Often, when people come into ADIO Health Chiropractic, their primary complaint is not the actual problem-it’s the symptom. Typically, cheaper discounted chiropractic offices only focus on the treatment of symptoms and short term relief.
Our chiropractic plans concentrate on long-term structural correction. These plans won’t just get rid of the symptoms but they get to the root cause and create long-lasting change in the spine. These are custom-tailored plans that are unique to each patient, based on what they present with.
The Length of Typical Care Plans
As we tend to be somewhat more conservative with our care plans, most adults’ plans are 3-4 months long. To best determine where the issues are in someone’s spine, how to correct them and how long it will take, we use motion study X-rays in addition to neurological and postural assessments.
According to substantial research, to get the most amount of change in the least amount possible you need input to the spine on average every other day for 90 days. For most people, that’s typically 2-3 times a week.
A Focus on Curve Restoration
A major focus of ours is curve restoration. Why? Well, we all deal with stress, whether it’s physical, emotional or chemical and we assess how that stress impacts the nervous system and your physiology. When you get stressed physiologically you go into a flexion position. Think about this – flexion is protection and the stress response in our bodies is designed for our protection. When that happens you start losing the curve in the neck due to this forward leaning position.
Neurologically, that curve in the neck is the most important and tells us the most from a clinician standpoint. That’s because when you lose a curve in the neck it creates many biomechanical changes in the rest of the spine. Pretty much every issue in the spine below the clavicle (aka collar bone) is a reflex and/or compensation stemming from issues that started up in the neck.
How Forward Head Posture Stresses the Spine
For probably 95% of the people who come into the office with low back pain, the low back pain is a symptom but the true cause is forward head posture. Consider this: your head weighs on average around 7.5% of your body weight. So for most people, it weighs 10-15 pounds. It’s like a bowling ball! So if that bowling ball is way out in front of your shoulders that will put a lot of stress on the rest of your spine. For every inch or so that your head travels in front of your shoulders it adds roughly 15-20 pounds of additional stress to your spine and nervous system.
The Priceless Value of Preventative Care
You’ve likely heard the saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” We agree. If you have a structural problem it will cost you much less to do something now versus going down the rabbit hole of potential surgery, loss of work and/or decreased quality of life in the future.
Remember, while insurance may cover a major portion of the surgery, you would still need to pay your deductible. You’d also need to take time off from work and your quality of life could be diminished. So being proactive about your health now can save you time, resources and energy down the road.