No Pain, No Problem

This week in the office I heard things like:

• Why do my adjustments not hold?
• Why do I need to get checked?
• I feel fine I’ll come in next week.

Came up so I thought that I would address them in this blog.

Why do my adjustments not hold?

New chiropractic patients commonly tell me that they are coming in because of pain that started a week or two before.  However, the problem most likely started months or even years ago (see the post:
The Use of Chiropractic During Childhood Development).

The majority of subluxations (subluxations = a misalignment of the vertebrae in the back that can cause many health problems) occur in childhood but don’t show up for years later.  By that I mean subluxations finally causing a symptom like neck pain, lower back pain, or are aggravated in a work injury or car accident.

Some people associate chiropractic as taking care of spinal complaints and wait until they are in pain to seek care.  So after years of incorrect alignment, posture and function, it doesn’t make sense to say we can achieve correction in a week or two.  How long do you think it will take to get back to or close to proper alignment ff you have had subluxations for 15 years?

Also, most patients go back to the same lifestyle that created the pain and expect to stay in correction.  If  you truly want to stay in alignment as long as you can then you need daily posture exercises, stretching, massage,  proper nutrition, be in shape, and manage your stress.  My patients that do more of these things have better posture, scans and are adjusted the least in my office.

Why do I need to get checked? I feel fine.  I will wait until next week or month to get adjusted.

My staff hears this comment often.  When we call inactive patients this is the most common response to not wanting their free check-up.  The medical system is to blame for this idea.  Simply if you feel fine then you must be healthy.  If you have a symptom then take a drug, get rid of the symptom, stay on the drug for the rest of your life, be symptom free but ignore why the body is giving you a symptom.  SOMETHING IS WRONG!!  Your body gives you symptoms like high blood pressure, headaches, neck pain, and allergies because something is wrong.  If you treat the cause then you won’t have symptoms because you addressed the problem.  I just got research across my desk that if your spine isn’t adjusted at least every two weeks then permanent degenerative changes will occur(arthritis).  Since only 10% of the nerves in your body sense pain, and most pains occur after the disease or subluxation has been there for years why should I wait until you hurt to adjust you?  How many two-week cycles of degenerative changes have occurred in your body before you got adjusted or maybe you have never been adjusted.  BIG PICTURE  if the hard bone is decaying then what is happening to the soft nerve?  This is why we invested in Surface EMG and posture scans  so we can look at potential problems and fix them before you feel them. What  if C1-2 goes out of alignment, doesn’t irritate the nerve that causes pain at this level(headaches), but stresses your immune system, weakening it so you start to suffer from sinus problems and allergies3 or 4 years later.  What if it creates postural imbalances in the head and shoulders potentially leading to scoliosis or pain problems years in the future.  How long do you want to wait to get adjusted?  Until you finally get the pain pattern that nerve produces(headache) or when this cascade of poor health starts, within minutes of subluxating(going out of alignment).  This is my philosophy of health for me and my family adjustments once a week and medication as the last resort.  Its the best program I have see in practice and it helps me manage you care and health more effectively.

Dr. David