Phases of care with Chiropractic Matters…

Intensive Phase – (Reduction of symptoms):

At the start, when suffering and symptoms are present, visits to our clinic are kept very close together. From my clinical observations at this stage some patients feel improvements straight away, others feel a difference after a few adjustments and some may experience increased symptoms before they improve.

In my opinion, each adjustment improves on the one before, removing tension and restoring body function and health. Once enough tension has been removed, symptoms start to decrease as the inflammation reduces.

Corrective Phase:

From my clinical observations symptoms will have significantly improved by now. Correction can only occur once the symptoms and inflammation have gone. At this stage all the supporting structures, which hold the joint in the correct place, haven’t yet changed to hold the correction. In my opinion if a problem is not taken through the corrective phase it will more than likely return in the near future.

Chiropractic philosophy says that Joint Subluxation can occur anywhere in the body with no symptoms. Pain is caused by inflammation and the problem can still remain once the inflammation has subsided. This absence of symptoms can be misleading as being free of pain is not always a good indication of how well you are! Think of a tooth decaying, you only feel the pain once a cavity develops, you are completely un aware of the damage occurring months or even years before. If you were aware of this damage occurring preventative measures would have been taken to prevent further damage.

Maintenance Care:

Some people ask me why their problems keep returning. My answer is this “The majority of patient’s complaints I see in clinic are caused by things which patients are doing or not doing in their environment or lifestyle (sitting for too long, slouched at a computer, too much stress, not enough sleep, water or exercise … the list is endless!) The body doesn’t have time to recover from the tension build up from the day before, before you go and do the same thing all over again. Over time tension levels increase and eventually inflammation and symptoms develop.

In my opinion if a patient is left untreated for too long a period (months) the tensions levels will start to increase again and their complaint may return. I have found that that my patients who have regular Adjustments throughout the year keep their tension levels low and this helps to prevent their symptoms from returning.

Preventative and Wellness Care:

Some of my patients like to take their care beyond that of Maintenance Care. These patients are those who have made a full recovery and are trying to avoid other problems in their body’s from developing with time and age. This may relate to osteoarthritis, maintaining good posture or general overall health. Early detection of a problem is key to making a full recovery … prevention is better than cure!

Chiropractic Philosophy says that by keeping your nervous working at its optimum your own body will detect problems and heal them before you even know they were developing. The body has the amazing capacity to heal itself if it’s given all the right tools it needs to do so.

All the above information is the opinion of Dr Kirsten Stockman (Chiro.)