What is chiropractic?
Chiropractic is hands-on care for the musculoskeletal system, your spine, your joints, and the muscle and soft tissue around them. If you have never seen a chiropractor, here is a plain look at what an adjustment is, what an exam covers, and how care is planned at our Plano office.
How an adjustment actually works
An adjustment is a quick, controlled pressure applied to one specific joint, usually by hand, and sometimes using a gentler, lower-force approach when that fits your exam. It is aimed at restoring motion to a joint that is not moving freely. The pop you hear is not bone. It is cavitation, a gas bubble releasing inside the fluid that lubricates the joint, the same thing that happens when a knuckle cracks. The thrust itself takes about a second, and plenty of adjustments make no sound at all.
What a musculoskeletal exam looks at
Before anyone puts hands on you, we take your history and examine you. We watch how you move and where your range runs out, check joint motion segment by segment, test muscle strength and reflexes, and press on the tissue to find what is tender and what is not. We tell you what we found in plain language, and you get the findings before you get a recommendation.
Why a care plan changes over time
A care plan is a schedule, not a promise. Visits usually start closer together and then get spaced out, and we set that starting schedule from what your exam showed. We re-examine along the way and tell you plainly what we are seeing, including when we are not seeing what we expected. You can stop or pause at any point, and we will tell you where things stand.
What chiropractors in Texas do and do not do
Texas chiropractors are licensed to evaluate and treat musculoskeletal conditions of the spine and the extremities. We do not prescribe medication and we do not perform surgery. Care here is drug-free and non-surgical by definition, not by preference. We also do not treat conditions outside the musculoskeletal system, and when your case points somewhere else, to imaging, to a physician, to another kind of therapy, we will say so and help you get there.
How to think about the time between visits
What happens in the office is a small slice of your week. The rest of it is how you sit, lift, sleep, and move. When it fits your findings, we will show you specific stretches or exercises rather than a generic handout, and we will show you the form so you are not guessing at home. The general idea is simple: change position often, keep joints moving through their range, and bring up anything new at your next visit.
Have questions?
We are glad to talk through whether chiropractic care fits what you are dealing with. Call us at (972) 596-1611 or book a visit online.