Q: If my neck and low back pain is gone, why should I continue chiropractic care?

This is a question I hear quite often.

A patient comes in with back or neck pain. We work together, they improve, and then they ask me, “If I feel good, why should I keep coming?”

That’s a fair question.

I don’t believe everyone needs ongoing chiropractic care just because they’ve been to a chiropractor. Every patient is different. But there is an important difference between treating a problem and helping keep that problem from coming back.

Research suggests that for some people, especially those with recurring low back pain, periodic chiropractic care may help reduce the chances of another painful episode.

One study of workers with low back pain found that those who received chiropractic maintenance care had a lower risk of future disability than those receiving maintenance care from other provider groups.¹

Another high-quality clinical trial followed patients with recurring low back pain for one year. Researchers found that patients who received scheduled chiropractic maintenance care had about 13 fewer days of bothersome low back pain over the course of the year than patients who returned only when their pain came back.²

Your spine contains thousands of tiny nerve endings that help your brain know where your body is in space and how your joints are moving. These nerve endings are found in the joints, ligaments, and muscles that support your spine.

When a spinal joint isn’t moving properly, the signals to the brain may be less accurate. A chiropractic adjustment helps restore normal joint motion while stimulating these nerve endings, giving your brain updated information about how your spine is functioning. Research has also shown that properly performed chiropractic adjustments are safe for these spinal tissues.

In my practice, many patients choose to continue care on a less frequent schedule after their pain has improved. Many tell me they experience fewer flare-ups and can stay active in the things they enjoy.

If you’ve ever had low back pain, you know how quickly it can interrupt your life. Sometimes, staying well is just as important as getting well.

References

1. Cifuentes M, Willetts J, Wasiak R. Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association With Disability Recurrence. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2011;53(4):396-404.
2. Eklund A, Jensen I, Lohela-Karlsson M, et al. The Nordic Maintenance Care Program: Effectiveness of Chiropractic Maintenance Care versus Symptom-Guided Treatment for Recurrent and Persistent Low Back Pain. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(9):e0203029.

One thing that has continued to surprise me over my 47 years in practice is how many people come in for mid or low back pain but never mention that they’re also dealing with recurring headaches.

When I ask about headaches, I often hear, “Oh, I didn’t think they were related.”

Sometimes they are.

One common source of headache pain is irritation of the joints in the upper neck. The pain from these joints is often referred, meaning it’s felt somewhere else, typically up the back and side of the head. What’s interesting is that the joints themselves often aren’t noticeably sore until they’re examined with gentle, direct palpation.

That’s why I believe a thorough examination is so important. Rather than focusing only on the area that hurts, it’s worth looking at how the whole body is working together. Connecting the dots can sometimes reveal the underlying source of symptoms that have been lingering for months or even years.

If you’ve been living with neck or back pain and recurring headaches, don’t assume they’re unrelated. Be sure to mention both to your healthcare provider. It could make all the difference in finding the right approach to care.

Q: I have low back pain. Some people tell me to see a physical therapist, others say I should see a chiropractor. Which is better?

I get asked this a lot, and I’ll give you a straight answer,  though it’s not quite as simple as picking one over the other.

Both physical therapy and chiropractic care can help with low back pain. I have a lot of respect for what physical therapists do. And when it comes to certain outcomes, the research does point to some real differences worth knowing about.

A review published in the Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal looked at patients with low back pain who received either chiropractic spinal adjustments or physical therapy. One of the findings that stood out was that the chiropractic patients used significantly fewer opioid medications and had lower opioid-related healthcare costs. In the middle of an opioid crisis that has touched just about every community in this country, that matters.

Here’s why I think that happens. My care isn’t about covering up the pain,  it’s about finding where the spine has lost its normal motion and restoring it. When a spinal joint is locked up or not moving properly, it irritates the surrounding nerves and muscles, and your body responds with pain. A proper adjustment gets that joint moving again, and when it does, the pain signal often quiets down on its own. No medication needed.

The ripple effects of that are significant. Fewer opioids means fewer side effects, less risk of dependency, and less time spent managing medication related problems down the road. My patients often find they need less overall care the longer we work together.

Is chiropractic care the right answer for every low back problem? No, and I won’t pretend otherwise. Some cases need a different approach, and I always do a thorough exam before recommending anything. But for a lot of people with low back pain, this is exactly the kind of conservative, hands-on care that gets results without reaching for a prescription pad. If you’re tired of hurting and want to explore a drug-free option, come in and let’s take a look at what’s going on.

Citation: “The Outcome Assessment of Physical Therapy and Chiropractic Spinal Adjustments on Low Back Pain, Opioid Use, and Health Care Utilization.” Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal, retrieved via US Chiropractic Directory .

Q: Should I see a chiropractor after a car accident?

Yes — and please don’t wait until you’re really hurting to come in.

Here’s something most people don’t realize. Right after a crash, your body floods with adrenaline. That adrenaline is doing its job keeping you calm and functional in a stressful moment, but it also masks pain. You might walk away from an accident feeling completely fine and think you dodged a bullet. Then two days later you wake up and can barely turn your head.

That’s not unusual at all. Soft tissue inflammation doesn’t peak right away;  it typically builds over 24 to 72 hours after impact, and I’ve had patients show up with significant symptoms a full two weeks after their accident. The injury was there from the beginning. The pain just took a while to show up.

So what’s actually happening inside your body during a crash? Even at low speeds, your neck and spine get whipped back and forth very fast, faster than your muscles can react to protect you. That force strains muscles and ligaments and jams up the small joints of your spine, especially in the neck. It’s the kind of injury that doesn’t always show up on an X-ray, but you absolutely feel it.

It’s important to be aware of any changes in how you feel in the days following an accident. Neck pain or stiffness, headaches, shoulder or upper back pain, dizziness, and tingling or numbness down your arms are all things I want to know about. Any one of those can be a sign that your spine took a hit and needs attention.

When you come in, I’ll do a thorough evaluation to find out exactly what’s going on. From there, my job is to get your spine moving properly again, reduce the inflammation, and help your body heal the right way. That might mean gentle adjustments, some muscle work, and a few simple exercises to do at home — whatever makes sense for what I find.

The reason early care matters so much is that I’ve watched small injuries become big problems when people ignore them. Scar tissue sets in, movement patterns change, and what could have been a straightforward recovery turns into months of chronic pain. After an accident, don’t wait for symptoms to get worse; a simple evaluation can make a big difference in how well, and how fully, you heal.

Q: I was just in a car accident. How will my care be paid for?

This is one of the first things people ask me, and I’m always glad they do because the answer is usually better than they expect.

If you have auto insurance in Oregon, you most likely have something called Personal Injury Protection, or PIP. Oregon requires it on most policies, and it’s specifically designed to cover you after a car accident. The minimum coverage is $15,000, it pays out regardless of who was at fault, and it covers treatment for up to two years from the date of the accident or until the benefits run out. That’s a meaningful amount of coverage, and for a lot of my patients it’s more than enough to get them through their care.

What surprises many people is that PIP kicks in before your regular health insurance does. That means your normal deductibles and copays aren’t part of the equation right away. You can often walk in and start care without any out of pocket cost at the outset.

If your care ends up costing more than your PIP covers, there are still options. Your personal health insurance can usually step in at that point, and if the other driver was at fault, their liability coverage may also come into play. If none of that fully covers things, my office can work with you on a payment plan. The point is, we figure it out together — you don’t get left holding the bag.

The insurance and paperwork side of things is something my team handles for you. We’ll check your PIP benefits, bill the right insurance company directly, and take care of whatever documentation is needed. I know that stuff can feel overwhelming when you’re already dealing with an injury, so we try to take it completely off your plate. If you’ve been in a car accident in Oregon, there’s a good chance your care is already covered — come in, let me check you out, and we’ll sort out the insurance side together so you can focus on getting better.

Q: Pregnancy and chiropractic, do those go well together?

They really do, and I wish more expecting moms knew about it earlier in their pregnancy.

Here’s what’s going on in your body. When you’re pregnant, your body releases hormones — relaxin being the big one — that literally loosen your ligaments to prepare your pelvis for delivery. That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen. But those same hormones loosen the ligaments everywhere, including all the joints in your spine. Add a growing baby shifting your center of gravity forward, and those already-loose joints start taking on a lot of stress. They can easily get misaligned or start moving poorly, and when that happens, mom feels it.

The low back and pelvis tend to take the hardest hit. I see a lot of pregnant patients who are struggling with low back pain, hip pain, or that deep aching sciatica that shoots down the leg. Simple things like sleeping, rolling over in bed, or walking to the car become genuinely uncomfortable. That’s not just something you have to push through.

Gentle chiropractic adjustments during pregnancy help those stressed joints move better and take the pressure off the surrounding muscles and nerves. I use techniques specifically designed for pregnancy — modified positions, lighter force — so it’s comfortable and safe at every stage, even well into the third trimester. And because it’s completely drug-free, there’s nothing to worry about on that front.

There’s something else worth mentioning that a lot of people don’t know about. When your pelvis is properly aligned, your baby has the best possible room to move into a good position for delivery. That can make a real difference when labor starts — things tend to go more smoothly when everything is lined up the way it should be.

My recommendation is to start care before you’re in pain, ideally early in your pregnancy or even before you conceive if you can. Staying on top of it through each trimester means your body can adapt to the changes as they come rather than falling behind and trying to catch up. Pregnancy puts a tremendous amount of stress on your spine and pelvis — chiropractic care is one of the safest, most natural ways to stay comfortable and keep your body functioning well from the first trimester all the way to delivery day.