Frequently Asked Questions in Fairfax VA

A chiropractor is a doctor who focuses on the spine, hips and pelvis, and extremities. A chiropractor's goal is to help their patients regain normal alignment by using chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractors do not prescribe medication, use injections, or perform surgery. Instead, they focus on allowing the body to heal naturally from the inside out.

Chiropractic care is centered on the art, science, and philosophy that the body is self-healing. Chiropractors remove nerve pressure, called subluxations, by performing chiropractic adjustments. When a spinal bone misaligns, pressure gets placed on the nerves and surrounding muscles which can result in pain and dysfunction. Chiropractic care helps patients by removing this pressure and tension.

Yes, chiropractors are licensed doctors. Chiropractors must go through years of rigorous training to become licensed. This includes four years of undergraduate training and an additional four years of chiropractic school, focusing on areas such as anatomy and physiology, X-ray analysis, chemistry, biology, adjusting training, pathology, and many others, totaling over 4,000 hours of education.

Chiropractic was founded in 1895 by a man named DD Palmer. He performed the first spinal adjustment on Harvey Lillard, a deaf janitor, who claimed the adjustment restored his hearing. Palmer went on to found the first chiropractic school in 1897 called Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, which still exists today. Palmer's son, BJ Palmer, helped grow the profession and is nicknamed the "Developer of Chiropractic." Since then, chiropractic has grown to become the largest drug-free healing profession in the world with over 70,000 chiropractors in the United States.

Chiropractors do not treat any single condition, as their goal is the remove the pressure and tension that is causing the symptom instead of masking or suppressing the symptoms. In this way, chiropractors have been nicknamed "Doctors of Cause." Through chiropractic adjustments, chiropractors can help low back pain, neck pain, headaches, migraines, shoulder pain, anxiety and depression, and many others.

Yes, chiropractic care is incredibly safe, especially in our office. Our chiropractors are trained in Torque Release Technique (TRT), which does not use any twisting, cracking, or popping, allowing the adjustment to be very safe and gentle. We also utilize spinal x-rays before adjusting to ensure the safety of our patients.

Any side-effect experienced after an adjustment in very short-lived. This can include mild soreness or achiness, or mild headache, which usually clears up by the next day. In most cases there are no side-effects whatsoever as our doctors are very experienced and work with your body's needs. These mild side-effects that can occur are very similar to the feelings you have after a good workout and show the adjustment is working.

This depends on each person and severity of the case. Like everything in healthcare, this is very tailored to the symptoms the patient is experiencing, how long they've been experiencing them, and the current condition of their spine. To determine the number of sessions needed, we perform a full consultation, spinal evaluation, and spinal X-rays on the first visit.

Every person has different criteria they look for in a chiropractic office. Our goal on your first visit is to determine if we are a good fit for you and vice versa, as we know we are not right for everyone. Those who fit in best with us are looking for an office with professional and experienced doctors, an office that performs all the necessary pre-adjustment steps to ensure their safety, and an office that utilizes state-of-the-art technique that is gentle and safe.

The best way to find a chiropractor near you is to perform a search on the internet. Reviews can be great way to see the experience that others before you have had. We recommend calling multiple offices to see which office might be the best fit for you.

In our office we help a wide-range of symptoms. We have seen great results with neck and back pain, headaches and migraines, anxiety and depression, shoulder and knee pain, post-motor vehicle accidents and whiplash, digestive and reproductive concerns, and pregnancy care.

Yes, prenatal care is one of the most important times to see a chiropractor to help with pregnancy pains and to help labor pains and time. Our doctors are trained in pregnancy care to ensure the safety of you and your baby.

Most lower back pain cases come from misalignments in either the hips, pelvis, or lower back spinal bones, called vertebrae. These misalignments can begin from big traumas like car accidents or sports injuries or from small repetitive traumas such as sitting too long during the day. If there are misalignments, pressure can be placed on the surrounding nerves and muscles which can cause pain. A chiropractic will perform a series of adjustments to realign the spine, removing the pressure and tension from the nerves and muscles to relieve the pain.

Chiropractic adjustments in our office are completely pain-free. Our office uses Torque Release Technique (TRT), which is a low-force technique that does not use any twisting, cracking, or popping. This allows our adjustments to be painless.

No, every patient has slight variations in their spine and therefore needs a slightly different adjustment, even if their symptoms are the same. Our team performs a full spinal evaluation and X-rays to determine the most effective and safe way to adjust each patient.