Stages of Care

The typical patient will encounter 3 stages of care. The first stage focuses on symptomatic relief such as reduction of pain and other discomforts. The second stage addresses abnormal spinal curvature and abnormal posture. The final stage includes periodic spinal care to maintain the work you have done and to prevent degeneration.

Stage One: Relief Care
Relief care is the first stage of care for most patients. The primary goal during this initial stage is to provide the individual with symptomatic relief. Treatments focus on those techniques and therapies that quickly and effectively reduce pain and restore normal range of motion. This will allow the majority of individuals to continue their activities of daily living. Patients are generally recommended to "take it easy" but are encouraged to stay mobile and functional so long as there is no risk of further injury or tissue damage. Therapies that reduce inflammation and muscle spasm may also be used during this stage.

Stage Two: "As Near Normal As Possible"
The second stage of care consists of correcting structural spinal abnormalities to as near normal as possible. These problems caused or contributed to the symptoms, and restoring the spine to as near normal as possible will lead to maximum recovery. Unless structural improvement takes place, a favorable outcome is less likely, and future recurrences of the problem are far more likely. It is extremely important that the patient complies with the instructions given by the doctor during this stage of care. Abnormal spinal areas that are not returned to as near normal as possible are prone to future problems and injuries. Sticking to appointments, doing proper exercises and following all other recommendations will help to ensure maximum spinal correction and tissue healing. Patients should be aware that once pain and discomfort have subsided, tissue healing and structural correction is still incomplete and will often require additional treatments.

Stage Three: Maintenance Care
Once the spinal tissues are healed and spinal biomechanics have been restored to as near normal as possible, the patient will be recommended to continue with periodic treatments on a biweekly basis. The frequency of these visits is determined by your specific needs and the severity of your condition. These visits are important to maintain maximal spinal correction. Individuals who are not currently experiencing pain or other discomforts are not necessarily "subluxation free". Pain is a very poor indicator of disease processes including the presence of subluxations. Subluxations are similar to cavities in that many times a significant amount of damage is present before symptoms such as pain are felt. This is why we recommend that individuals seek periodic spinal evaluations to check for the presence of subluxations and other spinal abnormalities, even in the absence of pain.