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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Chiropractic Medicine?
- What is an adjustment?
- Why is there a popping sound when a joint is adjusted?
- What should I expect on my first visit?
- Will I have to come back forever?
- How long should I expect it to take before I feel better?
- Can a chiropractor cure any condition?
- What problems can a chiropractor treat?
- Are there any side-effects that can be experienced from Chiropractic care?
- What is the true cause of my pain?
- Can chiropractic help with preventing pain in the future?
- What type of education and training do chiropractors have?
Chiropractic is a system of healing human ailments under the recognition that every part of the body works interconnected in such a way that you can not affect one part without affecting another. Traditionally, chiropractic physicians are considered healers of neuromusculoskeletal ailments, emphasizing the use of physical medicine. Although this is often the case, they are also trained to treat a variety of human ailments, nutritionally, as opposed to using prescription drugs or surgery. The chiropractic education at National University provides physicians with extensive training in diagnosis, as well as in x-ray evaluation, nutrition, and physical medicine. Chiropractic philosophy also promotes the idea of preventative care, such that the body is able to protect and heal itself, in times of stress or impending disease. What is an adjustment?
Also known as a chiropractic manipulation, an adjustment is a manual procedure that utilizes the highly refined skills developed during the intensive years of chiropractic education. This involves a gentle and precise quick thrust on a specific area of the spine or extremity using our hands to create movement in an immobile joint. Chiropractic manipulation is a highly controlled procedure that rarely causes discomfort. The chiropractor adapts the procedure to meet the specific needs of each patient. The adjustment returns normal function to your joint which, in turn, allows the body to begin the healing process.
Patients often note positive changes in their symptoms immediately following treatment. There are several different reasons for creating pain relief and restoring mobility. When joints are not moving adequately, they force other joints to work extra hard to compensate for movement. They also create interference of the nerves that exit through the spaces between vertebrae of the spine. An adjustment restores movement to the vertebrae, and decreases this interference. When an adjustment is performed, your body also releases endorphins to the areas being treated, which are your body's natural pain modulator.
Why is there a popping sound when a joint is adjusted?
At the time of the adjustment you may hear a "popping" sound similar to someone "popping" their knuckles. The sound is produced as the joint is moved. A vacuum is produced and the noise is caused by the change of pressure within the joint that results in gas bubbles being released. There is no pain involved.
What should I expect on my first visit?
The importance of your first visit is to determine what is causing your problem. You will begin by discussing your condition with Dr. Paun one to one. You will be encouraged to ask as many questions as possible about your condition and the treatment that you will receive. After this, a thorough exam will be performed to aid in the determination of the cause of your symptoms. All findings will be discussed in detail and the rationale for treatment will be explained. On the first visit most patients will start with passive treatment, physiological modalities and stretching. They will then progress to active rehabilitation, to decrease the possibility of future painful episodes.
Will I have to come back forever?
The hands-on nature of the chiropractic treatment is essentially what requires patients to visit the chiropractor a number of times. To be treated by a chiropractor, a patient needs to be in his or her office. In contrast, a course of treatment from medical doctors often involves a pre-established plan that is conducted at home (i.e. taking a course of antibiotics once a day for a couple of weeks). A chiropractor may provide acute, chronic, and/or preventive care thus making a certain number of visits sometimes necessary.
Each person is an individual and they will respond to treatment in different ways. What may take you only two days of treatment can take another person two weeks. Your treatment schedule should be determined by the week, not by the month or year. At Paun Family Chiropractic and Wellness your treatment is tailored to YOU. Our goal is to get you well.
We have become a society that wants the quick fix. We have learned to ignore our bodies and the way it communicates problems to us through a commonly used messenger called "pain." We want to help educate you in the art of listening to your body and to take action when something is not exactly right. If this means that a chiropractic adjustment is appropriate, then they get adjusted. Does this last forever? We hope so!
How long should I expect it to take before I feel better?
The hands-on nature of the chiropractic treatment is essentially what requires patients to visit the chiropractor a number of times. To be treated by a chiropractor, a patient needs to be in his or her office. In contrast, a course of treatment from medical doctors often involves a pre-established plan that is conducted at home (i.e. taking a course of antibiotics once a day for a couple of weeks). A chiropractor may provide acute, chronic, and/or preventive care thus making a certain number of visits sometimes necessary. Your doctor of chiropractic should tell you the extent of treatment recommended and how long you can expect it to last. Each person is an individual and they will respond to treatment in different ways. What may take you only two days of treatment can take another person two weeks. Your treatment schedule should be determined by the week, not by the month or year. At Paun Family Chiropractic and Wellness your treatment is tailored to YOU. Our goal is to get you well. We want to help educate you in the art of listening to your body. We take pride in doing this in as few treatments as is necessary.
Can a chiropractor cure any condition?
One area that causes the medical community and general population to have a negative view of chiropractic is the notion the chiropractors believe they can cure all disease with an adjustment. In fact, there are chiropractors who believe this and feel that all you need for ANY condition is a bunch of adjustments. People who hear this then think all chiropractors hold this belief even though this line of thinking is shared by only a few. But, how could anyone with intelligence hold this ridiculous view? It stems from the fact that we do sometimes see miraculous cures from adjustments with ailments that seemingly have no connection with the spine. Infantile Colic is a good example. We have personally seen infants cured of colic after receiving adjustments. The explanation for this cure is that interruption of vital nervous system information coming to and from the spine can have a negative effect on the function of the end organ. In the case of Infantile Colic, the end organ is the intestines. The disruption of proper nervous system informational flow causes symptoms of cramping and pain for the baby. Reducing this nerve information interruption with the adjustment provides the observed benefit. However, taking this theory to the extent of curing all diseases is quite a leap. Some are comfortable with this leap, we are not. We know from our experience that disease is rarely caused by one factor.
What problems can a chiropractor treat?
Chiropractors treat a wide variety of conditions. Treating low back pain is the condition most often associated with Chiropractors. The lists of conditions below are just a few of the ones that can be successfully treated by chiropractic.
| Neck pain | Whiplash pain | Headaches |
| Low back pain | Leg pain | Sciatic pain |
| Mid-back pain | Shoulder pain | Rotator Cuff pain |
| Frozen shoulder | Tennis Elbow | Golfer's Elbow |
| Wrist pain | Muscle pulls | Hand pain |
| Hand numbness | Knee pain | Ankle pain |
| Plantar Faciitis | Scoliosis | Hip pain |
| Arthritis pain | Infantile Colic | Fibromyalgia |
| "Slipped" disc | Carpal Tunnel Syndrome |
Are there any side-effects that can be experienced from Chiropractic care?
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 or aching, just as they do after some forms of exercise. Current literature shows that minor discomfort or soreness following spinal manipulation typically fades within 24 hours.
Neck pain and some types of headaches are treated through precise cervical manipulation. Cervical manipulation, often called a neck adjustment, works to improve joint mobility in the neck, restoring range of motion and reducing muscle spasm, which helps relieve pressure and tension. Neck manipulation is a remarkably safe procedure. While some reports have associated upper high-velocity neck manipulation with a certain kind of stroke, or vertebral artery dissection, there is not yet a clear understanding of the connection. The occurrence appears to be very rare-1 in 5.85 million manipulations- based on the clinical reports and scientific studies to date. Statistically, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than getting a stroke from chiropractic adjustments.
Evidence in support of this can be found by looking at malpractice insurance premiums. We pay about $1,000/year while surgeons pay this amount for 2 weeks of premiums. In our sue anyone for anything society, our premiums would be outrageous if the claims of adjustments commonly causing strokes were valid. This recommendation to not seek chiropractic care is based on bias and lack of education about the profession.
If you are visiting your doctor of chiropractic with upper-neck pain or headache, be very specific about your symptoms. This will help your doctor of chiropractic offer the safest and most effective treatment, even if it involves referral to another health care provider. It is important for patients to understand the risks associated with some of the most common treatments for musculoskeletal pain -- prescription and over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) -- as these treatments may carry risks significantly greater than those of chiropractic manipulation. According to a study from the American Journal of Gastroenterology, approximately one-third of all hospitalizations and deaths related to gastrointestinal bleeding can be attributed to the use of aspirin or NSAID painkillers like ibuprofen.
What is the true cause of my pain?
Only a small percentage of cases we see are related to trauma. Most people wake up with pain or are doing some normal activity when symptoms arise. It is not uncommon for someone to have their first real pain while getting out of bed, washing their hair, spitting out toothpaste, vacuuming the floor, or picking something up off of the floor like a piece of paper. We are constantly asked "hy" this happened for no apparent reason. The answer to this question goes to the heart of why the commonly held view of "take this to get rid of the symptoms" is misguided. This misguided logic goes on to the conclusion that the lack of symptoms means that everything is OK.
How, then, do you explain why someone wakes up or picks up a pen and gets symptoms out of the blue? The answer is simply that the body had lost normal function sometime prior to the onset of the symptom and finally could not adapt any longer. The result is a strong message being sent, usually as pain. But, what was the event that caused loss of function prior to the onset? The answer to this question explains, in part, why we have become symptom chasers. We can all agree that the weight of the pen picked up was not the true cause of the symptom. The problem is that the true causal event may have been weeks, months, or years earlier. To complicate matters even further, there may have been more than one event coupled together to cause the eventual symptom. Identifying the true cause can sometimes be very difficult. Nonetheless, the ultimate underlying problem is a loss of normal function.
Can chiropractic help with preventing pain in the future?
Prevention is the idea of taking action now to reduce the risk of future symptoms. Getting chiropractic care on a regular basis falls into this category. We have many patients who get adjusted to prevent future problems. When we ask them how they are feeling, they many times will say they have "NO PAIN." They are typically amazed, during the course of our exam, how many areas in their back are very tender to light touch. These are what we call pre-symptoms areas. If the lack of proper function exists long enough, the chances of experiencing an untimely symptoms increases dramatically.
The solution is to get adjusted on a regular basis. This preventative measure re-establishes proper movement in your spine to ensure proper health. How often you get adjusted depends on your specific needs and lifestyle. We have patients who get adjusted every month and we have patients who get adjusted four times a year. They get adjusted even when they are feeling "NO PAIN." Prevention makes much more sense than symptoms chasing.
What type of education and training do chiropractors have? Chiropractors are educated as primary contact health care practitioners, with an emphasis on musculoskeletal diagnosis and treatment. Educational requirements for doctors of chiropractic are among the most stringent of any of the health care professions. The typical applicant at a 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. Because of the hands-on nature of chiropractic, and the intricate adjusting techniques, a significant portion of time is spent in clinical training. In total, the chiropractic curriculum includes a minimum of 4,200 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical experience. The course of study is approved by an accrediting agency that is fully recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
