Visiting a Chiropractor
When you first see your chiropractor, you may be among the many people who ask, “how often do I need to come?”. The answer that you may want to hear is once. But chiropractic care, like most things that are really good for us, rarely makes a long-term difference to your health and wellness after just one visit.
Seeing your chiropractor can be a little like going to the gym. It takes time, frequency and follow up to retrain the spine to function well.
Maintenance Care
One reason for having to see a chiropractor regularly is because it usually takes years for the problem to develop which motivates someone to first see a chiropractor and it can take many visits to the chiropractor to correct that problem.
Care Plans
When you go and see your chiropractor know that their recommendations for your plan of care are based on what their clinical experience tells them is best for you and that the research suggests more frequent adjustments have the biggest positive impact on your health and wellness.
References
- Hodges PW, Moseley GL. Pain and motor control of the lumbopelvic region: effect and possible mechanisms. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2003;13(4):361-370.
- MacDonald D, Moseley GL, Hodges PW. Why do some patients keep hurting their back? Evidence of ongoing back muscle dysfunction during remission from recurrent back pain. Pain. Apr 2009;142(3):183-188.
- Ferreira ML, Ferreira PH, Hodges PW. Changes in postural activity of the trunk muscles following spinal manipulative therapy Manual Therapy August 2007;12(3):240-248.
- Haas M, Bronfort G, Evans R, et al. Dose-response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for care of cervicogenic headache: a dual-center randomized controlled trial. Spine J. Feb 23 2018.