Frequently Asked Questions

It’s your health and we understand you have questions. The following are a few of the most frequently asked questions when new patients contact Bateman-Gatrost Chiropractic. Have a different question? Please give us a call or ask your question through our convenient contact form.

Chiropractic facilitates normal function in the body. It does not dictate actions within the body like prescription medications. The fact that there are so few side-effects to Chiropractic is also the reason why more than one adjustment may be required. The tissues must be remodeled to support the associated structures of the body. If we compare a health condition to an iceberg, the part we see (the symptoms) is only a portion of the underlying problem. Our treatment plan is intended to address the root causes of your particular condition not just the symptoms.

From the day we were born, our bodies are subjected to a wide variety of traumas. Some of these are major traumas that produce symptoms, such as a car accident, while most minor traumas that go unnoticed. These traumas accumulate and add up in the body to create weakness in the structure and malfunction in the operation of the nervous system which controls all other body functions. Once your treatment plan is complete, occasional maintenance adjustments will serve to protect you from the accumulating damage from life’s minor traumas.

A properly delivered chiropractic treatment, unlike drugs, has minimal negative side-effects. Adjustments restore normal biomechanical structure to your body and allow your nervous system to function at peak performance levels. In some cases, when the muscle tissue surrounding a vertebra is in spasm, there may be a tender sensation associated with adjustments, but this is rare.

To simply eliminate symptoms, ongoing chiropractic care is not necessary. However, once a complete correction is established, periodic maintenance adjustments will help prevent the traumas of everyday living from causing destruction to the spine. Chiropractic care is like exercise. You work out to get yourself in shape but you must continue to work out to stay in shape. To keep your spine and nervous system in shape, periodic check-ups and maintenance adjustments are recommended.

Your recovery and overall results will be determined by several things. The most important step that you can take is to stick to the treatment schedule designed for your condition. In the few cases that have not shown good results, the patient has not followed through with the treatment schedule or the doctors instructions for at-home-care. Your schedule of treatments is a specific frequency and pattern which our experience tells us is the best plan for your condition. Some of the responsibility for your recovery lies with you. For the best results keep your appointments, follow the doctor’s recommendations and expect to get better. Remember, we only accept those cases which we feel will best be treated with chiropractic care.

Children get great results from chiropractic care. Their youth means that they have not been subjected to as many traumas as adults; therefore less stress has occurred in their spines and nervous systems. Much of the disease occurring in adult life can be attributed to uncorrected spinal conditions in childhood. Many of our patients bring their children in for periodic check-ups to help ensure that they will live a full and healthy life.

The primary focus of chiropractic is the detection, reduction and correction of spinal misalignments and nervous system dysfunction. The nervous system controls and coordinates every organ and tissue of the body. There’s a relationship between the spine and the health of the nervous system. Chiropractic seeks to find the root cause and eliminate it, allowing the body to heal naturally.

The chiropractor will ask a series of questions regarding the complaint, the dietary habits, family history, lifestyle and other care you have received. A complete orthopedic, neurological and chiropractic examination will be performed and any necessary radiographs obtained. Once the chiropractor has evaluated your problem, he or she will discuss options for your care. There are several chiropractic techniques which can be used for treatment. Rest assured, you will be well informed before any treatments are performed.