A question patients will often ask when enquiring at the clinic is ‘how many chiropractic treatments are needed’?
Whilst this is subjective to each patient, in this post we explain what you need to be aware of to ensure you get the right level of treatment.
What happens when you find yourself in pain?
Generally speaking, when you find yourself in pain – unless it was caused by sudden injury – 75% of the problem will be under the radar. The body compensates and adapts until it cannot handle it anymore, then flares up in pain to warn you something is wrong.
When this happens, understandably you want the pain to be relieved as quickly as possible.
But what you also need to understand is that whilst pain relief is important, so too is correcting the dysfunction which led to the pain in the first place, in order to prevent it recurring.
What should happen is that at your first appointment, your chiropractor will assess the cause of your pain and advise you accordingly how your treatment should progress.
So… how many treatments will you need?
Some patients with a minor problem can be fine after one treatment, with the right guidance on stretches and exercise.
Other patients require more guidance and care. In accordance with our professional code of practice, we monitor the results we achieve at the clinic. To date:
- Patients with an acute problem may be treated an average of 3.4 times
- Patients with a chronic problem may be treated an average of 6.4 times – the NICE guidelines are for 9 treatments so we are well within the recommended limits.
What you need to know about our approach:
Our approach to muscular skeletal pain is multi-disciplinary. What this means is that under one roof you can access the expertise for: chiropractic, physiotherapy, acupuncture, rehabilitation exercise, massage.
Should you require more than one type of treatment, our practitioners communicate together, to ensure you get the best care. Three phases of care will usually be recommended:
3 phases of recommended care.
Phase 1 – pain relief – to ease the immediate pain, chiropractic or physiotherapy.
Phase 2 – exercise prescription and correcting dysfunction. This is to help you be as mobile, comfortable and flexible as possible – and help with the correction of lifestyle habits which may be the cause.
Phase 3 – Rehabilitation to prevent future injury. Specific tailored exercises, correcting muscle imbalances and ensuring the problem stays away for as long as possible. Patients have access to a patient portal and our own exercise videos.
I’m fixed! Really?
Ironically patients mostly leave after phase 1, “pain is gone so I’m fixed” and yet the original joint/muscle problem is still there, just not inflamed any more. So sure enough, the pain returns in its own time, as no real change in the lifestyle has been made, nor is the problem really fixed.
To just have treatment to relieve the pain and not fully solve the problem, may lead to more frequent visits as time passes by.
For patients that do see through three phases of care and get the cause of their pain problem sorted, we usually recommend a check-up appointment every six months or so, to keep an eye on things.
To book an appointment with the Waldegrave Clinic telephone 020 8394 2424
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