Asthma in Dana Point, CA

When many of us think about chiropractic care, we think of seeking a way to alleviate back or neck pain. While these types of conditions can respond well to chiropractic care, the goal of chiropractic care is actually to improve and maintain overall health and wellbeing. When you visit the Dana Point Chiropractors at PCH Chiropractic they see all parts of your health as interconnected and use their ability to realign the spine to improve a number of conditions. In fact, many people who suffer from asthma are able to find relief through chiropractic when they have their spine adjusted and receive an improvement to the function of their nerve systems.

WHAT IS ASTHMA?

Asthma currently affects 36 million people across the globe, and most of us know someone with the condition. This is because it has been increasing in prevalence in recent years, to the point where it is one of the most common chronic issues there is. The impact of having asthma can range from a mild inconvenience to debilitating and life-altering. For some, it can feel like a truck driver is sitting on your chest, and no matter what you do it’s nearly impossible to catch your breath. Having asthma can result in your life being less than optimal. Asthma sufferers may never know when their next attack will come.

Asthma primarily affects the pathways that allow air to flow through your lungs and throat, as they become chronically inflamed and constricted. This can make it difficult to breathe for long periods of time, causing heavy and painful wheezing. Asthma can be present in people of any age, though it shows up most often in children.

HOW IS ASTHMA TRADITIONALLY CARED FOR?

The most common forms of caring for asthma are breathing treatments and medications, often administered through inhalers that artificially return the airways to their normal size. These types of care may only offer temporary relief and rarely ever address the actual cause of the problem. They address the symptoms of asthma, without improving the body itself. With chronic asthma, some people will begin the use of heavier corticosteroids to manage their breathing.

Like any medicine, they may have serious side effects including:

• Liver damage
• Depression, thoughts of suicide, or sudden aggressiveness
• Hives, or skin that blisters or peels
• Hoarseness (sore throat or a raspy voice)
• Heart palpitations
• Numbness or tingling in your hands or feet
• Swelling in your face, eyes, mouth or throat
• Trouble breathing or swallowing
• Vomiting

Asthma can be a sign of something functioning incorrectly in the body, and while medicine addresses the symptoms that arise from the dysfunction, chiropractic care works to find the root cause of health issues and works to restore the body’s ability to heal itself.

CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR ASTHMA

Chiropractic as a profession does not “treat” Asthma. Dana Point chiropractors, Drs. Catherine and Palmer Peet of PCH Chiropractic instead focus on misalignments in the spine that can cause dysfunction in the central nervous system. When these are present, nerve communication is impacted and bodily processes, like breathing, can break down. By performing gentle adjustments that realign the spine, chiropractors are able to enhance the function of the central nervous system and improve the body’s ability to perform normal functions, like breathing. When the nerve system is optimized through chiropractic, some individuals report improvements in their asthma.

CHIROPRACTIC AND ASTHMA STUDIES

A number of studies show that people suffering from asthma are likely to benefit from undergoing chiropractic care. In one case study, a 3-year-old boy had asthma since his birth, leading to multiple weekly attacks. Then after just one month of specific chiropractic care led to a decrease in his symptoms, and his asthma eventually resolved completely. These adjustments in another case study were also shown to work in an 18-year-old with trauma-induced asthma who underwent care for issues caused by an injury to the vertebrae.

Another study archived in the National Library of Medicine showed that after 3 months of chiropractic care for pediatric asthma, the children rated their quality of life substantially higher and their asthma severity substantially lower. These improvements were maintained at the 1-year follow-up assessment. For many, chiropractic care has significantly reduced the need to use inhalers as chiropractic care makes breathing easier.

HOW PCH HELPS PATIENTS

We will perform a Comprehensive Consultation and Exam

Before coming in we will send you a patient application to fill out so we can find out more about your history and hear about your health concerns.
Once you come in, we will go in detail through this history with you and listen to any other additional information that you can share with us regarding your overall health.

We will then perform Chiropractic, functional, orthopedic, and neurological tests to properly diagnose your condition and see how we can help you. We will be focusing on how your Central Nervous system is functioning, including the nerves that control your breathing.

We will then analyze all the results from the tests and the information you provided to us with your history to find the root cause of your condition. That way we can help you find the best care plan to heal your body and not just mask the symptoms.

Digital X-rays (when necessary)

PCH Chiropractic has its own in-house low-radiation digital X-ray suite. This then enables us to perform imaging on-site and get the results sometimes in minutes. We utilize the latest computerized X-ray analysis software to help us find the underlying cause of your health concerns.

Our assessment is comprehensive. During the examination, we will assess your posture, spinal alignment, range of motion, and other findings to determine if X-rays are warranted. We only take the X-rays that are necessary to properly evaluate your condition. We will be assessing both your coronal alignment (looking at you from the front) and your sagittal spinal curves (looking at you from the side).
An altered spinal alignment, called Subluxations can create inflammation and therefore put a lot of stress on the nervous and musculoskeletal systems. This may result in altered bodily functions, and can sometimes affect respiration. To see is to know, and to not know is to guess, and we don’t guess about a patient’s health. When X-rays are warranted, we are able to do so in a safe, effective manner with our up-to-date X-ray equipment.

Specific Chiropractic Care

Once we have analyzed the x-rays and test results, we can find what is the best adjustment for you and your specific condition. Millions of patients are adjusted every day throughout the world with amazing safety and effectiveness. As described above, some individuals with asthma have reported improvements.
At PCH Chiropractic, we do a special technique called Chiropractic Biophysics, one of the most advanced and researched techniques within the chiropractic profession.

As chiropractors, we are trained to detect and correct the misalignments in your spine. Those misalignments are called Subluxations. Subluxations actually interfere with the body’s own ability to heal itself. It is important to correct them as soon as possible in order to prevent degeneration and weakening in other areas of the spine.

Chiropractic works to improve function and communication between the brain and the organs/tissues that are linked to the nerves coming out of the spine.

Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan

Once we begin your personalized care plan, we will show you the exercises that are specific to your posture. Forward head posture is one of the most common postural dysfunctions that we encounter that affects your overall health. Sometimes a common postural pattern that the doctors at PCH Chiropractic in Dana Point have noticed associated in asthmatic patients is Thoracic Kyphosis. This means overly rounded shoulders and mid-back. They noticed that as a result of this posture, respiration can be impaired. By doing a digital posture analysis, we will be able to determine exactly what muscles you should be rehabilitated to create the new optimal posture.

We will make sure to suggest exercises that you can also practice at home to keep the healing going even when you are not in our office. We can also give you advice on work ergonomics and sleeping positions.

It’s been said, “To love is to listen”. We love caring for our patients and pride ourselves on being good listeners to the folks that we are blessed to serve. If you are struggling with asthma, chiropractic care may offer you a ‘fresh breath”.

At PCH Chiropractic, we aim to return your body to optimal functioning, including your ability to breathe easily.