1. What
is health?
2.
What is Chiropractic?
3. How does Chiropractic
compare with traditional Medicine?
4. Would a NUCCA Chiropractor be able to help me even though I've
had minimal results with traditional Medicine and Chiropractic?
5. How do I know if I am a candidate for the NUCCA procedure?
6. How did I get a spinal misalignment (body imbalance)?
7. Is the NUCCA Spinal Correction painful?.
8. How safe is NUCCA Health Care?
9. What changes might I expect following the initial correction?
10. Is it important to bring my x-rays and/or MRI studies?
11. Why are x-rays taken before and after the correction?
12. Are x-ray's necessary on follow-up visits?
13. What can I do to keep from loosing my alignment?
14. I'm worried about x-ray exposure, what should I do?
15. Why am I adjusted just below the ear when I have low back pain
and sciatica?
16. Do all people respond the same with NUCCA Care?
17. How long will it take until I feel better?
18. How many visits will I need to correct the problem?
19. Is it possible for me to adjust myself?
20. Will the problem go away with time?
21. Does the Nucca doctor use the same spinal correction formula
for everyone?
22. Should I have my spine checked by a NUCCA Chiropractor before
agreeing to surgery?
23. Can I utilize NUCCA Chiropractic Care following surgery?
24. How long will I need NUCCA Chiropractic Care?
25. What type of education does a Doctor of Chiropractic have?
26. Will insurance or Medicare cover your services?
27. My insurance policy doesn't cover Chiropractic, what should I
do?
28. Is it safe to treat women who are pregnant?
29. Why is time required to obtain long term results?
30. If I get adjusted more frequently will it speed my recovery?
31. Why don't I always get a correction when I feel bad, and why
do I sometimes get a correction when I feel good?
32. How will I know when I loose my alignment?
33. Can my alignment correct on its own?
34. X-rays and pregnancy?
35. How often should I get monitored for body balance after the
doctor has released me from scheduled visits?
36. What if I am skeptical
about Chiropractic?
1.
What is health?
According to Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary health is defined as
"a state of optimal physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely
the absence of disease and infirmity."
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2.
What is Chiropractic?
Chiropractic is based on the scientific evidence that the human body has an
innate power to maintain its own health. Chiropractic philosophy focuses on the
correction of spinal malfunctions, called subluxations, to remove interference
to the spinal cord and the nerves. Science
has found that the nervous system controls all organs and tissues of the body.
A nervous system functioning at its best facilitates the body's ability
to cope with disability and disease. This
does not mean just a lack of illness, but staying well and performing well for a
lifetime.
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3. How does
Chiropractic compare with traditional Medicine?
Chiropractic looks at the body as an organism that is in constant flux between
disease and ideal functional wellness. Medicine
focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of pain and fails to acknowledge the
connection between nerve dysfunction, pain and disease.
Medicine most often observes and treats people as either sick or not
sick. One thing on which
Chiropractic and Medicine do agree is that every bodily function is controlled
and regulated by the electrical and chemical impulses of the nervous system
initiated by the brain. Achieving
optimal function of the nervous system is the primary focus of Chiropractic
philosophy.
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4. Would a
NUCCA Chiropractor be able to help me even though I've had minimal results with
traditional Medicine and Chiropractic?
In our office, 94-98% of patients obtain some relief from their primary
complaint during the initial treatment. Approximately
60% of those patients have already seen at least one medical physician (often
several) and one or more chiropractors.
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5. How do I
know if I am a candidate for the NUCCA procedure?
Anyone who has an atlas is a candidate for the NUCCA procedure.
The initial consultation with the NUCCA doctor is designed to evaluate
your symptoms and history and determine if the doctor feels NUCCA can help your
condition or if medical intervention may be needed.
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6. How did
I get a spinal misalignment (body imbalance)?
Spinal misalignment is most often caused by an accident or other traumatic
event. These events occur in a
number of different ways over a lifetime and are often unnoticed when they
occur. The following are some
examples of events that can cause misalignment of the spine:
1. child birth
2. childhood falls
3. roller coaster rides
4. a blow to the head
5. automobile accident
6. athletic injuries
7. skiing accidents
8. falls on an icy surface
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7. Is the
NUCCA Spinal Correction painful?
NO, it is not at all like manipulative type adjustments.
NUCCA uses only a slight amount of pressure and is barely felt by the
patient. There is NO TWISTING,
POPPING, or CRACKING.
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8. How safe
is NUCCA chiropractic?
NUCCA chiropractic is one of the safest forms of chiropractic treatment
available. We do not use painful manipulations that may carry a risk of stroke
or fracture. The NUCCA Chiropractor
uses a very gentle form of treatment and takes every precaution to make the
procedure as safe and effective as possible.
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9. What
changes might I expect following the initial correction?
·
Alleviation
of pain and symptoms
·
Tired
and/or relaxed feeling
·
Light-headedness
or possible headache
·
Runny
nose as the sinuses open
·
Sore
muscles over the first few days
·
Temporary
pain or discomfort that moves from point to point
·
Transient
body aches
·
Body
elimination changes - a sense of urgency
·
Tingling
or heat sensations
·
Sleep
pattern changes
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10. Is it
important to bring my x-rays and/or MRI studies?
Any information you can supply to aid in the diagnosis of your condition is
always helpful.
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11. Why are
x-rays taken before the correction?
The x-rays taken prior to the correction allow the doctor to determine how the
atlas is shifted, tilted or rotated from its normal position.
After the correction, x-rays are necessary to determine the success of
the correction. If an adequate
correction was made, then future corrections will be made using the same
formula. This procedure leaves no
margin for error.
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12. Are
x-ray's necessary on follow-up visits?
Once the doctor determines the exact formula for each individual, future
corrections will be made using the same formula. Frequent or repeated x-rays are unnecessary unless the
patient experiences a fall or accident that could affect the position of the
atlas.
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13. What
can I do to keep from losing my alignment?
Once the spine has stabilized, the most common causes for loss of the correction
is fatigue or physical, psychological or emotional stressors that strongly
affect the body. During the initial
recovery cycle, the NUCCA doctor will begin to teach you how to maintain your
alignment with as few corrections as possible.
This is achieved by recognizing your own signs of fatigue or stress, and
doing what is necessary to avoid losing the correction.
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14.
I'm worried about x-ray exposure. What
should I do?
Radiation surrounds us. Most of
this radiation is in the form of visible light, ultraviolet and infrared light,
radio waves, and microwaves. The
amount of x-ray exposure involved with the NUCCA procedure is extremely low.
We use the newest technology in high frequency x-ray, which produces the
lowest possible exposure to the patient available in diagnostic x-ray.
Take a look below at the comparison of NUCCA exposure to other forms of
radiation.
·
NUCCA
x-ray series
<0.22 mrems
·
Dental
x-rays (per x-ray)
910 mrems
·
Barium
enema (x-ray study)
8,000 mrems
·
Radiation
treatment for cancer
6,000,000 mrems
·
CT
Scan
4,500 mrems
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15.
Why am I adjusted just below the ear when I have low back pain and sciatica?
When the atlas is misalignment, the body moves into an unbalanced position,
placing stress and tension around the brainstem. This stress causes the messages from the brain to other parts
of the body to be distorted. These
distorted messages tell the muscles on one side of the spine, hips and legs to
tighten. This entire process creates the short leg phenomenon, low back pain,
and stress on the sciatic nerve causing pain in the buttock region and/or leg(s).
We correct this problem by analyzing the source of the low back and
sciatic pain, which often is body imbalance created by a spinal misalignment.
We correct the atlas to its proper position and this allows the muscles
of the low back to relax, alleviating the pressure on the sciatic nerve.
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16. Do all
people respond the same with NUCCA Care?
No, there are some conditions that are directly related to body imbalance
(misalignment), some that are partially related, and some that are not related
at all. During your initial visit, we make every effort to determine whether
your condition is caused by a misaligned vertebra or is a condition that
requires medical intervention.
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17. How
long will it take until I feel better?
About 90% of people we treat notice a change in how their bodies feel following
the initial correction. Over the
next 3 to 21 days most patients notice some relief of their acute symptoms.
Over the first 90 days their bodies will go through considerable
structural and neurological change. It
is this process of change (recovery) that moves our bodies from a state of poor
health to a state of being well.
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18. How
many visits will I need to correct the problem?
At our office, we do not think in terms of number of visits for correcting the
problem. When it comes to
compression at the base of the brain, and how that weakens the body, we think
first about getting the problem corrected, not the number of visits.
Recovery and stability of the correction will depend on the progressive
degenerative effects that the spinal misalignment has had on the entire body.
It is the long term stability of the spinal corrections that get people
well, not the number or frequency of office visits.
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19. Is it
possible for me to adjust myself?
No, you can manipulate yourself, but there is a difference between manipulating
the spine and actually correcting it. Not
all adjustment procedures are the same either. There are over 250 different
techniques used by various health professionals to adjust the spine. There are only a few techniques that actually correct body
imbalance. NUCCA is a leader among
these techniques.
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20. Will
the problem go away with time?
No, without intervention, the problem will not go away.
Although symptoms may come and go, the problem still exists.
If the condition is ignored, over time the problem evolves into a complex
set of ailments and degenerative conditions that may not respond to conservative
care. If the condition can still be
treated conservatively, it may take much longer to correct and stabilize the
spine than would have been necessary if the problem had been addressed when the
symptoms first appeared.
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21. Does
the NUCCA doctor use the same spinal correction formula for everyone?
No, each patient is different and no two formulas are the same.
This means the doctor will approach each case differently.
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22. Should
I have my spine checked by a NUCCA Chiropractor before agreeing to surgery?
It is always smart to exhaust every other option available before turning to any
surgical procedure with such high risk. Research
shows that many people who have surgery for a spinal condition say they are
worse after 5 years or only slightly better.
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23.
Can I utilize NUCCA Chiropractic Care following surgery?
Yes, unless you have had surgical fusion of the atlas or C2.
NUCCA deals with the adjustment of the atlas and there is little force
used to achieve the adjustment.
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24. How
long will I need NUCCA Chiropractic Care?
After the initial spinal correction is made, the spine returns to a normal,
balanced position. If the patient
maintains the correction, the acute symptoms will begin to disappear.
The body will then enter into a recovery cycle where it begins to
stabilize into the new, balanced position.
Providing the correction is maintained, once the body is stabilized and
begins holding its alignment, recovery takes about one month for every year the
spine has been misaligned. Once the
patient has experienced how much better they feel when they are in proper
alignment, they will schedule appointments to have their atlas alignment checked
every few months.
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25. What
type of education does a Doctor of Chiropractic have?
To become a Doctor of Chiropractic one has to complete a minimum 6 year course
of study. The Doctor of
Chiropractic has an extremely intense curriculum, which is similar to that of a
typical medical student.
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26. Will
insurance or Medicare cover your services?
Sarah is our insurance representative and has an extensive background in
insurance. She should be able to
answer your questions or refer you to someone who knows the answer.
We accept most insurance and are on several PPO plans.
We do not accept Medicare or Medicaid and do not plan to accept these
plans in the future.
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27.
My insurance policy doesn't cover Chiropractic, what should I do?
Health is your most important possession. Don't
take it lightly. Don't allow large
companies to make extremely important health decisions on the type of care you
need. Our prices are very
reasonable and we are willing to work with you in order to make NUCCA healthcare
affordable for you.
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28.
Is it safe to treat women who are pregnant?
We are not aware of any harm that can be caused to the mother, or the fetus,
from NUCCA Chiropractic adjustments. We
are aware of miscarriages that have been caused by conventional Chiropractic
adjustments, but those techniques are not used on pregnant women in this clinic.
In our clinic, we often treat pregnant women and most have had easy,
uncomplicated pregnancies. Science
has proven there is a direct correlation between the health and well being of
the mother and the health and well being of the fetus.
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29. Why is
time required to obtain long term results?
Most people we see have complex conditions that have evolved over time.
It is impossible to repair in only one or two visits a condition that has
been evolving over many years. You
may enjoy relief of symptoms in one or two visits, but that doesn't mean the
problem is gone. The doctor will
recommend only what he feels is appropriate in each individual.
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30. If I
get adjusted more frequently will it speed my recovery?
No, you only get adjusted when an adjustment is necessary.
Many times adjusting too frequently can actually retard the recovery
process, making the correction less stable.
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31. Why
don't I always get a correction when I feel bad, and why do I sometimes get a
correction when I feel good?
The NUCCA doctor will only adjust your spine when his objective test(s) detects
body imbalance to be present. It is
possible for patients to be feeling poorly while maintaining their body balance,
or the reverse, feeling well, and needing a correction.
The body is extremely complex, and constantly in flux.
How we feel is not the best indicator of health.
Society has been taught through medicine that when you feel bad, you take
something for your symptoms. Pain
or discomfort is never an adequate justification for spinal correction.
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32. How
will I know when I lose my alignment?
From the very first correction the NUCCA doctor will begin to teach you how to
tell when you are maintaining your alignment, and when you’re not.
Some people will have a hard time detecting imbalance and will have to
schedule an office visit every month or so to be checked for misalignment.
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33. Can my
alignment correct on its own?
It's unlikely that the spine will move back to its normal balanced position
without intervention. However, once
you are stabilized your atlas may briefly misalign from a non-force event, such
as stress, but realign shortly (a few hours.)
If you feel you have lost your alignment, it is best to schedule an
appointment and get adjusted as soon as possible.
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34. X-rays
and pregnancy?
The risk to a fetus from exposure to diagnostic x-rays is low.
However, it is necessary for the doctor to know of pregnancy (or possible
pregnancy) so we may take the necessary precautions to minimize risk of
exposure.
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35. How
often should I be monitored for body balance after the doctor has released me
from scheduled visits?
For the patient who can recognize when they have lost their correction, the
doctor will give them the freedom to schedule appointments as needed.
For those patients who are not yet certain of body imbalance, we
recommended they have their spine checked on a monthly basis.
Some patients schedule periodic checkups, as they would with their
dentist, to ensure that body balance is maintained.
How long you maintain the benefits of the NUCCA spinal correction is
always up to you.
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36. What if
I am skeptical about Chiropractic?
You are not alone. With any profession, there are good and bad practitioners and
chiropractic has had its share. The
best advice we can give is to research the background of your chiropractor.
What kind of jobs did he have before he became a chiropractor?
Many chiropractors were in the healthcare industry before going to
chiropractic school. A well rounded
past experience makes your chiropractor a better doctor and more likely to refer
you to a medical doctor if needed. Find
out what techniques the doctor uses. Be
leery if the staff can’t tell you what techniques are used in the clinic
without asking the doctor. “Full
spine” is not a technique. Request
a free consultation to meet the doctor and ask questions.
