Which stage are you in?
Dr. Surbjit Herr, B.Sc., D.C.

Quite often in the office, I will get asked "Doc, I want to bring my kids, mom or husband in for care. How often do you think they will have to come? "

And my response is always, "Well, I can't tell you that until I do an exam to find out. I need to determine how many structural shifts they have, how much damage is in the spine, and what their goals are."

It's no different than when you go visit your dentist - their goal is to check the health of your
teeth & gums and examine your teeth for any cavities. When we do an exam at our Nepean chiropractic office, we look at the health of your spine and nervous system by looking for structural shifts and your spinal structure.

So, I thought I would quickly talk about the three phases of care in our office.

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Stages of Care in Nepean

• Phase 1: The Initial Phase of Care
  This is the most intensive stage of Chiropractic care in Nepean which requires the most office visits. At the beginning, we work with your body to release pressure on the nervous system and work on getting your spinal structure closer to normal ranges. The visits are more frequent because we are trying to change unhealthy neurological patterns and make changes in scar tissue which requires repetition and time. When patients present with certain secondary conditions (symptoms), this stage is when they see some of the biggest changes in their health. Patients report improvements in their pain, balance, sleep, immune function, energy, and more.

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• Phase 2: Stabilization/Regeneration Care
  In this second part of care, the focus is now more on generating and rebuilding a healthy nervous system. This is where some patients will take a break from care because they are feeling better, but quite often the underlying cause of their problem is not corrected. In Phase 2, most people require fewer office visits and are given specific home exercises to continue to make sure the spine and nervous system are getting healthier. The goals are to continue to check your nervous system for structural shifts to help optimize your spinal health and make sure you continue to make forward progress.

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• Phase 3: Wellness/Protection Care
  The goal in Phase 3 is to make sure that you don't lose the gains that you have made and to ensure that your spinal and nervous system health is the best it can be moving forward. Patients at Capital Chiropractic are coming in anywhere from once a week to once a month. Essentially, it is no different than when you are maintaining your ideal weight after going to the gym for a year and then deciding you should never exercise again.

As there are many physical, chemical, and emotional stressors on our spines and nervous system, structural shifts will re-occur. Most patients are doing well, so they like to continue to function well because it is a lot easier to stay well than to get well.

At the same time, this is not a requirement because how long you decide to benefit from chiropractic care at Capital Chiropractic in Nepean is always up to you.