General Recommendations
Below are general recommendations designed to allow someone interested in starting care an understanding of how recommendations are given. More specific recommendations and personalized are given once an initial evaluation is complete and a discussion of findings from the initial evaluation with your goals of care taken into consideration.
You ultimately have the choice. Choose Chiropractic.
Find It - Accept Where You Find It - Fix It - Leave It Alone
That is a very telltale statement of a Gonstead Chiropractor as the creator of the method, Clarence Gonstead said this statement referring on how to manage a typical patient’s condition.
“Find It” refers to the subluxation causing a certain condition that patient is suffering from ranging from spine pain, extremities (TMJ, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, hip, knee, and/or ankle/foot), and organ dysfunction/disease.
“Accept Where You Find It” refers to the acceptance of the Chiropractor on where that subluxation may be. The subluxation may be on the exact location of pain or neurological innervation(s), but one notion that is true - it may be in another location. Often a series of visits are needed to determine that due to the complexity of the human neurology.
”Fix It” refers to the specific adjustment (often series of adjustments) needed to reduce the subluxation condition. Other therapies (ie. physical therapy, lifestyle change, nutrition, etc.) may be needed to be added to help maintain said adjustment and restore normal function/health to the joint and overall patient.
”Leave It Alone” refers to the possibility of “over adjusting” the joint that has the potential to disrupt normal motion adversely affecting the normal function/health to the joint and overall patient.
Less Is More
This principle is applied early in care to reinforce the above quote “Find It - Accept Where You Find It - Fix It - Leave It Alone”. Possibly applying too much force or adjustments can alter a faster recovery as the body has to “adjust” to the new pattern that the adjustment has introduced. A comparison can be the body has a faster recovery with one injury than multiple at one particular time. Once a condition is out of an acute condition and maintenace is appropriate, this principle becomes less of a concern.
Initial Recommendations
Initial care often requires a higher frequency than maintenance/wellness care of clinically expected visits to gain a maximum recovery, depending on the several factors (but not limited to): severity, how long has the condition been present, previous/current care, lifestyle factors, and co-morbidities. Not all patients start in initial care dependent on above said factors.
The goal of initial recommendations is to progress as efficiently to a lesser need of frequency: maintenance and/or wellness.
Maintenance
Maintenance care often follows initial care. It is a lesser frequency in order to “maintain” said maximum recovery. Some patients may start care within maintenance care depending on said above factors.
The goal of maintenance recommendations is to spread out visits to where the patient does not have a reoccurrence of initial complaint(s).
Wellness
Wellness care often follows maintenance care. It is a lesser frequency in order to express full health potential. Some patients may start care within wellness care depending on said above factors.