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Do adjustments hurt?

Although there can be some discomfort if the segment is already sore, the adjustment itself produces little or no pain.  Chiropractic doctors strive to set the spine into its proper position with as little force as possible.  Our job is to relieve pain and nerve irritation, not to cause pain.

Is chiropractic effective?

Today, more than 20 million adults use chiropractic services each year. There are approximately 60,000 doctors of chiropractic in active practice throughout the United States. Chiropractors are licensed in all fifty states after completing a rigorous course of study, and their practice is regulated by state chiropractic boards. Chiropractic services are covered by Medicare, Medicaid, workers compensation programs and many other insurance providers.

In 1994, the Federal Agency for Health Policy and Research concluded that spinal manipulation, chiropractic's primary treatment technique, was one of only three treatments whose effectiveness was substantiated by research. A September 1998 survey by the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention found that 81% of patients surveyed said that chiropractic eliminated or reduced their symptoms considerably. Several recent studies suggest that spinal manipulations may be beneficial for headaches, particularly those related to muscle tension. (For more research studies involving chiropractic care, click here.)

Are adjustments safe?

Chiropractic is the safest form of healthcare known to man. You are many times more likely to be hurt driving to your appointment than to be hurt by the chiropractor! Adjustments are certainly far less dangerous than surgery, and you don't run the risk of adverse reactions to medication.  (Each year over 198,000 people in the U.S. will die due to adverse reactions to properly prescribed drugs.) Your chiropractic physician is a professional with years of training.  Just like your medical physician, your chiropractor had to go through graduate school, internships, and pass rigorous national board examinations in order to become licensed to practice.  

Dr. Berger will take a complete medical history from you and do a thorough physical exam before he completes your first adjustment; this allows him to know if there are any special circumstances in your care that he needs to be aware of. 

In fact, the only real danger is not receiving the proper care you need.  If left untreated, subluxations of the spine can cause chronic pain, joint degeneration, and neurological complications in the body's tissue and organs. 

What is that "popping" sound?  Is it normal?

The popping sound you hear is gas rapidly escaping the joint, not bone rubbing against bone as so many people erroneously assume. The joint making the sound as it moves and releases gas is the compensation joint, or "hypermobile" joint. That joint is already moving too much because it is helping the spine adjust to a lower or higher joint that is not moving properly, the actual site of the the subluxation. 

Can chiropractic cure me?

Chiropractors do not "cure" illnesses. As a matter of fact, no one can cure an illness or disease!  It is your own body's immune system that cures itself. The doctor can only assist in that process.  That is why someone may get sick from a disease when another with the same exposure will not. Dr. Berger will find the nerve interference and correct it, allowing your body to do the rest. Many chiropractic patients have reported marked improvement in conditions not typically thought to be related to neuro-muscularskeletal care, such as asthma, allergies, or infectious diseases, but once you understand the power of the human body to heal itself, the relationship becomes more clear.  Chiropractic care relieves the body of stress placed on it's nervous system that inhibits its ability to function properly. Once the stress is removed, the patient's immune system is able to function at it's optimal level, and the patient's own body is able to function as it was designed, to heal itself. 

Nerve interference caused by a subluxation can have serious consequences that have too often been ignored by our colleagues in the medical community.  Traditional medical approaches rely heavily on medications to mask the pain or treat the symptom rather than addressing the underlying cause of the the body's reaction to neurological stress.  Chiropractor physicians, however, are able to release the nerve involvement, allowing the nerve to freely function. In many cases, chiropractic care can literally get to the "root" of the problem--vertebral pressure on nerve roots in the spinal column, the underlying cause of the body's reaction to this stress. Therefore, it is not surprising that patients experience tremendous improvements in their health once their body is able to function at it's optimal level. 

How long will I have to go to my chiropractor?

Our goal is to get the patient to their optimum health level with as few adjustments as possible. There is no need to keep adjusting a patient once their subluxations are reduced. It is a misconception that once you are adjusted, you must keep getting adjusted. Also, there is nothing about the adjustment that makes your body need more adjustments. 

Dr. Berger is trained to find and reduce subluxations as quickly as possible. Each patient is different. To say that everyone must get adjusted at least 10, 20, or even 30 times is inconsistent with what we know about the human body. Each patient will be evaluated on each visit to determine progress so that the decision can be made to stop and let the body heal. Some will respond quickly with as few as 2 or 3 adjustments; others with more serious problems--especially if the problem has been chronic--may take longer, even up to a year.   Dr. Berger will discuss your treatment plan with you throughout your care. 

After your initial phase of treatment is completed, you will want to visit our office regularly to make sure you are subluxation-free. Many choose to get checkups once a month to every six weeks. Unless there is a recent trauma (either physical, chemical, or emotional) there is no need to come in any sooner.