Three Self-Assessments That You Can Perform To Check Your Body's Symmetry
If you're interested in seeing what a chiropractor can do for you, your next steps are simple — you just need to call a local clinic and set up an appointment. However, if you aren't in physical pain but are curious to see if your body may be able to benefit from the care of a chiropractor, it's possible to do some self-assessment. Even to the untrained eye, it's often possible to catch certain physical issues that a chiropractor can fix for you. These physical issues might not have you in pain, but they're a sign that your body lacks balance, and that often means that pain is around the corner. Here are three self-assessments to perform:
Shoulders
Without a shirt on, stand in front of your bathroom mirror and allow your arms to hang naturally. Keep your head in a neutral position and strive to stand upright but in a relaxed manner. Draw an imaginary line across the tops of your shoulders, and then assess the angle of this line. Ideally, it should be as close to horizontal as possible, but the reality is that one of your shoulders may be noticeably higher than the other — resulting in the line being slightly diagonal. Shoulders in this state can eventually cause pain in your shoulders, neck, or upper back.
Feet
Take your shoes and socks off and stand on a hard floor in a natural position. Don't try to position your feet in a parallel manner — instead, just focus on standing in the way that feels natural to you. Look down and note the relationship between your feet. You want them to essentially be a mirror reflection of each other. For example, they don't need to be parallel, but if one foot points outward at 10 degrees, you want the other to do the same. Feet that aren't mirrored in this manner can indicate problems with your knees or even your hips, which may be causing pain.
Head
Standing in front of the mirror once again, maintain a relaxed but upright standing posture. As you look at yourself in the mirror, focus on the position of your head. Is it straight, or slightly turned to one side? One way to check this is to look at your ears; if you can see more of one ear than the other, it's a sign that your head is slightly turned. A head that is rotated to either side can indicate neck problems; if the turning is severe, you've likely already experienced neck pain, but in the case of a minor turn, you may still feel OK. If you're concerned about what you see in any of these self-assessments, make time to visit a chiropractor.
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