How Long Should Your Chiropractic Appointment Take?

Newcomers to chiropractic are full of questions about the idea of chiropractors and their practice. Some questions are simple, for example "what should I expect in terms of the chiropractic appointment length?" while others are more serious, such as "will the first adjustment be painful?"

The number one question on your mind might be whether chiropractic visits will help with the serious discomfort or pain you are feeling. First time patients of chiropractic care need not worry about any of these issues. So, the answer to that all important question about whether a chiropractor can help, is yes.

After understanding how a chiropractor can help many patients then ask about chiropractic appointment length, and of course there is not one single answer. However, you can expect that a first time visit is likely to take at least thirty minutes-possibly longer.

The first appointment with a chiropractor is important for two reasons. It's important for a practitioner to gain a good understanding of the pains and/or discomfort you are experiencing. Is your discomfort a result of injury or accident? How long ago did it happen? Was there an incident in which you may have suffered muscle strain, such as heavy lifting or a fall? It is quite possible to suffer minor injury or strain without recognizing it right away. An experienced chiropractor might discover injuries that you were unaware of.

First visits are important, because it can demonstrate how safe and natural chiropractic is and how beneficial it will be to your well being. A first visit may involve X-rays, and of course this can take longer. This of course will affect the chiropractic appointment length somewhat. It is certainly good to know if the practitioner believes in taking X-rays for every first time patient, because some do.

A licensed, experienced doctor of chiropractic is trained to help with musculoskeletal issues that are keeping you from enjoying life to its fullest. More important than knowing your chiropractic appointment length or what the treatment will be like is knowing that your practitioner is experienced and professional. While a medical doctor will examine a painful area and prescribe muscle relaxants or pain relievers, quite often, a specific area of discomfort is not the root source of the pain.

This is in stark contrast to chiropractors, who believe that the examination of a painful area is merely the starting point. Discomfort is often an indicator that there is a root problem elsewhere in the body. Expect it to take somewhere between 20 to 30 minutes for an experienced chiropractor to find the root of your trouble.

As for the amount of pain to expect from a chiropractic adjustment, this depends on several factors and can be difficult to answer. You will want to find someone experienced whose adjustment technique is effective but, works within your comfort level. Chiropractors should be happy to offer explanations about their method of examination and adjustment techniques if that will increase your comfort level during your appointment. Most chiropractic techniques involve high velocity, low amplitude thrusting of joints which will align joints along the spine, including those in the neck and back. The thrusts may cause a "pop" sound, similar to cracking the knuckles, but it is usually not at all painful. The sound is called "osseous" which is the sound caused by tiny gas bubbles in the joint cavity fluids as they break.

The human body is very complex system, with many sub-systems. Realigning joints in the lower body and neck or vertebra in the spine helps to increase the circulation of healing fluids to surrounding muscles and nervous system. Neurological activity and muscle health are also affected by joints that are improperly aligned. This promotes more healing to take place.

Even muscles, which have tightened around mis alignments, can be stretched until they relax and move back into a proper position, which improves mobility. While this can create some minor discomfort in the short term as the muscles stretch and re-form, it offers long term relief and improved mobility.

By treating root causes of pain, the healing can begin. In the end, while it is good to have reasonable expectations about your chiropractic appointment length, it's really far more important to understand how a first visit, especially for those suffering from extreme pain can be the first step toward a life free from pain. With your well being and overall health at stake, isn't chiropractic care worth a try?

Dr. Steven Schram is a chiropractor in NYC. Find out more about chiropractic appointments at his website about chiropractic and acupuncture.