Laying the Foundation for Total Health
Chiropractic care is like building a house – certain things have to happen in a particular 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 must 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
It Takes Time
Many people go to a chiropractor because they are in pain. In this first phase of care, the main goal is to reduce your symptoms. Sometimes this will require daily visits or two to three visits per week for a time. Your issue has built up over time, caused by the accumulation of life events.Think about all the hundreds of falls and spills and accidents you experienced as a child and growing up as a teenager. In the first phase of care, the main goal is to reduce your symptoms. Sometimes this will require daily visits or two to three visits per week for a time.
Most people are under the assumption that if they don’t feel any pain that there is nothing wrong with them – that they are healthy. Unfortunately, pain is a very poor indicator of health. In fact, pain and other symptoms frequently only appear after a disease or other condition has become advanced.
For example, consider a cavity in your tooth. Does it hurt when it first develops or only after it has become serious? How about heart disease? Regardless of whether you are talking about cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stress, or problems with the spine, pain is usually the last thing to appear. When you begin chiropractic care, pain is also the first symptom to disappear, even though much of the underlying condition remains.
Phase 2: Corrective Care
I feel great, so what’s the problem?
Most chiropractors regard the elimination of symptoms as the easiest part of a person’s care. If all that the chiropractor does is to reduce the pain and stop there, the chances of the condition recurring are much greater. In order to prevent a rapid recurrence of symptoms, it is necessary to continue receiving care even though your symptoms are gone.
During the correction / restorative phase of your care, you will not have to receive adjustments as often as you did during the first phase of care, and, depending on your particular circumstances, you may begin doing exercises and stretches either at our clinic or at home to help accelerate your healing.
Do not be discouraged if you have mild flare-ups in your symptoms on occasion. This is normal. Flare-ups are bound to occur during this phase because your body has not fully healed. Depending on the severity of your injury or condition and how long you have been suffering from it, this phase of your care may last anywhere from a few months to a couple of years.
Phase 3: Wellness Care
Maintenance is Key to Healthy Living. Are you going to outlive your mobility?
When it comes to your finances, we are often asked if we are going to outlive our retirement savings. But a more important question concerns our health.
Are you going to outlive your ability to move, to play, and to travel? Will you live longer than your mobility now that it’s common to live to 90 and many are already living beyond 100? Regular chiropractic maintenance is key!
Once your body has fully healed, routine chiropractic care can help ensure your physical problems do not return and keep your body in optimal condition. Just like continuing an exercise program and eating well to sustain the benefits of exercise and a proper diet, it is necessary to continue chiropractic care to ensure the health of your musculoskeletal system.
When you make routine chiropractic care a part of your lifestyle, you avoid many of the aches and pains that so many people suffer through, your joints will last longer, and you will be able to engage in more of the activities you love.