Untreated sleep apnea can take a toll on daily life, making it difficult for you to focus or concentrate due to feeling unrested. Sleep apnea disrupts your ability to get a sound night’s sleep, which can leave you feeling lethargic and unmotivated throughout the day. Following a sleep apnea test, a sleep physician will be able to recommend a sleep apnea treatment best for your condition. While the most common form of sleep apnea treatment is a breathing machine that offers continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, you may be looking for another treatment option to provide you with some relief.
Chiropractic care has become a popular treatment option for individuals diagnosed with sleep apnea. But is it as effective as CPAP therapy? How does chiropractic care help sleep apnea? Follow along as ApneaMed explains how a chiropractor can help with sleep apnea and how to get started.
What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes individuals to experience breathing disruptions throughout the night while they sleep. A person can experience a few cessations in breathing up to a few hundred! Breathing disruptions occur due to a blockage in the airway by collapsing soft tissues in the throat. When this happens, the airway becomes blocked, and the individual often snores, chokes or gasps for air in an attempt to reopen their airway. Usually, the patient isn’t aware that this is happening until a partner points out that they stopped breathing multiple times throughout the night. Symptoms of untreated sleep apnea are:
- Loud snoring
- Sore throat
- Feeling lethargic
- Mental fatigue
- Waking abruptly
- Insomnia
- Brain fog
While these symptoms may seem relatively minor, untreated sleep apnea can lead to more dangerous health conditions such as hypertension, stroke, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and more. Visiting a sleep specialist is the first step to finding the proper treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Still, it may also be beneficial to schedule an appointment with a chiropractor to alleviate the symptoms.
How a Chiropractor Can Treat Sleep Apnea
While AutoPAP or CPAP therapy is the most popular form of treatment for sleep apnea, patients may also want to consider looking in chiropractic care. A chiropractor can assist with the following:
Spinal Adjustments
In some instances, breathing difficulties can be tied to a problem with the individual’s spine. The spine plays a central role in how the body functions, and if there is even a slight misalignment, it can impact the patient's quality of sleep. During a chiropractic exam, they will diagnose and resolve any problems, including an obstructed windpipe, pinched nerve, vertebral disc damage, or another ailment that may impact the individual’s ability to breathe while sleeping.
Sleep Positions
Breathing disruptions are more likely to occur when sleeping in particular sleeping positions. A chiropractor will guide sleeping positives that will promote spine stability and reduce the chances of the airway becoming blocked throughout the night.
Lifestyle Adjustments
Along with adjusting the patient’s spine or recommending new sleeping positions, the chiropractor can also look into your overall health history and see what underlying factors may also be contributing to your sleep apnea, including the sleep schedule, weight gain, or posture.
How to Get Started with a Chiropractor for Sleep Apnea
If you suspect you’re suffering from sleep apnea, you must undergo a sleep study to be correctly diagnosed. Depending on your results, a certified sleep specialist will craft a treatment plan to help you improve your sleep.
ApneaMed teams up with chiropractors to provide well-rounded treatment plans to ensure their patients have access to our self-administered at-home sleep apnea test, allowing the patient to get a sleep apnea diagnosis quickly and affordably.
Contact ApneaMed to learn more about our Chiropractors Sleep Apnea Program.