What are the realistic expectations at the chiropractor?

Through having many conversations with patients and people in the community, I have come to the realization that many people don’t know what to expect from chiropractic care either because they have never experienced it or they have never had anyone explain the process to them.  Many chiropractors take an approach where they leave the treatment completely open-ended and do not give the patient information about what to expect as they undergo treatment.  Dr. Ring makes it a point to tell every patient what he expects from care in regards to the required frequency, length of care, and how you will progress through your treatment plan.  Each and every patient responds differently to care, but Dr. Ring has a pretty good idea of how things will go down before the adjustments are started.

When all the dust has settled, it’s hugely important to understand what the realistic expectations are… For many people, they want out of pain and they want out of pain now.  They want their condition corrected and they need it corrected yesterday!!  I totally understand where they are coming from, but the cause of your pain and discomfort generally has taken a long time, even years, to develop despite the length of time you have experienced pain.

When I ask people if they have ever been to the chiropractor, some will say the went once but it didn’t help.  ONCE!!  How in the world do you expect to see dramatic improvement on anything with ONE visit?!  I love analogies so here is one I use when I encounter this response…

Imagine it’s January 3rd and you have made a resolution to get in shape this year so you become a member at the local gym and set-up an evaluation with a personal trainer.  During the evaluation, the trainer discovers that you are 47 pounds over-weight, with an elevated body fat composition and your muscle mass is severely lacking.  He proceeds to put you through your first workout and then sends you home for the day after setting up your second workout two days later.  You leave the gym anxious but excited because once you know where you are currently, you can make the appropriate changes to get to where you want to be.  But here’s the thing… You wake up the next morning and climb on the scale only to realize that you have lost 0 pounds.  Zip, nada, zilch!!  You conclude after one workout that “THIS DOESN’T WORK”!!  Now come on, you probably wouldn’t react that way, but when you give the chiropractor one adjustment to cure years of issues, that’s exactly what you are doing to them.

The bottom line is, it takes time to heal and recover.  The thing that a skilled chiropractor should tell you is that while your pain may have just recently appeared, the cause of the pain has been growing, developing and getting worse for years and that is evident on the examination and the X-rays.  You must have realistic expectations that if it took a long time to develop, it often takes a while to correct and retrain the spine.  But the cool part is… when you commit to giving it time and you are consistent and persistent with care, the odds are usually always in your favor to improve.  Some people are lucky enough to start to feel better sooner than others but when you stay the course and see it to the end, 92% are statistically proven to improve.  All good things come to those who wait :-).

As always, if you have any questions, or would like to schedule a time to sit down with Dr. Ring at Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic, give us a call at 918-940-4630 and we can set-up an appointment for you.  We take most insurance and can generally get you in the office the same day.  Thank you for your referrals and thank you for allowing us to be your chiropractor.

The post What are the realistic expectations at the chiropractor? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

The type of arthritis we are describing is most often touted as the “wear and tear” type osteoarthritis and has been strictly associated with age for far too long.  It is the most common type of arthritis and can be detected in 35% of the general population by 30 years of age and it’s my opinion that number is far to low.  By the time someone is 70 years old, this condition appears to be universal.

A study by J.S. Lawrence revealed that osteoarthritis can be noted on an X-ray in 10% of 15 year old children and I stand and scream “this is not OK!!”

Osteoarthritis has been characterized clinically by pain, deformity, reduced range of motion, stiffness and eventually partial or complete disability.  It’s unfortunate but is has been universally accepted as a simple and inescapable part of aging.  Any notion or thought even remotely associated with slowing or halting the process and even reversing it has been labeled, until recently, as impossible.

Repairing the Joints

Joints in your body are area where two bones come together for the purpose of motion.  The ends of these bones are lined with a soft tissue cartilage that is designed to reduce friction so that the motion of the joint is smooth and painless.  As a matter of fact, the surface of the cartilage that lines your joints is so perfect as to be almost entirely without friction.  Also, an interesting fact about cartilage is that it has the ability to heal itself and is characterized as self-regenerating.  Along with the cartilage is a special material called synovial fluid that constantly bathes the joint and acts as a lubricant.  The process of arthritis is your own body’s attempt to repair something that has been damaged or is under stress, such as from a vertebral subluxation (mis-alignment) of the spinal bones.

Spinal vertebra are separated by a disc that acts as a shock absorbing material that undergoes a number of changes as a result of excess or improper stress.  These discs tend to decrease in size and cracks form in the material.  These changes tend to lead to instability of the joints and as a result, the normal body’s repair phenomena is called into play in an attempt to stabilize an area that is unstable.  As a result, we see the formation of calcium deposits and bone spurs that cause the pain and limited range of motion and are evident on the X-rays.  Arthritis is no longer seen in terms of an actual disease, rather it is viewed as your own body attempting to repair an area of your spine which is unstable.

But fun fact…. arthritis is not caused by aging, rather it is caused by chronic stress on the joints and some of the spinal bones remaining out of alignment for long periods of time.  We see children with this condition because the process of pregnancy and birth cause a traumatic incident that creates the subluxation from the beginning.

What is the take-home message?

The good new is that odds are often in your favor to slow down, halt and even reverse this condition when you take the proper steps.  It is important to have your spine checked as soon as possible if you have not already do this.  Far too often people wait until they are in pain or have stiffness before they take action but by this time, the process has advanced further than anticipated.  It is also important to have your children checked to determine whether or not they have subluxations, not only from the perspective of ensuring normal health and function but also to make certain that there is no error in the function of the vertebra that will lead to the arthritic process.  There are also some things you can take that can help in the recovery process….

-Glucosamine sulphate with chondroitin which helps to repair the collagen matrix that comprises your cartilage, discs and other ligaments

-Devil’s claw root and tumeric are natural anti-inflammatory substances that slow the body’s abnormal repair process

-Magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin B and bioflavonoids can all be consumed by children

*Be sure to consult with a doctor before starting yourself or your children on any of these substances and speak with a naturopath or homeopath for additional nutritional recommendations specific to your situation.

Through a proper health history, examination and X-rays, a chiropractor can detect these changes early and put together a plan to aid in the recovery.  If you have any specific questions, please call 918-940-4630 to set up your complimentary consultation to speak with Dr. Travis Ring to discuss your situation.  Like it’s stated earlier, early intervention is the key to keeping the odds in your favor.

The post Do I have arthritis or spinal degeneration? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.