If you have never been to a chiropractor then what happens during an appointment may seem intimidating and mysterious to you. But we have the inside scoop that will get you informed and interested, thanks to Porterfield Family Chiropractic.
Lady Lifer Cortney agreed to let me sit in on one of her appointments with Dr. Porterfield recently and I got to see his procedures in action. She had some back problems, but with the help of Dr. Porterfield, she is making her way back to wellness.
“I had terrible migraines and lower back spasms,” Cortney said. “Since I started going to see Dr. Porterfield I have felt much better.”
When we walked in the office, we were warmly greeted by the receptionist and Cortney filled in information about the pain that she was physically feeling. This was to help Dr. Porterfield track her progress and then shape her treatments to best benefit her. After that she was escorted to an area where she laid down on a table and an ice pack was placed on her back in the problem area that Dr. Porterfield was going to work on. After her skin reached the correct temperature, a TENS (transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation) unit was attached to the problem area on her back. The electric currents sent from the TENS unit to her back would help to reduce pain and prepare her muscles for treatment.
Dr. Porterfield then came and brought us back into the examination room. Cortney laid on another contraption and Dr. Porterfield set to work, rotating her legs and torso, pressing on parts of her spine, and twisting her neck - all the while pops and cracks and snaps could be heard as Cortney's spine slowly moved back to its proper position.
Then that was it. The entire appointment took maybe 20 minutes. Cortney stated that she felt immediate relief and Dr. Porterfield shook her hand, and mine because he's a good guy, and said he would see her in two days.
Two days? How often does she have to come back for appointments?
The answer to that is three times a week. But that is for her specific treatment plan. Dr. Porterfield tailors each patient's plan to fit his or her needs. No two are the same because no two spines are the same.
"Depending on how things look, I will be going to fewer appointments later on," Cortney said. "I will have an evaluation in a few weeks and my treatment will be adjusted to fit."
So if you think that you might need to come to a chiropractor but weren't sure what you were in for, we hope that this gave you some insight on what happens within a chiropractic practice.
For more information on Porterfield Family Chiropractic visit http://www.valparaisochiropractor.com/ or find them on Facebook!
