Have you ever had a crack in your wall?  Patched it and painted over it and it looked great.  Then to find out a year later it came back again.  Apparently there was some underlying problem with the structure to the wall or foundation making that crack come back again.

Have you ever had back or neck pain that you took over the counter medications, stretched/did physical therapy, rested or even got adjusted by a chiropractor and it went away?  Then about a year later you had a similar pain come back again.  Apparently there was an underlying problem making that pain come back again. 

I am far from a structural expert when it comes to your house.  But as a chiropractor I am a structural expert when it comes to your spine.

It is very common for me to see patients that have pain, then feel better after a “handful of adjustments.”  Some decide to discontinue care and see how it goes and call me when they need me.  I am totally fine with that approach.

But I can almost set my watch that I will get a call in about 6-12 months from that patient with a similar condition.

Just like the crack in the wall the underlying problem was never fixed.

So what does it take to “fix” a spinal problem?  Typically a series of adjustments at first.  We like to see a response (depending on the severity of course) in 5-7 adjustments.  For mild to moderate acute pain this should be getting into pain relief.  

Then as we move to corrective care most patients will move to a once a week or every two weeks schedule.  Working with home exercises and regular adjustments we work on fixing that underlying spinal issue. Don’t worry the exercises are really easy and if you have a new year’s resolution to work out that counts for home exercising.

Preventative wellness care is a visit about every 4-6 weeks.  These are the patients that “get it” and often present with no pain and are preventing a problem.

And get this, your immune system talks to your nervous system.  So getting adjusted can make you healthier and get sick less often.  Meaning those sick days you have at work, can be spent on the golf course or fishing.

Fix that crack in your back with chiropractic care and prevent it from coming back.  Then call a structural contractor to fix that crack in your wall.