Consulting a Chiropractor
Your first visit
Consulting a Chiropractor is little different to any other doctor. You can expect him or her to take a HISTORY of your complaint, EXAMINE you, perhaps order X-rays, make a DIAGNOSIS and TREAT you. Only the treatment will be quite different.
In almost all countries a chiropractor is what is called a primary portal of entry practitioner. That means that you can consult him or her without first having to get a referral from your medical practitioner. Why would you want to consult a chiropractor anyway? There are many reasons. Perhaps you have had unremitting low back pain that hasn’t responded well to conventional medical treatment. Or, perhaps you've had regular headaches for the last two years and you are tired of taking analgesics. You’ve heard that headache pills actually cause headaches, and in any case you know that your doctor is treating the symptoms and not the cause. Or perhaps you sprained your ankle nine months ago, and you still can’t go for walks without pain in the lower leg and it’s making you limp. Chiropractors are trained to treat all the joints in the body so it could be your shoulder, your tennis elbow or even your jaw joint, a major cause of Migraine.
Infantile Colic
There are other reasons too, perhaps more obscure and controversial. Your baby has been crying day and night and you have heard that chiropractors can treat a ‘huil baby’ very successfully to use the Dutch term. That’s where the first conclusive research was done confirming that one of the main causes of colic in small babies is a subluxation in the spine. Most chiropractors will treat your child but there are advanced post-graduate courses now for this specialization. Or, perhaps you have heard that chiropractic can sometimes help women fall pregnant when there is no medical cause for their infertility. Or your kidney condition.Consulting a chiropractor is a routine, ordinary thing to do. Nothing outlandish about it. Now Chiropractors - that's another matter! A different breed!
Sports injuries
Perhaps you are an athlete and you have heard from a fellow competitor how much he was helped with a recurring hamstring injury, or a rotator cuff syndrome, or shin splints after consulting a chiropractor. Since the advancement of the post-graduate FICS (Federation Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport) course, training chiropractors in sport injuries, there are now many chiropractors being invited to every level of sport, including the Olympics. For example, nearly three quarters of the athletes attending the World Games in Duisberg, Germany in July 2005 requested access to chiropractic during the Games, with the result that 23 chiropractors were invited by organizers to attend the games, in order to treat the athletes. Because chiropractors endeavor to treat the cause of conditions which are often caused by subluxations of the spinal joints, or other joints such as in the ankle, rather than the symptoms (such as pain in a muscle) they have become the doctors of choice for many athletes.
The older patient
Or perhaps you are elderly, and all your joints ache, and your good friend has told you how her pain has been relieved by regular chiropractic treatment.
Don't be anxious about Osteoporosis, or brittle bones. We use different techniques for the elderly, and a broken rib is a very rare occurrence - I confess to three in thirty years in practice! Just stand outside any chiropractor's office and you will see plenty of elderly people making their way to see their favourite practitioner. Consulting a chiropractor is no different. Only because you have probably had the condition longer ...
CAUSES OF OSTEOPOROSIS ...
MIRACLES WE DO AT ONCE, the impossible takes a little longer ...
Mrs S, a 75-year old woman consulted me a month ago with right low back pain radiating to the side of her leg. She's had it for over a year. Two things were very clear:- A very short right leg
- A severe sacroiliac joint fixation.
Today, after only three treatments, she reports that she is 75% better. Nee, ik ben geen heilige (saint), just basic chiropractic. You can experience the healing power of Chiropractic too from your local chiropractor. CONSULTING a CHIROPRACTOR is no big deal. Do it if you have pain, and you are not getting better with your medical treatment!
Leg length inequality.
Sacroiliac joint treatment.
Finding a Chiropractor
So how do you go about finding a chiropractor? You could try the yellow pages, or looking on the internet for a local list of practitioners. Better still would be to do some homework and start talking to your friends and acquaintances, and even your medical doctor. Many doctors are now referring patients to chiropractors on a regular basis.The next step is simply to pick up the phone and make an appointment. It would be a good idea to get hold of any old x-rays that you think might be relevant before consulting a chiropractor. New ones may be required, especially if yours are old, or you have recently had an injury, but often the old ones suffice. Then try and prepare the way by thinking through when your condition started, what injuries you have had that may have contributed to the pain (you may have to go back to your childhood), and what aggravates and relieves the condition.
The Examination
Your chiropractor is usually a friendly person, genuinely interested in your condition. He or she will listen carefully to your story, and ask certain pertinent questions. Then he will give you a thorough examination, not only of your spine, but most likely he will check other joints in your body such as your hips and shoulders, your feet, and will take your blood pressure. You will be surprised by the depth of the orthopedic and neurological examination. New x-rays may be required.
You will be surprised by the attention to detail when first consulting a chiropractor.
Report of Findings
You may be treated at the first visit (especially if you are in acute pain) but more likely you will be asked to return with your spouse, at which time you will be given a full report of his findings and the treatment protocol. Be ready to ask questions.Why your spouse? Several reasons come to mind, but he or she may be concerned that you are consulting a chiropractor. He needs to be reassured. Or your better half is worried about the condition that is troubling you, same as you are, and it's better that he hears everything from the horse's own mouth. Lastly, let's be honest. Consulting any doctor costs money, and your partner needs to be convinced that you are not simply throwing away more good money after bad by consulting a chiropractor.
The Three Phases of Care
The treatment protocol may vary considerably, but most usually after consulting a chiropractor the treatment will fall into three phases:- The pain phase. In this phase which usually last about 4-6 weeks, your chiropractor will be treating the cause of your condition in an attempt to reduce your pain. This phase varies enormously depending on the nature of your condition, how long you have had it and how severe it is. If could be several months, or it could be a few days.
- The rehabilitation phase. During this phase you will have less treatment from your chiropractor, and the responsibility will gradually shift to your shoulders. You will be given certain exercises to do regularly at home, and you will most likely be asked to start walking, cycling or swimming. The intention is to strengthen your body, keep it supple, so the next episode doesn’t start again the next time you go and do some gardening.
- The maintenance phase. If you have had your condition for a long time your chiropractor may well suggest you come in for an occasional but regular treatment. How often depends on many factors, but as a rough guide you can work on every two months. By then most people have started to creak and groan a bit, and it is time for a tune up. Usually before serious injuries, most people admit to a period when their bodies start to warn them that something is up. Chiropractors put a lot of emphasis on reducing these silent subluxations before they are the cause of something more serious.
Be truthful ...
One last thought: don’t try hiding anything from your chiropractor. If you have had a setback gardening when you weren’t yet allowed to garden, or haven’t been doing your exercises, it only hurts you and confuses him if you try to conceal things. Tell him or her the whole truth, even if your face is a bit red. Otherwise he may change the treatment, or think of referring you out for surgery or drugs when it is not necessary at all.Good luck. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and, while chiropractors do try to do miracles, the impossible may take a little longer. Consulting a Chiropractor you will find is no big deal.
Chiropractic first
The times, they are a-changing. Many people are now consulting Chiropractors for their pains instead of swallowing bucket loads of pills ... One of the consequences is that your Chiropractor will sometimes be
RUNNING LATE.
LINKS
To go from CONSULTING a CHIROPRACTOR to THE JAW JOINT, a major cause of MIGRAINE. TMJ ear pain ...
SYMPTOMS of WHIPLASH and Chiropractic.
The sacroiliac joint anatomy, a common cause of Lower Back Pain.
Sometimes the examination conflicts with the history. Frog in my Throat reviews opens with a chapter with just such unusual back pain. The cause? A long forgotten IUD that prevented her from falling pregnant.
Chicken bones, a proven cure for ARTHRITIS.
Chiropractic Research
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