Chiropractic Frequency: How Much is Too Much or Too Little?

One of the most misunderstood realities about the chiropractic method is the number of follow-ups necessary after an initial adjustment. While every patient will need a different standard of care, there are some general rules of thumb chiropractors can use to inform the way they schedule and arrange follow-ups.

At Ideal Spine, we believe in educating patients upfront about the ongoing corrective nature of chiropractic adjustments.

Communicating the importance of ongoing care

It’s important to learn how to communicate the essential nature of repeat visits when discussing follow-ups with your patients. Often, chiropractors aren’t taken seriously because the patient doesn’t comprehend the need for repeat appointments and multiple follow-ups. They see chiropractic as an instant adjustment, when in reality it’s an ongoing corrective process.

Most often, patients think chiropractors are simply trying to arrange multiple appointments to maximize their own profits. This, of course, couldn’t be further from the truth. That’s why it’s so important for chiropractors to be able to communicate the need for repeat appointments and follow-ups to their patients.

Different Stages of Care

When discussing the need for repeat care, it’s often helpful to frame it in the following terminology: Some care is urgent, other care is reparative, and some care is preventive.

Urgent

When you first begin seeing a patient, they are likely visiting your office because they’re experiencing symptoms. As a healthcare provider, it’s your responsibility to alleviate those symptoms and address their root cause.

Until the symptoms stop presenting, you’re in the ‘urgent,’ phase of providing healthcare. During this phase, you may need to see the patient many times each week. Patients are often resistant to this idea, which is why it’s so important to possess the language necessary to talk about the ongoing nature of chiropractic correction.

Reparative

When you’re providing reparative care, you won’t need to see your patient as often. Instead, you’re now working on treating the root cause of their symptoms. Regularly scheduled appointments are still important, but they don’t need to be quite as frequent as they were at the get-go.

Preventive

During the preventive care phase, you’ve addressed any outlying issues that your patients were previously experiencing. You can now work on boosting their immune system through chiropractic adjustments, and using auxiliary treatments to improve their overall health outcomes. During this phase, maintain regularly scheduled (if relatively infrequent) adjustment appointments with your patient.

Supplementing chiropractic

Part of maintaining a regimen of care is going beyond physical manipulation of the spine. In addition to chiropractic adjustments, many patients may also benefit from other services offered by your practice, including massage, nutrition counseling, and physical therapy.

These will, of course, also require appointments. It’s another instance rife with patient pushback, yet full of opportunity to deliver a superior standard of care. When working with patients resistant to the idea of multiple appointments, remember to frame chiropractic care as a holistic approach, requiring time, patience, and energy. This also leads to great conversations about Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP).

Chiropractic BioPhysics is a chiropractic methodology you can use at your practice, to improve patient outcomes. To learn more about implementing Chiropractic BioPhysics, visit an upcoming seminar near you.

Chiropractic BioPhysics^® corrective care trained Chiropractors are located throughout the United States and in several international locations. CBP providers have helped thousands of people throughout the world realign their spine back to health, and eliminate a source of chronic back pain, chronic neck pain, chronic headaches and migraines, fibromyalgia, and a wide range of other health conditions. If you are serious about your health and the health of your loved ones, contact a CBP trained provider today to see if you qualify for care. The exam and consultation are often FREE. See www.CBPpatient.com for providers in your area.