If you experience relatively mild pain, your doctor may ask you to go quickly once or twice in a row during the first or second week, and then reduce visits to one week. When a patient's pain isn't as severe or prolonged, a few visits may be enough to make an important difference. So how often should you go to the chiropractor? The answer is different for each patient, but you should schedule appointments as needed. Weekly or monthly visits can provide the greatest benefit.
To achieve maximum benefits, most types of injuries and pains will need between four and twelve sessions. Ongoing maintenance is used to prevent pain from returning and to prevent additional injuries from forming due to misalignment of the spine. The frequency of chiropractor visits will depend on what your specific needs are. For some people, weekly sessions will be more beneficial.
For others, bi-monthly consultations will work just as well. You'll need to incorporate other routines to get the most benefit. Depending on your general lifestyle, you could benefit from biweekly chiropractic sessions. Or maybe once a month is all you need.
But, if you're interested in maintaining proper health and well-being, there are certain general guidelines that we've seen work best for our patients. They perform practical manipulations with a focus on the spine and sometimes the limbs with the most important goal of helping you feel better. Even minor problems, such as sprains, strains, and muscle spasms, may require weekly office visits. If you've been hesitant to start chiropractic care because you or someone you know complained that a chiropractic adjustment had been made, felt better, and then relapsed into feeling pain, now is the time to try again and do it the right way.
Rehabilitative care visits, such as those recovering from a recent injury or accident, may occur several times a month. Visiting the chiropractor is not addictive and many people undergo a weekly adjustment or preventive care. While it's not possible to delay chiropractic treatment, three times a week is the general rule for treating acute conditions. We all deal with neck and back pain from time to time, but if it becomes chronic, the problem can become more difficult to treat on your own.
Depending on your preferences and health situation, weekly or monthly visits may benefit you the most. Similar to how eating a good diet and exercising helps you feel stronger and more energetic, chiropractic visits can help you feel better over time. According to the American Chiropractic Association, low back pain affects 31 million Americans at any given time. You may need to visit the chiropractor several times a week (or even daily in certain cases) if you have disc problems, serious injuries, or chronic joint pain.
Breakthrough pain (BTP) or a “pain outbreak” occurs when a person experiences temporary, but sometimes debilitating, outbreaks of pain.
