In practice I have noted a pattern with patients that have been under chiropractic care – starting with an active care portion (usually 12-18 adjustments) and moving into maintenance care (on-going adjustments on a weekly or bimonthly schedule) – for some where between 6 and 9 months.

What happens with these people is that after the 6 to 9 months, they tell me that the things that happened in their lives that caused them days and weeks of pain prior to chiropractic now only affects them for a matter of hours. WOW! So when major or minor traumas happens to their bodies, the pain that used to last for days and weeks has now been reduced to a matter of hours. That is the power of chiropractic!

It’s what I call, “adaptive chiropractic”. By that I mean this: for months we’ve been repositioning bones to their proper place and in the process retraining the cerebellum (small part of the brain at the base of the skull) to allow the muscles to retain that positioning. We have NEUROLOGICALLY change the patient! Their cerebellum has learned where the bones ought to be and the what level of muscle tension should exist. (If your a neuro-nerd, the vestibulospinal, reticulospinal, and spinocerebellar tracts have experienced neuroplasticity.*)

So after chiropractic adjustments on a regular schedule, these people are leading a higher quality of life and not dealing with all the secondary problems that arise with body pain (anger & frustration, poor sleep, pessimistic attitudes, impatience, depressive episodes, etc.). They’re experiencing more healing & restoration, happier thoughts, and a profound sense of wellness & connectedness. Then they are able to take better care of their daily lives and families!

*“Functional Neuroanatomy for Posture and Gait Control” by Kaoru Takakusaki

James Barker, DC, MS