Your first visit to a chiropractor typically involves patient intake, physical examination, possibly some diagnostic studies, a discussion of findings, and potentially your first treatment. You’ll start with paperwork to document your medical history, current condition, and treatment goals. The chiropractor will then conduct a comprehensive physical examination, possibly supplemented with diagnostic studies like X-rays, if needed. They will discuss your diagnosis, proposed treatment plan, and expected outcomes with you. Depending on your specific situation, you may also receive your first chiropractic adjustment during this visit, which is a specific manipulation aimed at improving joint function and movement. To facilitate ease of movement during your visit, it’s advisable to wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing.
Chiropractors primarily treat musculoskeletal conditions, focusing on issues related to the bones, joints, muscles, and nerves. They commonly address conditions like back and neck pain, headaches, joint pain and arthritis, sports injuries, muscle tension, and imbalances, rehabilitation after musculoskeletal injuries, and sciatica and nerve pain. Chiropractors may help alleviate symptoms and improve function through manual adjustments and other therapeutic techniques. It’s important to consult with a qualified healthcare provider to determine the most suitable treatment approach for your specific condition.
Symptoms may include pain or tenderness in or around one or both jaws with varying degrees of severity. Other symptoms may include earaches, tightness in your face, headaches, neck pain, clicking sensation when opening mouth wide, and muscular cramps.
It varies from person to person. On average, visiting a chiro over 4-6 weeks should be sufficient depending on the condition, of course. After your initial appointment, you’ll need specific treatments based on the source of the pain through spinal manipulation, soft tissue therapy, and exercise therapy. Depending on your root issue, some people can feel better after a single treatment, while other more complicated issues (like disc herniation) can take six months up to a year to treat.
Yes, chiropractors can help reduce and even eliminate neck pain! Neck pain is often caused by misalignment of the spine, which puts pressure on the nerves in your neck. A chiropractor can adjust subluxations (misaligned vertebra) which are believed to cause nerve interference. This adjustment takes the pressure off the nerves, allowing for better blood flow promoting healing within the body.
If you are diagnosed with scoliosis, please tell your chiropractor during your initial assessment. A chiropractor can effectively reduce the risk factors of scoliosis, depending on the type of scoliosis. Scoliosis can be treated with specific types of chiropractic adjustments and exercises to improve range of motion, flexibility, posture & more. A Chiropractor can figure out the cause of scoliosis and treat it accordingly.
Yes, the chiropractic treatment methods are very safe, and our team members are all experienced, qualified practitioners.
Yes, chiropractors are trained to analyze your posture and make corrections. A chiropractor would have to examine your posture to establish a baseline for your proper posture to develop an effective treatment plan. Chiropractic care can be used as part of an overall plan to improve your health through improved posture, strength, flexibility, and coordination. Posture refers to the way you hold your body while standing, sitting, or lying down. It is crucial to maintain good posture to keep your joints stacked vertically over one another.
There is no concrete answer as to how often you should see a chiropractor. Typically, someone suffering from low back pain would come into their chiropractor on a weekly basis for a few weeks up to a few months. It depends on the patient, but an average person in good health should see a chiropractor once or twice every month for regular maintenance. If you are experiencing a reoccurring issue or have recently been involved in an accident or a fall, your needs may be more advanced and require more frequent treatment.
The primary cause of TMD is a muscle fault, so-called “trigger points”. The jaw cannot move without muscles. The jaw muscles have two origins and attach to the jawbone on each side, which moves the jaw front-back and sideways. There are many different things that can cause TMD, including teeth grinding, poor posture, stress, injury, infection, arthritis, or other conditions.
The crack or pop that you hear is the formation of gas within the joints. That crack is not indicative of a successful adjustment. The actual adjustment comes from putting the force through the joint, the high velocity, low amplitude, adjustment, or force to the joint space. One issue some chiropractors have is “chasing the pop,” where they seek out the sound instead of going based on their physiological assessment.
Chiropractic is a health care profession that focuses on the disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system and the effects on an individual’s wellness. 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. Chiropractors diagnose problems with mobility and offer treatment options like manual adjustments. Chiropractors also work to improve an individual’s overall health by teaching self-care techniques like proper posture and ergonomics.
