What to Expect

Laying the foundation

Chiropractic care is like building a house – certain things have to happen in a particular order in 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. The same is true for your body. Your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of chiropractic care . . .

Phase 1: Relief Care

If you are in pain when you come into our office, the first objective is to help you feel better. This phase of care will focus on decreasing inflammation and pain as quickly as possible using extra gentle methods.

Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care

During the corrective care phase, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely, thereby preventing relapses of pain and further injury.  Strengthening rehabilitative exercises will be taught to the patient in our rehab room to support injured or weak areas of the body.  Myofascial release (muscle work) may be performed to lengthen short, restricted muscles and improve the body's balance and posture.  Home exercises will be given to every patient to perform on their own or in a gym environment.  This is a vital step to take to insure that the corrections that we work hard to achieve hold long term.  Specific spinal adjustments will continue to be performed during this phase of care to correct the body's alignment.

Phase 3: Wellness Care/ Maintenance Care

Once your body has fully healed, it is important to come in for periodic adjustments to avoid problems in the future.   Most people understand the importance of seeing their dentist every six months for a check up and cleaning.  Why should you treat your spine and the rest of your body any differently?  Of course, one major difference is that the teeth are the only bones that are visible on the outside.  The spine is hidden on the inside so it is easy to forget about taking care of it!  However, since it houses and protects your body's nervous system, the spine is one of the most important structures in the human body to take care of.  Chiropractors are specialists who spend 4 years of doctorate level training on the spine and the rest of the skeletal system so who is better qualified to keep your spine healthy?