Why Should You Get Regular Spinal Adjustments?

Routine visits to an experienced chiropractor are a proven way to relieve or eliminate acute lower back pain, headaches, neck and shoulder discomforts, and more, but a single visit won't provide long-term results.

While patients may feel better after a single visit to the chiropractor, consistent regular spinal adjustments are the only way to provide lasting healing and comfort.

A Single Spinal Adjustment Is Rarely Enough

The spine is not a solo performer. It is connected to - and directs - numerous muscular, nerve, and connective tissues in addition to every physiologic activity in the body. So, while the work we do in a single chiropractic adjustment may get a particular region of the spine back into alignment, muscle, and connective tissue memory moves it back out of whack again without a clear and consistent treatment plan in place.

As chiropractors, we take a multi-layered and multi-phased approach when treating patients, and this almost always requires a series of visits to ensure lasting improvement. 

Our goal is to provide optimal results for each patient, and we do this by:

1. Explaining what is going on for you so you understand more about the root cause and triggers.
2. We will uncover what led to your current situation so we can determine the root cause of your pain, discomfort, or other symptoms.
3. Identifying the steps required to correct your issue(s) using a personalized treatment plan. This typically involves visits to us, as well as gentle stretches, exercises, or lifestyle changes integrated into daily life.
4. Using specific chiropractic adjustments to correct misalignments in the spine.

It's impossible to do all that in a single session on the chiropractic table, so we typically implement a multi-visit, phased care plan.

Is a Single Chiropractor Adjustment Ever Effective?

Yes, in rare cases, a person may only need a single chiropractic adjustment or two to get back on track. However, that would mean they were in balanced alignment before any recent incident or injury that caused them pain, so their body is primed to maintain the adjustment once we've done our work. That is pretty rare.

Most of the time, we see patients after an extended period of suffering. They may have had small red flags with headaches, upper neck or shoulder pain, or minor lower back discomfort. But then, after months or even years, the pain becomes too hard to ignore. 

A single visit and adjustment will never be enough when that's the case. It takes a series of regular assessments and customized spinal adjustments to correct or support the issue(s) to the best of our ability.

The Body Has a Memory: Your Movements & Posture Reflect That

You may have heard the term "muscle memory," which refers to the ability of our muscles to do habitual things without much intentional thought on our part. Crawling, standing, and walking are examples of how something that requires tremendous focus at the beginning can be done with little to no thought for the rest of our lives.

The way we move our bodies, including our sitting/standing/lying posture, follows a similar path. If you are injured or sore, your body corrects its position to accommodate that. Over time, even after an injury heals, your muscle memory may keep you in that "corrected" position, leading to other corrections and habitual muscle memories.

Issues like that only become more hardwired over time, so while a single visit may have an initial positive effect, it cannot correct what weeks, months, or years of habit have created. Over a series of adjustments, relevant therapies, and the prescribed exercises/stretches/practices you incorporate daily, your skeleton, muscles, and nerves "relearn" what healthy alignment is and improve at making that the new normal.

Things aren't always as they appear on the pain front

Interestingly, our nerves have a memory as well. So, sometimes, even after an initial injury heals, our nervous system may continue to fire pain signals, even when there's no actual trigger anymore. Again, this type of habitual wiring requires multiple visits to unwind.

Also, because the nervous system is intertwined with so many other parts of the body, the place where you're feeling discomfort may not be the primary source of your pain or discomfort at all. 

For example, you may experience lower back pain and expect a lower back adjustment when you come in. Then, as the doctor performs an evaluation, they may discover your lower back pain is actually caused by a misalignment higher up in your spine. While we may still adjust your lower back to provide short-term relief, our top priority will be determining the therapy and adjustments needed to correct the upper spine's position. 

In this case, we will eventually correct the upper spine alignment over a series of visits, recommending gentle movement "homework" on your end to continue supporting our adjustments. Over time, these corrections support lower back alignment. We'll continually evaluate and correct any other misalignments along the spine until the body "remembers" how to stay aligned on its own.

While most people come to us due to primary pain or discomfort, they soon learn that their misaligned spine has led to a series of side effects they'd never known had anything to do with a misaligned spine. So, as our adjustments begin to correct spine and vertebrae alignment, you may find that other symptoms and side effects dissipate as well, all proof of whole-body connection. 

Over time, methodical chiropractic adjustments can relieve both musculoskeletal, neurologic, and physiologic symptoms.

Musculoskeletal issues:

• Headaches
• Lockjaw or other jaw misalignments.
• Neck pain
• Shoulder pain
• Tension, soreness, and fatigue from poor posture.
• Mid and lower back pain.
• Herniated disk.
• Scoliosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Osteoarthritis
• Sore or stiff joints (shoulders, knees, hips, ankles, etc.).
• Sports Injuries.
• Postpartum skeletal issues in both mother and baby.

Nervous system issues:

• Headache/migraine.
• Numbness or tingling in the extremities.
• Stress and anxiety.
• Sleep disorders.
• Compromised nerve function due to a stroke, disease, or other diagnosis.
• Chronic pain (often caused by habitual nerve signaling that chiropractic techniques can correct).
• Sciatica
• Other neurological conditions.

Physiologic issues 

All the body's nerves branch out from the brain and spinal cord. So, misalignment in any area of the spine can directly impact organs and tissue bundles, and physiologic systems connected to the affected nerves. Research suggests chiropractic adjustments may complement your doctor's prescribed treatments for conditions affecting:

• Circulation.
• Inflammation.
• Gastrointestinal function (including relief from things like acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn's disease).
• Lung function.
• Diabetes.
• Immune function.
• Blood pressure
• Chronic allergies.
• Repeat illnesses.

Chiropractors Use a Phased Care Approach

When clients come to us with a history of pain or illness or as the result of a serious accident or injury, we use a phased approach. This starts with an initial appointment, intake process, and assessment, and then we craft a treatment plan from there. 

Phase 1: Learning more about what brought you here

The first step is to learn all we can about what brought you into our office. We also want to know about things like your:

• Medical history.
• Current medicine prescriptions and supplements.
• Previous experiences of chiropractic care.
• Current or prior experience with other medical treatments or healing modalities (physical therapy, acupuncture, massage, yoga, etc.).
• History of prior sports injuries, car accidents, or other events that may be haunting you via your current symptoms.
• Diet.
• Exercise or stretching routine.

We'll also want to learn more about what brings you relief and what exacerbates your condition. And, of course, we're sure you also have questions and concerns. Never hesitate to ask us about anything at all; there is no such thing as a silly question. 

Remember: We are here to serve you, so your understanding, trust, and security are a top priority.

Phase 2: Physical Assessment

If you have current x-rays or imaging of the affected areas, we may ask to see those. Depending on your symptoms, we may ask that you get imaging of the affected area(s) from your healthcare provider, or we can do it here in our office. These images are the best way to determine exactly what's going on with your bones and surrounding tissues - especially those we can't necessarily feel at the surface layers of your fascia.

Depending on your mobility, physical ability, flexibility, and comfort level, we'll use a variety of methods to assess your posture and spinal alignment. This may include:

• Sitting
• Standing
• Bending
• Walking
• Balancing
• Demonstrating range of motion.

We'll also have you lie on our chiropractic table so we can better assess your body/spine alignment from head to toe. This includes gentle, physical manipulation of your limbs, head, and neck. We may also use instruments designed to manipulate vertebrae or fascia with minimal impact on you or the chiropractor.

Again, your comfort is always a top priority, so everything we do is slow, methodical, and gentle; we take things one step at a time.

Phase 3: Creating a customized treatment plan

Now that we understand the underlying issues better, it's time to create your treatment plan.

Chiropractors are holistic practitioners, meaning we respect the mind/body connection, and our various treatment methods reflect that understanding. 

A timed chiropractic treatment plan

Depending on the severity of the injury or issue or the length of time you've had the problem or symptoms that brought you to us, we'll create a timed, tiered chiropractic treatment plan.

This usually begins with multiple visits in the first few weeks, eventually tapering to weekly visits, then every other week, and then every two weeks until your issues are resolved. 

Most patients opt to continue seeing us once a week or several times a month as a proactive prevention plan.

Personalized adjustments, treatments, and therapies

The spinal adjustments and other treatments/therapies we use in our office depend entirely on your root cause(s) of pain or discomfort. And some patients respond better to some treatments or therapies than others, so we continue to tailor your chiropractic sessions from there.

In addition to spinal adjustments, we may also use:

• Heat therapy (moist, dry, and cream or gel application-based)
• Cold therapy (including cold laser therapy).
• Electrical muscle stimulation (very gentle and tailored to your comfort level).
• Traction to create space and correct the posture in your head, neck, spine, and pelvis.
• Ergonomic training, support, and referrals for ergonomic tools/resources to use at home, work, or while exercising.
• Rehabilitative exercises. Your daily activities must support our adjustments and in-office treatments, or they won't lead to optimal outcomes. We'll provide instructions for specific exercises/stretches/activities you can do at home to retrain your muscles and connective tissues so they maintain better postural balance. 
• Information and tips about nutrition or supplementation that supports a healthier you - including an optimized immune system and reduced inflammation.
• Anything else we feel can support your recovery, comfort, ease, and overall wellness.

Schedule A First Consultation With Zahn Chiropractic

Are you overdue for pain relief resulting from musculoskeletal pain and discomfort? Or, are you in the process of recovering from a car accident or other injury? Current studies and evidence-based research are clear that regular spinal adjustments from a licensed, experienced chiropractor can provide long-term physical and overall health benefits.

Schedule your first consultation with Zahn Chiropractic online or give us a call at 972-987-6194. Our methods are tailored to meet your individual needs, and we're committed to providing personalized evidence-based care to help you achieve your wellness goals.