Phases of Care

Phases of Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care has been compared to building a house. Things happen in a certain order to ensure that everything stands strong and works together– first you lay the foundation, then build the walls, and finally, add the roof. You can’t change the order of these major steps and expect to have a solid structure.

This same concept applies to your body in that your spine is like the foundation of your house. If something is wrong with your spine, it needs to be addressed in order for the rest of your body to be healthy and strong. And, similar to building a house, your chiropractic care plan proceeds in three distinct phases in order to achieve the best results.

Phase 1: Relief Care

If you are in pain when you come into our Weston chiropractic office, our primary focus will be on reducing your pain and getting you feeling better as soon as possible. Depending on the severity of your condition, this may require multiple visits over the first few weeks of care.

When you begin chiropractic care, pain will usually be the first symptom to disappear, but that doesn’t mean that your problem has been fully resolved. In fact, much of the underlying condition may remain. That’s why it’s important to understand the next phase of care: Corrective or Restorative Care.

Phase 2: Corrective or Restorative Care

Eliminating the immediate symptoms is often considered the easiest step in a patient’s care plan. But, in order to prevent your symptoms from coming back, it is necessary to continue your treatment plan.

The goal of corrective or restorative care is to fix the underlying problem and restore as much function as possible. During this phase, muscles and other tissues are able to heal more completely, which will help to stabilize and strengthen your spine. This will help to maintain the motion and function that you’ve regained and prevent serious relapses.

It is not unusual to have mild flare-ups in your symptoms from time to time. This is normal, because your body is still working on fully healing.
During the corrective or restorative phase of care, you will have fewer adjustments than during relief care. The doctor may also teach your stretches and exercises that you can do at home to help the healing process. After the doctor has done everything we can to correct the problem, the next step is Maintenance Care.

Phase 3: Maintenance Care

Once your body has fully healed, maintenance chiropractic care can help you to maintain the health of your spine and prevent future injuries. When you come in for routine care, you can avoid many of the aches and pains that so many others suffer, your joints will last longer, and you will recover much faster when new injuries arise.

It can also save you money over the long term. Just like getting routine oil changes is easier and less expensive than replacing the engine in your car, maintenance chiropractic visits usually take only a few minutes of your time, have benefits that build upon each other, and are less expensive than dealing with a major injury.

Research supports the value of maintenance chiropractic care

A study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (April 2011) followed 894 injured workers for one year after their initial injury. The study found that the workers with the highest percentage of re-injury were those undergoing physical therapy, followed by those managing their injury medically, and those undergoing no treatment at all. The workers with the lowest re-injuries were those who had received chiropractic maintenance care.

Different patients will benefit from different treatment options. The doctor will recommend the best combination of treatments for each individual patient.