The chiropractic care is used for diagnosing and treating health complications which affect the bones, muscles, nerves and body joints. Chiropractor is the medical care giver who provides the treatment. The key aspect of this treatment is spine manipulation which is also referred as the spine’s hand on adjustment.
First visit to the chiropractor
The initial visit to health care giver normally lasts for half an hour to 1 hour. He or she would like to find out about your exact health history and more. You could be questioned on past illnesses and injuries. Recent health problems, diet, current medicine intake, lifestyle, sleeping habits, alcohol or tobacco or drugs consumption and mental stress are other areas to be questioned. Inform him or her of the physical complexities you are enduring in certain activities. Divulge the details of any weakness, tinkling, numbness or other nerve issues to your chiropractor.
Getting to know certain aspects of your health, the chiropractor would conduct few physical examinations. It will test spine mobility, check blood pressure levels and take X-rays. This is to find out problems which may accelerate the back ache.
The chiropractic treatment usually starts off with initial or next visit. Your care giver may tell you to lie down on a specific table where he or she would conduct spinal manipulations. Hand done manipulation is usually the most popular form of treatment. This would involve moving a particular joint of spine till the last of its range. It is followed by a mild thrust often referred as adjustment. By realigning the bones of spine, it makes them straighter. Some of the other treatment methods can be also used by the chiropractor such as working on softer tissues and massage.
After their respective manipulations, some people may feel achy, stiffened and exhausting for a few days. It is due to adjustment of their bodies to the new alignment and no pain should be felt by the manipulation.
The number of treatment sessions needed
A problem is normally corrected with more than a single session. The chiropractic treatment may go on for many weeks. Initially, your personal care giver may suggest at least two to three small sessions per week. Each session can last up to ten or twenty minutes and once the improvement signs are visible, treatment may take place only once per week.
There are three conditions best cured with chiropractic treatment. These are subacute pain which persists for three months or below, outbursts of long term chronic back ache, and neck pain. However, people with the following four conditions should stay away from chiropractic care:
- Bone fractures or tumors
- Acute arthritis
- Acute osteoporosis or thinning of bones
- Bone or jointly infections
In rare cases, blood vessels could be damaged or strokes may occur due to the manipulation of neck. A patient’s situation rarely deteriorates due to such kind of manipulation. The screening process conducted by the chiropractor at the initial visit is to find out if there are such risks involved or not. He or she will not conduct neck manipulation if they find a threat.
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