How Often Should You Go See a Chiropractor?

Pain changes a person’s perception of the world and their place in it. And the onset of chronic pain can change those perceptions irrevocably.

Chronic pain is the near-perpetual and unceasing processing of pain signals from the area of injury to the nerves, to the brain, and then back again in an unending cycle. After an injury, pain sensors are activated around the damage alerting you of the pain. 

However, these sensations of pain should subside after treatment, healing, and time. Chronic pain sufferers experience excruciating pain signals misfiring for at least three months or longer, even if the injury has healed.

Chronic pain can adversely and permanently alter personal lifestyles and professional functionality and even cause painkiller dependency. For many sufferers, chronic pain can last for days, weeks, months, years, or even a lifetime.

And the most tragic aspect of all of this for most chronic pain sufferers is that there are viable treatment options they may not know about.

Chronic Pain

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association Journal, about 1 in every 5 Americans suffer from debilitating and life-altering chronic pain problems. And 8% of all chronic pain sufferers experience intense sensations of pain every day for six months or longer.

According to those statistics, the equivalent of at least 50 million Americans may suffer from chronic pain on a regular or daily basis. The United States loses over $560 billion every year in lost work hours, medical care, and disability services due to chronic pain.

The term “chronic pain” is an umbrella term that encompasses many kinds of painful sensations. Such sensations can include painful throbbing, stinging, soreness, stiffness, amplified dull aches, burning, and more.

Some people experience chronic pain in the form of fibromyalgia, a medical condition where every nerve in the body continually sends pain signals to the brain. Other chronic pain sufferers may feel stiff and sore muscles all the time.

Some chronic pain sufferers experience intense aura headaches, or excruciating headaches with hallucinatory symptoms, daily. And many chronic pain sufferers experience neck or back pain daily.

According to American Chiropractic Association, over 31 million Americans suffer some form of lower back pain. And lower back pain is the most prevalent reason why people miss work.

Many people use prescribed medicine or physical therapy treatment to cope with injuries or chronic. One effective way to deal with chronic pain is chiropractic treatment.

So, how often should you see a chiropractor?

Before we explore that idea, let’s first define what a chiropractor is, what they do, and their treatments’ efficacy.

If you are grappling with chronic pain issues, make an appointment to visit Inner Gate Acupuncture today. Inner Gate Acupuncture offers the best chiropractic services in Portland.

Related: How to Relieve Pain Under Your Shoulder Blade

What is a Chiropractor?

Chiropractors are highly trained, professional, and licensed practitioners of chiropractic care.

Chiropractors strategically realign, adjust, and manipulate the spine and extremities connected to your spine like your neck and limbs, to better realign them, improve overall function, and organically ease the pain.

A chiropractor administers spinal manipulation treatment in conjunction with medical professionals through referrals or recommendations.

In 2017, the American College of Physicians stated that those suffering from chronic lower back pain seek physical therapy treatments like massage, acupuncture, superficial heat, and chiropractic manipulation before resorting to prescription painkillers.

Chiropractors can use spinal manipulation techniques to heal neck, lower back, muscle, headache, and extremity pain.

You can visit a chiropractor as a form of preventative therapy to cope with potential sports or exercise injuries before they happen.

As previously mentioned, chronic pain is caused by the misfiring or incessant continuation of pain signals being sent to the brain even after an injury has healed. A chiropractor uses spinal manipulation techniques that help the body heal and potentially better communicate with nerve receptors over time.

After all, the spine is connected to the neck, muscles, ligaments, tendons, extremities, and some of the body’s most vital nerve receptors.

An accident or injury could have caused a spinal or neck misalignment that makes it harder for the body to communicate with the brain effectively and heal itself.

Why Do People Visit Chiropractors?

Many people visit chiropractors instead of taking prescribed painkiller treatment. There are many valid reasons why you might want to see a chiropractor.

Many people with bad posture and who slouch all of the time develop serious medical ailments.

If you don’t stand up straight or slouch while sitting down, you can develop a host of medical problems over time. These can include arthritis, joint pain, neck and spine misalignment, shoulder pain, back pain, headaches, and more.

In other words, chronic pain problems can sometimes be self-initiated problems that chiropractic could help you mitigate.

How Often Should You See a Chiropractor?

About 11% to 40% of Americans deal with chronic pain on an occasional, regular, or continual basis. And over 8% of Americans with severe chronic pain daily.

How Often Should You See a Chiropractor? That would depend on the severity of your chronic pain, doctor’s advice, improvement or relapse of treatment, and the advice of your chiropractor.

Some people visit a chiropractor once a week or once a month. 

Depending on your chronic pain or injury severity, you may need to see a chiropractor two or three times a week.

You may want to test out a chiropractor’s services once or twice to see how it works for you in relieving pain before deciding on a schedule. 

Efficacy of Chiropractic Care

According to the American Chiropractic Association, utilizing chiropractic care instead of prescription painkillers can be a highly effective treatment. Over 90% of people suffering from chronic lower back pain who initially visit a chiropractor were less likely to start using painkillers or use them long-term.

And 1.5% of chronic lower back pain sufferers who visited a chiropractor before a doctor would later get surgery to treat their pain. In contrast, 42.7% of people who visited a doctor first instead of a chiropractor would later get surgery to treat their lower back pain.

Schedule an Appointment with Inner Gate Acupuncture Today

Inner Gate Acupuncture has the best chiropractor in Portland. And Inner Gate Acupuncture also offers acupuncture, massage therapy, naturopathic, and physical therapy services.

Schedule an appointment today.

Related: Average Chiropractor Costs Based on Location