Our Frequently Asked Questions

According to the Mayo Clinic, the “Chiropractic adjustment is safe when it’s performed by someone trained and licensed to deliver chiropractic care.” It’s important to note that a manipulation of the spine, such as done by a MD, PT, DO or other such professional is NOT the same as an adjustment by a Chiropractor. (See education below). The founding goal of a Chiropractic adjustment (and followed by subluxation-based Chiropractors) is NOT to mobilize a fixated joint but to improve neural communication between the brain and the body by delivering a precise adjustment, in the precise direction, with a precise force, to a precise (singular) joint found to be impeding this flow. “All else follows.”

 The American Association of Chiropractors (ACA) states, “Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal complaints. Although chiropractic has an excellent safety record, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are very small. Many patients feel immediate relief following chiropractic treatment, but some may experience mild soreness, stiffness or aching, just as they do after some forms of exercise. Current research shows that minor discomfort or soreness following spinal manipulation typically fades within 24 hours.” The National Institutes for Health (NIH) states, “Safety remains an important focus of ongoing research: A 2007 study of treatment outcomes for 19,722 chiropractic patients in the United Kingdom concluded that minor side effects (such as temporary soreness) after cervical spine manipulation were relatively common, but that the risk of a serious adverse event was “low to very low” immediately or up to 7 days after treatment.”  (acatoday.org)

We sometimes have questions regarding Chiropractic and the risk of stroke. There is much written on the topic and, yes, there is a small risk in a certain population. Chiropractors are trained in assessing your risk for an adverse event.  Clinical research has found that the risk of a stroke from a chiropractic adjustment is 1 in 1 million (Haldeman DC, MD, PHD, Top Clin Chiro. 1995; 2(3 ) With these odds, you are more likely to be struck by lightning. As for kids, the risk of a neurological complication from a chiropractic adjustment for children is 1 in 250 Million” ( J of Vert. Subluxation Research, Jun 1998 ).The odds of winning the Powerball Jackpot are 1 in 292 million, for your reference.  

No adverse event is every “okay”. Life is a gift and health is a treasure. However, when we realize that medical error/iatrogenic illness was the 3rd leading cause of death in 2018 (cnbc.com), the associated risk from a Chiropractic adjustment is infinitesimally small when compared to medical risk. (“180,000 deaths per year occur from medical mistakes, the equivalent of 3 jumbo jet crashes every 2 days!” Dr. Lucien Leape, Harvard school of Public health — JAMA, Dec. 21 1994) 

Chiropractic is extremely safe for children.  Our office is dedicated to raising healthy children and we see infants and children as instrumental to growing a healthy community. In our office, we do not use hands-on/manual adjustments on children under 14-15 years old, on average. Instead, we use low-force instrumentation for adjusting purposes. We choose this form of adjusting primarily because it’s most effective but also acknowledge that it eliminates risk.

A great resource for all pediatric questions is the International Pediatric Association. The majority of Chiropractors specializing in pediatrics receive their post-doctoral education and accreditation through this organization. You can visit icpa4kids.org for more information on a variety of topics and we encourage all of our Practice Members to utilize this phenomenal resource.  

Yes! Our office excels in prenatal care.  We are certified practitioners in Webster’s Technique and are committed to helping our moms reduce nervous system stress on their bodies so that they enjoy a healthy pregnancy, and giving them a greater chance of reduced labor and delivery time.  Adjustments are adapted to accommodate each stage of pregnancy as well as the unique needs of each mom. (americanpregnancy.org)

We took this directly from the site of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) because of it’s the best answer we’ve found to answer this question: 

“Doctors of Chiropractic are educated as primary-contact health care providers, with an emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of conditions related to the musculoskeletal system (the muscles, ligaments and joints of the spine and extremities) and the nerves that supply them. Educational requirements for doctors of chiropractic are among the most stringent of any of the health care professions. The typical applicant for chiropractic college has already acquired nearly four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education, including courses in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work. Once accepted into an accredited Chiropractic college, the requirements become even more demanding — four to five academic years of professional study are the standard. Doctors of Chiropractic are educated in orthopedics, neurology, physiology, human anatomy, clinical diagnosis including laboratory procedures, diagnostic imaging, exercise, nutrition rehabilitation and more. Because Chiropractic care includes highly skilled manipulation/adjusting techniques, a significant portion of time is spent in clinical technique training to master these important manipulative procedures. In total, the Chiropractic college curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. The course of study is approved by the Council on Chiropractic Education, an accrediting agency that is fully recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.  (acatoday.org)

Chiropractors in Virginia are licensed by the Virginia Board of Medicine and bound by the same rules as other medical professionals.  Our licenses must be renewed every two years and a minimum of 60 hours of continuing education are required to be completed during this period in order to qualify for licensure renewal. You may reference dhp.virginia.gov/medicine for more information.

An adjustment is a specific event that occurs when a Chiropractor detects an area of your spine that is deemed “subluxated”.  A simple definition of a subluxation: A joint of the spine that is not moving correctly and is thereby causing minute obstruction/interference/irritation to an associated area of your body that thereby interferes with health/causes symptoms when present over time.  A chiropractic adjustment is the art of using a specific, controlled force in a precise direction that is applied to a spinal joint that releases this tension on the nerve system. The purpose of an adjustment is to correct structural alignment and eliminate interference in the nervous system. For you, this means improved spinal function, reduction in pain, and an overall improvement in health and wellness.

That’s the goal! But, in reality, not always. A subluxation does not cause pain. It causes symptoms over time—the longer it is there without correction, the greater the symptoms, typically.  We sometimes compare a subluxation to a dental cavity—you may have it for a long time before symptoms appear. And a small cavity always becomes a bigger cavity without correction.  The vast majority of our practice members find that periodic spinal checks are important for the very reason that a check reduces the amount of time a subluxation is present—thereby reducing the effect on their overall health. As a general rule, it may be possible to know you have a subluxation but it is rarely possible to be sure you don’t. 

The ‘popping’ or ‘cracking’ sound you hear with the adjustment of a vertebral joint is actually the release of pressure in a synovial joint. It’s the same release of pressure that some people experience when they “crack” their knuckles.  The important point, however, is this:   The sound is a side effect to an adjustment, not an indicator that an adjustment has occurred. Many times, a successful adjustment is delivered without any sound at all. In our office, every adjustment delivered is followed up with a “post-check” to ensure it was successful prior to moving on to the next level to be adjusted. Results are measured, not “heard”.

If you begin Chiropractic care and you’re already in pain, an adjustment can sometimes cause more pain.  Just like anything else, it depends on you and how much pain you’re currently in.  As a rule, we’ll help you reduce your chance of increased pain by making specific home recommendations. The majority of our practice members who follow our recommendation rate their initial post-adjustment discomfort as “mild” in nature when they first start care.  Most discomfort following adjustments eases following the first week or two of care, depending on the severity of your problem and we do our best to help you navigate this period of care. For our long-time practice member who are seeking maintenance or wellness care, discomfort during or following an adjustment is rare.

No. During your first two weeks of care, we’ll determine which technique is most helpful for you unless you are an infant or child (in which case we strictly utilize an instrument-based, low force technique). All techniques work—it’s about how you receive them.  For that reason, we are highly in-tune with how your body receives and holds an adjustment. We modify through your care plan, if necessary, to ensure your body heals and you receive the results you are looking for.

You’re not alone in asking this question and we completely understand why you would ask.  The truth is, every single person is different. Though we can estimate length of care due to anatomical and clinical reasoning (and we do our best to do so during your Doctor’s Report on your second visit)  we find it best to provide clinical “outlines” dependent  upon your specific initial presentation and history (or that of your child’s) and individualize them as you progress through your care. We perform progressive re-examinations every 12 visits to ensure that you’re meeting the measures expected, thereby ensuring you the results you’re seeking. To give you a rough outline, you should expect to be checked one to three times a week during your initial intensive care period (most fall within the three times a week frequency initially) with the frequency of checks reduced as you progress through care. 

Absolutely. We modify our adjustive procedures for each person. Since the goal of Chiropractic care is improving communication between your brain and your body, the fact that you’ve had surgery only matters in respect to the technique utilized to perform your adjustment. If you’ve had surgery, we know it’s vital for you to receive Chiropractic care. Please don’t hesitate to schedule a call with the doctor to discuss this further.

Since the goal of Chiropractic care is to remove interference between the brain and the body and to increase the body’s ability to adapt to stressors, yes, this is true.  Chiropractic care aims to restore normal nerve function to the body which controls every organ, cell, muscle, thought, emotion, and system of the body. Therefore, if nerve system flow is restored, the body can balance and symptoms common to these “conditions” may resolve or reduce, thereby also reducing their outward effects on you.  

Though we love helping people be well, we really love it when our patients already feel good! However, our focus is on normalizing and maintaining the function of your nervous system rather than gauging your health on “how you feel.” When your nervous system is functioning at 100% your body has the best chance to not just get well but to stay well. The majority of health crises take years to manifest. Cancer, for example, is present in your body for 20 years before you have the first symptom. For Corrective and Wellness Chiropractors like us, we refuse to rely on the presence or absence of symptoms as a determinant of your state of health. Instead, we measure and collect data that indicates your level of health and healing. We believe you and your family are worth nothing less and we will continue to find every means of providing improved test measures that provide evidence towards this end. If you’re already “feeling good”, ask us to perform a nerve scan (we’ll be happy to oblige). This way, we can clinically measure if how you feel is actually a true reflection of your level of health.