Elves help fulfill orders, but they don’t deliver Christmas wishes. It’s up to Santa Claus to make sure all those gifts arrive before the kids wake up.

Santa may feel nothing but pain after a 24-hour shift of driving an overloaded sleigh, wrangling 8 reindeer (9 if it’s foggy), and scrambling up and down chimneys with a heavy sack on his back. Mrs. Claus tries to massage the sore spots. But for long-lasting pain relief, all Santa wants for Christmas is his chiropractor.

Here are Santa’s top 7 reasons for checking in with his Cedar Park, Texas chiropractor before heading home to the North Pole:

1. Relieve back pain

Twenty-seven vertebrae make human backs flexible. But a long day at the office can strain any back, even Santa’s.

Sitting for long periods of time compresses the spine and pinches nerves.

Lifting heavy objects can strain the muscles and joints. And if he’s not careful about how he lifts and carries his load, Santa could herniate a disk or injure his sciatica nerve.

2. Relieve neck, upper back, and shoulder pain

A 10-pound ball balances precariously on top of your neck and upper back. Well, it tries to.

If you’re like Santa, you may often hold your head in an awkward position, for instance, when you hunch over a smart phone or tablet for hours on end.

Santa, of course, has to find room for his bulky body in that overloaded sleigh. He also strains his shoulders, upper back, and neck to pick up his sack. He then hunches over to carry it while he climbs up and down chimneys. By the end of his shift, Santa’s neck, upper back, and shoulders are tight and sore. Worse, the pain sometimes travels down his arms to his fingers or up and around his head.

3. Relieve tension headaches

At the end of a long day, Santa Claus usually has a headache.

Most people suffer from headaches at one time or another. Some people get severe headaches like migraines, which are caused by sensitivity to outside stimuli such as light.

Chiropractors can treat the most common type of headache. A tension headache is caused by repeated muscle contractions in the head, neck, shoulders, and upper back.

If you’re like Santa and have a headache, you might want to have a chiropractor assess it to see if it’s a treatable through manipulation.

4. Help you heal from joint pain

Santa may need to see a Cedar Park, Texas chiropractor to help heal his joints.

Joints—knees, hips, elbows, shoulders too—connect the musculoskeletal system so your body can move and perform tasks. They often suffer from overuse and repetitive strain.

During the day, Santa’s knees have to carry his entire body and the sack of Christmas wishes. He can injure a knee if he plants his foot and twists the knee.

After a long day, Santa may also be feeling tingling in his hands and feet. For instance, after a night of pulling on sleigh reins, Santa’s carpal tunnel may be swollen, causing him to feel in his hands and fingers.

5. Deal with the fallout from acute, subacute, or chronic pain

Small injuries can lead to more severe, chronic problems such as stress, hypertension, and poor sleep.

Stress is a natural response to a physical or psychological threat. And feeling some stress from every day events is normal. But pain, no matter how minor, can increase Santa’s stress levels.

Pain causes Santa’s blood pressure to go up. It also won’t let him get a good night’s rest. He may even feel cranky.

When Santa’s body feels better, he’ll be able to relax, lower his blood pressure, and return to his jolly good self.

6. Improve athletic performance

With all that climbing and hauling, it’s safe to say that Santa Claus is a natural-born athlete.

But after eating all those cookies in one night, he’s out of shape. So, his New Year’s resolution is to get into better shape so he can make his critical deliveries again next year.

He’ll need a chiropractor, though, to help him heal from his injuries and improve his performance.

7. Pain Medications

Santa can avoid popping pills because his chiropractor in Cedar Park, Texas can reduce his need for pain medication.

Medical doctors are now limiting prescribing pain medication because of the opioid crisis. Instead, they recommend seeking alternative treatments such as spinal manipulation.

How chiropractic care can help Santa and his helpers

Christmas is a special time of year, filled with joy and wonder. But Santa and his helpers can take a beating trying to make magic happen.

Chiropractic care can help them recover from the strain of Christmas and other exertions. It can also help them heal from chronic pain that can lead to other health problems such as hypertension.

Chiropractic care offers a natural, non-invasive alternative to pain management and healing. If you are hurting from acute, sub-acute or chronic pain, you may want to consider visiting a chiropractor.

After an examination, the chiropractor may manipulate Santa’s joints beyond their normal range of motion. This process, then, sets up an environment so the body can heal itself naturally without pain medication. If you’re feeling pain, don’t ignore it. Small pains can become bigger health problems if left untreated. Call Williams Wellness Chiropractic & Acupuncture of Cedar Park, Texas at (512)-814-1018 or send an email to make an appointment today.