Many people think seeing a chiropractor is a one-off visit and will fix all their problems. While we wish this were the case, many problems take time to build up and therefore take time to resolve. Take a look at this animation which explains how often people may need to go and see a chiropractor.

A transcript of the video follows.

How often should you see a chiropractor? Video Transcript

When you first see your chiropractor you may be among the many people who ask, how often do I need to come? Often, the answer you may want to hear is once. But chiropractic care, like most things that are really good for us, rarely makes a long-term difference to your health and wellness after just one visit. One reason for this is that it usually takes years for the problem to develop that motivates someone to first see a chiropractor, and it can take many visits to the chiropractor to correct that problem.

One way of looking at it is that it can be like the thousandth straw that breaks the camels back. So a problem can build up day after day as you sit hunched over your desk or bend and twist as you lift or tense up as you deal with your daily stress. And then one day you bend to tie your shoelaces and all of a sudden something hurts.

You can rest assured that tying your shoelaces isn’t what caused the problem. It’s simply the thousandth straw that broke the camel’s back. And that’s why you’re hurting. There will usually be changes to the way the supporting muscles in your spine work that build up over time until the muscles can’t cope anymore and symptoms appear.

So seeing your chiropractor can be a little bit like going to the gym. It takes time, frequency, and follow up. Working with you to correct the problem and help your brain and muscles in your spine to communicate or talk with each other again so that you can regain the stability that you need to function properly and resolve your aches and pains.

But how long will this take and how often do you need to be checked by your chiropractor?

Well, everybody is different. So your chiropractor will be guided by their clinical experience and what your goals are when they recommend a care plan for you.

A recent research study published suggests that early chiropractic care benefits from more frequent adjustments, yielding better results. This approach is advantageous in the long term as well

In the study that was conducted by scientists in America, they looked at 256 people who had chronic regular headaches and divided them into groups. Those who either received chiropractic care once a week, or twice a week, or three times a week for up to six weeks, or they received no chiropractic care at all. Instead were given light massages over the same six week period.

Previous studies have shown that people with this kind of headache often respond well to chiropractic care.

So the scientists in this study were most interested in how many times per week that it was best for the patients to get chiropractic care. They looked at how many days a week a patient suffered from headaches at the end of the study. And whether any changes in headache frequency between the groups were still there up to a year later.

What they found was that the patients who were seen by their chiropractor the most regularly, so up to three times a week, had fewer headaches than those who were seen once or twice a week. They were much better than the patients who received no chiropractic care at all. After one year, the patients who had been seen three times a week had more than three fewer headaches per month compared to patients who only received a light massage.

So these effects obviously lasted.

This study was done in people with chronic headaches. So we can’t be sure if the same differences occur in people with other problems who see a chiropractor.

A similar study in patients with chronic low back pain did find that people who were adjusted more often had the best results. But the results weren’t as clear as this study done in patients with headaches.

What these studies suggest is that seeing a chiropractor more often when you begin care has real beneficial long-term effects to the way your spine and nervous system work. But how much you benefit may depend on what’s wrong with your spine when you begin care.

So when you go and see your chiropractor, know that their recommendations for your plan of care are based on what their clinical experience tells them is best for you. And that the research suggests that more frequent adjustments have the biggest positive impact on your health and wellness.

References

1. Hodges PW, Moseley GL. Pain and motor control of the lumbopelvic region: effect and possible mechanisms. J Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2003;13(4):361-370.
2. MacDonald D, Moseley GL, Hodges PW. Why do some patients keep hurting their back? Evidence of ongoing back muscle dysfunction during remission from recurrent back pain. Pain. Apr 2009;142(3):183-188.
3. Ferreira ML, Ferreira PH, Hodges PW. Changes in postural activity of the trunk muscles following spinal manipulative therapy Manual Therapy August 2007;12(3):240-248.
4. Haas M, Bronfort G, Evans R, et al. Dose-response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for care of cervicogenic headache: a dual-center randomized controlled trial. Spine J. Feb 23 2018.

© Haavik Research

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