Answers to Your Questions About Chiropractic Care

If you are a newcomer to chiropractic care, then you are likely to have many questions about the process. Many chiropractic patients are unsure of what to expect before attending their first consultation or visit. Your chiropractor serving The Woodlands will address all of your concerns at your first appointment and throughout your treatment, but these answers will also help you understand what to expect.

What Is a Chiropractor?

Chiropractors—or Doctors of Chiropractic (DCs)—treat a variety of conditions, but are particularly known for their knowledge of the musculoskeletal system. Chiropractors trace the causes of pain and other conditions to misalignments in the spine that can be corrected through adjustments, and they also provide patients with lifestyle tips to help them maintain better overall health. Typically, chiropractors take a holistic view of health and focus on helping patients relieve conditions by improving their general wellbeing.

What Conditions Do Chiropractors Treat?

Most people begin to see a chiropractor for pain management, especially back pain relief. Through spinal adjustments, chiropractors can treat neck and back pain, headaches, TMJ disorders, arthritis, and more. However, chiropractic care has been shown to help patients with issues beyond pain management, from chronic fatigue and stress to insomnia and anxiety. For these reasons, many people see a chiropractor regularly even if they don’t have any pain symptoms.

Does Chiropractic Treatment Hurt?

A misconception people sometimes have about chiropractic care is that a spinal adjustment is painful. In reality, chiropractors have received extensive training in safely and effectively manipulating the spine without causing patient discomfort. It is normal to hear a popping sound during an adjustment, caused by the release of gas when pressure is relieved in a joint. The popping isn’t dangerous or associated with any kind of pain. In some cases, patients experience some minor discomfort during treatment, depending on the amount of inflammation around an injury. Some tenderness after treatment is also possible, but this is minor and goes away quickly.