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The first time you see a chiropractor, be on time because the initial consultation usually takes about an hour of the doctor’s time. It is necessary for the doctor to find out exactly why you are there! The initial consultation usually costs roughly 200 dollars, but many chiropractors will waive this fee if you have insurance or sign up for a maintenance plan. Dr Z. will waive the consultation fee just by mentioning this blog post!

After the consultation, the doctor will examine you. This means you will be asked to move your body into various positions. The doctor is testing your range of motion and seeing how your body responds to particular movements. If you are experiencing acute pain, the doctor may decide that you need x-rays before he can treat you. If you have had any previous surgeries or prior existing conditions, this is usually the suggested course of action. If you are relatively healthy, the doctor may adjust you on the same day of your initial consultation. However, in some cases you may have to wait until your next appointment. Regardless, you always have the opportunity to accept or decline the treatment plan that is suggested.

Once you accept the treatment plan, the care to help get you out of pain will begin. In some rare cases, the chiropractor may not be able to help you. If this is so, ask for a referral to a health care provider who offers the necessary treatment. Make sure you are comfortable with your doctor because you might be spending a few hours a week at his office.

If you have never been to a chiropractor you might be a little bit nervous. Even if you are accustomed to cracking your knuckles or feeling a few pops in yoga class, you may think going to a chiropractor is different.

The first place I usually go for recommendations is my immediate social circle. Do any of your friends, family, or neighbors have a chiropractor they like? Check their Facebook pages, have they checked in to any chiropractors recently? You might see this person a few times a week for the next month, so its a good bet that if your friends like a particular chiropractor, then you will like him or her too.

The second place I would begin researching chiropractors is the Internet. That is where you found this article isn’t it? In Google, type in the name of your town. For example if you live in Dallas Texas, you would type “Dallas Chiropractor” and look at how many results pop up! It’s astounding! The Google Map is covered with dots, which means there are many chiropractors in your neighborhood.

You can begin with your neighborhood; but what if you don’t spend my time in YOUR neighborhood? You commute to work, maybe you have an hour for lunch, and then you hit the gym after work. Are there any clinics near your office or even better, near the highway which you use to commute?

Then begin checking out their websites. An established Chiropractor will have a functioning professional website. Can you get all the information you need from the site or do you have to call? A good chiropractor’s web site will have a contact page so you can also email for more information.

1. I have acute back pain, I should stay in bed

In the acute phase of a back injury, resting can be very useful to calm down the pain and avoid further damage to tissues.  However, the acute phase generally lasts only a few days. Long term, activity modified for your condition will:

• speed healing by pumping out wastes
• prevent reinjury by strengthening muscles, balancing the strength of opposing muscle groups, and increasing flexibility
• relieve depression by generating endorphins.

2. I have to learn to live with my back pain

Each case of back pain requires individual treatment plans.  However, there are a tremendous number of resources available for the pro-active back pain sufferer. If the pain is debilitating or interferes with your daily activities, seeking professional solutions sooner rather than later is crucial to long term healing. Being in pain takes a lot of energy, is stressful, and has negative effects on the immune system. For many, alternative health modalities, such as chiropractic treatments, are very effective in relieving pain.

3. I am told the pain is “all in my head”

All pain is real, even if a physical cause cannot be found. This is so because of the way the nervous system processes information associated with painful stimuli.  For those in chronic pain, pain management specialists may help create a program with several components to keep things under control and allow normal living to continue.

4. I will need to see a Chiropractor every week in order to control the pain

During the beginning phases of treatment, your chiropractor may likely encourage you to come for treatment several times a week. The number of required treatments to see results should taper down over time, depending on your condition.  If a care plan is followed diligently, healing will progress faster.  Once your condition has stabilized, you may only need to see the chiropractor once a month or less to maintain the positive changes effected by the treatment and home program.

Certainly, with back pain, one must develop the ability to listen to the body and respect it’s limitations.  But don’t give up hope!  With a well designed, diligently followed exercise program that includes core conditioning and flexibility exercises, many people will find that it is possible to get back to most or all of their favorite activities.  Just as important, using good body mechanics when doing your favorite activites can go a long way toward preventing more pain.

6. I am active and fit, so I won’t get back pain

Physical activity is the way to go when preventing and healing back injury.  However, habitual patterns of body usage often predispose an individual to back injury or pain. The balanced work of muscle groups throughout the body is a key to avoiding pain.  Without balance, a build up of tension occurs in one area, causing weakness in other areas. A complete exercise program, including strength training and stretching for all muscle groups, is often quite effective for pain and injury prevention.

7. I have back pain so I will need surgery

Only a very small percentage of people who suffer with back pain will undergo surgery. Research shows that about 85% of back pain goes away on its own over time. There are only a few instances where back surgery would be done without your voice in the decision-making process.  These are medical emergencies such as a broken neck or if you have symptoms such as weakness in the legs that gets progressively worse and/or bladder and/or bowel incontinence caused by the back problem.

Healing Takes Time

There are 3 main stages of injury healing, regardless of where the trauma occurs.  In each, different things are happening at the injury site, and there are different activities that are appropriate for treatment and resuming to your daily acitivities.

The Acute Stage

Also called the inflammatory stage, the acute stage occurs at the time of the injury, and continues for up to 4 days.  During the acute stage, inflammation occurs. The purpose of the inflammation is to neutralize toxins so that the repair process (which occurs in later stages) can begin.  Scar tissue begins to form during the inflammatory stage.

During the acute stage, rest and gentle movement, along with therapy and anti-inflammatories are generally recommended.

The Sub-Acute Stage

The sub-acute stage of healing takes place between the 4th to the 21st day after the injury occurs.  This stage is marked by new growth of connective tissue and capillaries, to help repair damaged structures.  Scar tissue continues to grow during this time.  Tissues in this stage are very fragile, so placing stress on the injured area is best limited to a therapist’s or doctor’s skilled hands. 

During the sub-acute stage, inflammation decreases and pain that is related to damaged tissue may occur. Most  therapists and chiropractors recommend that the patient begin with gentle movement during this phase, and gradually build up the intensity.  Mild isometric exercise might be appropriate.  Because activity is restricted during the sub-acute phase, there may be muscle weakness.  This can be address with specific, low-intensity exercises.

The Chronic Stage

During the chronic stage of injury healing, scar tissue is remodeled by the stresses placed on it.  This means that the activities and exercises the injured part is taken through will affect where scar tissue strength will be located. That is why visits to the therapist, chiropractor, the massage therapist, and adherence to a home exercise program are crucial for healing. These modalities will help to develop the scar tissue to where it can be useful in protecting the injured area.

During the chronic stage, pain associated with the injury tends to be limited to the end reaches of the joint range of motion.

The chronic stage of healing begins after 21 days, and may continue for quite some time. This is the time when the patient takes the most active role in his/her recovery.

To answer this question we must first define “healthy.”  

According to the World Health Organization: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  Now that we have an understanding of what health is, we need to look at our own level of health.  Too often I see people assuming they are healthy just because they are not currently having any symptoms.  This is a dangerous view on health.  The lack of symptoms has nothing to do with health!  To illustrate my point I’m going to go over a few scenarios that will hopefully help you see that symptoms are a terrible gauge of true health.

Scenario 1: You go to a new restaurant with a friend and share and appetizer and an entrée.  You both sample each other’s food.  Later that night you get a call from your friend who has been vomiting since she got home, while you feel just fine.  Who is the healthier individual?

Based on the symptoms alone you would probably say that you are healthier because you didn’t experience any symptoms.  However in this scenario your friend vomiting is the healthy response.  Your friend’s body identified an overwhelming amount of a toxin in her body and immediately expelled it, which is a correct and healthy response.  However, your body didn’t identify the large toxin load and therefore allowed those toxins to remain in the body to potentially create further problems.  In this case the individual with the symptoms was the healthier person.

Scenario 2: A middle aged woman is playing in her company softball game.  Prior to the game she feels great, has no pain and feels that she is completely healthy.  While running the bases she collapses with a massive heart attack.  She like many others had a sudden heart attack with NO prior symptoms.  In fact 40% of heart attack victims had no symptoms prior to their heart attack.  In this case a lack of symptoms obviously did not mean that the individual was anywhere near healthy.

 So I ask again, are you healthy or just not sick? 

If we can’t base the answer to that question on symptoms, what can we base it on?  The best determinant for overall health is your body’s function.  If all you body’s systems are functioning normally, you have optimal health.  For instance, if your cardiovascular system had normal function you wouldn’t need blood pressure or cholesterol drugs to stay in the healthy and normal ranges.  If a diabetic’s endocrine system were functioning normally they would not need to inject insulin to normalize blood sugar levels.  If a senior citizen’s spine and other joints functioned well they would have no need for a walker, knee replacement, wheel chair, or pain medications.  I hope you see the pattern here: the function of your body’s many systems can and will determine the length and quality of life you will experience.

So what can you do to ensure your body is functioning well?  Since all your systems are controlled by the nervous system, it is important that this “master system” functions correctly.  The nervous system controls the repair and replacement of all the cells in your body so a poorly functioning nervous system could have wide ranging negative effects on vital processes like liver cell regeneration, lung function, immune system function, inflammation control, and proper hormone levels.  Doctors of Chiropractic are uniquely qualified to evaluate both the condition and function of the spine and nervous system that it protects.  If you or a loved one is experiencing less than optimal health please take an active step to finding the cause of the dysfunction and get scheduled for a complimentary evaluation.

Challenge Yourself

If you’re stuck in the daily grind, wondering why every day seems to be “same old, same old,” maybe it’s because it is. Fortunately, you have the power. Whether it’s changing up your workout routine, learning a new language, or finding creative ways to teach your kids new things, commit to continually challenging yourself and avoid stagnation.

Turn Bad into Good

We all experience good and bad moments in life, but whether you crumble or climb is really just a matter of attitude. Negative breeds negative, which can have profound consequences. Next time you’re hit with a negative, think about the up side (there always is one, even if it’s not immediate) and turn that frown upside down. Before you know it, you’ll be back on track.

Find Time to Relax

Life isn’t a race, it’s a journey filled with memorable moments; make sure you appreciate them, rather than rushing from one day to the next. It’s too easy to get caught up in daily routines and lose yourself. Schedule some you time every day, whether it’s a sunset walk, a long bath, a good book, or even a nap – find time to relax and reap the physical and psychological benefits.