How often do I need to come back for chiropractic treatments? 

Invariably that is a question that will cross all client’s minds, before or after the first treatment.  

The short answer? It depends.  

The long answer? It depends. Okay, it depends on a few factors.  

Acute Care 

Is this an acute injury with high levels of pain? If it is, it’s most beneficial to be seen at least 3-4 times in a short period of time, say a week or two, so that we can correctly assess how the injury will respond to care. In a results driven environment, as our clinic finds very important, we will always shoot to see improvement of some sort on the very first visit and subsequent visits. Whether that is improvement in range of motion, pain, muscular balance, or in follow up orthopedic tests. Acute symptoms are of short duration, progress in intensity rather quickly after the initial incident or appearance of symptoms. Most people want to act quickly on them to reduce the intensity. If dealt with quickly we can usually make quite a bit of difference in acute symptoms in a short period of time. That also depends on if there are other complicating factors or if the acute symptoms are presenting from an underlying chronic issue.  

Chronic Care 

In chronic conditions the outcomes can vary quite a bit. Sometimes we can get some nice rapid change and taper off the visits according to how you respond. Other chronic issues may not completely subside for a longer period of time or may not every resolve completely. Long standing arthritis and things of that nature may only ever get 80% better overall and we may be perfectly happy with that result because of the long-standing nature of the issue.  

So, it depends. I will often recommend that a new client comes back at least 3-4 times in a 2-week period so that we can see how each concern will respond to treatment, as well as get a grasp on how the body will respond over the long term. At that point we can figure out a goal that fits your desires for outcome.  

Maintenance Care 

Clients will elect to come see me a few times a month, once a week, every other month. It all depends on how their body is working and how they feel as they use their body.  

Ideally, over time we both get a feel for how your body responds to your daily life and know exactly when you’ll need to check in to prevent any flare ups that take you down and out. Those times will still happen from time to time, but those flare ups should become far more infrequent. The length of time your body takes to recover should also become shorter.  

Depending on the injury or condition there may also be additional services like acupuncture, massage, or supplementation we can recommend to catalyze the healing process.