Written by Dr. Meri Rosco
If you start a diet to lose weight and you only stick to it half the time or when it’s convenient for you, are you going to get the results that you want? No, of course not. Well, the same is true for your chiropractic treatment.
After a thorough examination to find the root of the problem, the chiropractic physician will give each patient a treatment plan based on the individual’s condition and response to care. The treatment plan will consist of recommended therapies as well as the number of visits that the patient should be seen for over a number of weeks. For example, let’s say a patient named Amanda is told that the best course of care for her particular condition includes an adjustment, cold laser therapy and nerve treatment and that it should be performed twice a week for four weeks.
Since it takes the body 4-12 weeks to heal, the treatment plan will start with four weeks and then a re-evaluation will be done to determine if more treatment is needed. If Amanda decided that she can only commit to one time a week instead of two then she shouldn’t expect to experience results as quickly as if she committed to two treatments a week. If a patient comes less frequently than prescribed, then it will take longer to start to feel better. In some cases, the frequency of care will be too infrequent to elicit enough physiological change to note improvement.
If Amanda commits to two times a week but doesn’t want to do cold laser then she will be delaying her progress by eliminating that therapy. Every therapy has a purpose and if the chiropractic physician prescribed cold laser, it’s most likely because the doctor thinks the patient needs increased blood flow to the injured area to improve healing. Other therapies will achieve different goals such as increase range of motion, decrease pain, stimulate the nervous system and repair ligament damage. Without the cold laser increasing blood flow, Amanda’s healing time might be delayed.
For these reasons, if you are going to commit to healing, you should fully commit. People who commit to their health never regret being pain-free and able to do more than they ever imagined. After all, you are worth it!