What to Expect

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: Pain Relief

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 4-8 weeks.   Some severe conditions can warrant longer treatment times, but these are not typical.

Phase 2: Rehab

During the Rehab phase, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely.  Additionally, during this rehab phase, tight muscles are stretched and weak muscles are strengthened, thereby helping prevent injury. It is typical to need care 1-2 times per week for 4-8 weeks, depending on your overall health and the severity of your problem.  Again, this phase can be prolonged for severe conditions.  Once this phase of care is completed, the patient is released from active care.  At this point, some patients choose to discontinue care until they have a problem of some sort in the future.  However, many patients tell us they feel better than they have felt in years.  And, they want to do some sort of preventative care to optomize their health, just as one would exercise or eat a healthy diet.  This leads us to the next phase of care.  

Phase 3: Wellness Care

Once your body has fully healed, some of our patients choose to optomize their health and come in for periodic adjustments to avoid problems in the future. Usually, this only requires a quick visit to the chiropractor every month or two.  Some patients find that they can go longer between Wellness visits.  It all depends on the patient's individual lifestyle and goals.  There is no "cookie cutter" approach.  Some insurance companies do not re-imburse for Wellness visits, but affordable care is always available in our office.