Chiropractor Near Me
What to look for when searching for “A chiropractor near me”
When you Google “find a chiropractor near me” you will receive a wide array of options. You need to sift the wheat from the chaff. This can be hard to do as a healthcare consumer. Whether you live in Pittsburgh, Fox Chapel, Harmar, or Oakmont The Pittsburgh Chiropractor is nearby and ready to help get you better fast. Our goal is to provide you with the best possible care so you can live a happy, healthy, and pain-free life. We do this by integrating evidence-based techniques into individualized treatment plans that are designed to target the cause of your problem.
Regardless of if you become a patient here or elsewhere we want to have the information you need to make the best possible decision. There are FOUR major things that The Pittsburgh Chiropractor recommends you consider when searching for the best “chiropractor near me”:
1. Evidence Based
Evidence-based chiropractors DO practice conservative care for the neuromuscular system. They DO NOT CURE cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. They also do not only apply heat, adjust, and send patients off on their way. Evidence-based chiropractors use techniques that are supported by research studies. Such as but not limited to therapeutic exercise, manipulation, mobilization, and soft tissue treatments to take a patient through the four stages of rehab. The four stages include decreasing inflammation/protecting the injured area, restoring joint mobility/flexibility, improving muscle strength, and return to function. After returning patients to their functional goals, a good evidence-based chiropractor near you will release you from their care. This leads me to the next item on our list.
2. No ridiculous pre-paid care packages
Medicine is just as much an art as it is a science. While guidelines exist to help doctors determine how long it takes to rehabilitate an injury, it is impossible to know EXACTLY how long it will take for an injury to heal.
Any chiropractor who tells you it will take a certain amount of MONTHS or YEARS for your condition to go away are most likely just trying to sell you something. The truth is that most problems that will respond to conservative care will do so in 12 visits or less. While some patients take longer than that 12 visit mark, some patients also feel better in much less than 12 visits. So when a chiropractor begins to talk about placing you on a care plan of 50+ visits to fix your curve, you should walk away.
An evidence-based chiropractor will put you through a trial of care. The trial of care generally lasts around two weeks, or 6 visits. Then, they will reassess your condition after the trial of care to determine how you responded. If you responded well to care and are progressing, care may continue if it appears that you can improve. Once you have reached maximal improvement, you may be released from care or referred to another medical provider. However, If you do not respond to care, another trial of care using different treatment methods may be performed for two weeks. After that if you still have not responded you will be referred to a medical provider who may be able to offer alternative types of treatments.
3. X-rays are not required
There are exceptions to this rule, as sometimes patient present with red flags. When this happens imaging may be needed in order to rule out other causes of injury and to ensure that care is safe. However, any chiropractor who takes x-ray imaging on every new patient does not do so with the patient’s best interest in mind. The American Chiropractic Association and the American Board of Internal Medicine agree imaging for uncomplicated pain in the absence of a red flag is NOT recommended. Some chiropractors will take x-rays and use them as a selling tactic. They will tell you it will take X amount of visits to fix your curve for X amount of months. They might believe in what they are selling, or they might just be after your money. Either way, there is no quality evidence to support this practice.
4. They don’t use the word subluxation
The term subluxation is a maligned and confusing term. Medical professionals originally defined the term to describe when a joint is partially dislocated. In the medical world it still has this meaning today. The chiropractic world has its own meaning for the word. In the early years of chiropractic the term was used for legal reasons. It was never clearly defined by the chiropractic profession. Eventually the term took on a spiritual meaning from some of the evangelical members of the profession. There are chiropractors who claim subluxations are the root cause of all diseases. They claim that they must remove them through adjustments in order to restore health. This has no basis in reality. Evidence-based chiropractors and other medical professionals agree that subluxations in this manner do not exist.
When an evidence-based chiropractor uses manipulation, they do so to help restore motion in the joint. This helps reduce the amount of pain generated from that area and helps the patient progress.
While there are other things you should look out for, these are the four major things we at The Pittsburgh Chiropractor recommend you look out for. So when you Google “chiropractor near me”, make sure you use these tips to find the best chiropractor for you.
The Pittsburgh Chiropractor
We are located at 55 Alpha Drive West, suite 6, Pittsburgh, PA 15238. If you are in pain and unable to enjoy your favorite activities then we can help. We provide evidence based chiropractic care to get our patients better quickly and help them learn how to stay that way. Please contact us to set up an appointment at 412-517-8124.