San Antonio Family Integrative Medicine - Functional Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, Chiropractic, Functional Neurology, And Medical Massage Therapy In San Antonio, TX USA

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Do I have to get a physical exam? Can you just adjust me? A physical exam is a vital component to your care. It establishes a starting point from which we can measure progress, and so it must be completed before treatment is given.
Do adjustments hurt? The adjustments themselves typically don't hurt at all. Sometimes there can be a twinge or some discomfort. If a joint fixation is particularly chronic or there's been a history of accident, injury, or other trauma, releasing that fixation and restoring proper spinal joint movement may be less than pleasant. However, any discomfort that you encounter should pass fairly quickly.
Muscle tissue release, on the other hand, is typically uncomfortable, but it is the tightness of those muscles that is causing and/or contributing to your chronic problem. If we work through that and loosen that muscle tissue, you will make progress and achieve pain relief and better function MUCH sooner. The even better news is, the muscle work usually gets less and less uncomfortable with each visit, and eventually it's no big deal.
What's the popping/cracking sound? Most people (including us, at one time) believe the popping/cracking sound comes from the bones moving against each other during an adjustment. What you are actually hearing is called "cavitation", which is the release of gases (like carbon dioxide and others) from being trapped in the joints as the bones realign properly. It's not actually bone movement itself. And while most people associate cavitation with a good adjustment, that's not always the case. Occasionally, cavitation can result from the wrong adjustment, while on the other hand, a successful adjustment may make no audible noise at all.
I'm pregnant / elderly / disabled / have a history of trauma - can I get adjusted? Almost always! We take all the necessary precautions to make sure that adjustments are safe and appropriate for you and your particular situation, but we have adjusted people who fit into any of the categories above (and more), and simply being pregnant or having osteoporosis doesn't mean you can't be adjusted.
How young can a child be safely adjusted / is there a minimum age? A child can be adjusted the minute he or she is born. In fact, the healthiest children are those that have been! These children are typically extremely healthy, with proper digestion, good immune system function, and proper neurological and intellectual development, free of environmental allergies, ADD/ADHD, frequent colds and flu, food allergies, and colic. There is strong evidence that Sudden Infant Death Syndrome has been attributed to misaligned vertebrae in the neck region.
How long will it take before I feel better / How many visits will it take? This varies for each person, depending on several factors like what's wrong, how severe it is, how long you've had the problem, your physical condition, physical activity level, history of injury or trauma, how closely your treatment plan is followed, and a few less-obvious factors like dietary factors and water intake.
There are 3 stages of recovery: pain relief, joint stabilization, and healthy maintenance. It takes about 6 to 12 visits to minimize the pain or discomfort; then, however many visits it took to achieve that goal, it will usually take half as many more visits to stabilize the joints properly and restore proper function. Joint stabilization is the ultimate goal, and it's the real key to prevent slipping backwards in progress, losing function, and re-developing pain and discomfort. A healthy maintenance schedule varies from 2 to 12 times a year (once every 1 to 6 months), depending on your lifestyle and your goals.
How often do I have to come in? This also varies depending on individual cases, but the typical treatment plan starts out with a fairly frequent visit schedule (usually twice a week) that tapers off with time (usually within a few weeks, depending on circumstances).
Once I start, do I have to keep coming back forever? We get this understandably-cautious question from people who have been disillusioned by doctors who practice a certain chiropractic "business" model that, to be blunt, focuses more on their bottom line than your health. Some of these doctors will advise their patients to come in two to three times a week for months, or even years. We can't speak for those doctors or their clinical decisions and practices, but we do NOT agree with that approach, and that is NOT how we practice.
Here, you will not find sales pitches, upfront payments for long-term plans, fear tactics, high pressure, or wild claims. Our intent is to put ourselves in your shoes and provide you with the same quality treatment we would want for ourselves and our own loved ones. We give you what you need when you need it; no more, no less. We treat our own family and friends in this clinic, and there is no difference between the care we give them and the care we give you.
I've seen chiropractic doctors before; what's the difference? Dr. Jay Sweeney offers superior care in several ways. First, he takes time with each patient and treats the whole body structure, not just the neck and spine. He gets to the root of the problem quickly and his adjustments are effective; if your problem is appropriate for chiropractic care, you will definitely feel the difference, with each adjustment!
Also, in addition to being a nationally board-certified chiropractic doctor, Dr. Sweeney has completed almost all of the post-doctoral education required to become a board-certified specialist in Chiropractic Neurology. He does incorporate a lot of Functional Neurology into each adjustment, which re-trains the nervous system to maintain proper alignment, which means you get better faster because your brain is involved and working properly, controlling your muscles behind the scenes to keep the body balanced.
I'm game! How do I become an Advanced Chiropractic patient? Please call our office at (210) 340-2150 to schedule your first appointment. Then, please download the forms off this website; they're located under the New Patients tab at the top, then select the New Patient Forms from the drop-down menu. Please bring the completed forms with you to your first visit. You are welcome to turn them in before that. Dr. Sweeney will require these forms to be complete prior to beginning treatment.

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