For the past two months, COVID-19 restrictions have allowed us to see only acute/urgent care patients. Now that Phase II is rolling out and we’re able to see non-urgent patients again, I thought this would be a great time to touch on the importance of maintenance care.

 Many of you are currently feeling the effects of a forced hiatus from your regular care plan, and I don’t just mean not being able to come to our office. Gyms are closed, pools are shut down, and most of your regular practitioners are unable to see you until government restrictions are lifted. This has also been a time of increased stress, fear and worry, none of which are health promoting emotions. For many, this has resulted in significant physical pain and changes. Having seen what many of our long time patients look like after being misaligned for several months, I can say with complete certainty that much of that pain is avoidable, and that it’s much easier to prevent than it is to correct. It’s sort of like putting thousands of miles on your car; you know that changing the oil regularly is the right thing to do, and it’s a lot easier than waiting to replace the entire engine when it inevitably breaks down!

  Some of our patients who have gotten themselves into acute pain situations during our forced closure have come into the office with their worst posture in years and recurrence of old symptoms. When that happens, more frequent visits will be required to re-balance their posture and get them back to feeling well. Sadly, the entire situation may have been avoided if they had been seen a month sooner. Obviously due to the current circumstances people have stayed away for the greater good of keeping our community safe, so missed appointments have been unavoidable and we’re grateful for your cooperation. However, the doctors here at Straight Spine are well aware that we’ll be putting in some extra effort trying to get people back to their pre-COVID level of health, so don’t be alarmed if we recommend seeing you sooner than your usual appointment interval to get you back on track!

    Another important takeaway from the last couple months is that pain is a lagging indicator that a problem is present. Usually, postural measurements will start to deviate before things break down to the point of pain, which is a perfect time to get adjusted so we can avoid a big problem. Think of your postural changes like the check engine light, if we notice it and deal with it right away, we can prevent ending up broken down on the side of the road (OK last car analogy I promise). On the other side of the coin, just because we’ve gotten you out of pain doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is gone. Often times, you’ll feel better before the tissues that were causing your pain have healed completely, which is why we want you to ease back into activities and get back into the office for a check-up before the pain starts up again. This way we can help you manage your injuries and give you the best chance of healing! 

 The team here at Straight Spine is thrilled to be able to see you all again! Personally, I’ll be glad to see some smiling faces as many of you come in for your regular check-ups. Even though I’m happy to get people out of pain, it’s a lot more fun keeping you smiling than it is trying get you out of trouble!