1. What does a chiropractor do?
Doctors of Chiropractic are licensed healthcare professionals who focus on optimizing the body's innate ability to heal. They do this by working on the relationship between the spine, joints, muscles, movement, and nervous system. Chiropractors commonly use adjustments, along with other hands-on techniques, exercise, and education, to help improve function and address musculoskeletal complaints.

At Connections Chiropractic, we also take a nervous-system-focused approach to care. We want to understand not only where you're hurting, but how your body is moving, functioning, and responding to the stresses placed on it.
 
2. What is different about Connections Chiropractic?
We believe you are more than a collection of symptoms. Your muscles, joints, brain, nervous system, lifestyle, stress, movement, and environment all interact with one another. That's why we take a whole-person approach rather than simply chasing the place that hurts. Our goal is to help you better understand your body, improve how you function, and give you the tools to take an active role in your health. Ultimately, we want the impact of better health to extend beyond our office and into our families and community.

3. Are there different types of chiropractors?
There are many different flavors of chiropractor, however the application of chiropractic is done through the chiropractic adjustment. At this office, we focus on optimizing the nervous system through the adjustment to engage your body’s innate abilities.
 
4. What does chiropractic help with?
Chiropractic care can support the body in a number of ways, from helping people get out of pain and move more comfortably to improving posture, joint function, mobility, and overall physical performance. Care may also focus on improving structural function, supporting healthy nervous system communication, and helping the body better adapt to the physical and emotional stresses of everyday life.

Because the nervous system plays such an important role in how we experience stress, movement, pain, and our environment, some patients also report improvements in areas such as sleep, stress management, mental clarity, mood, and overall well-being. We recognize that physical, mental, and emotional health are deeply connected. Because of this, we may also see changes in mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD.

Here is some awesome research by Dr. Heidi Haavik that shows some of the neurological benefits of chiropractic:
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/11/1124
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/14/11/1050

5. Is chiropractic safe?
Yes, chiropractic care is generally considered safe when performed appropriately by a trained and licensed provider. Chiropractors have lower malpractice insurance rates compared to any other doctoral level medical professional because of how safe we are as a profession. Temporary soreness, stiffness, discomfort, tiredness, or headache can occasionally occur after spinal manipulation. That's one reason your examination and health history are so important. Dr. AJ evaluates each patient individually and modifies or avoids certain techniques when they aren't appropriate.
 
6. Does chiropractic have side effects?
Some people experience temporary muscle soreness, stiffness, tenderness, fatigue, or headache after an adjustment. These effects are generally mild and short-lived. More serious side effects are seen in conjunction with what chiropractors call "red flags" and one of the main aspects of chiropractic schooling is identifying these red flags and managing patient care effectively when these red flags are recognized. This is why the occurrence of serious complication with chiropractic care is so rare.
 
7. What do I do if I notice something change after care that I wasn’t expecting?
Tell us! We want to know how your body responds to care, whether the change seems positive, negative, or simply unexpected. Your feedback helps Dr. AJ understand how you're responding and determine whether anything about your care should be modified. Other side effects that may be considered unusual that we frequently hear of are better sleep, less anxiety, feeling like a better parent, normalized bathroom habits, better physical performance, and overall quality of life improvements.
 
8. What happens during a chiropractic adjustment?
A chiropractic adjustment involves applying a controlled force to a joint using the doctor's hands or, in some cases, specialized equipment. Adjustments can vary significantly in speed, pressure, and technique depending on the patient.

Sometimes you'll hear a “pop” or “crack.” That sound is associated with a rapid pressure change and cavity formation within the joint; it isn't your bones cracking or rubbing together. And most importantly: the sound isn't the goal of the adjustment. An adjustment does not have to make noise to be effective.
 
9. What makes the adjustment work?
What makes the adjustment work is the brain and the rest of the nervous system. The nerves act like the eyes of the brain so that the brain can “see” what’s happening in its internal and external environment. When nerves don’t communicate effectively, which we call a chiropractic subluxation, the brain can’t accurately “see” what’s happening in that area and makes guesses as to what is going on. The brain is an amazing guesser, but can still make mistakes when subluxation happen. When the adjustment happens, the signal sent to the brain from the area resets the brain’s ability to “see” from the area again. Just like muscles need to be trained to stay strong, the brain needs to be trained when subluxation happens until it is self sufficient again.
 
10. What can I do to support my nervous system between visits?
Move your body! Walking, strength training, mobility work, sports, balance activities, and other forms of physical activity all challenge your brain and body to communicate and adapt. Sleep, nutrition, recovery, stress management, social connection, and mentally challenging activities are also important parts of overall health. Your chiropractic care should complement a healthy lifestyle, not replace one.
 
11. Is it safe for pregnant women, babies, and children to get adjusted?
Of course! There are special techniques that have been created for expecting moms, babies and young children. Dr. AJ is certified in Webster Technique, which is specialized for pre and post natal care. He has also done additional training in pediatric chiropractic care. These techniques are extremely gentle to make it safe for this population to receive care.
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12. What type of pain do chiropractors treat?
We can work with all different kinds of pain. Pain is essentially the alarm system your body uses to let you know that there may be a problem. It’s even possible for your brain to interpret the experience of pain when there is no physical reason for pain to happen. There are different structures in your brain and spinal cord that can cause pain without a physical reason. Since the adjustment affects the brain, we can even influence even the way your brain and body perceive pain.
 
13. How often should I see a chiropractor?
There’s no specific protocol set for how often healthy people should see the chiropractor, but even in individuals who aren’t experiencing immediate issues, research shows that chiropractic care can increase general adaptability, nerve efficiency and brain function.

How often we recommend seeing you depends on why you're here, how long the problem has been present, your examination findings, your goals, your lifestyle, how you're responding to care, and many other factors. Some patients initially benefit from more frequent visits and gradually decrease their frequency as they improve. Others choose to continue periodic wellness or maintenance care because they enjoy how they feel with it. We will explain our recommendations, but the decision to continue care is always yours.
 
14. What should I expect during my first visit?
First, you'll be greeted by our team who will make sure your new patient paperwork is complete. You'll then sit down with Dr. AJ to talk through what's bringing you in and what you're hoping to accomplish. From there, he will perform an examination to better understand how your body is functioning and determine whether chiropractic care is appropriate for you. If warranted, he will perform X-rays in office. You will then receive a relief treatment based on your needs.

Most importantly, your first visit isn't about rushing you onto a table. It's about figuring out why you're here, what we find, and how we can best help you.
 
15. Do you take insurance?
Connections Chiropractic is a self-pay office and does not bill insurance directly. We made that decision so that recommendations about your care can be based on your individual needs rather than the services or number of visits an insurance plan may choose to cover.

We also believe quality chiropractic care should be accessible, so we work hard to keep our pricing fair and straightforward. We offer several payment options, including individual visits, packages, etc., so you can choose what works best for your needs and budget.

If you'd like to use your out-of-network chiropractic benefits, we can provide you with a Superbill showing the services you received. You can submit that document to your insurance company for possible reimbursement. Coverage and reimbursement vary between insurance plans, so we recommend contacting your insurance company directly to understand your out-of-network chiropractic benefits. Reimbursement is not guaranteed.