Ask Dr. Johanna: 5 Common Questions New Patients Have at Catalyst Chiropractic
People often ask us many great questions at the Catalyst Chiropractic office–either for themselves or for family members and friends who they may be bringing with them to a future visit.
Q: If someone has arthritis is it safe for them to be adjusted?
A: Yes, it’s definitely safe to adjust someone with arthritis. Part of the process is to actually assess their spine because arthritis is a very generic term for disc degeneration. So, what we do at Catalyst Chiropractic is find out the specific levels. So, if your doctor told you that they did an x-ray and you have some arthritis in your spine, we will look at the x-ray or we will take our own. We will see what specific levels of degeneration you have–and is it preventing specific bones from moving appropriately.
Q: Does Catalyst Chiropractic accept Medicare?
A: We do! We’re a participating provider with Medicare, which means I can bill Medicare directly for your care. We make sure you know up front what the costs will be to you, and what Medicare will cover. We also monitor when/if Medicare decides that they may no longer cover your treatment, so you do not get any billing surprises.
Our office manager, Alex Newbold, will explain what Medicare can cover for your treatment. For other insurance, Alex also calls and makes sure to get all of the coverage information together for you. This is especially valuable since every insurance company is different. Alex is our on-site insurance and Medicare specialist. He brings over ten years of experience in the health care industry, where he worked in a large HMO to the task to make sure you get all of the correct information.
Q: Can pregnant women still get chiropractic adjustments?
A: It is quite safe to get adjusted while pregnant. As with any patient, there would be an evaluation to specifically assess their safety for adjusting–and to determine what the correct technique would be for that person. When Dr. Johanna was pregnant, she continued to get adjustments through the duration of her pregnancy. And, many of her patients have said that it has been fantastic for relieving body aches–because when you’re pregnant you want to avoid taking any kind of medications. So, adjustments can help to avoid taking medications during pregnancy for normal body aches and pains.
Q: If someone has had a spinal fusion, can they still get adjusted?
A: Absolutely. At Catalyst Chiropractic, we have worked with several patients with spinal fusions who have had fantastic results. Obviously if there’s been a fusion, we don’t adjust that area and we’re not going to want to or try to undo it! But, we can make sure that the areas above and below the fused area of the spine are all working appropriately. And if other parts of the spine are having problems we can help take care of those as well to try to prevent future spinal fusions.
Q: Does Dr. Johanna Newbold still get chiropractic adjustments?
A: Yes, she does. Right now, she is receiving supportive maintenance care with a chiropractor in town. She goes at least once a week because she finds that it helps her stay in tip-top shape for taking care of her patients. As an avid runner, she knows that regular chiropractic care is essential to faster recovery times after endurance events and training. Even when she runs really hard in a race, she’s already beginning to recover just 30 minutes later. More importantly she finds that she isn’t in pain the next day after a race.