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Chiropractic Maintenance Care: Rationale Explained

A well-referenced paper presented at the 10^th Annual Vertebral Subluxation Research Conference in Hayward, California explains why your chiropractor suggests that you continue with chiropractic maintenance care, sometimes called wellness care, after your initial spinal problems have been corrected.

The paper defines maintenance care as dealing with patients who have no chief complaint but have their spines checked for vertebral subluxations and adjusted to maintain proper function and optimal health.

Researcher Dr. Lisa K. Bloom, an Associate Professor at New York Chiropractic College says there are two concepts that, if understood, offer a good rationale for chiropractic maintenance care.

The first is the concept of Immobilization Degeneration (ID). One of the primary components of the vertebral subluxation complex is decreased movement of the spinal joint. Bloom points out that 40 years of research tells us that when a joint loses normal movement, ID begins to occur at a measurable rate within one week.

The second concept we need to understand, Bloom says, is how a subluxation can exist in a patient without any symptoms occuring. When a subluxation occurs, the misalignment of the joint oftentimes does not produce enough pain, for a long enough period of time to get through to the areas of the brain responsible for pain detection.

Commentary: Two good reasons for lifetime chiropractic maintenance or wellness care are presented here. One, degeneration from a subluxation begins to appear within one week. How long do you want to wait to get it corrected? Two, many times patients do not feel pain immediately when a subluxation occurs much like you don't feel immediate pain from a cavity in a tooth. Pain may not show up until the degeneration causes a large amount of damage. Again, how long do you want to wait?

Chiropractors are deeply concerned about making sure your body is able to function to the best of its ability and be as healthy as possible for as long as possible. That's why they recommend regular spinal check-ups for everyone for a lifetime. Why a lifetime? How long do you want to be healthy?