Ask the Experts: Will Spinal Problems Return?

Ask the Experts: Will Spinal Problems Return?

Chiropractic skeptics often pooh-pooh the idea of periodic chiropractic checkups after symptoms subside with the classic, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” line.

This justification often results in a relapse into the original problem for countless patients.

How come?

Because biomechanical changes along the spine affecting nerves and muscles don’t heal like a cut, infection or some other self-resolving health condition.

Addressing Long Lasting Problems

By the time spinal problems produce obvious symptoms, the problem has been there for some time—maybe even decades. Yet the symptom didn’t emerge until “last week, when I bent down to pick up the paper.”

Thankfully, a chiropractic care plan may produce symptomatic improvement in a matter of months, sometimes weeks. The patient is delighted, but we haven’t completed the retraining of the underlying muscles and soft tissues necessary for lasting spinal changes.

That’s why the original problem is likely to return. It’s hard to know when, but it’s almost always after some major physical, chemical or emotional stress.

“I thought you fixed me,” laments the returning patient.

Granted, there was symptomatic improvement, but without some type of ongoing supportive care, the weakened area remains susceptible to re-injury.

Schedule Your Visit

If that should happen to you, give Northboro Chiropractic a call. You’ll be welcomed for care whether it’s your first appointment or your first in years.

About Karen Moriarty

Dr. Karen Moriarty has been delivering quality wellness-based family chiropractic care to the Central Massachusetts community since 1984. Together with her team at Northboro Chiropractic Center, her mission is to educate and adjust as many families as possible towards a lifetime of optimal health through chiropractic care.