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1013 JX Amsterdam
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Chiropractic
Get your life back; chiropractors at Thrive Chiropractic help find the root of your problem with the most thorough diagnostics and custom treatment plan
How Thrive Chiropractic Works
Introduction
Chiropractic is focused on locating misalignments & movement abnormalities in the spine, pelvis & extremities – also known as subluxations. These frequently occurring subluxations can be responsible for movement restriction, pain, and a state of dis-ease. They can diminish your quality of life and may be responsible for decreased health if left uncorrected.
The underlying cause for these subluxations lies within our daily lifestyles in which physical, chemical, or emotional stressors are either too much or too little.
Physical Trauma
Physical Trauma like injuries, accidents & forceful birthing procedures. More commonly today we see posture-related complaints arising from repetitive overload, insufficient movement, and incorrect lifting & bending techniques in work or sports.
Toxins or Chemical Stress
Toxins or chemical stress arise from the lifestyle habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol, industrial pollutants, inorganic pesticides and medication. The body can be affected by chemical stressors by triggering the nervous system to react, defend, and brace the body.
Emotional Stress
Emotional stresses from a traumatic injury or stressful thoughts trigger our brain to shift into protection mode – the fight-flight-or-freeze response. These stresses include relationship indifferences, financial concerns, loneliness, work pressure, burn-out, cultural shock
Usually, an isolated event alone is not to blame, but rather an accumulation of life’s incidences and accidents causing excess strain on the nervous system. And if our nervous system is unable to adapt, we compensate by developing areas of subluxation in our body. These subluxations can lead to a variety of symptoms or dis-ease states.
With the help of regular Chiropractic care, it is possible to locate these subluxations, correct these areas of irregular tone, and in turn, reduce stress in your nervous system by enhancing your brain function. And when your brain functions better, it allows the body to help heal itself better, healing you from the inside out.
Chiropractic Science
Essential functions of the spine:
If we look at spinal movement in a very simplistic way, there are really two things we want our spine to be able to do on a regular basis.
If your vertebrae are not moving when they should or stiffening up when they should – you have a subluxation (aka mechanical joint dysfunction)!!
- Move. Sometimes, for example, when we are running, we want our spinal vertebrae to move together in a way that allows unrestricted movement. We also need our spinal vertebrae to move together in a way that spreads and absorbs the impact forces generated by running. By moving well together, the impact forces are shared equally across the spinal bones, and no damage takes place.
- Brace. At other times, for example, when we are lifting heavy objects, we want our spine to stiffen up to protect us. Without proper bracing, we can injure ourselves while lifting heavy (or light) objects or while sitting behind a computer screen all day.
How do we get it right? The brain needs to know what’s going on and it will send out the correct messages as needed. It’s a continuous feedback loop between the brain and the joint and muscle receptors.
What happens when a spinal vertebra that is supposed to move is not moving? More pressure is placed on the level above and the level below the fixated vertebra creating micro-traumas over time. What happens is: local inflammation, the little muscles close to the spine change immediately and they change over time (they start to atrophy), and there is a change in inter-segmental ROM.
A subluxation, if not corrected, will fall into the pattern of:
Subluxated > deep atrophied muscle(s) > brain doesn’t perceive what’s going on accurately and interprets the signals differently > brain responds in compensation.
When a chiropractor adjusts these dysfunctional spinal segments (subluxations) we normalize the incoming information from the spine, which makes it easier for the brain to accurately know what is going on in and around the body AND therefore respond more appropriately and accurately
Adjusting subluxations can change the way the brain sends messages to your muscles. It can change the signals it sends to muscle A in one way and the signals to muscle B in another way. Muscle A: If you think and feel that some of your muscles suddenly feel stronger after your trip to the chiropractor, it’s likely because your muscle is receiving greater drive from your brain to activate the muscle, making it easier to perform a stronger contraction of the muscle than previously. Muscle B: those of you sitting behind the computer all day may have tight neck and upper back muscles – as you work your brain is constantly sending messages to those muscles to keep contracting. After adjusting the spine, we’ve rebooted the system, and muscle B receives larger relaxation commands
Chiropractic is based on the scientific & anatomical fact that the Central Nervous System (CNS), the brain & spinal cord, initiates control of the function of every cell, tissue, organ & system of your body via the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).
Your spine is more than just a long line of bones. It’s the secret for all of your best dance moves and it’s the base for lifting up your child when apple picking. Every time you run, walk, climb, play, lift, and bike, your spine is right there with you.
A chiropractor “pops” backs, right?
When asking someone what chiropractors do, a common response is that chiropractors “crack”, “pop”, or “snap” backs. What someone is describing when they use the words pop, crack, and snap is the audible sound that sometimes occurs during a chiropractic adjustment. The audible sound that is heard is nitrogen gas in the joint capsule known as a cavitation. This sound is a byproduct of the adjustment.
The spinal cord is a long bundle of nerve tissue that extends from the lower part of your brain down through your spinal column. Smaller braids branch off from the spinal cord & pass out from the spine between each of the movable vertebrae. A normal healthy spine has 24 moveable vertebrae, each working as a team, with the one above and below it. A disc separates the vertebrae and acts like a shock absorber and a spacer for the nerve. It is important to value that the spine protects the spinal cord and the delicate nerve tissue and allows us to bend, twist, and move freely without compromising the nerves.
If the function of the spine is disrupted we refer to this as a vertebral subluxation complex. Subluxations put pressure on the nervous system distorting the communication between the brain and the body, causing it to perform less optimally. This can also lead to a variety of symptoms or disease states such as headaches, herniated discs, neck pain, shoulder pain, poor sleep, etc.
How We Work
STEP 1
New Patient First Consultation
At Thrive Chiropractic we refer to the First Consultation as the New Patient Examination. For this appointment, we would like to know everything about you and your health, so that we know how we can best help you. This is an opportunity to discuss with your Chiropractor exactly what brought you in, the outcomes you desire, and whether or not Chiropractic care is the best fit for your goals.
Book your First Consultation
- You can book your First Consult / New Patient Examination by clicking on the link below.
- Select your specified date and time.
- You will receive an email confirmation of your booking with an online link to fill out a questionnaire regarding your health history, complaints, and the health goals you wish to achieve.
- Click on the link, fill out the questionnaire, and send it back to us.
- Send us any medical report (X-Ray, MRI,etc.) and list of medications.
- On the day of your appointment, our staff will welcome you and double-check some basic information with you.
First Consultation
- First, as a New Patient, we’ll sit down together to discuss your health goals, concerns and determine what might be preventing you from achieving them.
- Next, we’ll take you through a comprehensive chiropractic examination to test your nerve system function and spinal range of motion. In addition, we’ll use several state-of-the-art objective tests to scan your health. The more we know about your body, the better we can serve you.
In this examination, we are interested in:
- Your personal medical / health history.
- Your health-related difficulties and goals you wish to achieve.
- Our special examination protocol with posture analysis, flexibility, balance tests, orthopedic and respective neurological tests.;
- The Chiropractic examination then identifies imbalance in your spine, specifically either misalignments & / or movement / compensatory patterns/problems.
- With this important information, we can make a more accurate determination of the type of adjustments your spine needs as well as the ongoing frequency of your care. Your objective tests will be explained to you and covered in detail during your Report of Findings.
Once completed, the results of the examination will be explained to you, providing you with an overview of your current state of Chiropractic health. You are now ready to receive your very first Chiropractic Adjustment.
After the first visit has been completed, we will schedule your next visit within a few days, which we call the Report of Findings, and provide you with additional information you may need for your next visits.
- Our New Patient First Consultation is 60 minutes (including treatment) and the cost is €100.
- Please book your First Consultation online here.
STEP 2
Report of Findings and Your Care Plan Recommendations
At this appointment, we intend to:
- Allow time for any questions you may have following your first consultation.
- A review of your examination findings and clarification of your health goals.
- An explanation of your recommended care based on the Chiropractic phases of healing.
- Please bring your partner with you. He/She/They should also know what and why you are coming to Thrive Chiropractic for care to be better able to support you at home.
At this visit, you will also be checked and adjusted (treated) as appropriate.
STEP 3
Regular Check-up visits
On the third visit, you come in for your regular checkups/adjustment as specified by your personal care plan recommendations.
STEP 4
Progress Re-Scan
We aim for approximately every 12th visit to do a Progress Review aka Re-Scan. This appointment is in essence a repeat of the Objective measurements taken during the First Consultation.
- We look to compare the symptoms that you previously had with your current state
- We also compare the objective test results with your current state
The overall changes will then guide us in making a decision together on how to progress, and which Chiropractic care phase is appropriate for you.
STEP 5
Continual Care – Protection Care
“Now, y’all would guess that more often than not, the highest-paid player on an NFL team is the quarterback. And you’d be right. But what you probably don’t know is that more often than not, the second-highest-paid player is, thanks to Lawrence Taylor, a left tackle. Because, as every housewife knows, the first check you write is for the mortgage, but the second is for the insurance. The left tackle’s job is to protect the quarterback from what he can’t see coming. To protect his blind side.”
– Leigh Anne Touhy (The Blind Side)
What is Protection Care?
It’s ALLLLLLLLLL about prevention.
Preventive Chiropractic Care is the stuff you do (before you get massive issues) to stay healthy.
So why should you go to the Chiropractor when you don’t have any pain and feel healthy? The simple answer is that preventive care helps you stay healthier and, as a result, lowers your healthcare costs.
When it comes to healthcare, most people act re-actively instead of proactively. They won’t go to the Chiropractor until they’re flat-out broken and they won’t take care of their body until problems start to arise.
Some people are truly just educated poorly in this area and do not understand that you actually have to invest in your health.
Other people don’t want to spend money on healthcare until they feel like it’s completely necessary. But the problem with that is you’ll be spending a whole lot more on fixing a problem than preventing it in the first place.
That’s why we try to educate people on the importance of preventive health care. And let me tell you… preventive health care can be hard to communicate to people who feel they are completely healthy and don’t need to spend money or time worrying about their health.
We have to take care of – or maintain, the things that are most important to us.
Hopefully, you maintain your car, your bike, and the relationships that are the most important to you. Anything that has value typically must be maintained or protected in some way. Your spine is really no different. Your spine can be overlooked because we often don’t even think about our health until it starts to malfunction. You don’t realize how much you use your back until it hurts.
The majority of you came to us with an issue. You spent time, money, and energy on that issue and graduated to our Protection Care.
Thrive’s Protection Care Goals:
- to ensure that you protect the gains you achieved during the initial stage of care in our clinic
- to catch issues before they become too serious, which will drastically reduce the overall cost of treatment
- to inform you of problem areas to be mindful of, which can prevent future issues altogether
How our Protection Care Plan works:
Our Protection Plan consists of continued regular chiropractic care after finishing your Corrective Phase of Care.
For most, Protection Care is usually an adjustment about once a month, although some prefer or need to continue getting adjustments on a slightly more regular basis.
*Of course, the Protection Care only works if you’ve already corrected and stabilized any existing subluxations, or spinal misalignments.
Phases of Care
The frequency of care is going to vary, depending on logical factors like your age, the degree to which previous problems have affected your body (e.g. poor health, arthritis, operations, etc.), and how your physical, chemical, and emotional stressors will continue to affect you.
Your subluxations are more often than not years or decades in the making. Chiropractic adjustments build on the ones before, much like improving fitness with an exercise plan. The frequency and consistency of the appointments is just as important as the adjustments and advice you receive.
Your Chiropractic phases of consist of 3 Stages of Healing. The length of each phase varies from individual to individual. It is worth mentioning that healing is an organic process and that it takes time.
Phase Nr. 1
Corrective Care
Frequency of Care:
Minimum of two appointments per week.
Your body is in a state of change, and although recognizes the adjustment and responds to it, is not yet able to maintain the improvements alone. Regular adjustments with short breaks between improve the likelihood of gaining stability faster. It’s important to remember that the goal is to change neurological patterns & structural patterns, and like anything that needs to be learned, your body (specifically your brain) needs regular reminders on how to do things correctly.
Why are you in this Phase?
You may find yourself in the corrective phase of chiropractic care because years or decades of chronic stress alters your brain’s ability to adapt & stay healthy. This leads to wear and tear of the structures in and around your spine. The key forms of these stressors are Physical Trauma, Toxins/Chemical Stress, and Emotional Stress.
Common presentations:
Within this phase, your spine may experience limited mobility or the loss of range of motion, a sensation of joint instability, tight muscles, and your posture is typically less than ideal. Many people complain of a wide range of symptoms like fatigue, digestive issues, headaches, poor quality of sleep.
Why does it take time?
The joint malposition or subluxation causes changes to all the surrounding tissues, especially when it has been present for years.
Your ‘brain balance’ has saved this joint malposition or subluxated state as ‘normal’ and needs time to retrain through the chiropractic ‘reboot’.
If your body has been compensating for years with forward head posture, unlevel hips, and rounded shoulders, this tonal tension takes time to unwind into a more relaxed state.
The healing process is natural and therefore takes time.
Phase Nr. 2
Stabilization Care
Frequency of Care:
Approximately one appointment per week.
Your body begins to recognize the intent of the adjustments, and begins to hold a stable pattern. Despite this, your body falls back into old habits easily so the adjustments continue frequently but with a longer break between. This reduces the risk of further damage, and your body begins to let go of long-held stress.
Symptoms may come and go during this phase. Your posture and flexibility should continue to improve. Alongside this, you may simply feel more at home in your body and more at ease. Your body will be reacting to the adjustment by dealing with long-held stress and letting it go.
What may also happen is a process called retracing, where your body works backward through previous injuries, problems, and compensatory patterns. These symptoms may therefore reappear as part of the healing process. It may seem odd to see these new/old symptoms again, however, we observe them as part of your body returning to a far more healthy and stable state of ‘ease’ than before.
Phase Nr. 3
Protection / Prevention / Wellness Care
Frequency of Care:
Approximately every 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 weeks, depending on your lifestyle.
Prevention is better than cure.
The frequency of care is going to vary, depending on logical factors like your age, the degree to which previous problems have affected your body (e.g. poor health, arthritis, operations, etc.), and how your physical, chemical, and emotional stressors will continue to affect you.
A common development from the treatment plan is the realization that chiropractic care becomes a way to stay healthy, to better react to stress, and to reduce the chances of future health problems developing. So in much the same way as teeth cleaning is a daily habit we all developed, so too should Chiropractic be a regular part of your spinal health routine.
Most of our clients come in for a check-up every 2 to maximal 6 weeks. Obviously, if something happens and they feel the need to be more healthy, they come in immediately for an acute assessment.
Fees and Insurance
FOR ADULTS:
New Patient Visit: €75,-
Regular visit: €60,-
Spinal Decompression visit: €70,-
*Special Re-Exam: €75,-
ADDITIONAL INFO
* Special Re-Exam (with included Adjustment) – following 6 months of absence which includes updated posture photos and updated scans before your adjustment.
Most health insurance companies cover chiropractic care, but coverage varies per company and per package and often changes on a yearly basis. For an overview of chiropractic coverage per insurer, click here.
When in doubt, consult your health insurance provider directly. For health insurance reimbursement purposes, we issue invoices upon payment. For the safety of our staff, we only accept payment by PIN. Payment is due after each session.
IMPORTANT: Please call to cancel or reschedule. We require at least 24 hours’ notice. Otherwise, you will be billed in full for the missed appointment.
