Wellness Care

Optimal health & wellness require more than just a Doctor...

At ProHealth, we believe that when it comes to good health, a good offense is the best defense. Appropriate preventive and maintenance practices are key to not only ensuring your current good health, but also preventing potential problems later on. To facilitate these concepts, we offer a number of educational courses and seminars that are designed to promote safety and injury prevention, such as:

• Stress management
• Nutritional assessment and counseling
• Sports-specific lectures

Wellness care is not about taking treatments on a repetitive basis just to feel good. It is performing specific individualized examinations of the patient's well-being at regular intervals. The interval and type of examination are based on the patient's past history, family history, trauma history, occupation, lifestyle, nutritional habits, exercise, and toxic load.

It is universally agreed that it is easier to prevent problems than cure them. As your body chemistry changes as you grow older, our programs to maintain your health also change. We desire to assist you in maintaining the healthiest lifestyle possible. This requires regular exercise, proper diet and nutrition, restful sleep, and a balancing your activities. We tailor this unique and individualized program specifically to meet your needs.

SAMPLE SIX-STEP PROGRAM

Our staff will take you through a six-step program:

1. Education - You need to know the "why" before the "how" - Attitude is everything.
2. Mobility - Just about everyone feels stiff and sore at times, and most people over the age of 50 have lost about half of their flexibility.
3. Diet - This means eating well, not less, and finding the correct balance for you.
4. Vitamins - In June 2002, the American Medical Association finally came right out and said that "…everyone needs extra nutritional supplement." Of course, this was something that chiropractors had been telling their patients for over 100 years.
5. Play well - Do something that you enjoy. There is no activity worse for you than tobacco - It is hard to believe but it is true.
6. Don't give up! Our staff will be your coach and closely monitor your progress.

Wellness care is usually not covered by your insurance plan because it is considered elective. Patients generally schedule their wellness visits between 3 and 6 months apart. Wellness and Chiropractic Care can have different indications within different age groups:

Children

Chiropractic care for children can be likened to dental care for kids: just as regular checkups with the dentist can help prevent cavities, regular checkups with the chiropractor can help prevent problems in the spine. It should come as no surprise, then, to learn that doctors of chiropractic are well-trained to examine, diagnose and manage infants and children.

When it comes to treatment, children's health can be influenced by numerous factors that lend themselves to chiropractic care. Physical injuries, for example, are common in childhood. If not treated properly, these injuries can lead to muscle imbalances, where some muscles become tight while others become weak. In other cases, injuries can cause spinal joint dysfunction, which can affect spinal biomechanics and other bodily functions.

Another area for early chiropractic care is posture-related disorders. A growing source of patient visits to chiropractic offices, these are often born out of poor childhood habits. Thus, correcting poor posture and promoting good spinal hygiene in children is of utmost importance.

Teenagers

As with children, the examination and treatment of teenagers is of critical importance to chiropractors. During puberty, numerous changes taking place in a teen's body can place significant demands on muscles, joints and bones. During this period, bones tend to grow fast while muscles grow slowly by comparison. These changes can cause muscle imbalances and injuries.

The transition from teen to adult also brings significant changes to actual bone structure and composition. Before the teen years, many bones in the body are soft and flexible. This is because much of the bone is actually made of cartilage. As a teenager, the cartilage hardens into true bone. During this period, the bones and associated ligaments are more vulnerable to fractures, strains and sprains. Therefore, the detection of subluxations and associated muscle imbalances can be helpful in the prevention, restoration and maintenance of health.

Adults

Adults are by far the most frequent consumers of chiropractic health care. This is not surprising. For many, fast-paced lifestyles have led to an alarming increase in stress and stress-related disorders. Muscle, nerve and joint dysfunction are common manifestations that often produce lower back, neck and headache symptoms.

In addition to stress, lack of physical exercise leaves many adults vulnerable to injuries. Injuries are often caused by repetitive movements, either in the workplace or at home. Less frequently, injuries can be caused by sudden falls. In either case, without regular exercise, adult bodies will be less forgiving, yielding to injuries much more easily than children's. Regardless of the injury, joint dysfunction and muscle imbalance can occur.

Lack of exercise also leads to changes in posture. The extent of these changes depends largely on what people do for a living. All activities, though, can lead to imbalances in the neck, back and upper torso that weaken some muscles and tighten others. These imbalances will cause the head to point forward, the upper back to slump and the shoulders to tip lazily forward. Over time, joints are stressed, muscles become tighter and serious symptoms develop.

Seniors

As we get older, wear-and-tear on our joints begins to manifest. This is commonly called osteoarthritis, which is like rust to our joints. It may cause pain and limit one's range of motion. Chiropractic care has been shown to have an impact in alleviating pain associated with this degenerative process as well as restoring function, mobility and overall health.

But chiropractic treatment for seniors is not limited to arthritis. Chiropractors can also address nutrition, depression, exercise and other health concerns.