What would you like to know?

• How does chiropractic work?

  Chiropractic works because you are a self-healing, self-regulating organism controlled by your nervous system. Millions of messages and instructions flow from your brain, down the spinal cord, and out to every cell, tissue, and organ in your body. Then signals are sent back to the brain to help the brain make the minor adjustments necessary to maintain optimal health. When one or more of the moving bones of the spine is misaligned, the vital exchange between the brain and body is disrupted.

  Nerves become irritated, stretched, or chafed, and the messages that these nerves relay to and from the brain become distorted. This can produce unhealthy changes to the tissues and organs connected to the affected nerves. Chiropractic seeks to restore proper alignment to the spine thereby removing nerve interference. Health often returns with improved nervous system control of the body.

• How do I know if I have a misalignment in my spine?

  You can have these misalignments and not even know it. Like the early stages of tooth decay or heart disease, misalignments in the spine can be present for years before warning signs appear in the form of symptoms. A Chiropractor is the only health care practitioner that can determine if you have spinal misalignments.

• How do you get these misalignments in your spine?

  The most common cause is trauma. But in addition to major traumas such as falls, vehicle collisions, and sports injuries, there are also minor traumas such as hitting your head, or tripping on….well, your own two feet. We’ve all fallen down at least a couple of stairs in our lifetime as well.

  The fact is…our bodies absorb an incredible amount of major and minor trauma over the course of our lives. Then consider how much repetitive motion stress we put our bodies through each and every day—sitting at the computer all day long, holding children, doing housework, or standing for long periods of time—and you start to wonder why you’re not in worse shape.

• What’s an adjustment?
  

  A chiropractic adjustment is a specific force applied to a spinal misalignment that restores proper motion and position of the vertebra. There are many different ways to adjust the spine. Some methods use the doctor’s hands. Other ways involve the use of a specialized instrument or table.

• Are adjustments safe?
  

  Yes. A New Zealand study concluded that spinal adjustments are “remarkably safe.” Chiropractic care enjoys an excellent track record, and in our office we use extremely low force adjusting techniques that are comfortable and effective. Taking an over-the-counter medication is about 100 times more risky.

• I pop my own neck a lot. Does that mean I am adjusting myself?
  

  No. Some people can make their spinal joints “pop” just like they do their knuckles, but that is not an adjustment. That popping sound is just the release of nitrogen gas that has built up in the joint. Making your neck or back “pop” doesn’t mean anything has been accomplished other than to release nitrogen gas. That release feels good because that popping noise causes endorphins to be released. The result is a “cool”, soothing sensation that feels good for a short time.

  If your neck or back is popping a lot, it probably means that your spine is not moving properly. A big part of the spine’s job is protection; its other big role is to provide flexibility and strength. To that end, what we call the “spine” as a singular entity is actually a complex interaction of 26 spinal bones, plus the bones of the pelvis, plus the base of the skull. All these parts have to work together to provide that strength and flexibility.

  If there is a misalignment of one vertebra, then the motion of that vertebra is also reduced. When this normal motion is lost the vertebrae above and below seek to maintain normal flexibility and range of motion. To that end, over time they adapt and become hypermobile, meaning they move too much. Over time, they become so hypermobile that they can be self-manipulated easily. So, when you “pop” your own neck you are actually moving a vertebra that already has too much motion while the vertebra that really needs adjusting remains misaligned and lacking mobility.

• How long before I see results?

  There is no way to say for sure. Some patients enjoy results quickly. Others notice a slow decline in their symptoms after several weeks. For others it takes even longer. The people that tend to respond very quickly to care usually also practice other good health practices, like a properly balanced diet with good nutrition along with exercise and getting enough sleep.

  Age, lifestyle, amount of spinal degeneration present, ergonomics, and emotional stress all play a role in how fast or slow someone responds to care. It’s impossible to predict but rest assured that we will keep you up-to-date on your progress while you’re under care.

• How long will I have to come for treatment?
  

  It completely depends on you and what your goals are for treatment. If you merely want pain relief, you come only for as long as it takes to get out of pain, which might be 4-7 visits. Sometimes that number is less, sometimes that number is more.

  If you want long-term correction to your spine, more visits will likely be required.

  Read more about this here.

• Do you accept insurance?
  

  Yes. We are considered in-network providers for some insurance companies. If we aren’t credentialed with your insurance company there still may be benefits available for you.

  The best thing to do is call the office and let us check for you. Every insurance plan is different. In this day and age of high deductibles and high co-pays or limited coverage, many of our patients don’t even use insurance and still find our care affordable.

• What if my insurance doesn’t cover Chiropractic care?
  

  Your health is your best investment, so invest wisely. Each of us is free to place a different value on our health. While it is convenient when an insurance company or third party helps pay the bill, you should keep in mind that whether your insurance will or will not cover your costs should not be the only factor that goes into your choice to accept chiropractic care. Don’t allow the profit motive of a corporation to dictate what’s best for your health. Find out how our office can help make chiropractic care affordable for you. It’s not as expensive as you might think. Here at Integrity Chiropractic, we think you’re worth it. The biggest question is….do you?

• Will you have to take X-rays?
  

  Unless you are pregnant or very young, it will be extremely helpful to take X-rays. Pictures of the spine, especially after a trauma, can confirm the examination findings as well as provide more information about the state of your spine. Along with our chiropractic analysis during an adjustment, the X-rays help to make your care more precise. Not having a clear picture of the spine is much like asking an architect to fix a structure without giving him the blueprints.

• I think I have scoliosis. Do you help that?

  If scoliosis has never been officially diagnosed, then most likely you don’t have it. You may however have some abnormal sideways curvature of the spine. If left untreated it may steadily worsen to the point where it causes more serious symptoms. In my opinion, any sideways curvature of the spine that is less than 16 degrees may cause muscle and joint imbalance. Any scoliosis over 16 degrees may be seriously interfering with the nervous system.

  Every case of scoliosis is different. I have seen some make drastic improvements while others made no improvements. Keep in mind that many cases of scoliosis have no known cause. The medical term used to describe an unknown cause is “idiopathic” which means, “Us idiot doctors have no idea what’s causing this.”

  Some scoliosis cases may be caused by a misshapen vertebra called a hemivertebra that is causing their scoliosis. Other cases may have a traumatic origin, meaning a severe fall caused a fracture that then caused a scoliosis. Sometimes an anatomically short leg can be the cause. One thing you should keep in mind: the sooner you discover scoliosis, the better the chances of improving the irregular curvature and the less time treatment takes.

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