Tag: care physician

How to Choose a Chiropractor

If you suffer from pain, discomfort, and difficulty moving, you can head to your primary care physician or your medicine cabinet. These approaches do work, but only temporarily. You want to do more than just treat the symptoms of pain. You want to find its cause and fix it. This is where chiropractic care can and should come in.

What is chiropractic care? It is a natural form of medical care. Patients can seek relief from a wide range of aliments, including arthritis, sleep difficulties, allergies, headaches, joint pain, joint stiffness, and so forth. As for how it differs from traditional forms of medical care, chiropractors believe in an all-natural approach. Relief is sought though manual therapy, which involves use of the hands. Common treatments include realignments and adjustments. Chiropractors use precision and force to thrust a joint into its proper position.

Since chiropractic care has many benefits, you may want to seek treatment. When that time comes, you need to find chiropractors in your area. First, examine your options. You can do so by looking in the yellow pages of your local phone book, performing a standard internet search online, or using an online business directory. You now have the contact information for local chiropractors, but who will you choose? You need to do more than just find a chiropractor; you need to choose once. What should you consider?

Insurance coverage. If you have health insurance and if that coverage includes chiropractic care, contact your health insurance company. See who you can visit. Some insurance providers work with a network of physicians. You may receive extra discounts and other moneysaving benefits by opting for an in-network chiropractor. If you have the freedom to choose, opt for a one that accepts your insurance.

Costs. Whether you are insured or not, costs should be considered when choosing a chiropractor. It is important to seek natural pain relief, but you must be able to afford it. When uninsured, find a quality chiropractor who has flexible payment options. This may include monthly payment plans or credit card payments.

Recommendations from those you know. As previously stated it is easy to use the internet or a phone book to find a local chiropractor. Unfortunately, these options usually just provide you with a phone number and an address. All chiropractors ease your pain, but they have varying people skills, rates, and overall attitudes. You need a chiropractor you feel comfort with. This may involve trial and error and meeting with a number of professionals, or you can ask those that you know for recommendations and detailed feedback.

Read reviews online. Although it is best to ask those that you personally know for feedback on a local chiropractor, you may not know anyone. Chiropractic care has many benefits, but most wait until they are in pain or suffer an injury before seeking treatment. If you do not know someone who has undergone this natural medical care, turn to the internet. Many online business directories, such as the one operated by Yahoo, enable consumers to rate and review businesses, including chiropractors. Enter in the chiropractic care, your address and see what results popup. Reviews are shown as stars.

As mentioned above, you may need to rely on trial and error. If you are unable to find reviews online and do not know someone who as received chiropractic care, use your best judgment. Schedule an appointment with a local chiropractor. In most cases, the first appointment is similar to a consultation appointment. Make mental notes. Is he or she listening to you? Are they offering helpful suggestions for at home too? Do you feel comfortable with your chiropractor? If so, you made a good choice. If not, move on to the next. You can switch care providers at anytime and for any reason.

In short, you need to do more than just pick a chiropractor out a phone book. It is important to receive quality care, but start with costs. Ending your pain and discomfort is important, but make sure you can afford treatment.

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Chiropractic Care: What to Expect

Do you suffer from constant pain and discomfort? For most, this is due to an injury. For others, there is no explanation. Pain can easily be treated with over-the-counter pain relievers, but relief is short lived. Since pain relievers do have risks, especially with prolonged use, it is important to seek proper medical care. One of your options is chiropractic care.

If you werent already aware, chiropractic care is a form of medicine. Some classify it as alternative medicine, as the treatment options are very different. Most notice a difference between the care provided by a chiropractor and a primary care physician. Chiropractors believe in manual therapy. This is therapy with the use of the hands. Common methods of solving pain problems include therapeutic massages and manipulation. For example, neck pain may be treated with a neck realignment.

If you like the sound of chiropractic care, the first step is to schedule an appointment. Chiropractors can be found online with a standard internet search or an online business directory. Most are also listed in the yellow pages of local phone books, under the heading of physicians or chiropractic care. If you have a number of local options, look for the best care with the most affordable price. Some insurance providers do cover chiropractic care. If covered by insurance, speak to a representative to see if your care qualifies for coverage and to familiarize yourself with in-network providers.

Not long after making your appointment, you will arrive for it. The wait can be as short as two days, but as long as two months. The more chiropractors you have in your area, the shorter the wait should be. As for your first visit, it will be similar to a consultation appointment. Your chiropractor will take your medical history. They may take your blood pressure, measure your height and weight. Your source of pain will be examined, like your neck, hands, knees, or feet.

Some chiropractors can diagnose a problem by simply looking at or feeling your source of pain. However, additional tests may be needed. These may include an MRI or x-ray. Some chiropractors will begin treatment immediately, but you may need to return for an additional appointment. It will depend on the length of your appointment, the type of care needed, and how soon a course of treatment was decided on.

As for the second appointment, this depends. As previously stated, treatment may have started right away. If not, it will start here at the second appointment. Once again, treatment depends on the diagnosis made. If your chiropractor wants to treat your neck pain with realignment, they will start the manipulation. If ongoing therapeutic massages were recommended, your treatment will start.

After the initial treatment has been performed, it is important to communicate with your chiropractor. For example, if regular therapeutic massages are needed, you automatically know that continued care is needed. On the other hand, if your neck was realigned, you may mistakenly believe you are done. Despite the common misconception, chiropractic care does not always translate into continued care, but there are benefits. After a neck realignment, therapy may be needed. Patients regain mobility they never had before; it takes time and practice to readjust to it.

In addition to wondering about chiropractic care visits, many patients are also curious about payment. Not all insurance providers cover chiropractic care. And, not all chiropractors choose to work with insurance providers. If you are uninsured and paying out-of-pocket, this will not be a concern for you. Instead, examine your available payment options. They do vary. Some care centers accept credit cards, debit cards, and checks, while others only take cash.

Returning back to insurance coverage, do not make any assumptions. Always speak to an insurance provider first. If chiropractic care is covered, determine by how much. Do you need to pay for a percentage of treatment costs or just a co-pay? Can you seek care from any chiropractor or must you work with an in-network provider? These are all questions you need answers to before scheduling an appointment.

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Chiropractic Care versus Traditional Medical Care

Are you suffering from mild to severe pain and discomfort? Whether it is your knees, hands, neck, back, fingers, toes, or another part of the body that hurts, you may be ready to schedule an appointment with your primary care physician. This is nice, but have you considered chiropractic care? If not, you should. It is similar, but also very different from traditional medical care. How?

Natural versus Artificial

Over the past few years, a lot of focus has been placed on natural and organic. Many Americans are making the switch to all natural and organic foods and supplements. This nice, but many of those same people turn to traditional forms of medicine and over-the-counter pain relievers to seek relief. This is not natural. Chiropractic care is. Chiropractors may use x-rays and MRIs to diagnose a problem and decide on a course of treatment, but that treatment is done with the precision of the hands. It is manual therapy.

Medications

Medications are commonly prescribed in traditional forms of medical care. They are not with chiropractic care. In fact, chiropractors are unable to write prescriptions. Some believe this is because they arent enough of a doctor. This is not true. The main reason for their inability to write prescriptions is because they do not believe in their use. Patients are not discouraged from seeking temporarily pain relief with over-the-counter products, but it is only temporary. Chiropractors prefer to make adjustments to treat the problem of pain at it source, not mask the problem with prescription medication.

Side Effects

In keeping with medication, it is important to note the side effects. They are common. It is rare to find a prescribed pain reliever without side effects. Even little side effects, such as an upset stomach or dizziness, can have a profound impact on your life. When seeking medical care, you want to seek relief, not have a new set of problems to deal with. That is why chiropractic care is best to treat pain, discomfort, and decreased mobility. Since there are no drugs prescribed, you will not experience side effects. But, you will get positive effects from either proper adjustments or therapeutic massages.

Safety

In terms of safety, there are little to no risks associated with chiropractic care. In fact, care is recommended for individuals of all ages. Both those young and old can benefit from chiropractic care. With traditional medical care, there are more risks present. Many of the medications prescribed are only safe for certain individuals. For example, those under the age of 4 can rarely seek safe pain relief from over-the-counter or prescribed medications. They can, however, get a safe therapeutic massage or undergo a safe realignment to treat pain and discomfort.

Complications

Chiropractors cannot perform surgery. In most cases, it is not needed. Patients who seek medical care experience pain, discomfort, and decreased mobility. As previously stated, realignment or a therapeutic massage may do the trick. Since surgery is only considered a last resort and performed by surgeon, there is little risk of complications. Surgery opens up a world of complications, including the invasion of germs and infection. Since the body is naturally healed using manual therapy, complications are non-existent.

NOTE: Chiropractors encourage those suffering from pain, discomfort, and difficultly moving to seek chiropractic care. What they dont encourage is avoiding all traditional forms of medical care. Some conditions, such as the flu, cancer, and diabetes cannot be treated with manual therapy. Never put your health at risk. Chiropractic care is best to treat pain and discomfort. Always keep your primary care physician in mind for other non-pain related medical problems.

In short, there are many differences between chiropractic care and medical care. So, which should you opt for? If you suffer from pain or experience difficulty moving, contact a local chiropractor. See what they can do for you. Since there are little to no risks, you have nothing to lose.

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Chiropractic Care: What If Your Primary Care Physician Says

Chiropractic Care: What If Your Primary Care Physician Says No

Here is the scenario: You are suffering painful, recurring migraines. You head to your primary care physician. They prescribe pain medication to treat your migraine headaches. You are sent on your way to deal with the pain as it returns. You stop and think maybe this isnt right. You ask your primary care physician about chiropractic care. They tell you it does not work or that you are only wasting your money. What should you do? Run.

For years, there have been some troubling problems between the traditional medical field and chiropractic care. Some primary care physicians believe that chiropractors are nothing but glorified spa masseuses. Is this true? No. In fact, these problems are slowly decreasing. More primary care physicians are realizing the benefits of chiropractic care. Unfortunately, you may have an old school, doctor who has yet to realize the benefits. What should you do?

First, turn to the internet. Perform a standard internet search with the phrase chiropractic benefits. You will see many results. Many are websites of chiropractors explaining their practice and their medical schooling. Others are firsthand accounts of pain suffering people who have sought and received relief from a chiropractor. So, if some people do seek relief from this type of medical care, why are some primary care physicians so against the procedure?

For starters, it takes away from their profits. Doctors run profitable businesses, but those profits arent always staggeringly high amounts. With state aid from Medicaid and Medicare programs and insurance companies who only want to pay less, some private practices are suffering. Your primary care physician realizes that if you do seek relief from a chiropractor you will continue to seek that relief and no longer need their services as much. Someone suffering from financial troubles do not want to lose paying clients.

Although some primary care physicians are concerned about the financial aspects of losing patients to chiropractic care, others believe it does not work. Primary care physicians tend to believe that medications and surgery are best courses of treatment. Chiropractors utilize neither. They provide natural relief. In fact, they do more than just temporarily relive the pain; they stop it at the source. They do so naturally with manual therapy. A patient with neck pain may just need an adjustment. This is done with precision force and thrust.

If you want to seek chiropractic care, do. You should not care what your primary care physician has to say. Truthfully, he or she should be supportive of your decision. If they believe it will not work, they should still let you try. A doctor who discourages you or outright prohibits you from seeing a chiropractor does not have your best interest at heart. As previously stated, this care is all natural, so there are no risks. Since there are no risks, you have nothing to lose.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with a chiropractor, turn to your local phonebook or the internet. If your primary care physician was unreceptive to the treatment, they likely dont have a referral or suggestion for you. If covered by health insurance, see if coverage is extended to chiropractor care. If it is, choose one that accepts your insurance. With insurance coverage or price comparing, you can easily find an affordable chiropractor. Since you have nothing to lose physically and the costs are affordable, see what type of relief you can get.

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