Frequently Asked Questions in Inver Grove Heights MN

Chiropractic is the science and art of locating subluxations, primarily spinal subluxation (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and pelvis) reducing or eliminating these subluxations and allowing for natural restoration of function and better health.

Chiropractic is founded on the philosophy of health and a way of living…naturally.,

Subluxation is a condition where the spine is not aligned or moving properly, creating dysfunction in the joints, spinal discs, muscles, and nerves. When the result of spinal misalignments result in “pinching” or compressing of the nerves that run through that particular area, these compressed nerves often become inflamed and impede proper transmission of impulses to the section of the body controlled by these nerves. A seemingly endless list of ailments and pain may be brought about by these subluxations.

Chiropractors are “Nerve Specialists.” The doctor of Chiropractic works with the nerves – both directly and indirectly – because every function of your entire body is controlled and affected by the nervous system. Every organ, tissue, and cell is affected by nerve impulses traveling from your brain to every part of your body.

In fact, your nervous system is the master control of all other body systems – Muscular, Digestive, Respiratory, Endocrine, Circulatory, and Reproductive Systems.

Chiropractors have Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degrees granted from Chiropractic Collages and are Board Certified. This postgraduate program typically takes four or more years of dedicated, graduate-level study in anatomy, microbiology, radiology, functional kinesiology, and chiropractic care principles and philosophy. Upon completion of a Doctor of Chiropractic, graduates must take and pass a series of exams to become licensed through the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE).

Chiropractors are licensed practitioners who diagnose and treat mechanical disorders of the spine and joints.

Upon graduation, chiropractors are already specialists in their field. You may be surprised to learn that chiropractic graduate school typically requires over 200 additional credit hours than medical training courses!

A Doctor of Chiropractic (DC), also known as a chiropractor or chiropractic physician, is a medical professional trained to precisely diagnose and treat disorders of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Yet, there are areas for further specialization. For example, Dr. Ryan Hetland chose to specialize in areas including non-surgical spinal decompression, pregnancy, and pediatric chiropractic care.

Chiropractic education and medical education are similar in some respects and different in others because chiropractors do not prescribe drugs or perform surgeries, and medical doctors do not correct subluxations.

Chiropractors are trained to have the ability to identify, recognize, and correct these misalignments (subluxations) and provide a Chiropractic Adjustment to reduce and eliminate them.

The Gonstead Concept of chiropractic begins with a basic biomechanical principle of physics. Every engineer, architect, builder, and carpenter knows the importance of a proper foundation for constructing a building, for this ensures durability and long life. Any slight change or shift in the foundation can cause a great amount of deviation in the top part of the structure and, perhaps, ultimately, its collapse.

The body’s foundation is formed by the pelvic girdle. When this bony structure consisting of hip bones and the lower bones of the back is level, there will be maximum balance and stability in the spinal column. When the pelvic girdle or any of the vertebrae (bones in the spinal column) become tilted or twisted out of their position, dramatic changes may occur in the body to the joints, spinal discs, nerves, and muscles.

Chiropractic is a healing art, science, and philosophy of health, discovered over a century ago in 1895 and is now the most widely used natural health profession in the world. Chiropractic continues to grow because it is effective, safe, and gentle and because it respects your body’s natural healing and adaptive powers. It is the most popular drug-free, surgery-free healthcare system in the world, offering you and your family a real choice.

Today millions of people visit their neighborhood doctor of chiropractic and millions more would, if they only knew the benefits of chiropractic care on the nervous system, spinal discs, and joints for overall health, longevity, and performance.

Chiropractors help release deep stress within your body and mind so you’ll function better, permitting your natural healing ability, your inner healer, to function better.

Chiropractic increases your overall function and health by influencing the nervous system and brain which are the master control of your entire body.

That is why nearly every condition has responded to chiropractic including ear infections, asthma, allergies, colic, bed-wetting, hearing problems, skin conditions, digestive and menstrual problems, infertility, spine and nerve pain, colds and flu, headache, sciatica, emotional and neurological conditions and many, many others.

People also go to chiropractic regularly for more energy, improved sports performance, better balance, clearer thinking, better resistance to disease and to help ensure drug-free lives for themselves and their families.

We welcome you to our chiropractic family; you will discover for yourself why so many people say, “Chiropractic brings out the best in me.”

Chiropractic is the art, science, and philosophy of finding and correcting/improving subluxations. Chiropractic works by helping your spine and joints to be more optimally aligned, which can restore mobility, take pressure or irritation of the nerves, and help improve and prevent wear and tear on the spinal discs and joints (aka arthritis and degenerative disc disease).

Chiropractic has proven to be effective and helping many, many, symptoms patients come in with. However, the focus of chiropractic is to identify and adjust (treat) subluxations in the spine and extremities and not specifically your symptom or disease.

Chiropractic has proven to be one of the safest, if not the most safe professions in natural health care since 1985. One way to objectively consider is looking at malpractice insurance rates, and in healthcare, chiropractors pay the lowest premiums due to the safety of the profession.

Surgery and drugs in comparison are some of the most risky and unsafe options for people.

Mayo Clinic states, “Some people experience minor side effects for a few days after chiropractic adjustment. These may include headaches, fatigue, or pain in the parts of the body that were treated.”

“Chiropractic adjustment is safe when it's performed by someone trained and licensed to deliver chiropractic care. Serious complications associated with chiropractic adjustment are overall rare but may include: A herniated disk or a worsening of an existing disk herniation.”

This is why the Gonstead Chiropractic Method and Technique are designed and trained to avoid “twisting” the spine when performing an adjustment. Not only is it safer, it also yields better results on the spine, spinal disc, and nerve holes.

How many chiropractic sessions/adjustments you may need is different for everybody. Kids and adults The science and are of finding subluxations, and adjusting them to restore better and more normal alignment, and mobility and help keep it stable is dependent on each individual's health.

If you are going to a chiropractor in hopes of healing from a specific condition, you should consider the average healing times for the condition and look to continue care for at least that timeframe.

For example, the normal healing timeframe for a broken bone/fracture is within 6-8 weeks, but this varies tremendously from bone to bone and in each person based on many factors. This is why checkups with the doctor to help determine when it has properly healed.

The same is true for most conditions or injuries.

Spinal disc herniations which Dr. Ryan Hetland commonly helps people recover and heal from typically take 6-12 weeks minimum up to 6 months. There is a vast diversity in the types of spinal disc injuries, and the severity of disc injuries varies immensely too. This is why it is important to seek professional help to determine the appropriate steps.

Chiropractic prices are set by each individual clinic, so you would want to call and find out from the location you are looking to go to. Some take different insurances, and some are only cash.

At RH Health & Injury Specialists below is a summary of our costs.

• Auto Accident Injuries are covered 100%.
• Work Comp Injuries are covered 100% for 12 weeks.
• Medicare does not pay for exams and x-rays so the first visit will be $175. Medicare then covers 80% of Chiropractic adjustments for up to 12 weeks.
• Regular Health Insurance – We are not in-network and do not accept any as they rarely pay anything anyway. The first visit fee is $175.
• No Insurance? The first visit fee is $175 then we will create an affordable plan to get you feeling great again and keep doing what you love with your body!

RH Health & Injury Specialists was founded in 2010 by Dr. Ryan Hetland, who is a Gonstead Specialized Chiropractor. His passion for health is inspired by his own desire to be as healthy as possible, and motivated by the mess that our healthcare has become.

If you are frustrated with where your health is, or you have an injury you want help determining the best strategy for recovery, and are looking to avoid drugs and surgery, then take advantage of our New Patient Special Offers (link). You can set up an initial appointment if you are ready, otherwise you can set up a complimentary consultation to be able to ask questions first.

Before you just google search for “Chiropractor Near Me” here are some helpful points to consider:

The chiropractor near me with the most google reviews DOES NOT mean they are the best, or highest quality chiropractor. Most of the time it means they pay a company to make it easy for their patients to give them a Google review, and they are popular, typically for price. Kind of like McDonald's probably sells the burgers near you, but they are NOT the highest quality.

What type of chiropractic office or chiropractor do you want?

• One that takes x-rays if needed, or one that doesn’t take x-rays at all
• The least expensive chiropractic care or highest quality chiropractic care?
• Do you want chiropractic care done in an open room where everyone can hear and watch you get adjusted, or a chiropractic clinic that has private rooms?
• Do you care if your neck or back is “twisted” more aggressively or would you rather have a more specific and no-twist adjustment like the Gonstead Technique?

These are a few things to consider when looking for a Chiropractor Near Me

The most common technique in chiropractic is what chiropractors call the “Diversified” technique. This is technically just a combination of whatever the chiropractor knows mostly involving motion palpation.

The Gonstead Technique that Dr. Ryan Hetland specializes in, is considered the “Gold-Standard” for very specific chiropractic care. Gonstead chiropractors use a thermocoupling device to test the temperature of the nerves as a scan, and full-spine x-rays (unless pregnant or young children), with specific motion and static palpation of the spine or joint being checked. Then when an adjustment is going to be done, very specific methods are utilized to ensure very little to no twist occurs to your neck or back, and the vertebrae are intentionally adjusted to restore spinal disc position.

Chiropractic is great for infants, babies, and children. Think of chiropractic care as you would good nutritional care – always essential for your child’s good health.

Chiropractic for your children is vital to healthy development and health! Chiropractic was not developed for back pain, neck pain or headaches (although it helps these). Chiropractic is most helpful at finding and fixing subluxations caused by normal movement throught your day, the way we sit, sleep, posture ect…On top of daily movements, kids fall all the time when learning to walk, play sports, and even the birth process itself can be a contribution to the spine.

Keeping your childs body free from misaligned spinal vertebrae and nerve irritation (subluxations) will help your child’s natural defenses. If your child has any of these conditions make sure they have a chiropractic checkup:

• Ear Infections
• Colic
• Poor posture
• Constipation
• Bed-wetting
• Scoliosis
• Sinus troubles
• Stomach troubles
• Hearing issues
• Headaches
• Neck or backaches
• Skin disorders
• Asthma
• Neurological conditions
• Frequent colds
• Arm and hand pain
• Painful joints
• Shoulder pain
• Hip, knee and foot pain
• Clumsiness
• A foot turned in or out
• One leg shorter

Chiropractic education and medical education are similar in some respects and different in others because chiropractors do not prescribe drugs or perform surgeries, and medical doctors do not correct subluxations.

Chiropractors help relieve pain from injuries, by helping the body heal naturally through chiropractic adjustments that help restore normal alignment, moving and nerve health. Musculoskeletal injuries like whiplash from car accidents, sprain/strains from sports injuries or falls, and nerve injuries like sciatica can all be helped by chiropractic care for healing.

Chiropractic can help an endless list of symptoms and conditions when done properly and consistently. Your nervous system is the center of your thoughts, memory, learning, you muscles, blood vessels, glands and internal organs. All our systems in the body require a healthy nervous system to function properly.

See the chart below for a list of symptoms and areas of the body influenced by your spine and nervous system.

Chiropractors have been performing adjustments on pregnant women for over 100 years with many benefits including helping maintain pregnancy, control vomiting during pregnancy, and deliver full-term infants with greater ease.

The pelvis and lower back are critical areas of the body for women during pregnancy, where the baby is being created during pregnancy, and where the baby will hopefully be birthed from. Women will undergo many structural and hormonal changes that affect the spine, nerves, joints ligaments connective tissues center of gravity, and stability.

The doctor of chiropractic can ensure the spinal column, pelvis, and related structures are balanced, moving easily, and free of subluxations.

The body's foundation is formed by the pelvic girdle. When this bony structure consisting of hip bones and the lower bones of the back is level, there will be maximum balance and stability in the spinal column. When the pelvic girdle becomes tilted or rotated out of its proper position, dramatic changes may occur in the body and make it more difficult for pregnant women during pregnancy and delivery.