medicare. Also, many state workers compensation programs also include chiropractor therapies. Big Government has now upped the ante for Big Medicine to do likewise. Big Medicine has been adding chiropractor coverage to some of its HMO and private medical plans.

Chiropractors are trained to understand a patient's symptoms. They then test theories and validate them to find the root causes. They may take x-rays, perform certain tests or touch and feel what is going on. The spine is a complex arrangement of bones, muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, etc. that must be looked at in unison.

Chiropractors are known for making manual adjustments to the spinal column. They use the force from their hands to exert pressure on the bones of the spine to align them. Most people are familiar with the cracking or popping sounds of getting an adjustment to their spine.

Many chiropractic offices are utilizing massage chairs to help automate and deliver more consistent treatments for patients. The benefits of massage therapy to helping the body maintain its health is more widely known. Massage chairs are used to provide targeted massage therapy which can loosen tight muscles and help restore flexibility.

Our spine is very unique in that it enables us to stand upright. When the spine is healthy, then this process is uninhibited. However, slight problems can shift the body weight around. These small shifts can cause an enormous amount of weight and stress to be concentrated in certain areas. This can happen by poor posture or lifting with your back, instead of your knees.

The chiropractor seeks to alleviate the concentrated pressure off of these areas. A doctor helps the patient to identify how they can better distribute the stress put on their spine. Patients may need to make changes to their posture or lifting to help the spine to recover and prevent future injury.

Massage chairs provide an effective means to help the soft tissues to become more flexible and elastic. They help to elongate the muscles with soothing massage techniques. As the muscles relax, then elasticity is restored allowing a greater range of motion. Regular massage chair therapy helps to reduce built up tension and stiffness in these critical areas. Massage chairs are available for home use as well as professional health care use. Massage chairs may be the perfect complement to your back care.

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