Do I Need to Keep Seeing My Chiropractor After the Pain is Gone?

It is good news that your pain is gone. Chiropractic practitioners are experts at detecting, correcting, and preventing spinal misalignments, which can quickly provide pain relief. However, there are two important reasons to return to your chiropractor even though you are feeling better.

First, the underlying problem may not yet be completely corrected. While you may temporarily feel better, if your spine is still structurally misaligned, it will silently continue to degrade. The longer a misalignment has to degrade, the more seriously it affects your body. Your symptoms may return and may be even worse than before. This could cause damage to your spinal structure, in addition to the part of the body that the particular spinal area serves.

It’s not that different from taking medicines. Many people are prescribed a medicine and then take it just until the pain stops. However, this still leaves some of the damaging microbes in the body; in fact it leaves the strongest ones, which then multiply and cause further illness. You will want to be sure that your treatment has completely eliminated the underlying misalignment, and that the process has been able to restore your body’s natural function before you determine that treatment is complete.

Another reason to return to the chiropractor is because they do not just treat existing problems, they provide excellent preventive care. Regular visits to the chiropractor can prevent new subluxations from occurring, and can catch early ones soon enough to halt or reverse the process. Your chiropractor will work with you to determine the most appropriate frequency of periodic spinal adjustments and regular examinations, based on the severity of your current subluxations and your general state of health.

It is also important to remember that subluxations may not cause symptoms. They may begin at birth and lead to later disease or dysfunction. Regular contact with a chiropractor can keep you on top of your health in such a way that problems and symptoms are less likely to develop. Even (or perhaps especially) children can benefit, as their spines are still growing and problems later in life can be avoided with proper spinal alignment during youth.

Finally, since chiropractic treatment is all-natural and avoids medicines or invasive procedures, there is no reason not to continue to have regular chiropractic care. Good chiropractors provide a holistic approach to diagnosing and treating your health, and are not afraid to refer to you to another kind of specialist should you need one.