WHAT TO EXPECT

Laying the Foundation for Total Health

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, than 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 . . .

Phase 1: Relief Care

If you are in pain when you come into our Urbandale chiropractic office, our first objective is to help you reduce pain and start feeling better as soon as possible. Depending on the severity of the underlying condition which is causing your pain, it is typical for a patient to need chiropractic care or adjustments 2-3 times per week for 4-12 weeks.

Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care

During the corrective phase of chiropractic care, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely, which helps prevent further injury or pain. The goal of corrective or restorative chiropractic care is to help bring your body back to 100% functioning. It is typical to need chiropractic care or adjustments about 4-8 times per month for 6-24 months, depending on your overall health and the severity of your problem.

Phase 3: Wellness Care

Once your body has fully healed and you are no longer experiencing back pain or other pain symptoms, it is important to come in for periodic chiropractic adjustments to avoid further problems in the future. Usually, this phase of chiropractic care only requires a quick visit to the chiropractor 1-4 times per month, based on your lifestyle and goals.