"I don't need to see a chiropractor because my back doesn't hurt." I hear this all of the time. And yes, some chiropractors focus solely on back pain and that is totally okay. But, I look at things differently. Firstly, I want you to understand that having no pain does not mean that there can't be a problem. Unless there was an acute accident (you were hit by a baseball bat or in a car accident) often pain is the last symptom to show up and the first to go away. It is your body's final call for help. And only about 10% of your nervous system actually feels pain.
There can be a problem with the other 90% and you will never feel pain! I'm sure we can all think of an incident where someone was diagnosed with cancer or had a heart attack with no pain or serious symptoms beforehand. They may not have had pain but I can promise you there was a problem affecting the nervous system long before the diagnosis. These things don't simply occur overnight.
When a new patient comes into my office I will ask about his or her pain, but I'm going to do a lot more than that. I will check your range of motion, posture, balance and the integrity of your eye movement. These tell me a lot about how your brain is talking to your body and how your body is talking to your brain. If there is a disconnect or a deficit, we've got work to do. As soon as your nervous system function is inhibited, all bodily functions are impaired. This can and will occur before you feel pain. I then check the spine and extremities for subluxations, decreased mobility and asymmetry.
Depending on my findings, my treatments include chiropractic adjustments, soft tissue mobilization, myofascial release and neurological retraining. I promise I will send you home with homework to optimize your nervous system and I will probably discuss diet improvements and might give you some supplement advice. I will do as much as I can during your visit to my clinic, but what you do outside of that time will truly impact your health.
There are a few reasons I want you to get checked out before you have pain:
You might already have a problem
There is always room for improvement
Prevention of future issues
Will I be able to catch and prevent everything? Nope. Sorry. But, I will do my very best to make sure you can be your very best.
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