In today's day and age, we want everything to be instant. We don't want to wait for anything.
The phones we carry around in our pockets are the main culprit.
Need to find a restaurant? Hop on TripAdvisor.
Need to settle an argument? A quick Google search will solve it.
Need fashion advice from your stylist friend? Hop on Facetime, and she can give you pointers immediately.
Need a ride? An Uber will be waiting for you.
We have fast food, and Uber eats, so we don't have to be bothered to cook or even leave our houses for food anymore.
We're spoiled, and even entitled when it comes to our time.
However, when it comes to health and healing, things haven't caught up with the times.
Although medicine has come a very long way, nothing is instant.
The magic pill hasn't been invented yet.
Things like back pain seem to last forever, and there's not an app on our phone to get rid of it.
Our best option is to go to the chiropractor. Getting an adjustment from our chiropractor is often the quickest, safest way to get relief from your back pain.
So how long does it take to get relief from a chiropractor?
The relief isn't instant, but everyone wants to know how long
Article Table of Contents:
It's not that simple
That's probably not what you wanted to hear, but many factors go into the alignment and the recovery afterward.
During your first trip to the chiropractor, your chiropractor will get an extensive history of your condition.
They'll need to know where your pain is and how long you've been dealing with your issue so they can come up with a clinical estimate on any damage to your spine.
This will include the mechanics of your spine, the curves of your spine, and the range of motion of your spine.
Your chiropractor will aim to treat your pain, but they also want to address the underlying issue causing the pain.
Unless you treat the underlying issue, your pain will continually come back, and you will never get rid of the pain.
It depends on you
A lot of the factors that will determine how quickly you respond to your treatment have to do with you personally.
Your age, fitness level, and how long you've had the pain all affect your response to chiropractic treatment.
Younger patients, those in their 20s or 30s generally respond quickly to treatment than older patients.
The older you get, the longer it will likely take you to respond to treatment.
If you live an active lifestyle with regular exercise and moderate activity on a daily basis, you'll respond much quicker to treatment.
Exercise helps the body and heal and ensures your joints won't get stuck in one place.
It is always recommended to start an exercise program when you begin treatment if you aren't already in one.
It doesn't have to be intense. You don't need to train for the Boston Marathon.
Just getting out every day and going for a 30-minute walk will work wonders for you.
Your body will respond much better to the treatment if you do.
Your treatment time also depends on how long you've been in pain.
The longer you've been dealing with the pain, the longer it takes to get relief.
That's why it is always important to see a chiropractor as soon as you start experiencing pain.
It's better to deal with the pain right away rather than neglecting it and letting it cause more problems.
Back pain can lead to even more issues, which will take your treatment even longer to respond.
Treatment and prevention
As mentioned earlier, a chiropractor will always try to treat your current pain and prevent future pain from happening.
If you're only interested in getting out of pain, then your treatment will be much shorter.
However, your pain is likely to come back, and you will continue to repeat the process.
That's why most chiropractors recommend treatment even after you've responded to treatment and your pain has stopped.
The frequency won't be as high, but continuing to see a chiropractor on a regular basis will help you remain pain-free for an extended period.
This ensures your bones stay in place, and your joints move correctly, keeping your pain away.
By the numbers
It's never possible to know exactly when you will respond to treatments, or how many treatments you may need.
However, if you're the type of person that needs to see numbers, there are a few we can give you.
It depends on the type of injury you have when you visit the chiropractor.
- Bone injuries heal the quickest at 5-6 weeks.
- Ligament and tendon injuries take a little longer than that, needing 6-8 weeks.
- Discs and cartilage will take the longest and need at least three months to heal.
Again, these are all averages, and individual healing times will vary.
The severity of the injuries will also play a roll in how long it takes for you to respond to treatment.
Lifestyle Factors
For the most part, people will start to feel relief after their first few visits, if not the first chiropractic visit.
Estimates have 60% of patients feeling relief after their first visit, while 30% of patients take two to three trips to feel relief.
Due to a variety of reasons, the remaining 10% can take some time to start feeling relief.
The best thing you can do to be sure you respond to treatment is to have the ideal lifestyle.
Exercise as much as possible, and be at least moderately active every day.
Eat a healthy diet, and don't overeat. Being overweight and obese will also extend your treatment time.
If you're a smoker, it's in your best interest to quit.
There are an infinite amount of reasons why you should quit, and one of them is that your body will respond better to chiropractic treatment if you do.
See a chiropractor immediately after developing the pain.
You aren't doing yourself any favors by waiting.
Time to get started
If you're in pain, you need to see a chiropractor.
You won't have to worry about how long it will take you to respond to treatments if you never receive the treatment in the first place.
The chiropractors at Florida Spine and Injury have years of experience in the field and are more than qualified to help you out.
To get started with your treatment, click the button below.
Enjoy this blog? Check out another: How to become a chiropractor
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