Chiropractor Questions Chiropractor

How long should it take for a chiropractor to fix your back?

I am a 37 year old male. I want to know how long should it take for a chiropractor to fix your back?

17 Answers

The duration of care and the process of healing all depends on how your body will respond to the chiropractic treatment. I would recommend to schedule a consultation first with a chiropractor and then see exactly and they can be able to help.
There is no easy answer as there are many, many different conditions that can cause back pain. An injured disc for example could take anywhere from three months to a year for complete healing while misaligned pelvic girdle (sacroiliac joint) with accompanying muscle spasm may respond to one treatment. Generally most soft tissue injuries can heal in about 6 weeks time.
It varies on the severity. Get adjusted until your feeling better than go bi-weekly to every 4-6 weeks to maintain the spinal correction.
It depends on your symptoms and condition. Every patient is different, and will respond to Chiropractic differently. It does not work like in a text book. But with regular chiropractic care, and home care as assigned by your doctor, will help recover at a faster rate.
Chiropractic is NOT generic. So many factors to consider for a proper diagnosis, care plan, and prognosis. Age, injury, area of injury, cause of injury, pathology involved, etc.
In my opinion treating the spine is about function. Everybody's spine is different and responds differently. Some individuals get immediate relief of symptoms, others need a program to get the back able to work efficiently. Other individuals have chronic conditions that need on term care, The goal is to make the spine work well within its own structural parameters. Stretching, exercises, posture, habits and activities of daily living can make a difference. It is important to get help from a licensed professional. Doctors of Chiropractic (DC) are trained to diagnose and treat all the areas of the neuromuscular skeletal system and can assist in developing a program for your individual needs.
Each case is different. Most people can feel better in a few visits and others it may take months. See your local chiropractor for more details on your case.
That is a difficult question to answer. It would depend on your previous injuries to your back. The amount of degeneration in the back, your weight and how well you take care of yourself. What exactly does fixing the back mean? Do you just want to be pain free or correct any structural issues in the spine. It could take anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years to FIX issues.
That is a very good question that many lower back pain sufferers do ask. In order to answer it appropriately, many criteria must be assessed. The most important are the type of condition (diagnosis) , the duration of the condition, how the lower back problem occurred (acute injury or chronic in nature) and overall health of the patient.

With these questions answered and formalized , please take the following points as simple guidance. With chiropractic care most simple mechanical lower back problems (sprain/strain) get better within 3 to 5 weeks. If there is nerve involvement which is evident in less than 10% of the time, the patient can expect up three months of chiropractic and rehabilitative care. These are answers to pain control and how long it should take someone to feel better and be out of pain. But in order to correct or “fix” the problem most spinal postural deformities or soft tissue derangement can take up to six months to fully rehabilitate. Xrays and MRI tests may be necessary to achieve full diagnosis and accurate treatment plans as well.
Hello,
It is a good question but not a simple answer. Each person is different based on age and the condition you have. Typically to get out of pain it may take 4-12 visits within 2 to 6 weeks. If someone has a more complicated condition such as a herniated disc or severe scoliosis the treatment may take months or longer. The main thing is to get an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan that has specific goals where you can measure progress. If a chiropractor is doing the same thing over and over without re-exams or a program to show correction, you may want to question their motives. I believe honesty, clear communication, and good ethics is very important.
That is a difficult question to answer because their are many factors involved. Typically, every new patient receives a complete ortho/neuro examination which would determine if radiographs would be needed or not. Thereafter, we would determine if you would benefit from care or not.
It depends. Every condition at different stages has varying times. With a common low back subluxation with pain, it generally takes anywhere from 4 to 12 visits. Sometimes longer depending on the patients other conditions and lifestyle.
Thank you for your question! Unfortunately, age is not a reliable enough factor when it comes to determining a time frame for successful recovery from back injury or surgery. It is true that as we age our healing and recovery processes do slow, but the good news is that with a good enough program and health care team you can learn your personal regimen for self-management which gives you better long-term prognosis.
That would depend on your diagnosis. There are many types of conditions that cause back pain, including ones chiropractic physicians can’t “fix”. That said, we do very well with “mechanical” back pain, meaning musculoskeletal back pain, i.e. strains, sprains, herniated discs, spinal stenosis, cartliage and ligament injuries, and others. If you make no subjective or objective improvement at the end of four weeks of treatment (usually 8-12 visits over four weeks, just like physical therapy), you should try something else. You may not be completely better by the end of four weeks, but you should be measurably (objectively) better. If you are improved, you can try another four weeks.

Most back pain is muscle strain, which is microtearing to macrotearing of muscle fiber. Most of my muscle strain patients, whether they strain neck muscles, back muscles or any other muscles in the body (chiropractic physicians treat ALL muscles and joints of the human body), get better in kess than 1-2 weeks. Some take 6-8 weeks. State guidelines in my state (Massachusetts) allow several months of traatment for mote sebere cases. Most low back pain is muscle strain, mostly of lumbosacral multifidi muscles (look it up) caused by improper bending, reaching or lifting. Those strains range from minimal/nuisance to severe/agonizing. They almost never require hospital care, x-rays or MRI, even though pain can be moderate-severe at first.

Treatment of back pain usually results in improvement that is much faster than doing nothing. Since time is of the essence for working people, those physicians saying “it will resolve by itself” are correct, but missing the point. Chiropractic physicians can often get you better much more quickly.

Hope this helps. It’s a tough question to answer without a medical interview, review of systems, and physical examination, all of which you will undergo at the chiropractor’s office, just as at any other physician’s office. Our examinations are typically more thorough, speaking from personal experience. You do not need a referral from a medical doctor. We are considered primary care for musculoskeletal conditions.
It depends on how long you have had this pain and what caused the pain (trip and fall, picked up something wrong or hit by a car). In 2016, The Journal of Physiological and Manipulative Therapies (JMPT), one of the scientific journals that puts out a lot of information for chiropractors published the Clinical Practice Guideline: Chiropractic Care for Low Back Pain. A group came together and looked through the literature to see what was most effective with the information we currently have. The guideline suggests that for acute injuries possibly up to 12 visits over 3-4 weeks to chronic or an exacerbation of low back pain which could 2-6 visits over a month. Right now, that is the current guideline. There is also a guideline for wellness care in regards to the low back.
Depends on your unique history and condition. There is not an average timespan due to large variation case by case.
This depends on the issue and if there are complicating factors to healing. You should see some significant improvement after 10 visits over 2 months.