Creating Your Personal Plan for Feeling Great!
Chiropractic Care is built on establishing and maintaining a healthy, fully aligned foundation starting with your spine, which directly impacts your central nervous system. Your nervous system is the master control for all body functions from movement to the way you breathe, so it’s critical to begin there. Think of it as if you were constructing a home. You want your foundation to be strong in order to support the walls, roof, floors, and the rest of your house. It’s the same with your health. Spinal misalignments affect your nervous system which can cause pain, disease and a system that is not functioning at its fullest capacity. By correcting any misalignments with a precise plan of care, your body can support you in your healthiest natural state.
Step 1: Pain Relief
If you are in pain, that is our initial focus. We want to correct your spine to help alleviate any discomfort and to allow the body to begin the healing process. Depending on your condition, the doctor may want to work with you two to three times weekly for the first few months of care in order to give your body the optimal environment for healing as quickly as possible.
Step 2: Restoring Balance
The corrective phase of your chiropractic plan is bring your body into balance allowing your muscles and other tissues the opportunity to heal and strengthen. This helps prevent further injury, illness and pain. During this step of your program, you may require an average of four to eight corrections monthly until your body can maintain the alignment on its own.
Step 3: Wellness Care
When your body is pain free, the new goal becomes keeping it that way! This is accomplished by maintaining your spinal correction, and coming in to be checked periodically, maybe one or more times a month depending on your condition and lifestyle. This way your carefully designed wellness strategy works with you to create ideal health!
What can I expect from my visit?
Going to the Chiropractor is a new experience for many of us. Maybe we’ve heard through a friend or have done some research online. It’s possible that you are just fed up with living in pain and it’s time to do something about it. In either case, your first visit to the chiropractor will really be about getting to know the chiropractor and discussing your history, current condition and goals. This may be a free 15 minute initial exam, which will consist of talking about your condition; or your first actual treatment, which will consist of a thorough health history, orthopedic tests to determine the cause of your discomfort, and treatment. First visits with treatment usually last about an hour.
Subsequent visits will focus on getting you out of pain and back to normal function as quickly as possible using proven techniques. No unnecessary long-term treatment-plans, unnecessary X-rays or tests, fancy gizmos, crystals, magic wands, or “wooo-wooo” medicine will be used, just reliable manual-therapy based on biomechanics and neuroanatomy.
Typical visits last about 30 minutes and consist of 10-15 minutes on heat, and 15-20 minutes of doctor-patient interaction and therapy including soft tissue work, stretching, adjustments and therapeutic exercises if indicated.
Adjustments typically do not hurt, although they may cause some tenderness to the area for a day or two after, similar to what you might feel after working out for the first time in a while. This soreness is caused by the breaking up of adhesions in the soft tissue, and improved motion in the joints as well as the muscles adjusting to the new movement. This soreness is usually very mild and should only last a day or two.
How often to I have to go?
This is determined on a case-by-case basis. Patients will NOT be signed up for unnecessary long-term treatment plans. Many patients visit the office on an “as needed” basis meaning they only come in when they have pain or symptoms. Some more chronic or severe conditions may require more regularly scheduled treatments to begin with and will be converted to an “as needed” basis as soon as possible. Ultimately, you’re treatment schedule will be up to you; suggestions may be made but no pressure will be put on you to receive treatment you do not feel you need or want as.
What results can I expect from treatment?
Although each patient is different, there is a very strong body of evidence showing chiropractic to be the most effective, and cost effective way to treat back and neck pain. This body of evidence is clearly validated by the ever-increasing number of insurance companies now offering chiropractic coverage. Although no medical treatment in 100% effective, the cost and risk to benefit ratios make chiropractic treatment a wise choice for just about everyone. Contact us today to make your appointment and get started towards a pain-free, highly functioning you!