As a chiropractor, I often receive input and feedback from people on chiropractic. This generally falls into two categories. The first is people wanting to share their own personal experience with their chiropractor. The second is people who have never been to a chiropractor, but have heard things about what chiropractic care involves. One common misconception that I hear in this category is that once you start seeing a chiropractor, you have to continue going forever.
I personally love having the opportunity to hear about these perceptions and explain how they may or may not be true. In the case of ongoing or lifetime chiropractic care, I think it’s most important to let people know that how you choose to use any type of medical care is always the choice of the patient, but educating the patient on how and why you use care is the responsibility of the practitioner.
Typically when a patient books their first appointment, it’s because they have a specific source of pain that they are trying to address. What’s important to acknowledge about this is that the body will always try to manage itself as long as possible on its own. This means that pain only presents when the body can no longer adapt on its own and needs help. The good news is, because pain or symptoms are the last thing to show up, they are often one of the first things to go away once treatment is started.
The critical piece to understand at this junction is that just because the pain has gone away, doesn’t necessarily mean that the underlying issue is completely resolved. It has just resolved enough for the body to turn off its warning signals. At this point, the goal of care shifts from pain relief to maximizing function which allows the body to take on more before those warning signals present again. Keeping this level of function is what we refer to as maintenance care.
Ultimately, it is my job as a chiropractor to both educate the patient about the benefits of care, but also to listen to the goals of my patients. When we meet for a new patient appointment, we will discuss those goals and figure out the right path for you as an individual. How you choose to use chiropractic is always up to you!
Dr. Breanna Tivy, DC | Minnetonka, MN