The three stages of chiropractic care

In some ways, one could say that chiropractic care is a bit like building a house – certain things have to happen in a particular order in order for everything to stand strong and work together correctly. When building a house, if you tried to build your walls before you had a solid foundation, your walls would be weak and eventually may even collapse. If you tried to build your roof before the walls were ready, you would run into the same problem. These concepts apply to your body as well, and chiropractic care addresses many common reasons why people experience pain and other health issues. If something is not right with your body’s foundation, then that needs to be addressed before true health can be achieved. With chiropractic care, your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of chiropractic care . . .
Initial Intensive Care (pain/symptom management)
Rehabilitative/Corrective Care (improved function/spinal changes)
Wellness/Elective Care (non-symptomatic/preventative care measures)

Initial Phase: Because most patients start initially with intensive care, the first thing they want is to feel better making visits more frequent at first. Chiropractic adjustments may be combined with other procedures to help relieve symptoms – depending on age, condition, lifestyle and other factors – repeated visits over weeks or months may be necessary to treat the problem and reduce the symptoms.

Rehabilitative Phase: With reduced pain, the Rehabilitative Phase is for more complete healing to occur. Underlying muscle and soft tissue damage can remain, even after you feel better. At this stage, visit frequency is often reduced. You may be urged to supplement your care with exercises, dietary changes, or other self-care procedures. Without complete healing, discontinuing care now can set the stage for a relapse.

Wellness Phase: After the recovery of your original problem, regular chiropractic “check-ups” and wellness can preserve your progress. Periodic visits can catch problems before they become major concerns. Wellness-minded adults and their children choose this type of care to look and feel their best. A chiropractic lifestyle can help you save time and money by helping you stay well.