Laying the foundation
Chiropractic care is like building a house - certain things have to happen in a particular order in order for everything to stand strong and work correctly. When building a house, if you tried to put up your walls before you had a solid foundation, your walls would be weak and eventually collapse. If you tried to put on your roof before the walls were ready, you would run into the same problem. The same is true for your body. Your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of chiropractic care . . .
Phase 1: Relief Care
If you are in pain when you come into our office, the first objective is to help you feel better. Depending on the severity of your problem, it is typical to need care 2-3 times per week for 4-12 weeks.
Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care
During the corrective care phase, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely, thereby helping prevent injury. It is typical to need care 4-8 times per month for 6-24 months, depending on your overall health and the severity of your problem.
Phase 3: Wellness Care
Once your body has fully healed, it is important to come in for periodic adjustments to avoid problems in the future. Usually, this only requires a quick visit to the chiropractor 1-4 times per month, based on your lifestyle and goals.
Chiropractic and Wellness |
| Wait a minute. I hear a lot about wellness, but what does it really mean? The word wellness has become a catch phrase that means different things to different people. To your chiropractor wellness is the state of health where your body is free of interruption or interference to any part of your nerve system, enabling you full expression and enjoyment of life. For example, how well you feel is not a dependable indicator of your actual health. Even if you feel you're coping well with recurrent long-term and familiar aches and pains you are still overtaxing your body, resulting in a low overall wellness score. My chiropractor treats my spine for back and neck problems, what's that got to do with wellness? Let's start at the beginning. First, it's your nervous system that determines how well you feel mentally, emotionally and physically. When your nervous system isn't up to par because of spinal problems it has to work overtime to compensate. The effect of an overworked or stressed nervous system can be headache, fatigue, muscle ache and pain and a host of other unpleasant symptoms which can become more serious or lead to more complicated conditions as time passes. The solution can be a simple one: chiropractic care. Your chiropractor is a spinal specialist who can help you restore health to your spine. This will allow your nervous system to work at its best so you can get on with your life. So you could say my chiropractor is a wellness specialist, right? Right. Your chiropractor will discover any problems that are interfering with your nervous system and through hands-on healing will work with you to eliminate them. After chiropractic adjustment your body will be better able to heal itself. This, in turn, aids your body in maintaining optimum health and thus contributes to your overall wellness. So yes, in addition to relieving spinal back and neck pain your chiropractor is a wellness specialist. |