First and foremost, you are probably wondering whether chiropractic visits will help relieve your pain and discomfort. There is no need to worry, chiropractic care has been proven time and time again, to help many back and neck pain sufferers. These newcomers are finding that an experienced chiropractor can help with all kinds of injury, illness and aches and pains.
Once assured that a chiropractor can help, the next question is usually about chiropractic appointment length and that answer is not the same for everyone. However, you can expect that a first time visit is likely to take at least thirty minutes-possibly longer.
The first appointment with a chiropractor is important for two reasons. The practitioner needs to get an accurate understanding of the pain or discomfort you are experiencing. Is your pain due to an injury or a minor accident? How long ago did it happen? Maybe there was muscle strain from lifting something heavy or a fall that you did not realize at the time would cause injury. Many people suffer injuries or strains without realizing it immediately. An experienced chiropractor might discover injuries that you were unaware of.
The second reason that first visit is important is that it will put your mind at ease and reassure you that there is nothing to fear. A first visit may involve X-rays, and of course this can take longer. This of course will affect the chiropractic appointment length somewhat. It is certainly good to know if the practitioner believes in taking X-rays for every first time patient, because some do.
When it comes to musculoskeletal issues, rather than let them spoil your enjoyment of life, enlist an experienced chiropractor to help. In the end, knowing the chiropractic appointment length is not as important as knowing your practitioner and their preferred method of adjustment. Often an area of pain or discomfort is not the cause of the pain but a symptom, and medical doctors treat only the symptom with pain relievers or muscle relaxants.
Chiropractors work with the assumption that the area of pain may only be the starting point. Discomfort is often an indicator that there is a root problem elsewhere in the body. It can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to trace conditions to their root source.
Another issue many wonder about is the amount of pain they may experience during a chiropractic adjustment which is hard to predict. You will want to find someone experienced whose adjustment technique is effective but, works within your comfort level. Ask for an explanation of their examination method and adjustment techniques, which will help prepare you for your first few visits. The most commonly used chiropractic technique is known as Deep Force, which uses high velocity, low amplitude thrusts at vertebra and joints to realign them. While you may experience a "popping sound" much like cracking your knuckles this is generally not painful. Known as Osseous, this is simply the sound made by the popping of tiny gas bubbles that are naturally found in body fluids.
Our bodies are a complex set of systems that are interrelated. As chiropractors work to move joints back into place in the spine, neck and lower back it increases circulation in the joint. Joints that are resting properly in their joint cavity can improve neurological activity which has likely been disrupted. This promotes more healing to take place.
Tight muscles are often caused by tendons or muscles that have formed around a misaligned joint and by slowly stretching and helping them to relax they can be coaxed back into their proper place which can relieve a lot of discomfort. While slightly uncomfortable as it is being treated, working with these muscles is the key to achieving long term freedom from pain.
What truly heals the body is finding these root causes of pain and treating them. Chiropractic appointment length is good to know, but knowing first hand how much better you will feel is even more important. With your well being and overall health at stake, isn't chiropractic care worth a try?
Dr. Steven Schram is a chiropractor in NYC. Find out more about chiropractic adjustments at his website about chiropractic and acupuncture.
