When you ask anyone about their back problems, they’ll probably tell you that they have endured back and neck aches at least once in their lifetime. For some individuals, the discomfort goes away after several days of taking things easy, however, for others, it keeps lingering for weeks, sometimes months, and in the worst-case scenario, for years
If you’re currently experiencing back problems that are hindering you through the day, you may have started thinking about consulting a chiropractor and if so, you’re probably also wondering how many treatments you’ll need. Luckily, this article might be able to help you. Let’s take a look at what a chiropractor is, how often you should see them, and what they can help you with:
Chiropractor: Explained
You can think of a chiropractor as an alternative treatment method, one that uses spinal manipulations to alleviate different problems. The entire concept is that they can properly align your skeletal structure, especially the spine, which can allow the body to heal without the need for medication or surgical procedures.
The manipulation of the spine and bones can restore movement to the joints that were restricted due to an injury caused by events such as repetitive motion, falling down, car accidents, and so on. This treatment method is most commonly used for alleviating aches in the bones, joints, muscles, and so on.
What Will The Sessions Be Like?
This will mostly depend on the practice you opt for visiting, especially since they might focus on one particular area like assessing and managing skeletal injuries that include the lower back, as well as shoulder and neck pain. However, there are three, most frequent phases of any treatment option including:
- Relieving Aches – the initial session will be about assessing and managing your pain. Depending on your problems, they will first assess your body and then start the procedure in order to give you immediate relief during the first and second sessions.
- Advising – keep in mind, they will never prescribe you medicine, especially since the entire concept of their care is to provide treatment without the need for medicine or surgery. Instead, they’ll advise you on what you need to do and work with you to correct the problems you have.
- Rehabilitation – they’ll create an exercise problem for you, specifically designed according to your issues, all of which will help you with correcting muscle imbalances, but more importantly, guaranteeing that the issues don’t occur again. Additionally, they’ll ensure that the exercises prevent future injuries from happening.
So, How Often Should I See Them?
As we mentioned earlier in the article, individuals choose to see these doctors for a wide range of reasons, mostly revolving around experiencing chronic pain, inflammation, and so on. This means that the number of sessions you’ll need to schedule will depend on various factors.
The factors that can influence the number of sessions you’ll need to schedule include:
- The Injury – the first factor that can easily raise the number of sessions you need is the type of injury you have. For instance, it will take longer to align your spine properly than it would be to treat an injured joint.
- When You Sustained it – an injury that happened 2 years and 2 weeks ago cannot be treated in the same way, meaning that the longer it’s been there for, the harder it will take to treat.
- The Pain Levels – another thing that will influence the number of visits is the pain you’re feeling. At times, you might not be able to completely finish the session, meaning that you’ll need to return back.
These factors can influence the number of treatments, and it’ll probably vary and range from one to twenty-five sessions. Keep in mind, you could always ask your doctor for an estimate of the number of times you’ll need to head to their office. Also, ensure that you learn more about the entire process since it might help with figuring out how many visits you’ll need.
Are There Other Things They Can Help With?
Yes, besides the aforementioned treatment options, they can help you with other issues as well, including:
- Headaches – headaches are caused by different things misalignment of the neck and dehydration. Since they can help with improving the blood flow in the entire body, your oxygen will increase, which means that it’ll better supply your brain, hence, alleviating the headache you are experiencing.
- Restricted Movement – you might have noticed that your legs and arms cannot move as they could before or that you cannot turn your neck in one direction. If so, you must schedule an appointment with them since they’ll help align your entire body, helping it to function properly again.
- Muscle Aches – muscle pain can be extremely tiring and annoying, however, if you’re experiencing it, don’t opt for taking medicine. Why? Well, the problems you are having might be connected to your spin, something that a chiropractor could help you solve. Again, they’ll adjust the bones, hence, they’ll increase the blood flow, which will help with muscle problems and inflammation.
- Repetitive Motion – if your job requires you to constantly do the same thing like typing or sitting for hours, it’s not that weird that you might have destroyed your posture. Bad posture can put pressure on your back and neck, which can cause some serious problems with your spine. However, when aligned, you won’t only improve your posture, but the aches will go away too.
Conclusion
Visiting a chiropractor can help you with a wide range of problems including back, neck, shoulder, and joint pain. However, there are so many more things that they can do for you, which is why a lot of people choose to frequently visit their chiropractor, especially when they want to prevent future injuries and aches.
So, now that you know everything there is about choosing this alternative treatment option, you should not lose any more of your time. Instead, open up your search browser, and start looking for a trustworthy and reliable chiropractor practice that will help you with alleviating the pain you are feeling.