How many visits will it take for me to get better?

Have you ever had braces on your teeth or known someone who has?  How long it’ll take to achieve a corrected, straight set of teeth?  2 years?  3 years?  Maybe 4 years?  The good news is the time it takes to achieve a correction in your spine is a drop in the bucket compared to the orthodontist.  With teeth, constant steady pressure over time is what initially corrects them back to normal.  The same holds true for the spine.

You must remember that the body wants to be healthy and unrestricted.  However, it is much like a tug-of-war between muscles, ligaments and tendons of the spine that have been improperly trained in the way they should be.

The chiropractic adjustment removes the restriction by pushing the bone in the right direction to help the body return to normal and if reinforcement occurs on a regular basis the spine achieves a state of correction and the body is able to restore itself back to health.

A spinal vertebra that is restricted in motion is like any other injury.  It may also involve pulled, stretched or torn muscles and ligaments.  In severe cases, such as automobile injuries, even ruptured joints.  These injuries take time to heal.  Studies show that damage to the nerves themselves take even longer.  The problem is, many times this healing process is complicated or prolonged by old injuries that have developed arthritis due to age, poor nutrition, less than adequate exercise and stress.  All of these factors add to minor reinjuries, further complicating complete healing and to slowing down of the healing process.  Also, remember your spinal muscles have an actual physical memory which has become used to a certain position of the spine.  To retrain this memory takes time and effort.  But, consider this: Since your Lifeline (nervous system) is ultimately affected by your spinal condition, you think it’s worth the effort?

Have you ever heard of someone who never had a sick day in his or her life, drop dead from a heart attack, stroke or some other sudden sickness?  Unfortunately, many folks today are walking time bombs.  They are on the verge of collapse.  Yet, at present they feel just fine.  Many automobiles that ran just great yesterday sit in the engine overhaul shop today due to overlooked maintenance items.

It’s wonderful when you are feeling better.  Please share that with us! Just don’t make the mistake of letting the symptoms be your guide.  Many sudden health crises today could have been prevented yesterday.

Would you consider yourself an addict while brushing your teeth?  How often do you do that?  Why do we do these things?  BECAUSE WE LIKE THE BENEFITS!  The interesting thing about anything positive to health: Exercise, good nutrition, daily intake of vitamins and minerals, herbs, proper rest, showering, etc.; the more you keep regular with, the better you feel, the better they are for you and the less sick you become.  We term these habits health maintenance.  You can stop any time you choose.  What tends to happen, though, is that most folks like the benefits of regular chiropractic care so that don’t want to quit.  Spinal maintenance, through chiropractic care, helps keep the body well so it stands less of a chance of getting sick.  That’s not addiction.  That’s just smart!

In essence, what defers between the two professions is our objectives or purpose.  Conventional medicine today has as its goal the relief of symptoms.  This is done using drugs, surgery and any other method which effectively accomplishes this goal.  Chiropractic is different.  Our goal is to allow your body to function at its maximum potential by getting to the cause of your problem.  At the core of chiropractic velocity is the removal of interference to your nervous system through spinal adjustments because nerves control power and heal every part of your body

An analogy would be if you have a lawn which is dying and turning brown.  Treat the symptoms by painting the grass green (medicine).  It seems okay, for a while.  But the dying grass will soon disappear, leaving holes in your lawn.  Treat the CAUSE by turning on the water supply to the grass.  The result will be healthy grass, which becomes green and lush.

Back pain is merely the “tip of the iceberg,” usually indicating deeper nervous system problems.  In years past, people with all kinds of ailments, including stomach problems, menstrual difficulties, asthma, blood diseases, tinnitus, irritability, mood swings, bursitis, arthritis, fatigue, anxiety, high blood pressure and many other difficulties sought the services of chiropractors and got well.

In fact, the nervous system, endocrine system and immune system are inextricably linked. Together they share tiny messenger molecules that mediate communication between them, creating optimal responses for the body to adapt and heal appropriately.

Until recently, one of these messenger molecules, IL-2, was thought of as an immune system molecule. But recent studies have clearly shown its presence and activity in the nervous system, leading researchers to believe that neural dysfunctions due to spinal misalignments are stressful to the body and can cause abnormal changes that lead to a poorly coordinated immune response.  The chiropractic adjustment frees up your body’s own defenses and healing capabilities by removing the nerve interference.  Once the nerve interference is removed, the immune system is free to function as it should and a properly functioning body can heal more quickly when damaged.

Your nervous system controls and powers every single part of your body.  Not some, ALL.  Wouldn’t you think that’s kind of important?  The main cable running from the brain (the master control organ) is the spinal cord and travels through the core of your spine.  Nerve roots (wires) branch off from the spinal cord and feed into every organ and cell of your body.  A spinal vertebra, which has lost its proper motion and alignment relative to the rest of the spine can interfere with the proper flow of nerve signals to the rest of the body.  This causes malfunction and ultimately, disease.  These restricted vertebrae are termed subluxations and returning motion to them is your chiropractor’s job.  By the way, sometimes subluxations can cause pain in the back, but most do not.

The lack of understanding concerning chiropractic, what it is and how it works, is the basis of this concern.  Certainly, this thinking is rooted in fear.  Fear of the unknown and anything new has held people back for generations; probably as long as people have existed on earth.  As difficult as it may be to believe by today’s standards, doctors in the last century were not required to scrub their hands between doing an autopsy and examining a living patient.  As a result, many patients contracted infections and died.  Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was ostracized and ridiculed in the early 20th century for suggesting that washing of the hands might help keep many patients from getting infection and dying.  He was not only misunderstood, but he was finally dismissed from his position for suggesting that Doctor’s hands might be unclean.  Only after germs and bacteria were actually proven to exist then they realize how her right Dr. Semmel Bice was.  The handwashing recommendation was made policy and brought about new hygiene standards in the healthcare industry.

There are many people today with multiple views of health problems that seem to have no solution, yet can be helped through chiropractic care; probably people right in your family or circle of friends.  The only thing keeping them from getting the care that they need his lack of knowledge; nobody ever told them what chiropractic is and what it could do for them.  The knowledge you now possess about chiropractic can be lifesaving to someone.  PLEASE DON’T KEEP A SECRET.

More and more enlightened medical doctors today are beginning to understand the importance of chiropractic spinal care, but sadly, many doctors are still of the mindset of the body is best treated with drugs and surgery.  Unfortunately, there is an economic side to this issue as well: If your body is getting well under natural chiropractic care, you are buying less drugs and requiring less other forms of medical care as well.  Understand that drugs are multi-billion dollar industry in our country and anyone who is to heal without using their products risks rocking the proverbial boat.  It is not good business.  Sad, but true.

Another reason for a negative attitude exhibited by a physician is that many doctors have never had any one explain chiropractic to them.  Try this: If a physician tells you anything disparaging about chiropractic, just asked him or her “Exactly what is chiropractic and what does a chiropractor do?”  The answer to that question will tell you plenty.  Your doctor in most cases is sincere and has your well-being in mind.  But, many times the doctor has just been misinformed regarding chiropractic.

You may not know that in Europe many doctors are referring to chiropractors and doing research into chiropractic.  One article published in “Manual Medicine” recommended that all children be checked by a chiropractor after birth.  Pretty amazing stuff!  Do you realize that in other parts of the world, doctors are paid for the service of keeping the patients healthy?  If you get sick under this health plan, then it indicates that something went wrong with the program and the patient is treated until well again at no charge.

As a patient relatively new to this office and possibly to chiropractic in general, it is understandable that you would see a chiropractic clinic as a place to go find relief from a back strain, neck pain or headaches.  But diseases such as asthma, allergies, ear infections etc. and other chronic illnesses are not seen as chiropractic concerns until a person becomes a chiropractic patient.  Most people growing up in this country are trained to go to the medical doctor when they have a symptom or health problem.  However, once the patients realize what chiropractic is all about and how it helps to get and keep them well, we do in fact become the primary care physician and find people consulting us before going in for medical treatment.  The idea of a chiropractor being the primary care doctor and the medical doctor being the specialist might seem strange to you, but if you think about it, which profession is the more conservative approach to injury and disease?

If I could hurt a child do you think I would be doing this?  In chiropractic, there is actually a specialty in chiropractic pediatrics.  Since beginning my practice, I have adjusted over 500 children and have taken a great deal of postgraduate training in the care of pediatric patients.  Sadly, the national average for children receiving chiropractic care is only about 10% and I am well versed in the most gentle and safe means to adjust the pediatric spine as it needs it.  It is vital for their health.  It is the infants and children who should be checked and adjusted most often, so they grow up with health and don’t grow up having the same problems that we as adults suffer from.  Think about this: Children are learning to run/walk and constantly falling.  If you think about what falling does to our bodies, just imagine what repeated falls does to a child’s body.

If you look on the back of your insurance card, it will give you a telephone number to call and ask what services your insurance covers.  Most insurances cover chiropractic care, but for only a limited number of visits.  Our office staff is trained on verification of chiropractic coverage and dealing with insurance companies.  We electronically confirm your insurance for you and find out how much coverage your insurance allows for chiropractic visits.  In our office, we believe you are entitled to the care you need; not what your insurance policy pays for.  Many policies are created with “crisis” care in mind.  That is, as with the medical model, once the symptoms are gone, you’re done.  As we’ve explained, there is a lot more to getting you well then just treating your symptoms.  Unfortunately, most insurance today aren’t set up to accommodate this kind of healthcare, it is much more sick care oriented.