Wondering how much chiropractic care you need? How often it is recommended for you to be adjusted will depend on both your personal goals and lifestyle.
If you seek chiropractic to help with a symptom such as pain or headaches, 2-3 adjustments weekly at first may be the best recommendation to get you feeling better fast. If you have a chronic issue, and have been experiencing pain on and off for years, it will take time and commitment to change the patterns interfering with your body’s ability to self-regulate and perform its best.
Your recommendations will also be determined by the results of the Insight scanning tests I use to take a “snapshot” of how efficiently the nervous system and spinal system are working together. If you have been living with chronic stress, whether physical, chemical or emotional, the communication between the brain and body may be very disorganized and take some time to reconnect with chiropractic adjustments.
It’s important to understand that pain is a signal that doesn’t occur until the body has been under stress for some time, and pain will disappear before proper function is fully restored. This is why the scanning technology is so valuable for measuring function and achieving better results in the long-term. As initial problems are released and lines of brain to body communication become stronger, patients will often taper off to receiving adjustments once weekly or so. Periodic re-evaluation scans guide me in creating a care plan as we view the nervous system becoming more resilient as the patient begins to feel comfortable longer between adjustments, and overtime, experiences greater vitality.
Of course, how long you choose to benefit from care is always up to you. Some patients choose to come in only when they are in pain. While I am happy to help them get out of pain, it is important to understand that changing patterns in the body so musculoskeletal pain does not reoccur takes time and effort. When chiropractic is used in the long-term, to stay well, patients also report a greater awareness of their health, fewer illnesses, better performance at work or in sports, and renewed clarity and energy.
If you don’t change the daily habits that place stress on your spine and nervous system, the rebuilding phase can take some time. While most people can’t change their job, you may be able to change your workstation setup or start incorporating exercises to train your body to meet your work demands with more ease and help you move better during your work day. This will help you feel great longer between adjustments. Those who do not change their habits may always prefer to get adjusted often to feel their best.
If you live a healthy lifestyle and support your adjustments with healthy movement and by eating a nourishing diet, you may choose to continue to get checked by a chiropractor every month or so in order to stay well, be your most resilient against stress, injury and illness, and feel more alive.
Learn more about the Insight scanning system and CoreScore.
