Why do chiropractors want you to come back again and again?

This question comes from Mark: Why do chiropractors want you to come back again and again?

As simple as this question is, the answer can be quite complex. When I introduce myself as a chiropractor, the statement I hear most is something along the lines of "I heard once you go to a chiropractor they make you continue to go forever".

There are 3 main reasons for this:
1) You actually need that much care
2) The doctor did a poor job explaining what preventive care is
3) Financial incentive

First - You actually need that much care. The problems people usually come in for vary from "I just woke up with it" to something that has been an issue for quite some time and is just now being addressed. In either case your body takes time to heal. just because you woke up with a sore neck or back doesn't mean it happened over night. Problems like that slowly build - whether it be a little muscle tightness or a subtle lack of joint movement over a long period of time(which you normally can't tell) and eventually shows itself in a very painful way. The point is most "injuries" involving the spine don't happen instantly and therefore take just as much - if not more - time to fix. Pain is usually the end result of something wrong - so the absence of pain doesn't mean your issue is gone. This is where ultimate trust in your doctor comes into play. You must rely on them to decide when you should be released from normal care and be considered "maintenance care" - which brings me to #2.

Second - The doctor did a poor job explaining what preventive care is. When the doctor determines the issue that you came in with is now gone, if you choose to continue care it is considered maintenance care. There are many benefits to continuing care when you "feel fine" and it is up to your provider to discuss those with you when you reach that point. I am a strong believer in maintenance care - I adjust my wife at least once a week just to make sure everything is where it should be and functioning correctly. She is not involved in any extreme sports, but the normal "trauma" a body goes through on a daily basis can take a toll. Just because I truly believe in preventative care doesn't mean any provider should push it on their patients - which is important. Telling someone to come in when they feel fine is not easy to do. How often you should see a chiropractor when you are doing preventive care is different for everyone - a few variables are your age, activity level, what issues you've had in the past, and most importantly how long you "hold an adjustment". Holding an adjustment just refers to the length of time you can go before the areas that were giving you problems start to "stick" again. I have seen people who had very few issues only able to hold adjustments for a week, and I have seen people with extreme conditions not need an adjustment for over a month or two.

Lastly - Financial incentive. This is a popular belief on why we want you to continue seeing us. I like to think the best of my colleagues and don't believe many fall under this category, but this can be a reason for chiropractors wanting you to come back long after problem resolution. This is why I base my patient care on a week to week basis. Visits are based strictly on how patients are responding to the care they receive and scheduled accordingly - one week at a time. After problem resolution we sit down and discuss where to go from there so everyone is on the same page. This eliminates the need for long term commitment and removes much of the patient's doubt. 

I hope this was helpful!

Please continue to send me your questions! You may put them in the comments section, our facebook page (snyderchiropracticofwoodbury), e-mail me at DrAndrewSnyder@gmail.com, or through our website Http://www.snyderchiropracticofwoodbury.com with the form on the "contact" page.

Have a great week!
Dr. Snyder