Chiropractic
Chiropractic Care
The Three Stages of Chiropractic Care
In some ways, chiropractic care is like building a house – certain things must happen in a particular 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.
These concepts apply to your body as well, and chiropractic care addresses many common reasons why people experience pain and other health issues. If something is not right with your body’s foundation, then that needs to be addressed before true health can be achieved. With chiropractic care, your body must go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of chiropractic care . . .
Initial Intensive Care (pain/symptom management)
Because most patients start initially with intensive care, the first thing they want is to feel better making visits more frequent at first. Chiropractic adjustments may be combined with other procedures to help relieve symptoms – depending on age, condition, lifestyle and other factors – repeated visits over weeks or months may be necessary to treat the problem and reduce the symptoms.
Rehabilitative/Corrective Care (improved function/spinal changes)
With reduced pain, the Rehabilitative Phase is for more complete healing to occur. Underlying muscle and soft tissue damage can remain, even after you feel better. At this stage, visit frequency is often reduced. You may be urged to supplement your care with exercises, dietary changes, or other self-care procedures. Without complete healing, discontinuing care now can set the stage for a relapse.
Wellness/Elective Care (non-symptomatic/preventative care measures)
After the recovery of your original problem, regular chiropractic “check-ups” and wellness can preserve your progress. Periodic visits can catch problems before they become major concerns. Wellness-minded adults and their children choose this type of care to look and feel their best. A chiropractic lifestyle can help you save time and money by helping you stay well.