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Below is a list of some of the more commonly asked questions. If you have a particular question that isn’t covered here, please let us know. We’d be more than happy to answer it for you.
- Is Chiropractic care safe for children?
Absolutely. Techniques used to treat children will differ considerably to those used to treat adults. Sometimes the technique will look similar, however different (less) pressure may be used. Other techniques are very specific for children, and even more so for babies.
Because children have more supple spines, and don't have a history of physical traumas that an adult would have, it is very rare for children to have any sort of adverse reaction to treatment. They are generally much easier to treat, and recover much quicker.
- Should I have my baby checked?
Absolutely. There are a number of fundamental neurological and orthopedic tests that can be easily performed, which let us know how your baby is doing.
They are painless, quick to do, and are mostly done on Mum or Dad's lap.
These tests help detect problems that can commonly affect problems such as constant crying, poor sleeping habits, difficulty feeding, colic and reflux. These problems are some of the most common presented, and respond extremely well.
One of the best outcomes is more sleep for everyone!
- How do you adjust a baby?
Babies spines contain a large amount of cartilage that has not yet hardened into the bony shapes we see in adult spines. They are very supple too.
However, babies seem to be dramatically affected by very small changes in how well their spine moves. The majority of the time, it is around the tailbone (sacrum) where problems occur.
Correcting these problems is very simple, usually involving no more than a small nudge with the Chiropractor's fingertip, in the right direction.
Often no more than 2-3 visits are needed to fix these small but very troublesome problems.
You will also get specific advice on how to help your baby sleep better, and most importantly, prevent tummy problems such as wind.
- What are the principles behind Chiropractic?
Pain is often our biggest motivator to get help for a problem we have. Thus many people associate Chiropractic care with pain management for various back conditions. There is however, a much bigger picture to explore.
Our brain has the enormous task of running our body, both internally (e.g. digestion, movement, blood sugar, balance), and in response to external things (temperature regulation, adapting eyes to light levels, co-ordination as in many sports, posture). If the brain can't regulate these activities efficiently, things stop working as well.
When you have acute pain events, this is typically when your body has run out of ways to 'compensate' for a number of problems going on, and the system 'collapses'.
Getting the pain settled is the easier part of your care. The more challenging part is making sure it can't happen again. In other words, the goal here is to clean up more of the mess, so that your body is compensating less, and much more efficient. This is what is generally termed 'Corrective Care'.
Here, we have a number of technique options to help with this. Additionally, we will review any lifestyle factors that may be contributing, and help address those also (eating habits, exercise, work posture etc.)
- What is the cracking/clicking noise?
The majority of our body's joints are contained in a 'sealed cavity', formed by a thick glad-wrap type layer called a joint capsule. When a joint is adjusted, the the joint surfaces are separated a very small amount causing a small vacuum. Because air can't get in, the air that is dissolved within the lubricant of the joint (synovial fluid) expands quickly into gas causing the popping noise. Not a lot different to what happens when you open the lid of a soft drink (though no popping is heard here).
These "audibles" are really only a side-effect of separating the joint surfaces to encourage better movement. They are not essential, and a louder 'crack' does not mean it was a more effective adjustment.
- Does my Health Fund cover my Chiropractic Care?
Most, if not all, Australian based health funds will cover for Chiropractic services. What does vary is the size of the rebate you receive, and the limit of cover available (that is, the total accumulated amount they will pay out in rebates in a given year). Rebate amounts, and limits, may depend on the type of cover you have.
The main questions you need to ask your health fund include:
1. Am I covered for Chiropractic Care?
2. What is my rebate for an Initial Consultation, and Spinal Adjustment visits? (most common services claimed for).
3. What is the annual claim limit for Chiropractic care?
- I like to crack my own back and joints. Is that bad?
Joints that are more loose, tend to make cracking noises more easily. It is easier to stretch the joint surfaces apart, and cause a 'cavitation' (popping noise). When you continually crack your own joints, particularly in your spine, you can't isolate which joints you are moving. as a result, the ones that are already too loose, tend to make the noise.
Whilst this may give a temporary sense of relief, it tends to make the real problem worse. That is, the loose joints get more loose, and the tight joints get tighter.
When a Chiropractor 'adjusts' your spine, only the tight, jammed joints are adjusted, leaving the loose ones alone. This allows the loose joints to tighten up, and get more stable. Eventually, the urge to crack your own joints subsides.
- Can my problem be fixed quickly?
Most people already know the answer to this question. What's important is understanding why many spinal problems don't have quick solutions. Here is a good analogy on why....
Imagine a self-taught golfer, who has been playing for 10 years. Over that time, his brain has memorised the movement patterns needed to swing the club in different circumstances. It is a neurological process, that is hard-wired into the brain.
Now imagine he has his first of many golf lessons. The frustration that comes from his first lesson is because he is trying to reprogram his hard-wired movement patterns by learning new and better techniques.
If he had one lesson a month to begin with, he'd be back to his old habits within days of his lesson. The brain constantly needs to be reminded how to swing the club a new way. Having more frequent lessons intially, reinforces the changes the brain needs to make, and lets him evolve his technique much faster.
As time goes, his technique just needs to be refined, not overhauled, so less frequent lessons are needed.
Most people present to Chiropractors with spinal problems that are not new, and hence the poor spinal function has been hard-wired into the brain. The brain doesn't know how to operate it any differently.So our job is to retrain the spinal biomechanics, just like the golf lessons, so that the spine is functioning much more effectively.
- Can I still see a Chiropractor if I've had back surgery?
Most definately. Whilst the surgery will be contained to 1 or 2 segments normally, there's still the rest of the spine that needs attention. In addition, back surgery only has about a 50% success rate, hence many of these patients still end up seeing their Chiropractor for better results.
Most Chiropractors have a number of techniques at their disposal to help work around any problem areas, such as a surgery site. In most cases, it may be decided to stay well clear of the surgically altered structures, and focus on keeping the remaining spinal areas working well.
A number of patients at this practice have had a variety of spinal surgical procedures, which in many cases, didn't achieve the results hoped. The Chiropractic care they receive now, is helping get the results they were after.
- Do I have to keep going to a Chiropractor once I've started care?
If you are only after what is termed 'crisis care', or just pain management only, then you'll probably stop getting adjusted once you feel the pain has subsided. In which case, you will no doubt present again a little later, with much the same problem, once your body has 'crashed' again.
Fortunately, most people can see the long-term hazards associated with this approach, and chose a second option.....Wellness care.
We're a lot like cars really. A car can only behave like a V8 Supercar, ONLY IF it has a team of the right people to keep it finely tuned for high levels of performance. Without this team of specially trained people, it's little more than a sedan for driving to work in.
The reality is, that the better we want to feel and perform, the more help we need to do so. There is no escaping this.
When the spine is functioning well "mechanically", we are functioning well "neurologically". The better our brains can control what our body is doing, the better we feel, the better we are.
- What if I've had a hip or knee replacement?
This isn't a problem at all. In fact, it's a smart idea to make sure that everything else is working well.
- Can I transfer between Chiropractors?
Certainly! The fact that you are continuing with your Chiropractic care is the main thing. Transferring between Chiropractors simply involves the transfer of any relevant clinical information, and/or Xrays (hard copy, or electronic). A "Release Authority" will need to be signed by yourself, or by a person authorised by yourself. (Simply phoning and asking for records to be faxed is not possible due to privacy laws).
The new Chiropractor will perform his/her own initial examination/assessment (not only prudent, but mandatory), and then aim to continue with the regimen you had previously (if you were a regular patient).
- What is "maintenance" care?
After the initial course of care, the spine starts to function well, and does so for some time before it starts to feel like things are stiffening up again. Most of the time, we go to work and continue to do the very things that got us into trouble in the first place.
These activities include repeated lifting, sitting at computers, in and out of cars/vans/trucks, and so on. Our bodies aren't designed for this type of monotony, and it always takes its toll eventually.
Maintenance care involves checking and adjusting the spine periodically (usually every 4-6 weeks), to help undo the mechanical and neurological stresses caused to the spine between visits. That way, we stay a lot more productive, with fewer headaches, fewer backaches, less tense shoulders and so on.
It's common sense really.
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