Not everyone will fall into one of the categories specifically but, in general, there are three types of chiropractic care. The key is deciding what results you want from chiropractic care. From there, we can determine the frequency and mode of treatment.
The first type of care focuses on symptoms. A chiropractor will see you as many times as needed to reduce your symptoms to a level you can manage. This is usually short term care. Some people will stop here, deal with the manageable symptoms, and then come back when they flare up again. Pain, by the way, is the most common symptom but there are many others, as well, including, but not limited to, numbness and tingling, weakness, blurry eyes, tinnitus, heartburn, etc.
The second type of care takes into account the larger picture and seeks to restore function. I call this rehab or functional restoration care. The plan is generally the same for most people because restoring function is more predictable than reducing symptoms. While we restore function, symptoms will reduce naturally but we continue care to reinforce proper function and actual healing. Most people will need about three months of care. The frequency tends to be three times a week for about a month tapering down to twice a week for a month then once a week. By the end of three months, most people have healed enough to the point of feeling better and functioning as best as can be expected. There is variability in this care and some conditions take a lot longer.
The third type of care is maintenance. Once you have put so much effort and commitment into being your best, I feel it is best to maintain through consistent chiropractic care. Once a week is needed for some and some lucky patients can get away with once a month. Less than that and most patients are coming back with symptoms which begs the question if they are actually maintaining or just chasing their tale? We make maintenance a high priority in our office and make sure it extremely affordable.
Your results will depend on what type of care you engage and how consistently you are engaged in that care. You cannot get rehab results from a few visits of symptom care. Likewise, you cannot maintain something you have attained. Sometimes, patients want to negotiate to get rehab results by coming in once a week. I would love to be able to do that but that’s just not how the body works. For me, the ideal way to treat a patient who is injured or has chronic dysfunction is to complete a course of rehab care and follow it up with continuing maintenance care around once a week.
