Monday, August 26, 2013

3 Times a Week for the rest of your life

It is obvious that this particular post is in regard to a myth that many people espouse regarding Chiropractic Care. First of all.........Yes, I still hear this from those that are poking fun, Second...........I myself actually grew up with this same fun-poking, uneducated belief system. Personally, it has been a long journey for me to become a Chiropractor being that I was raised with this attitude and considering my undergraduate studies in programs such as Pre Medicine and Physics. The point being ................comments such as this woefully come from either the uneducated or disrespectful, and the only way to help this is through proper education. I tell all my patients that I had to myself at one point in my life decided to become more open minded and realize that some of my belief-systems were plainly based more upon what I had been "taught" to believe, than what I had formulated based upon my own experience(s).
   
Going to the Chiropractor 3 times a week for the rest of your life is absolute fallacy! Important to note, is that there are (3) types of Chiropractic Care: 1. Pain-Based 2. Correction  3. Wellness. Obviously, as with any Medical treatment, a patient's "needs" must be determined in order to properly facilitate care for that particular patient. Most people understand the "Pain Model" as they "go when it hurts." More confusing to many are the Correction and Wellness Models. Yes, spinal "problems" can often be "corrected" at least to some degree depending upon the level of chronicity and destruction you have had before you begin to actually work at the problem.................as is true with anything. Although this concept can seem odd at first, this is only because most people do not think much of their spine, or their nervous system.............often it would be like asking how their kidneys are................."okay............I guess" is the answer, because they really don't know and don't give it much thought. There is a model that most people do seem to understand well when it comes to correction and wellness ( maintenance), and that is of Orthodontia and Braces for the teeth.

Analogy of Chiropractic and Orthodontia (Braces)

Orthodontia/ Dental Braces                                             Chiropractic                

 * Works to "align" teeth properly                                                  *Works to "align" spine properly
 * Uses 24 Hr "Bracing" over years to                                           *Uses "spinal adjustments" over weeks      create Measurable Change and progress                                     to Periodically years to create   
                                                                                                      Measurable Change and progress
*Frequency of Care is bracing 24/7                                               *Frequency of care may be monthly to 
                                                                                                      daily depending upon severity
*Outcomes are greater alignment of teeth, bite correction,              * Outcomes are greater alignment of
  TMJ help, headache help, to name a few                                         spinal column and therefore  
                                                                                                        decreased nervous system 
                                                                                                        interference (dysfunction)
* Maintenance care = retainer, as without its use, the teeth             * Maintenance/ Wellness care = ongoing
   have a tendency to migrate to the old position prior to                    periodic "adjustments" to spine and
   bracing/ correction efforts.                                                             nervous system to prevent migration of 
                                                                                                        spine to old position prior to 
                                                                                                        correction efforts.

The comparison chart above is intentionally brief so as to make the point without getting excessively complicated. Comparisons can also be made to that of Physical Therapy or even Personal Training. Basically, the body has a "learning curve" and to facilitate any long-term notable change, this takes time and frequency. No one goes to the gym once a week and realistically expects to win Mr Universe. No one goes to their PT for one visit expecting them to completely take care of their 30 year old frozen shoulder ailment. Ironically however, many people to want to go to the Chiropractor for one good "crack" to fix them.................well, fix what? A joint "cavitation" (pop) tends to release endorphins (therefore temporarily feeling better), however can it realistically "fix" any condition totally especially when most people have years of unattended to spinal compensations? Therefore the root of this problem is that most people don't really understand the nature of what is really causing their "PAIN," however is "pain" actually the problem, or a signal that their is a problem? Certainly when driving your car you don't place tape over that annoying red light telling you that you are nearly out of gas and realistically expect to get very much further down the road.............do you? You would only do this under the erroneous belief that the light is actually a problem and not just a warning light. Our bodies a brilliant self-healing machines, and PAIN, is nothing more than the indicator light that there is in fact a problem somewhere. On a side note..........as Americans, pain medications are the most highly prescribed class of medications and at a fairly even rate, both pain medication use and chronic disease occurrence are escalating! Is anyone really "fixing" anything on pain meds? The answer is NO! Although I take the occasional Ibuprofen as well..............I am a realist................I do it knowing that I am only temporarily numbing my body's messages that there is a problem I need to resolve..........I.E. "why" I have the headache. 

With all of this, do some people find it necessary to go to a Chiropractor 3 times a week? Yes, because that is the frequency of care necessary to work "with" their body to help them correct neurological injury or compensation patterns for long term benefit. It is inherent that if a patient chooses to work at correcting their spinal problems, that initially their visits are more frequent and as they progress and improve their visit frequency will diminish. It is also common for patients that truly understand this to periodically visit the Chiropractor for check ups prior to an obvious "problem" to help prevent "problems." This is called wellness care, just as there are wellness visits for general Medical care that are intended to benchmark your health, the same is true for your spine and nervous system..............it only makes sense. There is no hard and fast rule nor cookie-cutter mold to Chiropractic care and how your visits are structured. Honestly, we are all taught to brush our teeth from the time we get them to when they are gone. This makes sense because without them, life can be very difficult. The same is really true for any level of health..................keep it all working in the first place, take appropriate care of the big problems as they occur, but continue the wellness to avert the chronic problems you wish you could have avoided. Your nervous system and spine are literally your life-line to your entire existence, therefore why would you not take appropriate care of them? Only if you didn't know any better would you let your spine rot over 50 years to the point you need a spinal fusion. That being said, I am in a bit of a unique position with greater than average knowledge of spinal fusion methods as a Chiropractor and I help my patients with this. I have even had to go to bat for some in order to facilitate the surgery that was necessary! Yes, I am a Chiropractor and I have fought to help patients have surgery. So, before you fall out of your chair...........................it was necessary, and all Health Care providers should do what is RIGHT for our patients and not what is right for the bottom line. A good surgeon will tell you him/herself that they should be a good last option and that they want to take the least invasive approach possible in order to accomplish with they need to.

"3 times a week for the rest of your life" ha ha, next bad joke please. Take care of your body, take care of your spine. You need to know "how" to do so first. You should work with the body and keep yourself healthy as possible form birth to death in order to have a life of "quality." Spinal problems called subluxations that negatively affect the spine and how the nervous system communicates are seen in new-borns to the very aged. Different levels of care are necessary and appropriate for all levels of human existence, however health is a life long requisite. This is why I actually go to hospitals and help evaluate new borns complimentary, I see some patients once every six months, others every week........it is the level of care necessary for that particular patient. 

Yours in Health, 
Dr Moore
**we are considering our next topic to be that of "Chiropractic Cures Everything, a Misunderstood Fallacy" please email us at info@moore-lifechiropractic.com if you would like to give us feedback on this. We always appreciate and value all feedback!