Frequently Asked Questions

This question has many factors that contribute to your healing; the severity of your injury or issue, previous history of injuries, work and lifestyle, age, gender, weight, etc.

All of these contribute to the amount of treatments necessary for your spinal health. With that in mind we do expect to see positive change within 3-5 visits. After which time we would most likely spread out your treatments as part of your continued care plan.

As Gonstead Chiropractors we practice by the theory of ‘Find it, Fix it, Leave it alone’. This means that once we have corrected the initial subluxation, we want to allow the body to heal itself.

There are many factors that contribute to you healing; the severity of your injury or issue, lifestyle and work, ages, weight, etc.

It is not uncommon to still feel sore in the injury sight for a little while after your adjustment, however once the issue has settled down we hope to see improvement in movement and pain within 1-2 days.

Your Chiropractor may recommend icing the area, light exercise such as a gentle walk, or even some time off work, to rest your back. It is import to take heed of this advice.

In the early stages of recovery the best thing to do is icing the area, rest, and conservative exercise.

The first 72 hours are crucial in healing, so avoid any heavy lifting, strenuous work, twisting, or significant bending or reaching.

All too often people feel great after their adjustment and don’t take these precautions, going straight back to their normal routine, and end up either re-aggravating the initial condition, or injuring it worse.

Regular home care is important in the maintaining the health of your spine.

Looking after your core muscles is very important in maintaining a healthy back and spine; this may include yoga or pilates, or your Chiropractor or Massage Therapist may assign you some exercises to do. If the injury is a reoccurring issue then you may need to reassess your regular activities.

This could include what you are doing at work, how you are sleeping or sitting on the couch, what regular exercise you are doing, even how long you are sitting in your car.

If you can make any significant changes in your regular activities, then this could make a positive change in the health of your back.

The general answer for this question would be no.

If your exercise is playing basketball or going to the gym – anything strenuous like this – then we would suggest you avoid this. For the first 24-48 hours after an adjustment we would mainly suggest only light, low impact exercise, such as a gentle walk.

If you have regular activities that you do, such as playing a sport, it might be beneficial to plan your visit so that you don’t have this activity in the follow few days after an adjustment.

All of our Chiropractors are trained in the assessment and adjustment of peripheral joints; such as shoulders, elbows, ankles, finger, etc.

Problems with your extremities such as pain, pins and needles, or restricted movement could possibly be caused by or even have an effect on your back, so it is important to mention any issues that you may have.

Our in house Osteopath regularly works in conjunction with all of our Chiropractors, often creating a care plan utilising both massage and chiropractic.

However it is important to make sure that any acute injury or issue has settled before getting a massage. Often our Chiropractors will advise you when the best time is to get a massage.

They will also communicate with our Osteopath regarding your specific case if they feel the need to discuss any areas to be avoided or specifically worked on.

Some of our patients come directly to see our Remedial Massage Therapist. She is trained in the assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal issues and can create a care plan and home care for you. However if she feels that your issue may be structural, she will refer you on to one of our Chiropractors.

To find out more about Remedial Massage click here.

All of our Chiropractors are covered by Private Health Insurance.

As each insurance company is different and each person has different coverage it is impossible to say how much you will be covered.

Please speak with your insurance provider to find out if you are covered and how much for. We use the HICAPs system, so if you are eligible you only need to pay the gap.

Most adult new patients will require specialty full spine x-rays.

These are performed straight away on site for immediate assessment in your first appointment, saving you time and trouble.

X-rays are taken for many reasons:

Disease – We look for any evidence of severe illness that may need medical treatment (some serious illness can refer as back pain).

Trauma – Looking for any evidence of trauma, sometimes trauma you forgot to mention.

Presence of Wear and Tear – This helps with the big picture in understanding how long your problem has been hiding for and how it is effecting the rest of your spine.

Spinal Misalignments – Evidence of poorly aligned vertebra can be observed. We can use this information to help create a plan of where to start and what needs to be fixed next.

X-rays allow us to help patients better, quicker. Imagine being a builder and being asked to build a home without any plans or blueprints.

These x-rays are the secret weapon to our success.

The expecting mother’s body begins going through a multitude of changes from the moment she becomes pregnant.

Many of the bodies systems are changing, allowing for the healthy growth and development of her baby (or babies). One of these major changes is her skeletal structure. To accommodate for the baby (or babies), the hips begin to widen and as the baby grows her centre of gravity shifts.

This means more pressure is put on different parts of her spine. For some women they can have a reasonably breezy pregnancy with little to no major issues, while others may experience mild to severe back, hip or pelvic pain, headaches and/or migraines, nausea or acid reflux, and many more symptoms. Chiropractic can be an important tool in managing these symptoms.

All of our Chiropractors are trained in the assessment of expecting mothers and understand the many physiological changes happening in their body. The final few weeks is very tough on the expecting mothers body, and Chiropractic can help ease that burden.

It is important to keep your appointments with your Chiropractor as they are part of a larger care plan.

This may include check up or maintenance appointments. You may feel fine, but your spine might tell a different story. It is also good to remember that not every appointment means an adjustment; your checkup might just be a checkup, but it is still important to keep these appointments as your Chiropractor is monitoring your progress.

The joints in your spine are what is called synovial joints, this means that the joint is surrounded by a capsule, which contains synovial fluid.

This fluid lubricates the joint, making movement easy and smooth. What can happen is a build up of nitrogen inside this capsule, which can cause the joint to move less freely.

The ‘popping’ or ‘cracking’ sound you may hear during an adjustment is called cavitation; this simply means that the built up nitrogen is escaping the joint capsule causing a cavity which rapidly fills up and causing the ‘pop’ sound that you here. This is similar to the way you hear a cork pop when opening a bottle of champagne.

The ‘cracking’ of your spine doesn’t mean you have just put your back out, it might mean nothing at all. But if your spine ‘cracks’ very easily and often then this is a sign of spinal instability and you should be checked out by a good Chiropractor.

As Chiropractors are Primary Health Care Professionals, you do not need a referral to see one.