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There are three phases of chiropractic care. Each phase serves
as a vital component on your road to health and wellness.
Phase One
The first phase
of care is symptomatic relief. The goal is obviously to relieve
you of your symptoms. Symptoms are typically the last thing to
show up and the first to go away.
Once your
adjustments begin to hold and the integrity of your nervous
system begins to be restored, your symptoms will start to go
away. But this is all we have accomplished up to this point. We
have just taken enough pressure off the nerves and the joints to
start to alleviate your symptoms.
If you stop care
at this point you will most likely return to the office in a
month or two with the same exact problem. This is why it is so
important to continue through the second phase of care, the
corrective phase.
Phase Two
The Corrective
or Reconstructive phase is the most important phase of care. The
goal is to make global and permanent changes to your spine. This
phase is equivalent to putting braces on your teeth. We are
retraining the joints (bones, nerves, muscles, and other soft
tissue) to accept and hold their new position.
Since joints
have memory and because most individuals have been subluxated
for years prior to starting chiropractic care, it takes time to
rehabilitate the spine. But once the change has occurred it
becomes necessary to enter the third phase of care.
Phase Three
This phase of
chiropractic care is the supportive or maintenance phase. Once
the spine has been corrected, it is important to maintain this
improvement. Spinal hygiene is paramount.
We readily
accept these concepts when it comes to our teeth. We brush
daily, floss, and go to the dentist for regular cleanings;
however, your teeth do not house and protect the very system
that controls and coordinates every function in your body. Yet,
your spine does. In fact, one of the primary functions of the
spinal column is to house and protect the nervous system - the
master control system of the body.
Once you finish
the reconstructive phase of care, it is not like the effects of
gravity and the negative effects of your daily activities do not
cease to occur. Your spine is constantly subject to negative
forces. It is so much easier to maintain a healthy spine than it
is to treat one that is sick or unhealthy.
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