How often should I get treated by a chiropractor? When should I go see a chiropractor? These are a few of many questions that we see and get asked in our practice when we are doing events in the area. Any person can come see a chiropractor and you do not need a referral from your primary doctor most of the time. However, it may not always be a bad idea to speak with your primary care doctor so you are both on the same page. The sad part is that many people may not go to a chiropractor, due to several reasons but that may include: a bad experience, they did not get any relief, many have heard horror stories about chiropractors, or they have no clue what a chiropractor does! That seems very sad in my opinion because there are many things we can help and things we can do to help you live a healthier lifestyle.
So when should you go to a chiropractor? Well, a good chiropractor will not only help you decrease your pain but should also help you perform your daily activities better and pain free. Most chiropractors will adjust you, based on what they find when looking at your spine and joints. As a professional, we look for dysfunctional movement in your spine where it isn’t moving correctly and correct that region. You may not be adjusted every single time or your whole body for that matter, but it should be based on what they find. This being said, you may have pain in this area or you may not, but we are looking for the main cause of your pain. Everyone should get your spine checked even if you do not have pain because we can see and find things that may cause more pain or injury later on. The other great thing is that chiropractors can do more than adjusting your joints.
What is this great you might ask? Well, what does those bones protect and what moves your body? It’s your nervous system and muscles, of course. So we can help with certain conditions that affect your nerves and muscles as well. In our clinic, we work on soft tissue/muscle, perform therapeutic exercises, give nutritional advice, and use acupuncture for pain control. We use all the tools in our basket to promote overall health and wellness. All of these tools help support the the main thing chiropractors do, which is manipulation.
How often should I go, you might ask? Well, that tends to vary with what you are being seen for and how much pain you may be in. When you first come into the office, we perform a thorough exam and try to give you a good assessment of what is going on with you. A treatment plan is then given to give you, the patient, an idea of what it takes to fix the problem and decrease your pain. We recommend a treatment plan so that you know what is going on and it gives us a guideline for treatment. Treatment plans change with each situation and patient so someone could be seen 2x/week for 3 weeks, then 1x/week for 6 weeks, then 1x/month for 6 months for stage 3, while someone in extreme pain may be 3x/week for 2 weeks for stage 1, and so on forth for stage 2 and stage 3. The main reason we talk about a treatment plan is so that we can get through the different stages of healing. Those stages as mentioned above are 3 stages: Acute or Pain stage, Recovery or Stabilization stage, and the Maintenance or Wellness stage.
Stage 1 is for acute conditions and when in pain so we want to get you out of pain as quickly and safely as possible. Stage 2 is when we help stabilize the condition and focus on muscle and nervous system control. This is the prime excellent time to work on exercises for rehabilitation, posture, and strengthening. Stage 3 is for maintenance care to maintain proper health. This is where insurance stops paying but it is up to the patient if they would like to continue for maintenance care. The thing with treatment plans is that some people heal quicker than others so the treatment plan can and should change as you go. It all depends on the person and if they follow recommendations of care. There are always people who want the quick fix and we can accommodate that but everyone is better off correcting the cause of pain and fixing the problem. People ask all the time if I can help with this and that and what we can do to help; we can give you advice to follow but until we see you in the office and have the time to properly diagnose it, we don’t know that best way to treat you and your condition. I can’t correctly help a person that I have never seen before unless I have the time to examine your issue in depth. This is why you should come see a chiropractor to get evaluated and see if it is for you and your condition. Following our recommendations for care to help you get better quicker and stay healthier is also a great way to get better and stay pain free.
Our chiropractors here at Fletcher Chiropractic in Lincoln, Nebraska have years of experience with multiple musculoskeletal injuries and conditions. They are here to help and get you out of pain so give us a call today to set up an appointment.