Tell me about...Women's Health Women have most of the same health concerns that men have. But women face many health problems unique to them or that more often or more seriously affect women than men. Doctors of chiropractic have always recognized this and have developed and provided a wide variety of treatment options specifically suited to women's health needs. Because of this (and because most women tend to have a heightened awareness of their physical condition and are accustomed to seeking help from health professionals), more women than men regularly rely on chiropractic care. Women must contend with specific health concerns raised by their female physiology, by the fact that the female body is designed to be able to bear children. Issues involving pregnancy and the menstrual cycle are centrally important health matters for women. Being pregnant, preparing for pregnancy, and recovering from childbirth are female indispositions. Pain during the menstrual period (dysmenorrhea), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and chronic pelvic pain are among the distressing conditions which disturb the otherwise healthy lives of many women. Older women are much more likely than men to develop such serious ailments as Alzheimer's disease (which burdens the afflicted with near-total memory loss and reduced mental functioning) and osteoporosis (in which the bones become weak, brittle, and porous; the posture stooped with the shoulders rounded). These are just two of the problems of aging that women must be aware of and can take steps to prevent. Less ominous, but more pervasive, are headaches. Women may get headaches during menstrual periods and pregnancy, as well as under ordinary circumstances. They are more likely to be troubled enough by headache pain to find a way to overcome it. Similarly, women are often victims of osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) and have a 200 to 300 percent greater chance than men of suffering rheumatoid arthritis. What can chiropractic do? Chiropractic offers demonstrated relief for many of women's health problems. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to lessen the discomfort of dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain. Numerous back disorders that strike women are addressed and remedied daily, all over the world, by chiropractors skilled in treating those problems and in improving their patients' capacity to cope and to improve. More and more women have become interested in diet, nutrition, weight loss, exercise, sports and physical activity, and methods for maintaining wellness and general fitness – about which chiropractors have considerable knowledge that they are eager to share with their patients. Chiropractic wellness programs are particularly well-suited to the special needs of pregnant women, new mothers, women who are overweight, who are in stressful situations, and others who need to protect and strengthen their bones, nerves, joints, muscles and overall health. Great numbers of women rely on chiropractors because of the caring interaction that develops between patient and doctor and because of chiropractic's effective combination of expert diagnosis, effective spinal adjustments and soft tissue therapy, exercise and nutritional guidance, and lifestyle counseling. More linksReferences • Kokjohn, K, Schmid, DM, Triano, JJ, Brennan, PC.
The effects of spinal manipulation on pain and prostaglandin levels in
women with primary dysmenorrhea. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics, June 1992; vol. 15, no. 5, pp270-85. |