Why Not Go to the Chiropractor?
There are many false proclamations I hear often that people give as an excuse as to why people shy away from chiropractic. I am writing this blog to set the record straight as to the false illusions “non-chiropractic believers” may have.
- I don’t believe in Chiropractic. Chiropractic is not a religion or belief system nor am I an ordained minister, preacher, rabbi, the Dalai Lama or even a guru. Chiropractic works whether you believe in it or not. It is a science, tested with time and results allowing people to get healthy. It works on children who have no pre-conceived ideas as to what chiropractic is. It works great on animals, from small cats and dogs to large horses. It works on tiny infants’ minutes old to my oldest patient who was 105 years old.
- I don’t have the time. The question is, how much time do you spend in a day doing things that are bad for you as opposed to doing things that are good for you? How much time do you spend on your phone looking at social media? How much time do you spend each night watching TV? How much time do you spend reading or watching the negative campaigns of the media? How much time in your life do you spend watching or reading in a magazine about pharmaceuticals? If you listen to the side effects that are mumbled towards the end of the commercial, they all say do not use if you are allergic to ______, your symptoms may get worse, and the catch all phrase: “serious side effects can lead to death.” An average 1-hour TV show has 5-6 commercials every 10 minutes. This totals about 20 minutes of commercials that are brain-washing you into thinking that a pill can solve all your problems. An average in-and-out time in my office (even without an appointment!) is 5 minutes to a maximum of 20 minutes. If you just DVR a show so you can fast forward the commercials, there is your 20 minutes it takes to see your chiropractor. Take 20 minutes away from staring at your phone on social media. Time is manmade, you can either create priorities for your time or you can let it all slip past doing things that are not important.
- I don’t have the money. This is a popular reason and I completely understand that with today’s cost of living raising so drastically, it is hard to get ahead as most people are just living paycheck to paycheck. Many people have the luxury of health insurance, most of which cover chiropractic with a simple co-pay. However, with the high deductibles (the amount you must pay before insurance will start reimbursement) since Obama Care, your cost for chiropractic may be more initially. Others have the luxury of a Health Savings Account (HSA) that is set up by your employer or yourself, to help with these costs and for chiropractic visits as well. For those who do not have these luxuries… My mission is to help as many people as I can regardless of their ability to pay. With that being said, our office has affordable wellness plans and I try to keep my fees as low as possible. We offer hardship plans. All you have to do is fill out an application that shows you qualify, and we will arrange an affordable payment option.
- I heard that once you go to a chiropractor, you must keep going for the rest of your life. This is one of the most ridiculous accusations that I have heard, and trust me, I’ve heard it hundreds of times. I guess some people think that chiropractors have this amazing, magical power over people and once you come in for your first visit, a wand is waved, and you must keep coming forever. You always have a choice!! In fact, I wish more people would take their health into their own hands and make their own choices when it comes to their health rather than just giving all the power to their medical doctors. “Oh, my doctor said that I need the flu shot so I have to get it.” I am here to tell you that it is a choice as well. Do your research, know the risks and side effects of all and any medication you put into your body as well as any medical tests that you undergo. Yes, there are risks in all medical tests including a simple x-ray, blood work, MRI, colonoscopy, etc. Back to your choices on chiropractic. To receive the full benefits of optimum health with the aid of chiropractic, it is a wise choice to continue receiving chiropractic checkups long after your symptoms have gone away. Do you go to the dentist for a checkup even if you do not have tooth pain? Do you go to your medical doctor for a 6 month or yearly checkup even if you do not have any problems? Do some medications require you to take them for the rest of your life? (for example: thyroid replacement.) Your chiropractor is trained to detect and correct subluxations which are irritations to the central nervous system that can interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses to every organ, muscle or tissue in the body. Unfortunately, with our daily grind of driving in the car, working on computers, looking at our phones as well as heavy lifting or repetitive injuries, subluxations once removed by the chiropractor can come back, or at times another area can become affected causing another subluxation. Therefore, regular maintenance or wellness care is recommended to determine if you have been “re-subluxated.”
- My medical doctor told me not to go to the chiropractor. I have to say this one gets under my skin more than any of the other excuses. There is a time and a place for medicine and there is a time and place for chiropractic. I would never tell a patient to not go to their medical doctor. In fact, I am usually the first one to say to a patient that any medication issue, surgery issues or testing, “go see your physician about that.” There have been times where a patient comes into my office for something that is definitely not a chiropractic issue and I will send them directly to the hospital or tell them to seek medical attention. I do not claim to know how to take care of patients medically, so why would a medical doctor claim to understand how to take care of a patient and know if chiropractic will benefit them or not? In my 27 years of practice, I have worked with and adjusted many medical doctors, surgeons, nurses, dentists, and physical therapists. My wish is that we all work together to help all of humanity to regain and control the major health issues in our societies.
- I don’t like the “cracking” sound especially in my neck. This one I can sympathize with. It can be scary hearing and feeling the “cracking” noise in the neck area especially. Well contrary to what you may have heard, there are many techniques to chiropractic and we can have the same results without having to “crack your neck” or other areas of your body! We have a scientifically proven Arthro-Stimulator that provides a mechanical adjustment with a precise, fast impulse rather than the “cracking”.
- I am not in pain why would I go to a chiropractor? If you are not in pain that is fantastic! However, only about 10% of your nerves in your spine deal with pain. The other 90% keep your body functioning at its optimum by telling your heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, glands, digestion, etc. what to do and keeps them all working together in homeostasis. So, if you only go to the chiropractor for pain, you are potentially only getting 10% of the overall benefits we have to offer. The biggest gift a chiropractor can give to you is for you to achieve and maintain optimum function with regular wellness care!
- I am too old for chiropractic. You are never too old for chiropractic. As I mentioned before, my oldest patient so far was 105 years old! We take care of all humans as well as cats and dogs from womb to tomb. We have very safe and gentle techniques that we tailor to everyone’s needs. The benefits are less pain, better health, better mobility and being able to some things that you may not have been able to do before chiropractic, like play with your grandchildren or even great grandchildren.
- I don’t like doctors. I’m sure you have heard the old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.” This saying is not true as far as our office goes. We spent hundreds of hours (and I won’t say how much money!) to make our office feel different as soon as you walk in. Everything in the decor from the floors, colors, furniture, and even the smells, all have a purpose to help you relax and not feel like you’re in a typical doctor’s office. We try to make it as simple as possible with minimal paper work. We go out of our way to make it easy for you by not having appointments, so you can get there when you can get there and not stress about being late to an appointment. We work hard to keep the flow going so you rarely wait more than 10 minutes in our office. So yes, judge us from the first step you take into our office and then we will make sure the rest of your experience here is like no other doctor’s office including the care by Dr. Eric.
- I heard of someone who felt worse after my adjustment. Not all doctors, chiropractors, car mechanics, hair stylists, artists, lawyers are the same! Again, we pride ourselves on being different from all other doctors and even other chiropractors. I can’t explain or defend what may have happened with the person who said “they felt worse,” but I can explain what may happen in our office. All too often, people show up to my office as a last resort after trying everything from medications to other doctors’ visits to “I thought it would just go away.” After a chiropractic exam and determining that you are a chiropractic case, we perform what is called an adjustment (change for the better.) To make a shift in your spine, we must work with muscles, ligaments and bones that may have been stuck out of place for years. Although rare, the muscles may fight back with tightness or soreness after the adjustment. This is temporary and usually goes away within a few days but can be relieved earlier with a simple ice pack applied to the area for about 20 minutes. 90-99% of the time, people feel at least a little better when they walk out of our office after their first adjustment. As far as safety goes, I always relate it to my malpractice insurance costs. My malpractice insurance is less than my car insurance. If there were any issues of safety with chiropractic care, I am sure the costs would be much more and more comparable to a medical doctor whose insurance can cost over $100,000 per year.
Evans Chiropractic 