How many adjustments do Chiropractors Do?
A common question asked by many of our clients and I wish I had the answer for every single one of them.
Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all when it comes to solving back pain or sciatica. The reason is people have had their issues for different durations. The reasons the back pain has occurred are different, whether it was a fall, an accident or something that has built up over time due to bad habits or postural issues.
Generally speaking, the longer you’ve had the condition, the longer it will take to get a full correction. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be out of pain quicker but what we’re looking for is to prevent a reoccurrence of the issue five months, five years down the line.
In order for that to happen, there needs to be a correction in terms of habits but also the way the spine functions.
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The first example we can use is a 24-year-old male, a carpenter. He has been working since he was 18, in an active job and doing physical work for the last six years. He plays football on the weekends and is relatively fit. He develops sciatic pain and within three days, it’s a ten out of ten excruciating shooting pain down the back of the leg.
This is diagnosed as a disc bulge putting pressure on the sciatic nerve. Now the disc would have bulged only three days previously due to the young man lifting something heavy at work. Now with this, when there is a recent disc bulge, it doesn’t take as long to fix. So generally, the more acute the pain, the quicker it is to get rid of the pain.
The main thing is we need to find out what actually caused the disc bulge in the first place because there are plenty of his peers who are in their 40s. 50s who are doing carpentry all their life who have never suffered any back pain. So what are they doing differently that he isn’t?
Back Pain From Sitting Too Long
If we look on the other side of the scale, a 55-year-old woman who is desk-based, has been for the last 35 years. She travels to London, commutes every day, a 3 hour round trip, sits at a desk for eight to nine hours. She has had back pain over the past 20 years and had previous bouts of sciatica, which have lasted for two weeks to two months at a time and has managed it with painkillers, Pilates and stretching and now this episode is the most severe.
In terms of getting rid of the pain, it could take anywhere from two weeks to two months previous to her current episodes, probably faster under Chiropractic care. However, to correct the issue, it’s going to take longer. It can take anywhere from 6 to 12 months because she has had 20 years of build-up of a chronic condition that now has an acute flare-up.
How Long Does Back Pain Last?
It’s important to understand that when we ask ‘how long has the back pain been going on for’? A lot of people will say two weeks, a month, when actually it has probably been going on for a lot longer and therefore more damage is built up over time and that’s when more adjustments need to be taking place. More care will need to be done and a more extensive care plan to help prevent the problem from coming back long term.
So if you are wondering how many adjustments would take for your condition, what I would recommend is getting a diagnosis first from an expert whether it’s a chiropractor, physio, osteopath, someone who is trained in how to diagnose musculoskeletal spinal conditions and then do your research and find out what you think could be the cause of why you have this diagnosis and then it’s the plan to put in place to make sure that you can get rid of the pain first and then secondly, how long it would take for the problem to be corrected so that it doesn’t come back in the future.
Then you can live the life that you want, walking, be active, doing day to day tasks like cooking, household chores, without having to worry about your back going into spasm or sciatic pain going down your leg.
If you want any help with this, please let us know.
