MYTHBUSTERS
Chiropractic is one of the most contentious forms of health care. Millions of happy patients love their chiropractors, yet many others wouldn’t try it even if their health and wellbeing depended on it (which it does). There are many reasons for this dichotomy. Let’s expose some of the various myths so you’ll understand the safe and sensible discipline of chiropractic.
MYTH: YOU HAVE TO GO BACK FOR REPEAT VISITS.
TRUTH: Repeat visits are often necessary because our treatment is hands-on and typically requires a cumulative effect. When working in a physical way with a physical condition, repeat treatments are necessary to train the body just as repeat exercise is necessary to train for strength
MYTH: CHIROPRACTORS TAKE LOTS OF X-RAYS?
TRUTH: Like any physician, a history and exam will reveal if x-rays are required to further assess your complaint. Since chiropractors are skilled at assessing the physical structure, we often take fewer x-rays than other healthcare providers. You’ll find that at PCG, we prescribe x-rays judiciously.
MYTH: CHIROPRACTORS SIGN PEOPLE UP FOR LONG TERMS OF CARE.
TRUTH: Chiropractic care plays an important role throughout life, so this myth is partially true – we’d like to see you as needed, for the rest of your life. However, we believe that every type of doctor would say the same thing.
MYTH: CHIROPRACTORS WANT TO SEE YOU THREE TIMES A WEEK WHEN STARTING A TREATMENT PLAN.
TRUTH: There are different stages of healthcare – think of them as urgent, rehabilitative, and maintenance. In the urgent phase, more frequent treatment may be needed for the first few weeks, but rehabilitative care isn’t nearly as frequent (think 2-4 times per month) and maintenance care is much less often. We work with you to assess your treatment frequency.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR CHIROPRACTOR
this Questionnaire Guide is designed to help you choose the right chiropractic care. We are sharing insider secrets with you that some Doctors of Chiropractic may not want you to know including: the most important questions you must ask before agreeing to receive care from any doctor or chiropractic clinic.
What techniques do you practice?
Some chiropractors are only proficient in one single technique. The problem with this is not every condition that chiropractic care can help responds to just one technique. You need to know that there are many wonderful chiropractic techniques that can be used to successfully treat and relieve your specific condition. For example, at Aim High Chiropractic, our skillful doctors have training in many different types of techniques and use them according to our patient’s specific condition. We have many natural ways to relieve your pain and restore your optimal range of motion, flexibility, and function – without the use of drugs, medication, or surgery!
Do you take x-rays when necessary?
Be sure to seek a chiropractor who takes X-rays to rule out fractures or a gross pathology (English translation – some other serious problem) as indicated by the consultation, health history, and examination. X-rays help us determine the health of your joints and discs, gives us an estimate of how long it will take before you improve, as well as what specific chiropractic techniques will likely be the most effective for you. Caring for a patient without X-rays is like flying in the dark without radar: it’s dangerous if you don’t know where you are going. There are some life-and-death conditions that can first express themselves with back, neck, or bone pain. If the doctor you’re consulting with doesn’t take X-rays BEFORE recommending treatment, then you should probably consider talking to another doctor who can provide you with the care and treatment you need and deserve.
Will you give me your recommendations in writing?
This is very important: Recommendations in writing allow you to go home and think about your options before making a decision. It also gives you an explanation up front of what the care will consist of, how long it will last, and how much it will cost. It’s important that you’re provided with all the information you need to know in order to make an important decision regarding your personal health.
Can you provide me with references?
Ask for five references. Three of these references should be current patients, and the other two should be other chiropractors. There are three reasons for getting patient and professional references: First, any person in practice should have at least three satisfied patients they can provide you with as a reflection of the quality of their care and service. Second, if a chiropractic doctor cannot produce two other professionals that will attest to his or her ability as a chiropractor, he or she may not be respected by his or her peers. Feel free to call the references you receive. Many people ask for references, but never check them! Call all five people, because you can never learn too much about the person you are considering for your chiropractic and health needs. It’s worth to take the few minutes to talk to these people and find out if you are in good hands!
Things You May Not Know About Chiropractic.
Pain is always the last sign of a problem.
The human body is very strong and versatile when it comes to pain. The body can get by for months or even years before any signs of pain arise. Pain is usually the reason for visits to your chiropractor. If you are taking medication for your pain, the pain may go away, but the dysfunction that caused the pain still persists. Dysfunctions in the body present in different ways, for example: Headaches, diarrhea, asthma, allergies and so on are signs and symptoms for your body to alert you of something being wrong. Muscles, ligaments and joints are often injured due to long-term biomechanical dysfunctions, usually from past injuries that were not treated properly or not allowed to fully heal. These dysfunctions can lead to future injuries so it is important to keep your body healthly before your symptoms appear. Regular visits to your chiropractic are important not only when you feel pain, but periodically to prevent future injury and improve your overall health.
Athletes use chiropractors every day to stay on top of their game.
Chiropractors are one of the leading health care providers that help athletes remove the causes of pain and help increase range of motion in the body. We are biomechanical movement specialist. Chiropractors are noted throughout all of sports and are used heavily by professional teams all over the world. Athletes such as Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, Derek Rose, Aaron Rogers, Terrell Ownes, Michael Phelps, and Tom Brady are just some of the top performing athletes in the world that use Chiropractic to stay on top of their game. Chiropractors not only help rehabilitate athletes for their return to play, but help prevent injuries, maintain flexibility, improving coordination and improve an athlete’s competitive edge through confidence and health.
Proper control of your nervous system helps maintain the bodies normal cascade function.
The human brain is the control center for the entire body. The spinal cord is a long, thin bundle of nervous tissue that extends from the brain and is how your brain communicates with the rest of your body. The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system (CNS). Dysfunctions in the spinal column may cause a disruption in the transmission of these signals from the brain. These spinal nerves travel through the vertebrae of the spine and out to the organs and tissues of the body. When there is a disruption of this signal, it is term a subluxation by the chiropractic profession. Chiropractors don’t just treat symptoms of pain, but also the causes of pain and eliminating disruptions in the spinal nerve transmission caused by subluxations. Chiropractors have a vast education base in the spine and surrounding human anatomy.
Your Chiropractor does not have healing powers.
Chiropractors are not out to “fix your back” or “heal your pain.” Rather, our goal is to restore proper biomechanics of the human body and proper nerve flow from the brain. By allowing for improved natural spinal motion and eliminating any tension on spinal nerves and muscles, we allow the body to regenerate normal function through natural healing. Chiropractors believe that the body is best at its natural state and disease is caused through disruptions of this natural state. We as Chiropractors never treat the disease or signs or symptoms. Our goal is to find the cause of dysfunctions and treat the body through chiropractic manipulation (adjustments) in order to restore this proper nerve flow generated by the nervous system. As disruptions are removed, the body will naturally restore itself to a normal state.
Age does not matter when it comes to Chiropractic.
From newborns to seniors, everyone can benefit from Chiropractic care. There is no patient to young or too old. The Chiropractic art is practiced in order to help alleviate dysfunction of the body regardless of the age of the patient. Newborn babies endure unparalleled amounts of physical stress during the birthing process. Studies have found that 95% of newborns have subluxations in their neck and that removing these subluxations may prevent the development of several types of disease including, infantile colic, bedwetting, allergies, asthma and behavioral disorders (ADD/ADHD).
Rethink Chiropractic Care
It is that time of the year again. The time to look back on all the good things we were blessed to have and enjoy this year. We all know the quote saying, “A grateful heart is a magnet for miracles.”, Every time we go through struggles, we have a choice to look at the lesson and be grateful or to stay in the struggle
Start a gratitude journal.
This is a common tip for this season, which also means you already know what to do. Change the usual drill by listing things you actively appreciate. It does not really matter how trivial those things are, as long as they mean something to you. It could be as small as finding the coin purse you have been looking for and realizing you left some money there–just when you needed it the most.
Focus on being thankful.
It could naturally be hard to do so, especially when you are experiencing struggles in your everyday life. Losing a job, failed relationships, or too much work may steal you of even the littlest joys in life. What you can do is focus on the good things happening. It is easy to say there is none when so much is going on, but you will surely find one when you look closer. You woke up healthy today, you are not late for work, and the barista in your favorite cafe has finally got your kind of cuppa joe, aren’t those things to be grateful for?
Make saying ‘thank you’ a habit.
We have been taught of this since we were kids, but for some reason we forego the habit. Being an adult actually prompts us more to say thank you more often, if we need that much of a reminder about the little things we have to be grateful for in our lives. It somehow makes us realize of the things we hardly notice when our hands are full
Appreciating the littlest things should not only be a November novelty, but a lifetime commitment. It’s power over our overall attitude and mindset about life is manifested by how we take every challenge that come our way. Appreciation translates to putting value in what we already have.
Secrets Your Chiropractor Probably Won’t Talk About
It’s More Than Just Sitting
While sitting is definitely not good for your back or your health in general, there are plenty of other things that send us off down the track to poor health, including:
Poor posture
Not getting exercise
Carrying too much weight on one side of your body (heavy purses for example)
Wearing high heels most of the time (or flip flops)
“Weekend Warriors”
Ignoring the pain
While you might be skimming over the above list thinking to yourself, “Yes, I know, blah blah blah.” You might think that you just don’t have time to be concerned with those “little things.” Besides, your aunt so-and-so has been carrying a heavy purse for years and she’s fine. How does anyone know if those things are really bad for you? Doesn’t everyone do them?
Why Don’t People See a Chiropractor When They are in Pain?
First, most people don’t see any type of doctor until the pain is fairly severe. Whether it’s fear of the doctor or fear of what the diagnosis might be, there is another factor; insurance. The debate about how to fix America’s insurance problem goes on and we don’t want to discuss politics here, but the fact is that some insurance companies won’t cover chiropractic.
By the Way, There are a Few Things You Should Know First
Chiropractors are highly specialized and highly trained health care professionals. Some people believe that, because they do not write prescriptions, that they are somehow not “real” doctors. This isn’t the case.
When it comes to chiropractic, the focus is on the manipulation of the spine and treating the entire body, not just the symptoms. This means that a chiropractor won’t hand you prescription for pain medication and not treat the source of your pain. A chiropractor will!