Phases of Care

Laying the foundation

Chiropractic care is like building a house – certain things have to happen in a particular order in order for everything to stand strong and work correctly. When building a house, if you tried to put up your walls before you had a solid foundation, your walls would be weak and eventually collapse. If you tried to put on your roof before the walls were ready, you would run into the same problem. The same is true for your body. Your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are two general phases of chiropractic care.

Phase 1: Active Care

Most people are under the assumption that if they don’t feel any pain that there is nothing wrong with them – that they are healthy. Unfortunately, pain is a very poor indicator of health. In fact, pain and other symptoms frequently only appear after a disease or other condition has become advanced.

For example, consider a cavity in your tooth. Does it hurt when it first develops or only after it has become serious? How about heart disease? Regardless of whether you are talking about cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stress or problems with the spine, pain is usually the last thing to appear. When you begin chiropractic care, pain is also the first symptom to disappear, even though much of the underlying condition remains.

If you are in pain or experiencing symptoms when you come into our office, the first objective is to help you feel better. During the Active Care phase, we will strive to not only help you feel better, but to also perform better.  Depending on the severity of your problem, it is typical to need care 2-3 times per week for 4-12 weeks. We monitor your objective progress through periodic re-examinations and graduate you to the next phase of care when your re-exam findings show no further improvement or are within normal values.  

Phase 2: Wellness Care

Once your body has fully healed, routine chiropractic care can help ensure that your physical problems do not return, and keep your body in optimal condition. Just like continuing an exercise program and eating well in order to sustain the benefits of exercise and proper diet, it is necessary to continue chiropractic care to ensure the health of your musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

When you make routine chiropractic care a part of your lifestyle, you avoid many of the aches and pains that so many people suffer through, your joints will last longer and you will be able to engage in more of the activities you love.

In the Wellness Care phase, you will maintain the progress you gained while under Active Care and help avoid problems in the future.  Depending on your overall health, lifestyle, and your daily stress level, this usually requires a quick visit to the chiropractor 1-4 times per month.