Once I Start Going...

One of the common concerns I hear about chiropractic is that “once I start going, I’ll never be able to stop.”

While on once hand I understand that concern, I also believe it can be relieved by looking at things a little differently. In a lot of ways, people entering into chiropractic care go through a similar experience as those looking to lose weight and improve their physical fitness.

If you were trying to lose weight, you would likely need to exercise frequently and more intensely, given that health goal. You might also buckle down with nutrition, and adopt more healthy lifestyle habits. Meeting your goals would depend on how lofty the goals are, how far away you currently are from them, how intensely you move toward them, and how long you stick to the behavior changes.

Once you meet your goal weight, though, does that mean that you shouldn’t exercise any more? Sure, you can probably take your foot off the gas and be less intense towards things, but being physically active is a foundation for health. If your habits go back to as they were before the process began, eventually your weight and overall health would return to where they were too.

When patients come into my office with aches and pains, there’s usually some kind of an injury that’s causing that pain. Chiropractic can help as needed to resolve that injury, but the reality is that every-day stress from work and lifestyle either causes or contributes to a lot of the back and neck issues we experience.

For those of you with the concern of having to keep going forever, you never have to receive care. But just like how our cars need regular tire rotations, I believe that most of us can benefit from some level of ongoing care.

- Dr. Scott Minton