Laying the foundation
Chiropractic care is like building a house - certain things have to happen in a particular order in order for everything to stand strong and work correctly. When building a house, if you tried to put up your walls before you had a solid foundation, your walls would be weak and eventually collapse. If you tried to put on your roof before the walls were ready, you would run into the same problem. The same is true for your body. Your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of chiropractic care . . .
Phase 1: Crisis Control (or Relief) Care
If you are in pain when you come into our office, the first objective is to help you feel better. Because you are unique and your life is unique and important, a thorough exam will be done before we guess at what we can and can't do for you. (This phase is common to nearly all practitioners)
Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care
During the corrective care phase, the importance of symptoms melts into the background as we focus on "getting to the root" of why you had these issues in the first place. Corrective care, in our office, has been likened to braces on teeth, vs. simply filling cavities in a crisis.
Phase 3: Wellness Care
Once your spine has stabilized, it is important to come in for periodic adjustments to remove the small irritation of daily life. This is sometimes described as preventive care, and more acurately it is "wellness care". Being well is a state of being, allowing us to handle life's stresses. Because those stresses will come, no matter how much we try to prevent them.