Wellness Care
What is wellness care?
Wellness Care is the ultimate journey on the road to optimal health and well-being. Put simply, Wellness Care is chiropractic care that keeps your body at its peak physical levels by keeping your body's alignment in perfect tune with where it needs to be. Misalignment equals pain, dysfunction, and a host of ailments. By having routine checks by a trained chiropractor, you can prevent the pain/problems that brought you to our office in the first place by "heading them off at the pass" rather than allowing them to get out of control (most often leading to pain, dysfunction throughout the body, and lots of time/money to fix).
Think in terms of your vehicle: Routine maintenance is essential to keep a vehicle on the road for the long-term. You can drive a car without changing the oil or timing belt, but eventually that will catch up to the vehicle. You're living in an amazingly complex human machine that is your vehicle in life; Wellness Care is similar to treating your body like the Ferrari it is rather than an old, beat up Pinto that's on its last leg.
How often should I come to the chiropractor to achieve wellness care?
That depends. For most people, one visit per month is usually the optimal frequency, but it truly varies with each individual’s needs and lifestyles. For instance, someone who trains and runs triathlons would likely have more routine Wellness Visits because of the stresses and pressure they’re applying to their body, and also because of how important it is to those athletes to maintain top physical and mental output.
One visit per month is ideal for someone whose job requires lots of heavy lifting because of all the stress that lifting puts on the lower and middle back as well as upper body. Ultimately, I will not pressure you one way or the other, but I can help you find the level that is perfect for you.
If I don't "hurt," why should I keep coming to the chiropractor?
Excellent question. Let me respond by asking you this: If you went to a medical doctor for cancer treatment, they could give you enough pain medication to make you comfortable, probably to the point of you having no pain and living fairly normally. Does that mean you made a healthy decision? Although this is an extreme example, it illustrates that pain is simply an 'indicator' that something else is wrong.
Here's another example: When you sprain an ankle, it hurts, right? But after a week or so, the pain subsides or disappears, but is the ankle healed? Absolutely not. The message here is do not let pain dictate your life. Be proactive and keep pain from ever being a part of your life. You won't regret it!
Why isn't wellness care covered by insurance?
Ah, the $64,000 question. Honestly, I don’t know the answer to this question. In the end the answer likely comes down to money, but I’ve read studies/seen data that suggests transitioning your overall health care system from one that treats disease/ailments once present to a system that aims to keep them away would be far more cost effective. This is evident by numerous businesses starting “in house” wellness programs where they encourage workers to exercise, live healthier, and thus save the company money on insurance premiums.
Remember this: Your insurance company does not care about your health. That’s a fact. Do they pay for certain services? Yes. But do they pay to keep you healthy? In most cases, no. They pay to get you healthy, but what you do beyond that is up to you. Make the right decision, and get on the path to Wellness by treating your body like the finely tuned machine that it can be.
Some numbers for you to consider...
Average Cell phone bill: $50-120 per month
Average Oil Change bill: $30-50 per time
Average Cable Television bill: $71 per month
Average per car tire replacement: $75-150
Wellness Care Visit at Hanft Family Chiropractic: $45 per visit.
At $45 per visit, that’s a little over $1 per day to maintain optimal health and physical ability. People spend more than double on cable TV they hardly watch! Don’t let that be you.
Remember, you only get one chance to live your life in the body you were given. Make the most of it, and value what’s important- your health and wellbeing. You deserve it so make yourself a priority!
Low Back Pain?
Here's a helpful tip from Dr. Jason Hanft about lifting heavy objects.