Are X-Rays required at Rivano Chiropractic?
Most patients do not need to have x-rays taken. It will depend on your condition and information obtained from your history and examination. If there has been a recent injury such as a car accident, or fall, x-rays will be prescribed and performed offsite at a local imaging center.
How often do I need treatment? / Will I have to keep going forever?
No. Most patients seen will respond in a relatively short period of time. In certain cases, longer treatment will be recommended. Once the original condition that caused the pain and discomfort has been resolved, it may still be necessary for you to return from time to time for supportive care.
Our goal is to get you out of the office and to return you to the activities you were doing prior to your injury. Some conditions however, which have been present for years may take longer to heal and correct. An example of this may be the person who has a 20-year history of low back pain with arthritic changes in the spine. Four weeks of care will not be able to "undue" the years of damage; therefore, a longer period of treatment may be prescribed. The fact is, some people have neglected their body for years and as a result their condition may take a while to correct.
Can I adjust or "crack" my own neck and back?
I respond to this question with a similar question... Would you attempt to fill a cavity in one of your own teeth? Of course not, you would leave it up to the dentist to perform this procedure. The same applies to adjusting/manipulation of joints. Some people can move their own joints until they hear a popping sound, as during an adjustment. This is because they have joints that are highly moveable (hypermobile). This is the body's way of compensating for the other joints in the body that do not move/function properly.
Where there is a hypermobile joint, usually a stuck or locked vertebrae can be found either above or below that site. So, if you are making your joints pop, you are not actually adjusting yourself. You are only making the joints that move too much move even more, potentially causing instability of those joints.
How does chiropractic care help during pregnancy?
Because of the additional weight and stress on the framework of the body in pregnant women, chiropractic adjustments can help lower the incidence of pain in the low back and legs, and between the shoulder blades. In some cases, fewer headaches and problems with nausea and elimination may also result.
Many chiropractors care for expectant mothers in the regular course of their daily practices. At Rivano Chiropractic, we see numerous pregnant patients and even have special treatment tables which allow the expecting mom to comfortably lie face down even in their ninth month!
For more information about how Chiropractic can help, please visit our What is Chiropractic? page. Or feel free to just give us a call at (973) 845-6282.