Frequently Asked Questions in Chapin SC

A chiropractor is a healthcare provider (doctor / physician) who provides non-drug solutions to healthcare problems.

Yes, chiropractors are doctors. Chiropractors are doctors of chiropractic (D.C.), similarly there are doctors of Osteopathy (D.O.), doctors of physical therapy (D.Pt), and medical doctors (M.D.).

I sure hope so! I love what I do and I am grateful to get the opportunity to serve my community by offering a drug-free approach to healthcare problems, most notably musculoskeletal pain. I've seen the difference I have made in my patients, allowing many of them to get back to the life they wanted to live without limitations. That difference can be anything from bending down to pick up their children, taking a walk without stopping, playing golf, being able to ride in the car long enough to see their family, and everything in between. I find that unbelievably useful.

Chiropractors are among the safest healthcare providers. As with any treatment, there are always risks factors and potential side effects which you can discuss with the chiropractor prior to treatment. A proper history and physical examination should always be performed prior to any care, which will reduce the likelihood of any adverse events.

That's a loaded question. In our office we individualize care based on each patient's needs. Some conditions require more treatment than others. Some patients have more complicating factors and co-morbidities than others which can require more visits to get the optimal result. At Palmetto Spine and Pain, we find the cause of your problem (diagnose your condition), evaluated all complicating factors and co-morbidities, then put a plan together (on paper) to get our patients the best results possible, and we do it in a transparent and straight forward fashion.

The costs for chiropractic care can vary based upon several factors. The care we provide is based upon the care each patient needs, which varies based upon what is causing their pain (what they are diagnosed with). The costs also depends on whether someone is utilizing healthcare insurance or not. If they are using healthcare insurance, we would verify their benefits, and costs would vary based upon deductibles, copays, and co-insurances. Each insurance also has a fee schedule which basically dictates of the costs for each service we may provide. Regardless, we would put together a plan based upon the needs of the individual, and we show each patients what anticipated costs would be for our services. Our approach is to be transparent and predictable.

Hopefully for the results. But also, in our approach to getting those results. You're not a number here, we genuinely care for each individual patient. We prioritize respecting your time and your finances. So, once we know what is causing your pain, we establish a plan to get the results, that includes financial projections based upon each patients needs. We also do not double book - we have established appointment times that we follow to make sure when you get to our office you don't sit in our reception area waiting. It is important to us that we respect your time, which shouldn't be wasted sitting in our office waiting to hear your name called. That is your time, time you can spend with your family, friends, fishing… whatever you want to do, and we will not steal that time from you.

We are fortunate in the Chapin area to have several chiropractic practices, all of which have great providers working there. Most search engines will populate some local choices for chiropractic care, some practices you might drive by daily. You can always look at their reviews or ask friends and family for recommendations as well.

Most commonly chiropractors treat low back pain, neck pain, and headaches. Chiropractors often treat disc injuries, disc herniations, pinched nerves (radiculopathy), sciatica, sacroiliac (SI) joint point, and stenosis. Chiropractic is a great treatment option for most musculoskeletal ailments, including sports injuries

Absolutely. I'd always recommend discussing this with your OBGYN prior to starting care, but pregnancy related low back pain is common, and we frequently treat this condition with great success.

In our office we always focus on finding the cause of (diagnosing) the symptoms, in this case back pain. Once you distinguish all the pain generating tissues for each individual patient, we then work the with patient to create a customized and comprehensive care plan to make sure we address each of those pain generators. Commonly the pain generators are some combination of the discs, nerves, joints, and muscles.

In our office we always focus on finding the cause of (diagnosing) the symptoms, in this case neck pain. Once you distinguish all the pain generating tissues for each individual patient, we then work with the patient to create a customized and comprehensive care plan to make sure we address each of those pain generators. Commonly the pain generators are some combination of the discs, nerves, joints, and muscles.

In our office we always focus on finding the cause of (diagnosing) the symptoms, in this case sciatica. Sciatica is really a symptom more than a diagnosis. We need to know what is causing your sciatica. Sciatica is commonly caused by disc herniations, stenosis (arthritis and narrow where the nerve exits the spine), a combination of both disc herniations and arthritis (disc - osteophyte complex), piriformis syndrome (a muscle that can tighten down on the nerve), wallet syndromes, and other common causes. Once you distinguish all the pain generating tissues for each individual patient, we then work the with patient to create a customized and comprehensive care plan to make sure we address each of those pain generators. Commonly the pain generators are some combination of the discs, nerves, joints, and muscles.

Most commonly chiropractors treat musculoskeletal pain (joint pain, muscle pain, ligament / tendon / disc pain) and neuropathic pain (nerve pain).

Not typically, the literature tells us that approximately 20% of patients (1/5) will have a little soreness after the first 1 to 2 treatments. Usually this means if your pain was a 5/10 it might be a 5.5/10. After the first 1 to 2 treatments that soreness usually resolves. 80% of patients (4/5) do not experience any soreness with their first treatments, and most experience significant relief.

Air naturally builds up in the joints, when you open the joint far enough, air is able to release which produces the popping sound (cavitation). The knuckle is a common example where the joint opens, air releases, and the pop is heard.

No, each patient gets care that is specific their individual needs. There are also different ways (or techniques) to adjust / treat a patient. There are lighter or softer techniques such as activator or impulse adjusting as well as common techniques typically associated with chiropractic, most of which can be performed with varying degrees of force to satisfy each patient's particular needs.

I would not recommend attempting this.

No, not in our office.

That depends on what you are treating, but we do commonly see children. Treatment can be modified to their needs.

Chiropractors typically have a 4 year degree from an undergraduate school - I have a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) with a major in biology and a minor in chemistry. Then, chiropractors have to attend and graduate from chiropractic school (4 years). Chiropractor have to pass national boards and then pass any state specific test to practice in that state.