Spring is in the air, the days are getting brighter and longer, smiles are growing as we’re starting to get back out in the sunshine, and the last chiropractic adjustments you had have you bursting with joy and anticipation. Well, maybe that last part is a little strong. Then again, maybe not!

With a renewed interest across the nation in a more natural approach to healthcare, people are becoming more aware of the place of diet, exercise, chiropractic, and nutrition have in their whole health—and not just one of these things. What do I mean by that? Read on.

The past one hundred years or so of medical healthcare has been focused on symptomatic care, and typically just one symptom at a time. In fact, a person can go to one medical provider with just one symptom and be sent to multiple specialists after that, each one adding an additional symptom to address.

For example, you go to your local medical clinic and after telling your healthcare provider about your fatigue, you are now referred to a cardiologist because your heart rate and blood pressure are high, an internist because your blood sugar is too high and they diagnosed you with type 2 diabetes, a mental health care worker because they think you may be depressed, a sleep specialist because you probably have sleep apnea as well—and on and on.

Instead, if you had gone to a more natural-based provider—a chiropractor, functional medicine provider, or nutritionist—you would have probably been told how the symptoms, starting with the fatigue, are all related to stress, diet, and subluxations. And instead of being put on medications for several different symptoms, you’d be recommended some natural supplements to support your adrenals, you’d be given advice on diet and exercise, and you’d have started on some chiropractic adjustments to reset your nervous system and lower stress levels. In addition, you’d have saved a ton of money by going to one natural health doctor versus five or six specialists.

That last part about chiropractic and stress may have lost you. Most people understand that chiropractors are the best first option for neck and back pain, but that’s not even close to the extent of what chiropractic can help. Let me explain.

A 2024 paper published in the prestigious journal Brain Science entitled Neuroplastic Responses to Chiropractic Care: Broad Impacts on Pain, Mood, Sleep, and Quality of Life talks about how chiropractic adjustments affect the brain—not just the spine, but the brain itself. The paper found that “significant improvements in light sleep stage were observed in the chiropractic group along with enhanced overall quality of life post 4 weeks, including significant reductions in anxiety, depression, fatigue, and pain.”

Wow…just wow. Better sleep, better mood, more energy, better quality of life. If I said there was a drug that did that, many people would drive right to their medical provider and ask for a prescription. If I told you there was a supplement that could do that, you’d make purchasing that your next to-do item. But we’re just talking about chiropractic! Yes, that doctor you used to use when you had a crick in your neck or when your back was out. Every time you went in for an adjustment, your sleep, mood, brain, and life were getting a little better.

Please pay special attention to this part of the quote from the article: “with enhanced overall quality of life post 4 weeks”. No, it did not happen overnight or after a couple of visits. Like every other type of serious healthcare, it takes repetition. Imagine if your cardiology therapist, physical therapist, or athletic trainer told you they could get you in top shape in three or four visits. You would think they were crazy! And yet some people still think a “good” chiropractor can fix you up that quick. Actually, studies show that 12 weeks of care is what it takes to reach maximum improvement.

So, let’s go back to that first paragraph—to that part about chiropractic adjustments having you “bursting with joy and anticipation.” If you follow what I just wrote (and look up the references to confirm the truth in what I have said), you will know that I was not exaggerating. That chiropractic can increase your joy, your sense of peace, and your health. Here’s to a spring that feels like spring. It is waiting just outside your chiropractor’s front door.