What prevents people from being able to receive the full benefits chiropractic healthcare can offer is their hesitance to give chiropractic care a try. It is their ignorance of chiropractic care, more than anything, that makes them skeptical about it. So they prefer to stay in their comfort zones and not take action.
It is useful to know some important facts about chiropractic care to help you consider seeing a chiropractor for your health benefits.
Things to Know Before Going to a Chiropractor
Chiropractic care is complementary medicine that approaches healthcare holistically. It focuses on the health of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. It holds that the body’s general health and well being is anchored on a healthy nervous system, which controls all and every functions of the body. It also believes that a healthy body, which is free of spinal subluxations or anomalies, is a self-healing mechanism capable of correcting its dysfunctions. That is why chiropractic care does not use drugs or surgery in the treatment of health conditions.
What can you expect in the consultation?
In the initial consultation with the chiropractor, you will be asked questions to ascertain your health conditions and history. You will then be subjected to a routine physical examination to determine any nerve interference or subluxations you may have that will warrant further procedures.
Do you need x-ray check?
The results of your initial examination will lead the chiropractor to make a decision for an x-ray check or not. Should x-ray be necessary, the chiropractor will most likely take x-rays of your spine to help in the diagnosis of the problem, understand any anomalies in the spine and other details that will aid in coming up with the treatment plan.
What are subluxations?
A subluxation is an abnormality in a joint in your spine. This abnormality causes interference in your body’s nervous system, which could be wide-ranging, considering that your nervous system controls every organ, tissue and cell in your body.
What is a spinal adjustment?
Upon confirming through the full consultation that you have subluxations and there is no compelling reason to defer further treatment procedures, the chiropractor will be happy to make adjustments in your spine where subluxations exist. The chiropractor will apply specific manual force to your spine to remove the interference in the nerves. This is what is called chiropractic adjustments.
How long is a chiropractic adjustment?
The chiropractic adjustment is short and takes only a few minutes. It should be noted however, that the adjustment process is not the healing process itself. It only corrects anomalies in your nervous system that will facilitate your body’s healing. Your healthy body, which has been made free of subluxations, is responsible to heal itself. So while the adjustment takes just minutes, the actual body healing may take hours, days or even weeks to complete.
How frequent do I need to visit my chiropractor?
Your personal health goals will determine how long you need to come for chiropractic care. If your main concern is relief from acute or chronic pain, one to a few weeks of visits may be enough. If your goal is to correct the underlying causes of a health issue that you have, it may take you a few months, maybe up to a few years of chiropractor visits. If you want your level of health to be maintained at its peak level, you may opt to undergo a long-term wellness care plan.
When do I start to feel better?
Since your body does the healing, how long until you start to feel the improvements to your health depends on your body. Obviously, the severity of your initial condition and the lifestyle that you have outside of the chiropractor office play an important part on the time it takes you body to heal.
Chiropractic care opens up a new frontier in healthcare and wellness, beyond the confines of conventional medicine. It is unfortunate that people who have not had the opportunity to use chiropractic care in their healthcare needs do not know what they are missing.