Laying the Foundation for Total Health
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. Depending on the severity of your problem, it is typical to need care two to three times per week for four to 12 weeks.
First, we listen to you. If it appears we are unable to adequately address the patient’s condition, or are not the best option for them at the time, then we will be both honest and forthright and will do our best to refer to another healthcare professional/colleague who can more appropriately address their specific needs.
Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care
During the corrective care phase, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely, thereby helping prevent injury. It is typical to need care four to eight times per month for six to 24 months, depending on your overall health and the severity of your problem.
Second, we perform thorough diagnostic testing - including a physical and neurological examination, computerized balance testing/posturography, cutting-edge videos and tracings of your eyes (videonystagmography (VNG) and saccadometry), and a host of other diagnostics which may be more appropriate for a patient’s condition. This testing produces hundreds of data points, which we utilize to help us understand which parts of your brain are working well, and which parts might need some support to improve function. A report of findings and functionality, as well as how these findings may explain a patient’s presentation/condition is then rendered, and a probability of possible therapeutic benefits and success can be offered. In short, how likely is it – based on all the examination findings, testing and data accumulated – that we may be able to help address the patient’s concerns, symptoms and afflictions.
Phase 3: Wellness Care
Once your body has fully healed, it is important to come in for periodic adjustments to avoid problems in the future. Usually, this only requires a quick visit to the chiropractor one to four times per month, based on your lifestyle and goals.
Finally, we use all the accumulated data to synthesize the best evidenced-based therapeutic options for the patient, specific to their unique condition and dysfunction. Therapies might include vestibular rehabilitative therapy (basically, moving the head in specific ways to improve the perception of movement), ocular-motor training (using the eyes in specific therapeutic ways), or the utilization of other senses and movements of the body (think of more traditional physical or occupational-type therapies). We often combine these different types of therapies to generate the greatest possible impact, with every activity being unique to the patient evaluation findings and targeted toward correcting specific dysfunction.
