If you’ve never visited a Denver chiropractor before, it’s natural to have a lot of questions. While many new patients will have questions about whether or not it hurts and which injuries chiropractic care can treat, many are concerned about what may be the most foundational question: how does chiropractic care work?
In this blog, we’re taking a closer look at how chiropractic care works. From the initial consultation to your regular adjustments, this guide will show you how chiropractic care works and how this unique approach to care can effectively treat a range of health problems. If you’re experiencing chronic back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain or stiffness, or limited mobility, our chiropractic office can help.
Governor’s Park Chiropractic is your full-service chiropractic firm serving the Denver area and patients throughout the Front Range. We offer a range of therapeutic services, including massage therapy, acupuncture treatment, therapy and rehabilitation, spinal decompression, and custom orthotics. With our extensive years of experience and friendly, knowledgeable staff, we can help you begin your journey toward recovery and better health.
How Does Chiropractic Care Work?
From the outside looking in, chiropractic care might look pretty straightforward. You’re experiencing back pain or recovering from an accident and your chiropractor cracks your back and you feel better, right? Well, that understanding of chiropractic care glosses over some important details. It’s true that receiving chiropractic adjustments can relieve pain, restore mobility, and improve your overall athletic performance—but do you know how exactly this all works?
It all starts with your chiropractic evaluation. When you make your first visit to a Denver chiropractor’s office, you’ll begin the treatment with an in-depth physical examination. You’ll have the opportunity to identify any areas that are causing you pain or what type of injury you’ve experienced and to discuss your specific healthcare needs. Open and honest communication between the chiropractor and their patient is a cornerstone of the practice.
Following your initial examination, your chiropractor may take a series of X-rays to further examine the source of your pain or injury. Understanding exactly why you’re experiencing your health problems is an initial step in developing the most effective treatment plan. Chiropractors utilize a range of specific chiropractic adjustments, including alternative treatments like massage therapy and acupuncture. But this initial evaluation will help your chiropractor determine exactly why the path is right for your recovery.
Following the examination, your chiropractor may begin your therapy with a series of chiropractic adjustments. While different types of adjustments will vary, the basis for this type of therapy is a series of hands-on adjustments that work to realign your musculoskeletal system into its proper positioning. When this occurs, your body can experience a range of health benefits. Not only can these adjustments address mobility issues and pain throughout the body, but they can boost your overall nervous system health.
With a chiropractic adjustment, your chiropractor will apply pressure to your back, shoulder, neck, or any other joint area that is causing pain or discomfort. Your chiropractor will apply quick and firm pressure to shift your musculoskeletal system back into its right positioning. As a result, you may feel a “popping” sound, like when you crack your knuckles, that indicates the release of a gas bubble between joints. It’s rare that a chiropractic adjustment ever causes any sort of pain (after all, the purpose is to relieve pain), but some patients may experience some mild soreness the next day, similar to how you’d feel after a good workout at the gym.
Following an adjustment, patients often feel quick pain relief and may feel like they’re standing up a little bit straighter. Similar to many other types of care, it’s important to note that, for some patients, multiple visits improve your overall recovery and results. Thus, your chiropractor may recommend that you come back within a few days to receive another adjustment.
Over time, however, most patients can significantly reduce the number of chiropractic sessions they need as the body begins to “adjust” to its proper positioning. Some individuals, however, choose to regularly continue their visits to a chiropractor as they find that the therapy offers lasting results. Regular chiropractic care can also improve your overall physical performance and help you avoid future injuries.
Massage Therapy, Acupuncture Treatment, and More
But that’s not all. In addition to chiropractic therapies like spinal manipulation, many chiropractic offices offer a range of additional healthcare services. Whether used solo or in tandem with chiropractic adjustments, these treatments allow your local chiropractic office to effectively treat more patients with greater success.
In addition to chiropractic care, you may also be able to receive:
1. Massage Therapy: massage therapy uses manual techniques that help relax and stretch the muscles while also removing trigger points and problematic adhesions. Some common techniques, such as Swedish massage, focus on warming up the muscles for deeper techniques. They may also prove effective at promoting overall relaxation. Other techniques, like deep tissue or a sports massage, work much deeper into the muscle to help break up trigger points and provide pain relief.
2. Acupuncture Treatments: acupuncture is a traditional Eastern form of therapy that incorporates the use of thin needles to activate the body’s natural healing abilities. In Eastern tradition, acupuncture works to return the body back to homeostasis and a sense of balance. Recent evidence and research supports this hypothesis and scientific research completed over the years has shown the effects of acupuncture on the brain with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These studies reveal neurological activity that aligns with healing and recovery.
3. Custom Orthotics: custom orthotics can help relieve pain and discomfort as you stand or walk. An orthotic is a medical shoe insert that supports the abnormal movement of the foot caused by a variety of health issues. Orthotics support the movement of your foot to relieve pressure, pain, and discomfort and can add support and cushion while walking, running, or simply standing during your day.
Conclusion – How Does Chiropractic Care Work?
It’s natural, expected, to have a lot of questions before your first visit to a chiropractor. Does it hurt? Will my health insurance cover the visits? And, of course, how does this treatment work? Through a series of manual adjustments, chiropractors are able to address a variety of injuries and health problems. Following a chiropractic adjustment, most patients can experience quick pain relief, improved mobility, and better nervous system health. If you’re experiencing chronic pain, limited mobility, or need help recovering from an injury, then you owe it to yourself to consider the benefits of chiropractic care.
Whether you need general chiropractic care, massage therapy, spinal decompression, or a combination of treatments, we have the experienced staff and resources to help you speed up your recovery and relieve pain. Our chiropractic office utilizes various noninvasive therapy techniques to provide holistic care for our patients. Just know that no matter your healthcare needs, Governor’s Park Chiropractic is on your side.
Contact us today here at Governor’s Park Chiropractic and discover what our full-service chiropractic care office can do for your healthcare needs.
Governor's Park Chiropractic is the Colorado chiropractor team dedicated to helping individuals get out of pain and achieve better health. Offering a range of services and treatment options to meet the specific needs of each patient.