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FAQ's Chiropractic

What is Chiropractic?

"Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health.  Chiropractic care is used most often to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches. Doctors of Chiropractic – often referred to as Chiropractors or Chiropractic Physicians – practice a drug-free, hands-on approach to health care that includes patient examination, diagnosis and treatment. Chiropractors have broad diagnostic skills and are also trained to recommend therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as to provide nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling."-American Chiropractic Association Website

What can I expect from my first visit with a Doctor of Chiropractic?

You will be asked to fill out general patient history information. After you've completed your paperwork you will meet with a Doctor of Chiropractic who will perform a detailed consultation regarding your overall health as well as the specific problem that brought you to our office. After the consultation you will receive an orthopaedic and neurological exam. The Doctor of Chiropractic will then let you know what their working diagnosis is and whether or not they believe Chiropractic is a good fit for your condition. If you are a candidate for Chiropractic care, treatment recommendations will be made.  You will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have before beginning care.

Does Chiropractic treatment hurt?

Because the area of complaint is often tender and inflamed it is possible that you might experience discomfort when you receive a Chiropractic adjustment. Under most circumstances any discomfort you feel will be minimal.

Will I be required to have x-rays before I'm treated in this office?

Whether or not x-rays will be required before you receive treatment in our office will depend upon a number of factors including but not limited to your individual case history, general health history as well as physical and neurological examination results obtained by our doctors.

Will I be asked to sign up for and pay in advance for a predetermined amount of treatments?

No.

How many treatments will be required to treat my condition?

While it is true that the majority of chiropractic patients will require a series of treatments-typically ranging from 6 to 12 visits- we do not ask that any patient in our office sign up for and/or pay for a pre-set package of treatment. Some patients require less treatment than is typical for their condition while others require more. We believe the best approach is to begin with a typical standard and frequency of care for your condition and re-evaluate and advise you on treatment and visit recommendations based on how your condition is progressing.

How do I know I'm going to a qualified Doctor of Chiropractic?

Doctors of Chiropractic are required to obtain approximately 90 hours of undergraduate course work focusing on anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and physics before they are admitted into the Doctor of Chiropractic program. Once in the Doctor of Chiropractic program students undergo approximately four years of graduate level education focusing not only on chiropractic adjustment methods but also on diagnosis and treatment of disease, radiology, and physical therapy modalities. Before being licensed by the state that they practice in Doctors of Chiropractic must pass Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and a Physical Therapy portion of National Boards administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Additionally, Doctors of Chiropractic are required to undergo continuing education annually depending on the requirements of their state.

I've heard once you go to a chiropractor you have to keep going back. Is this true?

Chiropractic treatment doesn't do anything to change your body or create a "need" for continuing Chiropractic care. It is often true that patients that have success with Chiropractic for their particular condition do return to a Chiropractor at some point in the future-sometimes for the same condition. The return to Chiropractic care is usually because instead of dealing with a specific pain by taking over the counter or prescription medications they have discovered that they can deal with their pain by getting regular Chiropractic adjustments. It is not unusual for a patient to realize during the course of Chiropractic treatment that they no longer have to deal with their "normal everyday pain". Most patients don't want to return to chronic pain and would instead rather seek regular Chiropractic care.

I've heard claims that Chiropractic can treat conditions other than those of the spine. How is that possible?

Nerves from your spine branch out to your entire body-all of your organ systems, muscles, and joints. If you have vertebra that aren't in proper alignment and/or aren't moving properly then that nerve is either getting too much or not enough nerve input from your spinal chord and nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments help align vertebrae and support proper joint motion in the spine. This helps to insure proper nervous system input at a spinal cord level and that nervous system response can have a trickle down effect to any tissue, organ, etc. that is at the end of that nerve path.

Is Chiropractic Safe?

Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of back pain, neck pain, joint pain of the arms or legs, headaches, and other neuromusculoskeletal complaints. Although chiropractic has an excellent safety record, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are very small. Many patients feel immediate relief following chiropractic treatment, but some may sometimes experience mild soreness or aching, just as they do after some forms of exercise. Current literature shows that minor discomfort or soreness following spinal manipulation typically fades within 24 hours.1- Senstad O, et al. Frequency and characteristics of side effects of spinal manipulative therapy. Spine 1997 Feb 15;435-440

Is Chiropractic safe for children?

Chiropractic is recognized as safe for children and babies. Modifications are made to adjustment techniques so that they are safe for every age group and level of health.

Why would a child need Chiropractic care?

When you stop to think of the many positions children and babies fall asleep in and the many times they fall, it's easy to see that their growing bodies can benefit from Chiropractic care. Keeping your child adjusted throughout their growth cycles helps to ensure that their joints and spines develop optimally and can reduce the likelihood of scoliosis and joint dysfunction later in life.

Is Chiropractic safe during pregnancy?

Yes. Chiropractic is recognized as a safe, drug free approach to relieving pain during pregnancy. Physiological changes associated with pregnancy often lead to dysfunction of the hips, pelvis, and low back.

Do Medical Doctors recognize Chiropractic care?

Yes. In fact we receive several referrals from Medical Doctors in our area. We believe patients obtain optimal health when varying types of medical providers work together for the good of the patient.

How popular is Chiropractic care?

Approximately 10% of the population currently receives Chiropractic care. Chiropractic use has nearly doubled over the past 20 years. In March 2010, Consumer Reports reported Chiropractic had the highest satisfaction rating for treatment of low back pain. Additional, “Chiropractic patients were found to be more satisfied with their back care providers after four weeks of treatment than were medical patients. Results from observational studies suggested that back pain patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than with medical care. Additionally, studies conclude that patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than they were with physical therapy after six weeks.”-- Hertzman-Miller et al (2002), American Journal of Public Health

Is Chiropractic effective for both Acute and Chronic Pain?

Yes-“Patients with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher for chiropractic patients. A higher proportion of chiropractic patients (56 percent vs. 13 percent) reported that their low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain was worse or much worse.” – Nyiendo et al (2000), Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. In a Randomized controlled trial, 183 patients with neck pain were randomly allocated to manual therapy (spinal mobilization), physiotherapy (mainly exercise) or general practitioner care (counseling, education and drugs) in a 52-week study. The clinical outcomes measures showed that manual therapy resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy and general practitioner care. Moreover, total costs of the manual therapy-treated patients were about one-third of the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care. -- Korthals-de Bos et al (2003), British Medical Journal

“Acute and chronic chiropractic patients experienced better outcomes in pain, functional disability, and patient satisfaction; clinically important differences in pain and disability improvement were found for chronic patients.”– Haas et al (2005), Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. “In our randomized, controlled trial, we compared the effectiveness of manual therapy, physical therapy, and continued care by a general practitioner in patients with nonspecific neck pain. The success rate at seven weeks was twice as high for the manual therapy group (68.3 percent) as for the continued care group (general practitioner). Manual therapy scored better than physical therapy on all outcome measures. Patients receiving manual therapy had fewer absences from work than patients receiving physical therapy or continued care, and manual therapy and physical therapy each resulted in statistically significant less analgesic use than continued care.” – Hoving et al (2002), Annals of Internal Medicine

Can Chiropractic Care Treat Headaches?

Both Chiropractic and Acupuncture are proven treatments for various types of acute and chronic headaches. “Cervical spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement in headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck pain and/or neck dysfunction and headache.” -- Duke Evidence Report, McCrory, Penzlen, Hasselblad, Gray (2001) “The results of this study show that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches. . . Four weeks after cessation of treatment . . . the patients who received spinal manipulative therapy experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in all major outcomes in contrast to the patients that received amitriptyline therapy, who reverted to baseline values.” ‘-- Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Boline et al. (1995)

What causes my spine to be out of alignment?

Vertebral subluxations are displacements of the spinal bones (vertebrae) that can cause stress to your spinal cord and nervous system. Subluxations may be caused by poor sleeping habits, poor posture, repetitive motions, strenuous exercise, injuries, auto accidents, sports activities, slips or falls, and in some cases, the birthing process itself.

Will insurance cover treatment in a Chiropractic facility?

Most health insurances offer some type of coverage for Chiropractic services. We accept most insurances including those for Personal Injury, Auto Accidents, and Worker's Compensation Injuries. We are In Network providers for the following insurance companies: Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO & PPO, United Health Care, Humana, Medicare, Coventry, Aetna, and Freedom Network. We are an Out of Network provider for Cigna. If your insurance isn't listed please call our office to see if we accept your insurance.