Effective Chiropractic Adjustments
What are the components of an effective chiropractic adjustment?
Just like you rely on your physician and dentist for annual check-ups, it’s also important to make sure you have a plan for ongoing chiropractic care. Chiropractic care is a part of effective, holistic maintenance for your body, and it can help you avoid surgery and ongoing medications.
Visiting a chiropractor may be able to help you overcome some or all of your symptoms like back pain, headaches, or stress.
A chiropractic adjustment can have myriad positive benefits without the stress or invasiveness of surgery or other more intense medical techniques.
Most people do not know what an adjustment actually looks like. In the feature photo, Dr. DeClerk is performing a full body adjustment to free up any restriction of the spine as well as any misalignments that could cause stiffness, pain, nerve irritation or even dysfunction to any area that the nerves supply.
What happens during intake?
An initial chiropractic consultation is similar to that of a standard medical intake. You’ll fill out a questionnaire detailing your health history. Typically, the chiropractor asks you to indicate where you are experiencing discomfort by marking the areas on a drawing of the human body.
What happens during the physical exam?
The chiropractor starts with a physical exam that focuses on the spine, paying special attention to the areas you marked on your intake form. Rather than simply focusing on the areas of concern, the chiropractor will most likely examine your entire spine. For example, if you complained of lower back pain, the chiropractor would also perform a neck exam because the adaptations resulting from injury in one area can result in secondary pain elsewhere in the spine.
The physical exam typically consists of a variety of assessments, such as range of motion tests, palpation, reflex testing, muscle strength comparisons, and neurological and orthopedic tests focused on the main complaint.
What goes into a treatment plan?
Following the physical exam, the chiropractor develops a treatment plan that takes into account:
- Your general health
- The extent of your injury or irritation
- The condition of your spine
- Your goals
Your treatment goals should result from the discussion you have with your chiropractor. Many people seek simple relief of pain or discomfort, while others want to begin a regimen of ongoing care meant to improve their general health.
In initial consultations, your chiropractor will tell you the status of your condition and recommend an approach to care. Ask questions. As in any professional-patient relationship, trust and mutual understanding are vitally important.
What is a typical treatment?
Adjustments are usually the central part of chiropractic treatment. The chiropractic adjustment is a therapeutic manipulation that uses controlled force, leverage, direction, amplitude, and velocity directed at specific joints. In other words, an adjustment involves a lot more than simply opening up a joint.
Your chiropractor will most often make these adjustments to the spine, but he or she might adjust other joints, such as the ankle, knee, wrist, elbow, or shoulder in order to restore structural alignment or to improve joint function. Again, proper structure is necessary for appropriate function, and good extremity function is an important part of healthy daily living.
When being treated for a complaint such as back or neck pain, you will most likely receive a series of adjustments, separated by either a day or a few days, to incrementally reduce irritation and improve normal function. This might continue for several weeks, usually diminishing in frequency.
Adjustments are often accompanied by non-manual therapies such as application of heat or ice, electrical stimulation, orthotic supports for your shoes, rehabilitative exercise, counseling about diet, weight loss, and nutritional supplements.
Little Rock Chiropractor Care
Omnis Rehab is here to help people across Central Arkansas get back to the activities they love with as little pain as possible (and without undergoing surgery).
Give us a call at (501) 313-2844 or Request an Appointment and we will follow up quickly to make sure you’re at your best as soon as possible.