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.  We describe it this way, first we have to put out the fire - then we can rebuild the house!  Phase 1 is the "fire fighting" phase of care where we focus on getting the pain, inflammation, and spasm under control. Depending on the severity of your problem, it is typical to need treatment more frequently (2-3 times per week) in the first couple of weeks until the pain subsides. 

Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care

After the pain and spasm calms down, then we can go to work on "rebuilding your house" - actually building you a better back by correcting the underlying weakness and mechanical dysfunction that causes back pain. During the corrective care phase, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely, and we will often begin a Core Muscle Strenghth and Flexibility program thereby helping prevent injury. It is typical to need care 1- 2 times per week for 4-12 weeks, depending on your overall health and the severity of your problem.

Phase 3: Wellness Care

Once your body has fully healed and/or  you have reached the point where you are ready to be release from an active corrective treatment program, many of our patients choose to come in for periodic adjustments to avoid problems in the future. Usually, this only requires a quick visit to the chiropractor once every 4-6 weeks, based on your lifestyle and goals.