What Can I Expect During My First Visit to Body Works Chiropractic and Wellness Center?

Prior to your visit, you can expect to complete your "new patient" paperwork. You will be greeted by our caring staff and will then consult with the Dr. Flythe. This consultation is your opportunity to express your health concerns and expectations, and to ask any questions you may have pertaining to your condition. Dr. Flythe will express his role in your health care and discuss your health prognosis. A physical exam will be performed which may include orthopedic testing, reflex assessments, muscle testing, flexibility testing and a specific Chiropractic evaluation. X-rays are generally necessary to determine an exact diagnosis but are not always needed. X-rays are done in our office after your examination. Dr. Flythe will go over the results of the exam and x-rays with you to give you a full understanding of your condition and what treatments and care plan are going to be needed for your recovery.

Depending on your situation, Dr. Flythe may give you an adjustment and/or begin physical therapy, if needed. Treatments may require the use of a number of therapeutic modalities and procedures such as mechanical traction, electrical muscle stimulation, massage, stretching, therapeutic exercise, cold laser therapy, percussion, and chiropractic adjustments. Adjustments shouldn't be painful, although you may feel some discomfort until the pressure in the joint is relieved.

Since Dr. Flythe focuses on an active approach to your health care, he will also provide you with instructions for home care such as ice/heat instructions and exercise/stretching instructions to help you reach your health care goals faster and more efficiently. Depending on your condition, Dr. Flythe may schedule a series of visits for care and treatment. Our goal is to get you feeling better overall and to educate you on proper health and wellness.

The frequency of your follow up visits will be determined by the severity of your condition, as well as your own progression of recovery, which Dr. Flythe monitors with each visit. Although each individual can differ, your very first follow up visit will generally be scheduled within a day or two of your initial patient examination. All treatment and therapy details, expected length of treatment, the cost involved, and all other related matters regarding your treatment that may not have been covered at your initial visit with us will be discussed then. Follow up visits should also be used as another opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have regarding your condition.

NEW PATIENT FORMS

Please allow approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour for your first visit with Dr. Flythe. To save you time in our office during your new patient visit, please download the following forms and complete before coming in for your appointment time.

PAYMENT FOR CARE

Body Works Chiropractic and Wellness Center believes in the value of wellness care for you and your family and have maintained a pricing structure that allows care for all budgets. Our office participates in most insurance programs such as AETNA, BCBS, PHCS, United Healthcare, CIGNA, and others. We also accept auto accident and workers compensation cases. For patients who have little or no chiropractic insurance coverage, flexible payment programs can be arranged. To learn more about our payment options for chiropractic and wellness care, you can call our office directly.

Insurance

Most insurance plans are accepted at our office. We accept auto accident, workers compensation, personal injury and most health insurance plans, including Medicare. Since there are so many plans and coverage varies widely, please call us to find out if your plan covers care in our office. Our staff will verify and explain your benefits before treatment, at no charge.

No Insurance

For patients who have little or no chiropractic insurance coverage, flexible payment programs can be arranged. If you have no insurance or do not have chiropractic benefits there is still a way for you to receive the care you need. Many patients pay directly for care, as they discover chiropractic to be extremely cost-effective and affordable.

Family Plans

Our focus at Body Works Chiropractic and Wellness Center is to actively help you and your family in taking responsibility for your health, wellness, and disease management. We assist and guide you to take the time to care for the important people in your world: you and your family. In an effort to encourage living the wellness lifestyle as easy and affordable as possible, we can create a customized family plan that is specific to you and your family.

Health on a Budget

At Body Works Chiropractic and Wellness Center, we're convinced that a small amount of your time and money to care for your most important asset--your health--will be far less time consuming and expensive than trying to recover it. If you feel you do not have enough time or money to take care of yourself, please contact us--we can help! The last thing we want is for you to come to our wellness center in crisis. So please, we would like to encourage you to take your health very seriously. As the old saying goes, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything. Unfortunately, too many people don't discover how true that statement is until it is too late.

PHASES OF PATIENT CARE; Which would you prefer?

Phase 1: Relief Care

Thumbs Up to Relief

Many people go to a chiropractor because they are in pain. In this first phase of care, the main goal is to reduce your symptoms. Sometimes this will require daily visits, or two to three visits per week for a time.

Most people are under the assumption that if they don’t feel any pain that there is nothing wrong with them – that they are healthy. Unfortunately, pain is a very poor indicator of health. In fact, pain and other symptoms frequently only appear after a disease or other condition has become advanced.

For example, consider a cavity in your tooth. Does it hurt when it first develops or only after it has become serious? How about heart disease? Regardless of whether you are talking about cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stress or problems with the spine, pain is usually the last thing to appear. When you begin chiropractic care, pain is also the first symptom to disappear, even though much of the underlying condition remains.

Phase 2: Corrective Care

Teaming Up for Optimal Health

Most chiropractors regard the elimination of symptoms as the easiest part of a person’s care. If all that the chiropractor does is to reduce the pain and stop there, the chances of the condition recurring are much greater. In order to prevent a rapid recurrence of symptoms, it is necessary to continue receiving care even though your symptoms are gone.

During the correction / restorative phase of your care, you will not have to receive adjustments as often as you did during the first phase of care and, depending on your particular circumstances, you may begin doing exercises and stretches either at the center or at home to help accelerate the healing.

Do not be discouraged if you have mild flare-ups in your symptoms on occasion. This is normal. Flare-ups are bound to occur during this phase because your body has not fully healed. Depending on the severity of your injury or condition and how long you have been suffering from it, this phase of your care may last anywhere from a few months to a couple of years.

Phase3; Wellness Care

Maintenance is Key to Healthy Living

Once your body has fully healed, routine chiropractic care can help ensure that your physical problems do not return, and keep your body in optimal condition. Just like continuing an exercise program and eating well in order to sustain the benefits of exercise and proper diet, it is necessary to continue chiropractic care to ensure the health of your musculoskeletal system.

When you make routine chiropractic care a part of your lifestyle, you avoid many of the aches and pains that so many people suffer through, your joints will last longer and you will be able to engage in more of the activities you love.

CHIROPRACTIC FACTS AND MYTHS

As successful as chiropractic has become, there are a lot of myths circulating among the general public. Times have definitely changed for the better, but the fact is that many people still do not understand what chiropractors do. Let's talk about a few of the more common myths about chiropractic.

Myth #1 - Chiropractors are not real doctors.

A chiropractic college grants a D.C. or Doctorate of Chiropractic degree. Chiropractors are licensed as health care providers in every U.S. state and dozens of countries around the world. While the competition for acceptance in chiropractic school is not as fierce as medical school, the chiropractic and medical school curricula are extremely rigorous and virtually identical. In fact, chiropractors have more hours of classroom education than their medical counterparts. As part of their education, chiropractic students also complete a residency working with real patients in a clinical setting, supervised by licensed doctors of chiropractic. Once chiropractic students graduate, they have to pass four sets of national board exams as well as state board exams in the states where they want to practice.

Just like medical doctors, chiropractors are professionals that are subject to the same type of testing procedures, licensing and monitoring by state and national peer-reviewed boards. Federal and state programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Workers' Compensations programs cover chiropractic care, and all federal agencies accept sick-leave certificates signed by doctors of chiropractic.

The biggest difference between chiropractors and medical doctors lies not in their level of education, but in their preferred method of caring for people. Medical doctors are trained in the use of medicines (chemicals that affect your internal biochemistry) and surgery. Consequently, if you have a chemical problem, such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, or an infection, medical doctors can be very helpful. However, if your problem is that your spine is mis-aligned or you have soft tissue damage causing pain, there is no chemical in existence that can fix it. You need a physical solution to correct a physical problem. That is where chiropractic really shines. Chiropractors provide physical solutions -- adjustments, exercises, stretches, muscle therapy -- to help the body heal from conditions that are physical in origin, such as back pain, muscle spasms, headaches, and poor posture. Another distinction is the fact that it is completely appropriate to receive chiropractic care even if you do not have symptoms. Unlike standard medical doctors, whom you visit when you have a symptom to be treated, chiropractors offer adjustments to improve spinal alignment and overall well-being before symptoms develop.

Myth #2 - Medical doctors don't like chiropractors.

The American Medical Association's opposition to chiropractic was at its strongest in the 1940s under the leadership of Morris Fishbein. Fishbein called chiropractors "rabid dogs" and referred to them as "playful and cute, but killers" He tried to portray chiropractors as members of an unscientific cult who cared about nothing but taking their patients' money. Up to the late 1970s and early 1980s, the medical establishment purposely conspired to try to destroy the profession of chiropractic. In fact, a landmark lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Illinois in the 1980s found that the American Medical Association was guilty of conspiracy and was ordered to pay restitution to the chiropractic profession.

In the 20 years since, the opinion of most medical doctors has changed: several major studies have shown the superiority of chiropractic in helping people with a host of conditions, and medical doctors developed a better understanding as to what chiropractors actually do. Many people have returned to their medical doctors and told them about the great results they experienced at their chiropractors office. Hospitals across the country now have chiropractors on staff, and many chiropractic offices have medical doctors on staff. Chiropractors and medical doctors are now much more comfortable working together in cases where medical care is necessary as an adjunct to chiropractic care. More and more medical doctors are now referring their patients to chiropractors for treatment.

Myth #3 - Once you start going to a chiropractor, you have to keep going for the rest of your life.

This statement comes up frequently when the topic of chiropractic is discussed. It is only partially true. You only have to continue going to the chiropractor as long as you wish to maintain the health of your neuromusculoskeletal system. Going to a chiropractor is much like going to the dentist, exercising at a gym, or eating a healthy diet: As long as you keep it up, you continue to enjoy the benefits.

Many years ago, dentists convinced everyone that the best time to go to the dentist is before your teeth hurt, that routine dental care will help your teeth remain healthy for a long time. The same is true of chiropractic care for your spine. It is important to remember that, just like your teeth, your spine experiences normal wear and tear as you walk, drive, sit, lift, sleep, and bend. Routine chiropractic care can help you feel better, move with more freedom, and stay healthier throughout your lifetime. Although you can enjoy the benefits of chiropractic care even if you receive care for a short time, the real benefits come into play when you make chiropractic care a part of your wellness lifestyle.