“Is it bad to suddenly stop chiropractic care?”
I have been going to a chiropractor regularly for 5 years, but due to a shift in my health insurance I will not be able to do that. Will this have any negative effect on my back?
45 Answers
That’s a question for your current chiropractor depending on what your diagnosis is, they will advise you on the best opinion.
No, but like any healthy habit that you quit, there could be long-term problems.
Great Question.
Do you live in the Rockford area?
You can always visit www.nextlevelhealth.com for updated info and to make an appointment with me.
Do you live in the Rockford area?
You can always visit www.nextlevelhealth.com for updated info and to make an appointment with me.
You can consult with your chiropractor about the treatment cost and payment plan. It may negatively effect your condition(s) depending on the nature of your condition(s).
If you have been trained in home exercises to help prevent injury and preserve your progress, it shouldn’t be that debilitating but continued care preventative care is better than just waiting for symptoms to return. Additionally, I have to ask what you think would happen if you just stopped exercising or better yet stopped brushing your teeth.
It probably won't have an immediate negative effect, but you might ask the same question about brushing your teeth. By the time untreated spinal issues become symptomatic there can be a lot of deterioration before you feel any pain. This is similar to cavity formation and that is why we recommend regular dental visits and regular chiropractic. I am sorry about the current state of health insurance. It is causing people to have to make bad choices about their health care. That is why I offer a very affordable wellness care program for my patients who want to maintain their correction.
Hello. Sorry to hear of the shift in your insurance, yet no matter if your insurance pays for natural treatments or not it’s a great prevention to continue and pay out of pocket. In the long run your health is most important. Without health you have nothing.
Regularly as in once a week or once a month or even once a quarter? Not knowing what condition(s) you are being treated for I really can't say. Your chiropractor might be able to give you home exercises or even nutritional recommendations that can help you if you're not able to be treated as often.
It may but it is honestly hard to say. If you have learned stretching and strengthening methods during your five years of chiropractic treatment you should be able to maintain a healthy spine at home with monthly adjustments maintaining proper spinal joint movement, reducing biomechanical stress on those joints. There are a lot of additional factors that should be taken into account, ie., physical, chemical and emotional stress to mention a few. I hope this helped and I apologize for the general answer but without knowing all the details it is difficult for me to be specific.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joel D. Duchon
Sincerely,
Dr. Joel D. Duchon
That's wonderful that you've been taking care of yourself! Getting
adjusted is like flossing your teeth. Continue to maintain your core
strength and flexibility and if you must reduce your frequency talk to your
doc about it. I would at a minimum get in every other month or once a
quarter. If you have a fall, car accident, injury than I would go get
checked by your DC asap to see if anything has changed. The benefits of
maintaining your adjustments are far more than pain. It has been shown to
boost immunity, endorphin production etc... This translates to being over
all healthier and better wellbeing (ie: less stress, happiness, stable
moods etc...) also allows you to bounce back from an injury or illness
much quicker than someone who doesn't get adjusted. This will cut down on
your medical visits... I hope this helps!
adjusted is like flossing your teeth. Continue to maintain your core
strength and flexibility and if you must reduce your frequency talk to your
doc about it. I would at a minimum get in every other month or once a
quarter. If you have a fall, car accident, injury than I would go get
checked by your DC asap to see if anything has changed. The benefits of
maintaining your adjustments are far more than pain. It has been shown to
boost immunity, endorphin production etc... This translates to being over
all healthier and better wellbeing (ie: less stress, happiness, stable
moods etc...) also allows you to bounce back from an injury or illness
much quicker than someone who doesn't get adjusted. This will cut down on
your medical visits... I hope this helps!
Not in the short-term. In the long-term, you may experience stiffness and there is some clinical evidence that keeping your joints moving prevents the breakdown of your cartilage.
Stopping chiropractic care due to lack of finance is understandable. However, the benefits go beyond time of injury to state of wellness care. Normal chiropractic care aids to keep our muscles well relaxed thereby reducing stress symptoms.
Chiropractic care is meant to be enjoyed throughout life.
Yes if you stop the progress will slowly be lost, just like if you stopped working out your body will decondition.
The spine is always under stress and regular chiropractic care is requisite if one hopes to enjoy the benefits of optimal spinal health into the future.
I urge you to see health insurance like car insurance: Aflac does not pay for tire rotations, oil changes, etc. They only cover catastrophic events. This is what health insurance is meant for also!
Health insurance will not cover your gym membership, yoga membership, etc.
I urge you to see chiropractic care as a necessity for maintenance of optimal health. Think of it as one of the most important memberships you will ever have!
Thanks for the great question!
Yes if you stop the progress will slowly be lost, just like if you stopped working out your body will decondition.
The spine is always under stress and regular chiropractic care is requisite if one hopes to enjoy the benefits of optimal spinal health into the future.
I urge you to see health insurance like car insurance: Aflac does not pay for tire rotations, oil changes, etc. They only cover catastrophic events. This is what health insurance is meant for also!
Health insurance will not cover your gym membership, yoga membership, etc.
I urge you to see chiropractic care as a necessity for maintenance of optimal health. Think of it as one of the most important memberships you will ever have!
Thanks for the great question!
It's not bad to suddenly stop as long as you were just maintaining your condition. If you have an injury, you should continue. If and when you have the ability to resume treatment, you should.
So it sounds like you are asking if you are worth the risk of not having chiropractic in your life. There are many types of chiropractic, and depending on your activity and stress level, you may need more attention. But having said that, it's certainly possible that you may not be working with the best chiropractic procedure for you. How often have you been going? How much do you have to pay when you do get adjusted? How much does your current insurance help out? With some chiropractic procedures, it is common to have a maintenance check up and adjustment on a monthly basis. With some upper cervical chiropractic procedures, you could hold the correction for years and only require a checkup to be sure you are still holding twice a year. While it's true that insurance can help out with some costs, you might want to consider how much worth it is to you to keep your health up with chiropractic care. Dr. Philip R. Schalow
In the short run, probably not. In the long run, most assuredly it will allow vertebral subluxations and those in other regions, to cause problems. Try to get on a maintenance basis, say monthly. Pay the cash. you are worth it.
That very much depends on your particular situation. I would discuss it with your current chiropractor. Not that this is you, but it makes me sad when patients don't have enough money for out of pocket chiropractic care but they can afford manicures or professional haircuts, etc. Everyone has the choice of what to prioritize but spinal health affects everything from emotional well being to being able to move and work to earn more money. If you feel you benefit from care, try to find a way to put it in your budget. Your health is worth it.
It is difficult to say. It depends on the condition of your spine. After 5 years, you can probably manage by spreading out your visits. I think it is best to have some consistency in care if it is spaced out. However, it also depends on your activity level, condition of your spine and how prone you are to injury.
I will respond with a question as well: Is it bad to suddenly stop going to
the dentist? If you don't take care of your teeth, they will eventually
show symptoms of problems that began a long time before. Same will go with
Chiropractic. Chiropractors keep you balanced so ALL aspects of your body
work as optimally as possible and posture and structure in balance is
imperative for harmony to occur. At least for maintenance once a month or
so is recommended to my patients after getting them to normal pain free
lifestyles. Hope this helped. Got your back! Dr Todd
the dentist? If you don't take care of your teeth, they will eventually
show symptoms of problems that began a long time before. Same will go with
Chiropractic. Chiropractors keep you balanced so ALL aspects of your body
work as optimally as possible and posture and structure in balance is
imperative for harmony to occur. At least for maintenance once a month or
so is recommended to my patients after getting them to normal pain free
lifestyles. Hope this helped. Got your back! Dr Todd
It is about health and overall wellness. You may not notice immediately a decline in your overall well being...but it will insidiously affect you. Especially if you are not pro active in other ways such as introducing yoga or another joint mobilization and alignment system. Irrespective of insurance...you buy the things you want, desire and need. No reason to not spend money on chiropractic care with the doctor you know and trust.
Ryan P. Messina
Chiropractor
It's not necessarily bad, not necessarily recommended either. The problem
with "just stopping" is that the chances that pain and dysfunction begin to
creep up again is very likely. This is because of the natural day-to-day
stresses such as work, finances, physical activity and diet can all cause
the nervous system to slow down or have delayed healing and recovery. I
always recommend to my patients they keep up with a maintenance plan after
active care and pain is resolved to maximum medical improvement.
with "just stopping" is that the chances that pain and dysfunction begin to
creep up again is very likely. This is because of the natural day-to-day
stresses such as work, finances, physical activity and diet can all cause
the nervous system to slow down or have delayed healing and recovery. I
always recommend to my patients they keep up with a maintenance plan after
active care and pain is resolved to maximum medical improvement.
It may. You will lose all the benefits of maintaining your spine. Mobility, proper nervous system function, fending off the degenerative process, allowing the body to function at a higher level in all areas just to name a few. I’d budget what ever is possible for you to do. Something is better than nothing at all
Chiropractic balances your nervous system and aligns your spine. Your back might miss the alignments and the back might go into spasm or your posture might suffer d/t suddenly stopping. I'd find a chiropractor who is local and who is affordable. Good Chiropractic almost always has a positive benefit. Good luck.
Did you only go to the chiropractor because it was a covered benefit under your insurance? You said you went regularly for 5 years, I bet you can account for some benefits of having gone. What were your symptoms before you went in? How were they made better with treatment? Less pain? Better function? More range of motion? Time spent with family is more fun?
Less irritable due to pain? Did you only value the care because it was a covered insurance benefit?
Less irritable due to pain? Did you only value the care because it was a covered insurance benefit?
After 5 years i would hope that your back is strong enough to go without treatment:however if there is an degeneration in the spine, you may need periodic treatments. Try spacing your treatments out to once/6 week and see how that goes.
After 5 years of chiropractic care you should know how to maintain your adjustments. You should also have been instructed on the exercises that you need to do. At this stage I recommend that you continue with your maintenance visits with your chiropractor every 4-6 weeks. It will be worth keeping the benefits, and it should not be financially prohibitive hopefully.
I started chiropractic treatement when I was young. And I am now 47 and get adjusted about 3x a month...however I joined the Marines and didn't get chiropractic treatment for almost 7 years. If you see the benefits - continue. If you don't, go somewhere else. Many chiropractors offer a monthly fee for wellness plans. These arent specific to pain centered care, its more like a tune-up. You rely on the doc to correct subluxations, small misalignments or fixations that can cause problems over the long haul, not necessarily noticeable in the short-term. I hope that answers your questions. For example a $159 plan would cover 4 wellness chiropractic adjustments per month in our clinic.
Yes. Patients need to finish their treatment plan because the symptoms can come back and possibly be worse if the problem is not fixed.
Not necessarily. But just as with regular dental visits, you may be able to avoid sudden episodes of back pain in the future.
Yes
Chances are that you will not have an adverse reaction by not be attended regularly by your Chiropractic doctor as would be the case when dropping a long consumed medication.
For some, there is a strong belief that getting regular Chiropractic adjustments (manipulations) of the spine or extremities keeps them highly functioning. The beauty of the health care world we live in today, is that there are many resources from which to draw from and preventative measures to assist in reaching our physical and quality of life goals. You may want to try other alternatives to see how they fit your lifestyle and insurance perimeters and eventually revisit your needs through Chiropractic after you've explored other options.
For some, there is a strong belief that getting regular Chiropractic adjustments (manipulations) of the spine or extremities keeps them highly functioning. The beauty of the health care world we live in today, is that there are many resources from which to draw from and preventative measures to assist in reaching our physical and quality of life goals. You may want to try other alternatives to see how they fit your lifestyle and insurance perimeters and eventually revisit your needs through Chiropractic after you've explored other options.
No it is not detrimental to stop seeing a chiropractor for wellness care but I strongly encourage you to continue your care somewhere else. We all go through minor micotraumas or repetitive stress injuries throughout our life and seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis will keep those problems from becoming more serious in the future. For instance, your wouldn't stop seeing the dentist if you had changed insurance you would just find another one. I encourage you to do the same.
It really depends on your specific condition and needs, I can not say how negative the effect will be on your spine without knowing your condition. I do recommend you continue to see a chiropractor if possible; if you can not see one then you should focus on stretching any tight muscles and strengthening any weak muscles at home. Having proper muscle balance can limit the degenerative effects of the spine.
It's about the equivalent of going to the gym for 5 years on a regular basis and then stopping. Short term you may not notice the effects, but in time those spinal joints will start to tighten up and muscle spasms will follow. Even if you can get in once every 4-6 weeks rather than stopping all together, it will make a big difference.
Can’t think of a reason why it would, unless there’s an underlying diagnosis that is being treated and not yet fixed. After five years, this shouldn’t be the issue.
Thank you for your question. It is not bad to stop chiropractic care. I often recommend that patients come back when they are in discomfort and sometimes, I do not see them for years. Our bodies are amazing things and will adjust. It is important to always maintain proper exercise, stretching, and nutrition to keep the body healthy as much as possible.
The best answer to your question would be the following analogy; Would you stop having tune ups on your car, oil change, wheel balance etc? The answer would be no. Too totally discontinue Chiropractic care would be the same. Your body needs the occasional adjustment to maintain a healthy body.
It could. But if your chiropractor is being responsible, s/he has taught you therapeutic exercises to help take care of your back yourself. We chiropractors are not here to foster dependency on our care. You should have--long ago--been given the correct exercises to strengthen your back, and those exercises should have been targeted at YOUR specific weakness in YOUR back.
It can be bad to stop Chiropractic if you are in the middle of an acute injury because you will not heal as fast as you would with having it. But to just stop seeing a Chiropractic is not necessarily a bad thing except you might find your self getting stiffer and more tight in time. If you start to get stiff, sore and have headaches then I would definitely go in for an adjustment as needed.
It's okay to stop going with regularity but continue to go at least once per month. Don't stop getting adjusted.
Just like any healthy lifestyle that you have adopted, or brushing your teeth, you continue to practice that to avoid any issues in the future. Chiropractic takes care of your spine and helps with any degeneration. You do not want to lose the progress that you have made for the past five years. Always invest in your health.
Regular adjustments definitely help to prevent issues before they happen. but this doesn't necessarily mean you'll have an issue. Many patients only come in when they are in some sort of pain. That can be dealt with as well, but my advice is always trying to prevent that problem from occurring in the first place. If you've been seeing a chiropractor regularly for 5 years, this means you know your body well. My suggestion is that if you feel something isn't right, you get in touch with your chiropractor as soon as possible to have it checked. Don't let a small problem become a much larger one. If insurance coverage is an issue, talk with your doctor. Most chiropractors will work with you in regards to payment, we'd rather you get some care then no care at all. I hope this helps.
I still recommend at least a monthly visit, depending on your health.
Don't let a small amount of money stop you from getting your nervous system turned on with every adjustment. Chiropractic is an investment in your health.
If you have been brushing your teeth and all of a sudden you stop...how do you think that will affect your dental health? If you are in the maintenance phase of spinal care, then you should keep up with your spinal health. It helps to counteract the stress and rigors of life that you put your body through on a daily basis.
