Laying the Foundation for Total Health
Chiropractic care is a bit like building a house – certain things have to happen in a particular order for everything to stand strong and work together correctly. When there is a problem with the foundation, there are most likely other problems. The goal of chiropractic care is to address the underlying issue, not just the symptoms you are currently experiencing, to achieve full health and relief. With chiropractic care, your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are 3 general phases of chiropractic care.
Phase 1: Relief Care
If you are in pain when you come into see Dr. Mattern his first objective is to help you reduce pain and start feeling better as soon as possible. Depending on the pain severity, the first step in treatment may include chiropractic adjustment, muscle interferential therapy, or a variety of pain relief treatments. Based on the cause of pain and severity of pain, it is not uncommon for a patient to initially need chiropractic care 2-3 times in a week. This shouldn't last long and isn't always the case. Within your first few encounters Dr. Mattern usually sees signs of improvement. If not he will typically begin considering additional diagnostics and reviewing your case to find out why relief is not being experienced.
Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care
During the corrective phase of chiropractic care, muscles and other tissues are allowed to heal more completely, which helps prevent further injury or pain. The goal of corrective or restorative chiropractic care is to help bring your body closer to your genetic capacity of wellness. This is the phase where you may begin doing home exercises or altering movement patterns. The goal of this is to stretch your physiologic comfort zone and increase your body’s ability to adapt to everyday ergonomic, postural and gravity stressors that tend to cause wear and tear on the human frame.
Phase 3: Maintenance Care
Once your body has fully healed and you are no longer experiencing constant pain symptoms, we advise patient to come in for periodic chiropractic adjustments to avoid future problems.
