Depression and chiropractic

As we emerge from the doldrums of winter, many of us are rushing outside to play ball with the kids, take a ride on a bike, or just stroll through the neighborhood to enjoy the sunshine. However, there are some people who you may find that are not enjoying life in this manner. Many people in this country suffer from depression, and are unable to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.

Perhaps you know someone who is chronically depressed, medicated for depression, or have experienced the problem yourself. If you have, you know how hard it is to get things back in order, to find happiness again, and to shake off the feeling of despair.

Depression is a serious problem in this country. You have probably witnessed many of the pharmaceutical advertisements on television and in magazines. It seems everywhere we turn, there is another solution involving a pill that changes the way our internal system is operating.

What if I told you there was a way to help your body self regulate and naturally fight depression? Take a look at this study: "The Jan. 31, 2010 issue of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research reported that a 49 year-old female with depression experienced considerable decrease in her symptoms and an improved quality of life after undergoing a course of chiropractic care.

Before the woman began her chiropractic care program, she had a history of depression, asthma, high stress, mood and gastrointestinal changes. She described it as a general loss of lust for life. She had been prescribed the antidepressant, Aropax, by her medical doctor and had been taking it for the previous 14 months.

Previous to and at several points during her chiropractic care, she was given Self-rated health/wellness questionnaires that measured Overall Quality of Life as well as four domains of health: Physical state, Emotional/Mental state, Stress and Life Enjoyment. This questionnaire has been specifically developed to analyze a patient's wellness level.

Over the next seven months of chiropractic care, she "exhibited a substantial increase in quality of life ratings alongside a considerable decrease in presenting symptomology."

She told her doctor, "After six weeks I have been able to come off the anti-depressants, already."

According to the author, all domains of the completed survey have showed notable increases in ratings between initial and follow-up:

• Combined wellness, 35 percent.

• Physical state, 61 percent.

• Mental/emotional State, 49 percent

• Stress evaluation, 19 percent.

• Life enjoyment, 12 percent.

• Overall quality of life, 23 percent.

Commentary: According to the author, previous research has "described the profound effects chiropractic has had on patients' well-being in the self-reported retrospective study of 2,818 people. After three years of chiropractic care, patients found their quality of life was maintained and did not plateau." That is to say that under chiropractic care, wellness doesn't just improve and level off. It just keeps getting better and better over time. Can you give a better reason for getting and staying under chiropractic wellness care?"

You don't have to suffer in vain or deal with side effects of medication to recapture that great quality of life that you were born to live. If you are searching for an answer that doesn't involve possible side effects and damage to your body, why not check out your local chiropractor's office?

To find out more about depression, give us a call at (208) 762-1414. You can also find us on the web at CDAHealth.com or on Facebook and Twitter by searching "Spoelstra Family Chiropractic."