![Chiropractors and Physical Therapists in Mount Prospect IL 60056 [Advanced Physical Medicine and Therapy: 847-222-9060] and West Dundee IL 60118 [West Dundee Physical Medicine: 847-844-7900].](images/headerbar.gif)
Ask Us...
You may not think of visiting a chiropractor to treat your headaches, ankle pain, or numbness in your fingers or toes. Because your spine feeds the nerve system of the rest of your body, many of your health problems may be treatable through chiropractic methods.
Click on each question below to read the answer. Remember, these answers are general information, and may not apply in every case.
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Q: How do I know what services my insurance company will cover? Our business staff will take care of contacting your insurance company,
verifying your coverage, and working with you to make sure you get the
treatment you need. We work with several major insurance plans, including BlueCross BlueShield, Aetna, Cigna, PHCS, and United Healthcare. At your first appointment,
please remember to bring your insurance card and some form of photo
identification, and fill out the new patient forms.
This will help us verify your insurance more quickly and accurately. Q: I'm supposed to get an MRI, but I don't like enclosed spaces. What can I do? We work with several imaging centers in the Chicago area, and can recommend
one that suits your needs. Since your MRI results will help us diagnose and
treat you more effectively, we want you to be comfortable. Ask our doctors
or office staff about MRI facilities with "open" or "standing" devices. Q: How long will I need chiropractic care? The answer to this question varies for each individual. The length of your immediate care treatment depends on the severity of your injury or problem, and how you respond to treatment. We generally start by seeing patients regularly. As you heal, we decrease the frequency of your visits. The exact lenght of treatment is determined by the extent of your injury and how quickly or slowly you respond to treatment. When your immediate problem is resolved and the pain is gone, we still recommend that you visit once a month to make sure you're staying in good health. Our philosophy is that chiropractic is a lifestyle, not just a means of treating immediate pain. Q: How does chiropractic care help disc problems? The purpose of chiropractic care is to locate and correct areas of the spine that interfere with the proper nervous system control of your body. Because the intervertebral discs are so close to the spinal cord and nerve roots, disc involvement is quite common in chiropractic cases. Chiropractic adjustments help restore proper motion and position of malfunctioning spinal bones, reducing nervous system involvement. If it's caught before permanent damage occurs, disc tissue often returns to a more normal size and shape. Q: My pain is gone. Doesn't that mean my injury is healed? Most people believe that when the pain of a structural injury (back and neck, primarily) is gone, that you are well. In most cases, unfortunately, that theory couldn't be further from the truth. The structural damage that resulted in the injury may still be there, waiting to cause serious problems later. A misalignment of the spine usually occurs with a serious fall or other trauma. And although the pain may have gone away, the injury has not. Left untreated, this misalignment puts extra strain on the surrounding area and creates premature wear on the joint itself. A loss of range of motion is one noticeable sign, as well as symptoms that are seemingly unrelated to the injury like headaches, numbness in the extremities, or sciatic pain, to name a few. As time goes on, an untreated misalignment will degenerate. This is nature's way of compensating for the injury. It's likely that pain will return, often more seriously than before, and degeneration from years of neglect will only complicate -- if not make impossible -- a return to health. An injury that could have been easily corrected, but was ignored because the pain was gone, often creates greater problems and suffering later in life.
Take Pain Seriously. Chiropractic care cannot only relieve the pain
of a structural injury, it can also increase range of motion and minimize
degeneration in the injured areas. Even if your injury is old, it's not too
late to benefit from care. The action you take now may save you from years
of problems and pain in the future. Q: How can chiropractic help my migraines? Research has shown that many recurring or migraine headaches are related to a misalignment of one or more vertebrae in the neck. Since the nerves and blood vessels pass through small openings between these vertebrae, a misalignment can substantially decrease the amount of blood and nerve impulses going to the face and brain. Of course, not all headaches are caused by neck problems. Some headaches are caused by disease, and everyone has had occasional headaches resulting from abuse of the body through lack of sleep, anxiety, improper nutrition, or too many cocktails. The fact remains that many headaches are caused by irritation of the nerves, usually in the neck. No therapeutic method compares to chiropractic health care in correcting abnormalities of the neck.
If you are suffering from headaches on a regular basis, call our office to
set up an appointment. To help you track the frequency, severity, and
sources of your headaches, download and complete the
Headache Log, (83K .PDF) available from our Forms
page.
Q: I have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Is surgery the only treatment? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a repetitive stress injury, is one of the most painful disorders experienced today. Because of the increased use of computers in everyday work, CTS is more common than ever before. In everyday terms, CTS is a pinched median nerve entering the wrist. It can cause weakness in your hands, tingling and numbness, pain in the wrist, and a burning sensation in the middle three fingers of the hand. The common medical treatment is surgery, and immobilizing the hand and wrist afterward with a splint. Chiropractic care lets you continue to use the wrist. Using gentle chiropractic adjustments and specific exercises, patients often find relief from their pain. Quite often, the vertebrae of the neck are misaligned, causing unwanted pressure on the nerves of the neck. The affected nerves lead down the arm to the wrist and fingers, causing pain. Our doctors make the necessary corrections by adjusting the cervical spine, relieving the pressure on the inflamed nerve that runs to the wrist. The inflammation stops, and healing takes place. Unlike surgery, which leaves permanent changes to the wrist and may or may not relieve the symptoms, chiropractic allows a person to heal naturally, and make the necessary lifestyle changes that help restrict future problems. Studies have shown that regular spinal checkups can lead to early detection of Carpal Tunnel, resulting in as much as an 85% decrease of the disorder. |