If you’re sick, you might have doubts if it’s wise to pay a visit to a chiropractor. Perfectly understandable. Even those who pay chiropractors regular visits and are perfectly aware of all the health benefits of proper chiropractic care often find it hard to make the decision.
That’s why we’ll be breaking down what to consider and what to expect when visiting a chiropractor when sick.
Is Visiting a Chiropractor When Sick Safe?
Yes, visiting a chiropractor when sick is safe in most cases unless your disease 1) poses a threat to a safe trip (i.e. you get disoriented or experience strong vertigo at unexpected moments); 2) is contagious (you’ll be putting the staff under threat).
If you’re able to safely get out of the bad and make a trip to the establishment of your choice without putting either yourself or the staff at unnecessary risk, you can book an appointment with no fear.
What should you keep in mind visiting a chiropractor when sick?
To be able to help, your chiropractor needs to know your medical history. This is true in any case – they need to know about your past injuries, bouts of inflammatory flares, medication you take, etc. to make sure they help you deal with the trauma instead of amplifying it.
But if you’re making the appointment while sick, it becomes all the more important to be transparent and NOT to downplay your symptoms. The chiropractor will need to adjust the regimen with your sickness in mind.
Health Benefits of Visiting a Doctor of Chiropractic
If you’ve already used a chiropractor’s services, you may notice that the treatment you get visiting a chiropractor when sick might differ from their usual.
This is because the chiropractor will be making adjustments with your current condition in mind, prioritizing helping your body fight off the disease.
1. Reducing Severity of Your Symptoms
If your sickness is something akin to common flu, then you might find proper chiropractic adjustments particularly beneficial.
Flu is often accompanied by bouts of dizziness and nausea, headaches, and overall lethargy – all conditions chiropractic practices target with particular efficiency.
A session with a chiropractor may not be able to get rid of the symptoms of your sickness altogether, but it will help with reducing the severity of them, calming nausea, making headaches manageable, and boosting your energy levels.
2. Minimizing the Pain Levels
Visiting a chiropractor when sick for physical pain management is quite common.
Myalgia (joint and muscle pain) and myositis (muscle weakness) are often symptoms of viral infections, a side-effect of your immune system fighting it off. It’s no secret that chiropractic adjustments are often used to help with joint and muscle pain, and if you experience either myalgia and/or myositis while sick, a visit to a chiropractor could be of help.
If you already experience pain in your joints a virus could likely lead to increased levels of discomfort and swelling – which, again, can be mitigated with proper chiropractic adjustments.
3. Strengthening the Immune System
How does chiropractic care help with managing the symptoms and pain levels? Mainly by helping your immune system.
If your body is out of alignment, it’s not functioning properly. People mainly notice physical manifestations – like joint pain, inflammation, and muscle tenseness, but the process goes deeper than that.
Misalignment may hinder the immune system to operate at its best by blocking neural pathways and delaying messages the nervous system is sending it – making you more vulnerable to sickness and prolonging the treatment period.
Visiting a chiropractor when sick can help you beat your disease faster. Proper chiropractic adjustments will likely clear the neural pathways and help your immune system fight the sickness more effectively.
4. Improved Performance Levels
It’s no surprise that in conjunction with reduced severity of the symptoms and reduced pain levels, you’d be able to perform better overall.
That’s not all! Chiropractic adjustments also improve blood flow and subsequently both your mental fortitude and physical performance.
It’s not uncommon for a patient to feel more energized, have better mobility, and feel less stressed after a few sessions with a chiropractor.
The difference is even more noticeable when you’re coming in sick, as lethargy can often be an accompanying symptom for many illnesses. A correctly planned regimen by an expert chiropractor can help get rid of lethargy and help you handle your tasks easier for the rest of the day.
5. Improving Sleep Patterns
One of the not-so-oft talked about benefits of proper chiropractic care is better sleep. While it may not be noticeable to people who have no heavy issues with sleep, patients who suffer from chronic sleep disorders have pointed out that they manage to fall asleep a little easier after chiropractic sessions, and experience fewer disruptions throughout the night.
If your illness has messed up your sleeping patterns (which is not uncommon), chiropractic care may aid with properly regulating them again.
Bottom Line:
Yes, visiting a chiropractor when sick is not only safe but beneficial and could facilitate quicker healing, as long as you don’t overexert yourself and the type of sickness you’re experiencing is susceptible to chiropractic care.
A proper chiropractic regimen could reduce symptoms such as headaches and nausea, increase your energy levels, improve your sleep, and – most importantly – help your immune system fight off the sickness.
The easiest way to find out if making an appointment with a chiropractor would be beneficial or detrimental in your condition is to make a call to your chosen establishment, inform them of your symptoms and ask them about possible treatment options.
There are over 100 chiropractic techniques encompassing a wide variety of healing practices. Informing the specialist about your condition as well as asking about possible results would help them come up with a suitable regimen for your case.
Get in Touch with a Chiropractor
If you wish to find out more about the benefits of proper chiropractic care, you can visit our wellness blog to learn more.