We ended our last post with the annoying statement that most of the time chiropractic takes more than one visit. With our busy schedules this might be a terrifying concept, and yet at second glance maybe we can see how this is a good thing.
It most likely took a long time for your body to get to the painful state it is in now. Little or big injuries again and again until it hurt so bad you just HAD TO do something about it. Whether or not it took long to get here, it might just take long to get better. So instead of thinking, “Let’s get this over with and I’ll get back to my normal life,” try to see it this way: “Something is screwed up here, and am I willing to take the time to get it fixed?”
IT’S MORE THAN SITTING BACK AND GETTING TREATMENT
Chiropractic is actually a lot different than just “getting it fixed” at a repair shop. It’s a more involved partnership between the doctor providing treatments in clinic and you applying the exercises and posture changes that he or she gives you to do at home.
This begins as more passive and gradually becomes more active. At the onset of your care, there will be more frequent treatment in the clinic that includes chiropractic adjustments and passive modalities like electrotherapy and decompression therapy. Then you’ll start to be given “homework” like back stretches and proper sitting techniques.
As your body responds to treatment and your home care, it will gain better movement and stability. This results in less appointments needed in the clinic and more active exercises and lifestyle modifications to reach a long-term wellness.
WHAT IS LONG-TERM HEALING?
Chiropractic focuses on helping you get better and stay better. We’re not interested in just making today’s pain go away. That’s why healing for the long term is more of a process than an event.
Long-term healing means taking the time to correct and repair the body in a way that holds and lasts longer than a temporary “fix”. So we diagnose your problem, determine your prognosis (likelihood of recovering), then prescribe a treatment plan that will best result in your recovery.
This prescription is not like one injection that is a cure for all your woes, but more of a series of specific doses that are spread out over a number of weeks. These doses are more frequent at first, and then lengthened out further and further until you’ve reached a state of wellness – – – where you are both less symptomatic and more stable for any future insults to your system.
Next time we wrap up this 3-part series on How Chiropractic Works. So return for our final thoughts!