Family Chiropractic Care Starts with Education

Chiropractic care for the first time for families is important. People need to be educated as to what chiropractors do and what they don’t do. The most important thing that I always tell people is that most people think chiropractors are back doctors, and if you don’t have back pain or neck pain then you don’t need one. I try to reframe that conversation and let people know that the spine is our avenue of approach. We use the bones of the back to affect the nerve system. And really, what we are, are nerve system doctors.

What chiropractors do is balance the nerve system by using gentle adjustments to correct the misalignments called Vertebral Subluxations. This serves to keep pressure off nerves and eliminate interference to allow your body to function at its optimum potential. When you have subluxations in the spine its like running a computer on dial up internet or putting a dimmer on a light bulb. Our bodies are super smart and there’s an intelligence that controls every stage of growth and development and controls how your body heals, runs and regulates. And that information or that intelligence flows from the brain down through the spinal cord and out to the body using these proper channels, which we call nerves.

However, stress, tension, poor posture, accidents, and falls can create misalignments (vertebral subluxations). That can happen to an infant learning to walk, an older child crashing a bicycle, an adult in a car accident, or an older person who never cared for their spine and has a lot of degenerative changes and arthritis and misalignment. There are things called scoliosis, which are abnormal lateral curves in the spine that need to be addressed. Anytime the spine is out of alignment, it’ll put pressure on those delicate spinal nerves and affect communication in the body.

Understanding what chiropractic is is important because when people don’t know what it is or they think it’s just for back pain or neck pain, they’re not very likely to bring an infant or a child in because most infants and children don’t have a lot of pain or discomfort. It’s really about making sure that they’re educated. When you come into my office, the first thing you’re going to learn about is chiropractic. You’re going to learn a little bit about the nerve system. We share a lot of information from my staff. And then we do a full examination, and we look at the way the body functions. We look at the alignment, we look at the posture, and we’re going to check nerve system function by looking at reflexes. We’re going to assess the child’s posture and look at how they’re moving by looking at their gait. All these things are indications to whether the child has a subluxation, or an adult has a subluxation.

When you come in, you should expect to be educated, and you’ll be examined. And then in some cases we’ll be taking X-rays. We don’t X-ray infants and children that often, but sometimes there is a clinical indication for that. Very often we will take X-rays of an adult because we want to take measurements, draw a few lines and look at the spine and make sure that it’s healthy and that there’s no other disease process there.

After we do our complete examination and X-rays, you’ll expect to get a report of findings, where I’m going to sit down and I’m going to answer the same four questions that everyone has. What’s wrong? Can chiropractic help? How long would it take? And how much money does it cost?

Once a patient or a family has all that information, then they get to make the decisions about their family’s healthcare. They’re going to decide after that. We’re not salesy here. We’re big into education. And once we teach you what we think you need to know, then you make the best decision for you and your family. Sometimes I’ll take them through an examination, explain everything, and they just decide it’s not for them for whatever reason. And that’s okay too. But we just want to make sure that they have a complete understanding of what chiropractic is, what we do, and how we go about it.

That’s what that initial examination, consultation, and then first treatment are. After that, families are going to be educated. We do healthcare classes. And again, if everything we tell them resonates with them and their stable datums, then they’re going to stick around and we’re going to have a long, healthy relationship. But if they decide ultimately that it’s not for them, they make the best decisions for their child and their family’s healthcare. It’s all about education and making sure that they understand how chiropractic would benefit their family. After that, it’s always up to them and it’s their decision.

We love serving our community. We love working with infants and children because they respond the best and they have the longest lives to live. And the better they care for their spine and nerve system, the healthier they’re going to be. It’s an absolute honor to participate in these talks with you guys. And I love being a chiropractor and we’re happy to serve. And if anyone has any questions or needs any information, feel free to reach out to the office. We always will allow for a free consultation and screening of you and your family members.