FAQ Page

Q What can I expect on my first visit?
A The first visit to Trinity will be with Dr. Bryson, who will sit down and talk to you about your health complaints. He will also inquire about family history, dietary habits, other care you may have had, (chiropractic, osteopathic, medical, etc.), your job and other questions designed to help determine the nature of you illness and the best way to go about treating the problem. A physical examination may be performed according to Dr. Bryson's discretion which may include x-rays, laboratory analysis and other diagnostic procedures. In addition, a careful spinal examination and analysis will be preformed to detect any structural and/ or functional abnormalities which may be affecting or causing your condition. All of these elements are important components of your total health profile and vital to the doctor of chiropractic in evaluating your problem.
Q What other services do you offer besides chiropractic?
A Our office offers a variety of alternative health treatments, including soft tissue rehabilitation, neuromuscular re-education, core stabilization, nutritional consulting and massage. We also have a natural family resource store.
Q What is chiropractic?
A Chiropractic is the science, philosophy and art based upon the understanding that good health depends upon a normally functioning nervous system (especially the spine, and the nerves extending from the spine to all parts of the body). "Chiropractic" comes from the Greek word chiropraktikos, meaning "effective treatment by hand." Chiropractic stresses the idea that the cause of many disease processes begins with the body's inability to adapt to its environment. It looks to address these diseases not by the use of drugs and chemicals, but by locating and adjusting a musculoskeletal area of the body which is functioning improperly.
Q What conditions benefit from chiropractic care?
A Although chiropractic has been recognized as the best treatment for low back pain, studies have found it to be effective for a variety of conditions, such as migraine headaches, neck and shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, and infantile colic. Most recently the JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDIC MEDICINE recognized it as the only proven effective treatment for whiplash injuries.
Q Does Chiropractic Hurt?
A Under normal circumstances, adjustments don't hurt. The patient may experience a minor amount of discomfort during the adjustment which lasts only seconds.
Q What is the "cracking/popping" sound?
A Your spinal joints contain a fluid known as synovium. The synovial fluid contains dissolved gases; mostly carbon dioxide. When your spine is adjusted, a vacuum is created within the joint as the joint surfaces are distracted and the dissolved gasses come out of solution, forming a gas bubble. This vacuum often creates a "pop". This is the same reason for the noise created as you "pop" your knuckles.
Contrary to popular belief, treatment success is not dependent on this noise. Motion has been shown to occur in the joint with or without a cavitation, or "popping" sound.
Q Is Chiropractic safe?
A Chiropractic adjustments or manipulations are extremely safe. The risk factor is estimated to be in excess of one million to one. Your chances of being struck by lightning are greater than you having a problem with chiropractic.
Q What kind of education and training do doctors of chiropractic have?
A Chiropractors receive an education that emphasizes neuromuscular diagnosis and treatment. Preparation for the practice of chiropractic is concentrated on three areas of
learning; basic training in the biological and health sciences (anatomy, physiology, histology, biochemistry, clinical and radiological diagnosis); specialized training in the chiropractic discipline (theoretical studies, practice, diagnosis and applications); and extensive clinical training.
Q Have any studies been published showing what chiropractic is effective for?
A Numerous studies have shown that chiropractic manipulation is both safe and effective. The following are findings from several recent studies, showing chiropractic is not only an effective treatment procedure, but also that it offers significant health care savings:

FOR ACUTE/CHRONIC PAIN
"Patients with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher for chiropractic patients. A higher proportion of chiropractic patients (56 percent vs. 13 percent) reported that their low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain was worse or much worse."
-- Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Nyiendo et al. (2000),

In a Randomized controlled trial, 183 patients with neck pain were randomly allocated to manual therapy (spinal mobilization), physiotherapy (mainly exercise) or general practitioner care (counseling, education and drugs) in a 52-week study. The clinical outcomes measures showed that manual therapy resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy and general practitioner care. Moreover, total costs of the manual therapy-treated patients were about one-third of the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care.
-- British Medical Journal, Korthals-de Bos et al. (2003)

IN COMPARISON TO OTHER TREATMENTS
"Acute and chronic chiropractic patients experienced better outcomes in pain, functional disability, and patient satisfaction; clinically important differences in pain and disability improvement were found for chronic patients."
-- Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Haas et al. (2005)

"In our randomized, controlled trial, we compared the effectiveness of manual therapy, physical therapy, and continued care by a general practitioner in patients with nonspecific neck pain. The success rate at seven weeks was twice as high for the manual therapy group (68.3 percent) as for the continued care group (general practitioner). Manual therapy scored better than physical therapy on all outcome measures. Patients receiving manual therapy had fewer absences from work than patients receiving physical therapy or continued care, and manual therapy and physical therapy each resulted in statistically significant less analgesic use than continued care."
-- Annals of Internal Medicine, Hoving et al. (2002)

FOR HEADACHES
"Cervical spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement in headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck pain and/or neck dysfunction and headache."
-- Duke Evidence Report, McCrory, Penzlen, Hasselblad, Gray (2001)

"The results of this study show that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches. . . Four weeks after cessation of treatment . . . the patients who received spinal manipulative therapy experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in all major outcomes in contrast to the patients that received amitriptyline therapy, who reverted to baseline values."
-- Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Boline et al. (1995)

FOR THE ELDERLY
"[Elderly] chiropractic users were less likely to have been hospitalized, less likely to have used a nursing home, more likely to report a better health status, more likely to exercise vigorously, and more likely to be mobile in the community. In addition, they were less likely to use prescription drugs."
-- Topics in Clinical Chiropractic, Coulter et al. (1996)

PATIENT SATISFACTION
"Chiropractic patients were found to be more satisfied with their back care providers after four weeks of treatment than were medical patients. Results from observational studies suggested that back pain patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than with medical care. Additionally, studies conclude that patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than they were with physical therapy after six weeks."
-- American Journal of Public Health, Hertzman-Miller et al. (2002)

Trinity Chiropractic
3120 'O' Street, Suite B
Lincoln, NE 68510

P 402.476.6767
F 402.476.6003