Q: My neighbor goes to his chiropractor every month. I don’t understand how it makes sense to him to spend money on that when he is not in pain. Can you please explain?
A: These days it’s important to keep health costs as low as possible. You may think that putting off treatment is a way to save money. But, many or most times, procrastinating on a health problem is only going to make it more serious—and more costly to deal with—down the road. Think of health care, like regular maintenance visits to a chiropractor, as an investment in yourself. In this way, like regular blood work for your medical doctor, we can find small problems before they become large ones. Also, if your neighbor knows he has a consistent problem with his musculoskeletal system – like the spine for example – he is likely trying to keep it functioning the best he can so that it does have the opportunity to give him pain again.
Since chiropractic care does not involve the prescription of drugs or surgery, it is an inherently less expensive form of treatment, when appropriate. Check your health insurance plan to see if chiropractic treatment is covered. Many times it is, but that still does not mean that maintenance is a covered service and you may have to pay out of pocket for that type of care (once a problem has resolved). And whether it’s your dentist, doctor or chiropractor, you shouldn’t wait until you’re in some sort of crisis before making an appointment. Preventive maintenance is, in the long run, a far less costly policy. At the heart of chiropractic philosophy is that when your body is functioning properly, when the spine is in perfect alignment and the nerves that pass through it are unimpeded, the body is capable of healing itself better and giving you less signal of problems (pain).
Maintenance care is not for everyone and if it is more your style to “wait till it’s broke”, well, that is your choice. Just don’t be mad about it when it takes longer to fix and costs you more at the time you decide to fix it. That is a decision each person makes for themselves and no one will judge you on that either way. I happen to see folks that don’t get this concept at first either. After a couple of episodes of pain that are successfully treated, they sometimes try to maintain their adjustment more regularly and find that it is the right approach for them, like it or not.
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