“Why do chiropractors require so many visits?”

There are two types of chiropractors, objective, evidence based, and the other that does not use objective data collection, only subjective data. Unless the chiropractor can validate what the causes of your symptoms are, then what are they trying to fix? I evaluate muscle, nerve, bone, soft tissue (discs, ligaments) pathology, in order to determine what is causing your symptoms. Then I have a direct therapy solution for the positive pathology, and then I perform a post-comparative objective data collection to illustrate the change. Depending on the severity of the pathology, the causes of your symptoms may take x number of visits to improve. For example, if you have phase 2 degenerative joint disease, that takes approximately 15-30 years to develop, hence your treatment plan may take more visits. If your Chiro does no objective evaluation and provides you a treatment plan, then I would run for the door.

It’s a difficult question to answer without more information, but the number of visits recommended should be based on your goal and taking your condition into consideration. Typically, pain relief care is achieved quicker than accomplishing some kind of correction.

I believe every Chiropractor has the best interest of their patients at heart and wants to see their health improve and injuries successfully treated. The number of visits for a complaint can vary depending on how the practitioner was trained. That being said, for some complaints, multiple visits may be required for the cumulative effect since a Chiropractor does not use medicine to treat and relies on natural means to treat a complaint at its cause. If you think the number of visits you were prescribed is too many, ask your Chiropractor to explain. In my office, I am educating patients on what they can do outside my office to improve their health and take an active role in managing their complaint, and if they follow my instructions, I should not see them that often. Bottom line, ask questions if things do not make sense to you.

Because you have to retrain the muscles and tendons and nerves to hold the correction. It took years to create the problem and it will take a few months to correct it. It is similar to building muscles. You can't go to the exercise club 1 time and build a muscle. It takes consistency over months to see the muscle build. Same is true for the musculoskeletal nerve complex. It also takes good nutrition to have the building blocks to build new tissue that helps the correction hold. It is a complex process, but worth it in the long run.

Dr. William Lyden

Hi there,

That is a very good question! Our spines register every stress in our internal and external environment. Your spine is a fulcrum where your arms and legs pivot in and any stress of work, sleep, etc., register in your spine/nerve system. Emotional stress pulls muscles as well as changes the tone of the nervous system. Finally, and perhaps more now than ever before, your nerve system has to deal with chemical imbalances such as pesticides, preservatives in the food, garbage in the air and water, etc. All of the stresses caused the spine to misaligned, this is why I have been under care for 44 years. Most of that has been on a maintenance program except when I have more trauma to my spine and require more visits. Of course, if you strengthen your core muscles, stretch your hamstrings, keep your spinal muscles loose, eat a good diet, meditate, and reduce stress, you will need less visits to your nervous system working well! Chiropractic is a lifestyle choice just like all of the other things you do to stay healthy. Unfortunately, most people try to use chiropractic in an allopathic method, which is the treatment for problems.

I won't speak for all Doctors of Chiropractic. For myself, average number of visits per patient is very low. Insurance companies keep close track of these statistics and have on their doctor panels those doctors who practice under the insurance company's protocols. However, that said, there are patients that need multiple treatments. The number of treatments needs to be justified by their history, diagnostic tests, examinations results, and response to treatment trials. When documented necessity is shown to be appropriate, longer term treating is usually allowed.

Chiropractors are using your own body's ability to heal, so it can take some time depending on what you are presenting with. There are also many different techniques and philosophies within the Chiropractic profession. If you believe you are being overtreated, you can look for another Chiro whose philosophy lines up with what you are looking for.

Chiropractor can treat 20 or 30 years of abuse and neglect with one adjustment. The number of treatments you require is dependent on many factors, including your individual history of injuries, surgeries, sports, genetics, occupation, exercise, weight and more.

The simple answer is that it take time and persistence to correct musculoskeletal problems. Sometimes chiropractors need to "retrain" your body to function properly. It take time to correct underlying issues that lead to dysfunction. Chiropractors typically don't wish to cover up your health problems with a band-aid or a "quick fix". They seek to uncover health problems and treat the cause, rather than just the symptoms. That usually takes time and effort, rather than a pill.

Not all docs require many visits, this is par for the course in many full spine based practices because it is a dose based relationship to the correction of the problem. Over time a bone will " get stuck " this leads to all of the ligaments that hold it in place reforming into this stuck position and helping it stay like this. This is called a " loss of instantaneous axis of rotation " aka subluxation and the dose specific nature of many full spine practices is to " retrain " those ligaments' old ways and get them to let your bone go freely not " re-stick " it to the old pattern but to allow it to move normally.