You may first consider chiropractic care because you are suffering from some type of acute or chronic back or neck issue. It could have been a referral from your doctor for chiropractic care, or even an idea of a friend or family member that already sees a chiropractor.
Many people will opt not to go to see a professional chiropractor because they think once they start, they aren’t going to be able to stop without the problem coming back. Not many individuals have the extra time to spend at another office on a regular basis, so they will just choose to see their medical doctor for back and neck treatment.
It is absolutely untrue that once you start with chiropractic care, you have to continue going for the rest of your life. However, after many patients get treatment and discover how much it helps improve their quality of life, they realize that they don’t make another appointment because they have to.
They do it because they want to. There are several reasons why ongoing chiropractic care is the best option for your overall health and well-being.
Getting A Complete Health Evaluation
When you go and visit a medical doctor, they request your complete health history and start you in their office with a physical examination. Chiropractors are no different. They want to get a clear understanding of your medical condition so that they can provide you with the proper treatment plan. It is way more than simply walking in and getting a spine or neck adjustment.
Chiropractors are educated and knowledgeable in what has to be done to alleviate pain not only in your spinal cord region, but they can assist with a plethora of health conditions.
Be prepared to answer questions about the following during your first visit:
- How and when your pain started
- Where the pain is located on your body
- Giving a description of the problem – searing, burning, throbbing, sharp, dull
- Explaining whether the pain is constant or if it comes and goes
- Was there any kind of injury that occurred before the pain started
- What you do that makes the pain worse or better
Along with the questions related to your reason for visiting the chiropractor, they will ask you about your pre-existing conditions, prior injuries, and family medical history.
You may also get X-rays and lab work done if the doctor deems that it is necessary to get a better representation of your total health in front of them.
Once a qualified chiropractor has this information on you, they will be able to decide the best course of action for the current issue as well as anything that may arise in the future.
Can Chiropractic Care offer Totally Natural Healing?
Going to see your family doctor for problems with back and neck pain is going to result in a prescription pain killing medication and maybe some physical therapy to start with. While that works temporarily, you are really only putting a cover over the underlying issue.
With all the risks associated with narcotic painkillers, many patients will choose chiropractic care to avoid having to take them.
A chiropractic doctor will never use surgery which can be somewhat invasive or pharmaceuticals to try and heal a problem. The point of the visit to a chiropractor is getting your body’s communication system working more effectively as a whole.
The spinal cord is the central control system of your body. Chiropractors know which areas to work on and manipulate in order to get things operating the way that they should without having to take any more extreme measures.
Some of the chiropractic techniques that you can expect to see or experience include:
- Manual adjustments
- Electrical stimulation of muscles
- Massage
- Ultrasounds
Through the various procedures that a chiropractor has the ability to carry out on a regular basis, your organs, cells, and other systems of the body are going to function together a lot more efficiently.
Prevention From Future Problems
There’s a pretty decent chance that if you are visiting the chiropractor for a problem with your neck or back, it’s because of an injury. Although that isn’t always the case, it’s fairly common.
After your injury has been treated and healed correctly, you might think that you’re good to go. However, in many of the injury cases that chiropractors see, there is a higher chance of the same area of the body causing problems down the road after it has been damaged once already.
By visiting a chiropractic office regularly after the issue has been cleared up, you are increasing your chances of prevention from future flare ups. Those areas of the body will become stronger with regular adjustments making it harder if not impossible for the same injury to happen again.
In addition to that, qualified doctors of chiropractic medicine understand that it’s essential to keep your body healthy naturally. Instead of waiting for an illness to arrive and then treat it, they work to keep it from happening at all in the first place.
There are a variety of factors that relate to your overall health and wellness including:
- Nutrition
- Sleep
- Exercise
- Heredity
- Environment
The focus of continued chiropractic care is to focus on all of these areas along with your treatment from your professional. Chiropractors aren’t interested in dealing with the effects of a disease if they can prevent it from the start.
Do Chiropractors Working With Other Healthcare Experts
Your chiropractor will know when you see them regularly if something that is happening to you is beyond their capabilities of fixing.
In some situations, there is no possible way that chiropractic care can fix the underlying issues that you have occurring with your neck or back.
They will refer you out to a medical professional for further evaluation and treatment.
When you go and visit a medical doctor and get the care you need, your chiropractor will be more than willing to work in conjunction with their treatment plan to get you the best possible care and recovery from whatever procedure you had to have completed.
Adding Chiropractic Care To Your Schedule
You might still be thinking that with work, kids, family, and everything else you already have going on, there is no possible way that you can add another appointment to your calendar.
Just know that after you visit a chiropractor and get an adjustment, you’re going to understand what normal feels like. If you’ve been suffering for some time, you might have completely forgotten what it’s like to live free from pain and discomfort. When you reach that point with proper care, you aren’t going to want to go back to the previous way of feeling.
In Conclusion
That does not mean that you have to go in and get adjusted once a day or even once a week. Many clients will go in for monthly or bi-monthly treatment. In the event that something happens in between regular visits, a trip in between is never out of the question.
You will know immediately when something feels off, and you’re going to want to take care of it as soon as possible. Of course, the best way to keep that from happening is by preventing it. That’s what you do with ongoing chiropractic care worked into your regular routine.
Author Bio:
Dr. Brent Wells, D.C. founded Better Health Chiropractic & Physical Rehab in Alaska in 1998 and has been a chiropractor for over 20 years. His practice has treated thousands of patients from different health problems using various services designed to help give you long-lasting relief.
Dr. Wells is also the author of over 700 online health articles that have been featured on sites such as Dr. Axe and Lifehack. He is a proud member of the American Chiropractic Association and the American Academy of Spine Physicians. And he continues his education to remain active and updated in all studies related to neurology, physical rehab, biomechanics, spine conditions, brain injury trauma, and more.
Ken Weiss is a health blogger who is passionate about natural and holistic cures for men’s health issues. He is the founder of menshealthcures.com
