If you are planning on visiting a chiropractor for the first time, we're here to answer your questions. Whether it’s for back pain, a sports injury, or overall wellness, Zaker Chiropractic is here for you. Based in Newport Beach, Torrance, and San Pedro, we’re a leading integrated practice, offering chiropractic care, physiotherapy, cryotherapy, massage therapy, and much more for all of the South Bay area. Below are some answers to the most frequently asked questions we get at our clinics.
Chiropractic is shown to help with a wide range of injuries and disorders of the musculoskeletal system, involving the muscles, ligaments, and joints.
Spinal misalignment may be the result of chronic poor posture, weak muscle support, or poor workplace ergonomics that force unnatural positions. Degenerative disc disease and other age-related spinal changes can also affect spinal alignment. Sometimes a sudden traumatic event such as a car accident injury, sports-related injury, or workplace injury can jolt the spinal joints and discs out of position.
A joint misalignment (or subluxation) in the spinal column can alter the alignment and balance of your whole body. As a result, you may experience muscle strain from unequal weight distribution, back pain, or neck pain from spinal joint stress. Misaligned spinal structures pressing against nerve roots can cause all kinds of referred pain and other unpleasant symptoms; nerve dysfunction can also inhibit your body's internal communications, making you prone to a variety of systemic health issues.
Your first chiropractic session at one of our locations may take an hour or longer, while subsequent sessions may take at least 30 minutes or less. An actual adjustment may take mere seconds, but initial medical intake, discussions, recommendations, and evaluations are important parts of the session too.
Your first visit is about understanding your current state of being and considering the best treatment plan for you. Our chiropractors will take x-rays and do a physical overview, while you are fully clothed, to determine the alignment of your spine, hips, and neck.
Once our chiropractors have a better understanding of your individual wellness needs they will provide you with a comprehensive overview of your physical well-being and a personalized treatment plan. A variety of therapies, including spinal adjustments and massage therapy, may be used to help reduce pain, reduce stress, and improve mobility.
Massage therapy is an excellent method for relieving muscle tension and spasms. This makes a perfect complement to chiropractic care because it can lessen muscular resistance to your adjustments. Our chiropractors may also prescribe to relieve the pain, inflammation, and swelling that accompanies a chronic ailment or acute injury.
Chiropractors care for patients of all ages, with a variety of health conditions. Our chiropractic care is safe for all ages, from newborn infants with congenital alignment errors to elderly patients with chronic pain issues.
We are always careful to evaluate your health before proceeding with any adjustment.
Proper musculoskeletal balance and nerve function are critical for everyday health, wellness, and comfort. Periodic spinal screenings, with small adjustments performed as needed, can help every part of your body function correctly for life.
Chiropractic care provides long-term results by treating the problem and not just the symptoms. When you receive chiropractic care, your body is enabled to heal the way it is supposed to heal. Chiropractic work increases blood flow, breaks up scar tissue, and allows tensed muscles to relax. Your body will be able to pump the oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to the injured area, providing relief from pain and swelling. In the long term, chiropractic care may still be used for maintenance, keeping your body in top functioning condition with regular adjustments.
Many of our patients feel better after just one therapy session, but sometimes it takes regular adjustments or therapy sessions to get the real relief you are after. Because chiropractic care treats the heart of the problem, the symptoms may not fully dissipate until the problem is resolved. Your doctor can help you get a better idea of pain relief expectations based on your specific condition.
We work for whole-body wellness that is best achieved without medications. Side effects and the possibility of addiction are just two of the reasons we do not prescribe medications for your problems. Medications mask the symptoms and do not treat the problem, allowing the issues to worsen. Rather than seek out pain relief medications, we look for the right therapies to help your body heal. Massage therapy, kinesiology taping, and cold laser therapy are just a few of the services we offer for reducing your pain through completely natural means. A focus on whole-body wellness means considering the health of every other part of your body as we treat the problem area.
