what do chiropractors do?
What do chiropractors do and other frequently asked questions
Our Chiropractors answer your questions about what Chiropractors do: what do Chiropractors treat, how do Chiropractors work, who should see a Chiropractor, how Chiropractic treatment can help pregnant women and babies and more.
No referral is necessary at Rise Chiropractic.
You can book your appointment online right now. Our private and medical aid rates are stated on our booking page.
Here at Rise Chiropractic, cash or card payments are accepted. We can claim directly from reputable medical aid schemes if they have savings in their day-to-day benefits.
- Bestmed
- Bonitas
- CAMAF
- De Beers
- Discovery
- GEMS
- Genesis
- Medihelp(strata)
- Medscheme
- Metropolitan
- Momentum
- One Care/ Care Cross
- PCNS
- Polmed
- PrimeCure
- Profmed
- Providence
- Resolution health
- Sizwe Sechaba
- Topmed
- Thebemed
- Universal Healthcare
- WCMAS
When choosing payment via a medical claim to be submitted electronically on your behalf, you accept responsibility for payment of the full medical aid fees, should the claim be rejected or not paid in full for whatever reason.
You will be responsible to rectify/clarify any mistakes/errors made by the medical aid with the medical aid directly. The Practice will not be liable/responsible for said mistakes/errors.
You accept full financial responsibility for any account rendered by Rise Chiropractic until it is settled in full in the instance of error on the account of the medical aid or practice.
Chiropractors care for patients of all ages with a variety of health conditions. They are especially well known for their expertise in caring for patients with back pain, neck pain and headaches, particularly with their highly skilled chiropractic adjustments. They also care for patients with a wide range of injuries and disorders of the musculoskeletal system involving the muscles, ligaments and joints. These painful conditions often involve or impact the nervous system, which can cause referred pain and dysfunction distant to the region of injury.
At Rise Chiropractic, we treat common conditions such as:
- back and neck pain
- whiplash
- headaches/migraines
- infant colic
- infant reflux
- breast feeding issues
- infant torticolis
- disc herniations (“slipped disc”)
- shoulder, elbow and wrist pain
- hip, knee and foot pain
- tendonitis
- osteoarthritis
- scoliosis
- jaw pain (TMJ dysfunction)
Yes! Chiropractic is widely recognised as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal complaints.
Although chiropractic has an excellent safety record, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are very small and you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning (1<100 000) than suffering a complication from a spinal adjustment (1>1000 000).
Chiropractors are well-trained health professionals who provide patients with safe, effective care for a variety of common conditions. Their extensive education (over 6 years and a Masters degree) has prepared them to identify patients who have special risk factors and to get those patients the most appropriate care, even if that requires referral to a medical specialist.
Anyone with a spine and nervous system should be checked by a Chiropractor! We see everyone from newborn infants to the elderly and pregnant women.
A Chiropractor's main concerns are your spine and nervous system and how well both are functioning. The normal Chiropractic procedure includes the following:
The Chiropractor will evaluate the structure of each vertebral segment/pelvis and ensure that they are moving freely and not fixed in any way. Any such displacement or ‘jammed’ vertebra (called a subluxation) can cause a change to how the nervous system is able to relay information. Therefore any problem in any one of the vertebral joints can affect the related part of your nervous system, which in turn can lead to such symptoms as pain in the back or neck as well as many other spinal problems.
A Chiropractor will evaluate and identify any problem that might exist within the spine to correct any dysfunction that might be present.
Adjustments are usually pain-free when performed by a qualified Chiropractor. In some cases patients may experience minor discomfort, depending on the amount of inflammation and tension in the affected area.
Following treatment, some patients may experience mild tenderness or stiffness as normal movement patterns are restored; these feelings of tenderness are completely normal.
Other patients experience an immediate relief from their symptoms. Current research shows that minor discomfort or soreness following adjustments typically fades within 24 hours.
Absolutely! Chiropractic care is widely used to support healthy pregnancy.
Pregnant moms are more susceptible to sacral and pelvic subluxations (restrictions) because of increased hormones (relaxin), weight gain, and associated changes in her posture.
Pregnant moms find that Chiropractic adjustments improve their pregnancy, make delivery easier for the mother and baby and help restore poor posture and pelvic balance.
Yes, Chiropractic treatment is different for babies and children. The techniques are varied to suit their spines. A baby’s spine is very supple during the first few months of life, so the chiropractor applies only slight pressure to make an adjustment.
Adjustment of a joint may result in the release of a gas bubble between the joints, which makes a popping sound. The same thing occurs when you “crack” your knuckles. The noise is caused by the change of pressure within the joint, which results in gas bubbles being released. There is usually minimal, if any, discomfort involved.
Most parents bring their baby or child to on of our practices because they are concerned about a particular issue or because they believe the birth process for their baby was traumatic.
Common concerns parents have for their babies include: Irritability, baby favours one side or has a flat head, feeding concerns, baby dislikes dressing or undressing, dislikes being in the car seat, discomfort when crawling or walking or appear in discomfort while sleeping.
Common concerns parents have for their toddlers/children include: Sleep disturbances; falls such as off the bed, couch, bike or play equipment; postural concerns, awkward walking style, tripping over their own feet/clumsiness.
When you bring your baby or child to one of our practices, our chiropractor will ask for a thorough history. This will allow her to learn all about your baby/child and any concerns you have. She then performs a physical examination tailored to your baby/child and their main issue.
Our chiropractor will explain her findings: whether she believes she can help or not; what appropriate treatment is involved and whether further examination or treatment from other health professionals should be explored or not. This initial assessment is thorough and detailed.
Chiropractic treatments for babies and children are modified for their age, size and particular issue. Our chiropractor explains and demonstrates any proposed treatment clearly. She will only start with treatment if parents are comfortable to proceed.
Typically, Dr Chantel will treat babies and children on the first visit, unless something in the history or initial assessment warrants further examination.