Q-Dr. Jones, does health insurance cover my treatment in your office?
A-Chiropractic care is covered in 95% of all health care plans. Whether you are on a group policy or you are self-employed, there is a very good chance that you have chiropractic benefits. As a courtesy to our patients, we will even verify your benefits for you so the correct information is given to you. In some cases you may be required to pay a deductible and/or a co-pay. In some instances you may have no deductible. Some plans do not offer Chiropractic benefits and if they don't we will still work with you.
Q-Dr. Jones, are you participating in any health care networks?
A-Yes, our office participates in many of the major networks. If we are out-of-network, for your company, we will inform you of your benefits and at that point, you can make a decision which is best for your financial situation. However, we never turn patients away based on finances.
Q-Dr. Jones, I was in an auto accident and it was not my fault. I don't have health insurance and I want to be treated at your office. What do I do in this situation?
A-That is a great question. Our office will be able to treat you on what is called a Lien. This is where we will treat you and wait to be paid when the case settles. We take a Lien on the case to treat you. However, in order to do this, you will need to be represented by an attorney that will protect our outstanding medical bills. You can come in to our office and discuss your injuries and any concerns or questions you have about the process. It is very simple and we do all we can to help you during this difficult time.
Q-Dr. Jones,, what is chiropractic and what are some conditions that a chiropractor treats?
A- Chiropractic is the largest natural primary health care profession in the world. It's one of the most praised yet misunderstood of all the health care disciplines, despite the fact that more than 50 million Americans utilize it each year. There are some 60,000 chiropractors around the world. The purpose of chiropractic is to correct misalignments in the spine, which are called vertebral subluxations. The only reason that chiropractors work on the spine is because of what lies within the spine; the nervous system. The nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord and runs right through the spine and out little holes on either side of the spine.
Q-Dr. Jones, what causes these spinal misalignments?
A- Most misalignments in the spine can be linked to a physical cause like an accident or injury that is not properly treated. There are 2 types of trauma or injuries that can occur in the spine. First there is Macro Trauma (Big trauma like a car accident or a fall). This is where people know they have instantly injured themselves and need help right away. And secondly there is Micro Trauma or small repetitive injuries that build up over time. Some examples of these types of injuries are sitting at a desk job day after day year after year with poor posture. Also people who do the same labor type job day in and day out like construction workers, body shop workers, mechanics, painters, computer jobs, and assembly line workers.. The list goes on and on. Now, people that have been involved in auto accidents almost always are left suffering from whiplash, which causes these spinal misalignments. Some of these people have been well informed that chiropractors are experts in treating these types of injuries, however there are still millions of people who never are examined and treated and are left with terrible pain and suffering from these spinal injuries.
Q- I understand you are a specialist in taking care of whiplash injuries. What is whiplash and what are some of the problems that can affect people after they have been injured in an accident?
A- Whiplash occurs when a person is hit with a force that violently whips the head, neck, and body backwards; forwards or side to side. This is usually seen in automobile accidents and sports injuries. There are a wide variety of symptoms starting from pain in the neck and back to severe migraine like headaches. Injuries to the spine (the neck and back) are very serious and the symptoms can vary from person to person. An injury to the neck can quickly turn into shoulder arm and even hand pain. What happens is stretching and many times a tearing of the soft tissues, which include the muscle tendons and most importantly the nerves? When the nerves are irritated or pinched they can cause severe pain, numbness, burning or the sensation of pins and needles along that nerve.
The bad part is some people who have been injured in auto accidents sometimes don't feel anything for some time? You see, our bodies have an amazing mechanism built in that hides pain and this mechanism of hiding pain allows us to work and go to school and go on with our busy lives until our body can't deal with the pain anymore. Unfortunately at the same time our body is trying to help us not feel the pain the injured joints begin a process called spinal degeneration. This is where the injured joints begin to break down and wear out much like the parts of your car without proper lubrication. I specialize in finding and fixing these hidden injuries!
Most doctors and hospitals aren't trained to effectively treat the effects of whiplash and injuries related to auto accidents. The treatment of choice by most medical doctors is drug therapy, which almost always leaves the patient with continued pain and weaknesses in the spine. Many people suffer with headaches, back, and neck and shoulder pain for years after an accident.
Chiropractic has been proven to provide effective relief in a very short period of time for injuries associated with auto accidents.
When viewing an x-ray of the neck after a whiplash injury, there is most often a loss of the natural curve. This curve in the neck is designed to absorb impact much like the shocks on our cars. When there is a loss of this curve and the neck straightens out there is always an increase of pressure on the joints, muscles and nerves in that area, which if left untreated, contributes too many different symptoms and health problems.
Q- What are other problems that people don't know that can be helped through chiropractic care?
A- There are literally dozens of other problems that are helped every day in our office. Headaches are a Big one. In our office we help many people with headaches. Most people gobble down aspirin in hopes of getting rid of the pain but all too often once the medication wears off the headache returns. And now, there is new research on headaches caused specifically from taking medication thought to help get rid of headaches. In our office, we find that most headaches are caused from a physical problem usually coming from the neck region.
Q-Dr. Jones, what do you mean, a physical problem?
A- When one or more of the bones in the neck move even slightly out of their normal position and are unable to return on their own, That is a physical problem! This often squeezes on the nerves and blood vessels that exit through small holes on either side of the spine. This is often referred to as pinched nerves. When the bone is out of place in the neck region a large number of nerves and vessels affect the head and cause headaches.
Also there are groups of nerves that leave the neck and run down the arm into the hands which if irritated can cause pain as well as carpal tunnel like symptoms.
Q-Dr. Jones, I had a friend that injured his back and started to have severe leg pain that ran into his foot. What is that called and is this something you take care of?
A- That severe pain that runs from the low back down one or both legs to the feet is called Sciatica, and we have taken care of thousands of people with that. Sciatica is probably one of the most painful conditions we see in our office. The sciatic nerve begins in the low back and runs down both legs all the way to the toes. Once we are able to remove the pressure off these nerves our patients are quite happy again.
Q-Dr. Jones, can children also develop these spinal misalignments?
A- Absolutely. Every child needs a healthy spine. Often children fall and injure their spines at a much higher rate than adults just do to the all the running and playing they do. And most parents know many time's children won't tell them they hurt themselves for fear of a punishment. So they tend to have several areas of their spines that are out of place. In our office our children not only enjoy their treatment, we educate them on how important it is to take care of their spines even when you don't have any pain.
Q- What advice could you give to people that may be suffering with some of these spinal misalignments.
A- I recommend that if you have had a history of an accident, car; sports or another type even if you thought you weren't injured… come in for an examination of your spine. Remember, some problems don't show any physical symptoms for years. If the cause of your complaints is physical… we can help you.
Q-Dr. Jones, I know many people at work as well as some of my family members that are always complaining of back and neck problems, can I refer them to see you?
A- Yes, in fact most of our patients are referred in by other patients especially when they find out how many other conditions are helped with chiropractic treatment.
Q- Is it true that most professional sports teams are under chiropractic care?
A- Not only are most professional sports teams but amateur teams as well as many high school teams utilize chiropractic care to enhance the players performance as well as to reduce injury down time. In fact there are hundreds of very famous people that are under chiropractic care for a variety of reasons. Here is just a short list of people.
- Michael Jordan
- Evander Holyfield
- Arnold Schwartzenegger
- Rocky Marciano
- Bob Hope
- Madonna
- Richard Gear
- Kim Bassinger
- Whoppie Goldberg
- Tiger Woods
- Joe Montanna
- John McEnroe
- Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves, and The Atlanta Thrashers