As you are likely aware, people go to Chiropractors with all types of reasons and goals. Some people visit us when they have an issue that is bothering them like back pain, neck pain, headaches, ear infections, asthma and trouble sleeping, while many others visit us for a routine check-up without any symptoms at all.

Whether you are experiencing any symptom or not, our examination procedure remains the same. That is because we are not looking at “getting rid” of your symptoms, we are interested in balancing your nerve system. Believe it or not, approximately 75% of the nerves in your body feed vital information to your organs, muscles and glands (called motor nerves). These motor nerves do not feel anything. Only about 25% percent of the nerves in your body transmit sensations to your brain and only about 5% of those transmit information about pain. That means that more than 95% of your human experience has nothing to do with how you feel in terms of pain! To be the best doctor, I must make recommendations of care based on 100% of your nerve system. Of course it is up to you whether or not you choose to accept those recommendations, but I will always make recommendations which would lead to your optimal health.

Types of Care

If you were to come to my office with a known “problem” or symptom, you would have a choice to make: receive Chiropractic care until you feel better, called relief care or continue through a process of correcting the issue and stabilizing the spine to hold proper alignment long term and provide optimal nerve function called corrective care. As expected, corrective care requires a bit more of a time and financial commitment. However, those who receive the benefits of corrective care often have much longer lasting results than those who only use Chiropractic when symptoms exist. In the long run, they end up saving lots of time and money! When corrective care is complete, many choose to continue with lifestyle care which is done to maintain corrections already made and continue to promote a healthy spine and wellness lifestyle for as long as they choose.

Frequency of Visits

As mentioned above, everyone is different so not everyone will require the same amount of care. Because we offer many wellness services at DREAM Wellness and encourage self-care to support the adjustments, we find that our practice members have the need for far less frequent adjustments. It is not uncommon for someone to require 2-3 visits per week during the first phase of corrective care, and that may last anywhere from 1-4 weeks on average. During the second phase of corrective care, the visits typically will be reduced to 1-2 visits per week for about another 2-6 weeks and then 1 time per week until we determine that you have made a great correction. During the corrective care stage, you will be re-examined every 10-15 visits to monitor your progress. Once that correction has been reached (assuming we were able to reach a complete correction), you may choose lifestyle care. The intensity of your lifestyle care will ultimately be determined by the intensity of your lifestyle. The more you “beat yourself up” and fewer good things you do for yourself, the more you will need to see me. However, the more good you do for yourself between visits, the less you will need to see me! We have some people get check-ups once per week, some once per month and some twice per year. Ultimately, the frequency of lifestyle care will be determined by YOUR goals, YOUR lifestyle and YOUR values. Lifestyle care ends when you choose it to; we hope that is never.

What if I feel great?

Good question! Again, because only 25% of the nerve system is sensory, how you feel has little to do with how you actually function. After we do the assessment on you, we will determine if you have nerve interference and the extent of it if present. Some people come to us with no symptoms at all and actually require correction before beginning lifestyle care. However, the are numerous amounts of people who come to DREAM Wellness for a check-up and actually have a very stable, well functioning spine and nerve system. Most of those people choose lifestyle care to ensure optimal nerve function for a lifetime.

Remember, when you come for your Chiropractic appointment, you are coming to be checked to see if you’re in adjustment or not; you are not necessarily coming for an adjustment.