Pain and mental health

How Frequently Should You Go to a Chiropractor?

                Short answer, as frequently as you want.  Many people who need chiropractic care have other considerations as well that they are dealing with.  Be it finances, time, or desire many things can get in the way of making your appointments.  Below is a rough rule-of-thumb for how often you should be getting care.  Often how much work you are willing to put into your care will determine how frequently you need to be seen.   Coincidentally, it usually determines how long you need to be seen in each phase as well.

                When you are not following your DC’s care plan; not icing, not stretching, not doing the prescribed exercises; or not giving your body adequate time to heal before resuming activities you will need to be seen more often.  If you aren’t holding your adjustments as long as you think you should, take a moment and assess if you’ve followed all of the care instructions.  Everyone is different and sometimes, it just takes longer to get over the “hump” of allowing your body to heal itself, but often a patient is skipping on one or more home care activities which can result in longer durations at higher frequency visits. 

                For those taking pretty decent care of themselves:  eating right, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and not allowing stress to overwhelm them; the frequency is much lower.  There are some patients that come in once every three months or so, just to make sure everything is going well.  Health is a mosaic, however, and not ensuring every facet of our lives are going well, can quickly cause a domino effect, taking everything else with it.  A subluxation allowed to grow into pain can quickly result in lost sleep.  Over-fatigue can in turn make us not eat as healthily because our bodies need to operate at less than optimal steam, needing quick fuel (donuts or McDonalds, etc.).  Not eating right can cause us to feel crumby and not want to exercise… it’s easy to imagine how quickly it can get out of hand. 

                There are those on the other end of the spectrum.  The ones who are pushing themselves to achieve peak health.  Athletes are the obvious example, but anyone who is striving for high-level achievement.  Lawyers, surgeons, framers, farmers, stay-at-home parents and students all have reasons to strive for peak health.  For these individuals, food is fuel, exercise is non-negotiable, meditation is mandatory, and chiropractic is key.  These folks know that they need to get at least 8 hours of sleep to achieve what that need to accomplish every day.  And they may find themselves seeking chiropractic care once a week as a baseline, and more frequently when the need arises. 

                We are all different, and our need for chiropractic varies by individual but this is an easy way to think about how much you need care.  Another important thing to remember is that pain is the last sign that we need to be adjusted.  Making chiropractic a part of your healthy lifestyle will not only help you achieve your health faster and easier, it will help you maintain your health for longer.  Chiropractic may add years to your life, but it will certainly add life to your years.