5 Tips Before Using Your Chiropractic Insurance

Chiropractic insurance is becoming more and more common as chiropractic care is gradually gaining wider acceptance in the medical community as demonstrably beneficial for a growing list of conditions. Help in reducing acute/chronic pain and in getting the nervous system to function at optimum levels are (broadly speaking) the two main benefits of modern chiropractic’s.

Conditions and Stages of Treatment

Chiropractic care is commonly used for such conditions as lower back pain, other forms of back/neck pain, spinal cord disorders, sciatica, chronic migraine headaches, soft tissue pain, strains/sprains, and joint stiffness/pain. With chiropractic care, these conditions are treated without resort to surgery or prescription drugs.

Chiropractic care will generally involve three stages:

1. The initial pain relief and restoration of functionality to any muscles or areas of the body suffering from restricted mobility.
2. The "rehab stage," which is important both to complete the treatment and to prevent a potential relapse.
3. Optionally, a "maintenance stage" to promote lifestyle changes and maximize overall health, wellness, and comfort.

When to Use Your Chiropractic Insurance

Ideally, one would use his or her chiropractic insurance for every ache and pain that could possibly benefit from chiropractic care. However, in a less than ideal world, people have limited funds, limited coverage, and can see their premiums go up if they overuse their insurance policies.

Therefore, we offer below 5 things to consider in seeking to use your chiropractic insurance as prudently as possible:

• Urgent care must be prioritized. If bouts of lower back pain, for example, are making it difficult for you to work, sleep, and get through your day, do not hesitate to utilize your insurance policy. (Initial recovery from sports injuries/whiplash are considered "urgent.")
• Acute and short-term care is more fully covered by most chiropractic insurers. Before trying to use the insurance for long-term, chronic conditions, make sure your policy adequately covers it.
• Visits for Stage One are usually rather frequent, medium-paced for Stage Two, and widely spaced for Stage Three. Most insurers do not cover Stage Three, so focus on using your policy mostly for Stage One care, and perhaps, for Stage Two.
• Understand your policy financially. Based on your co-pay amount and available funds, calculate how many chiropractic visits you can afford within a given period of time, so there will be no unpleasant surprises down the road.

• All conditions are not covered in most policies. Back pain is well accepted as benefiting from chiropractic care and will almost certainly be covered. Total costs will likely be lower, in fact, in treating back pain with the help of a chiropractor than without it. However, some other conditions, such as migraines, are less frequently covered. As insurers "catch up" with researchers, however, more conditions keep getting added.

Chiropractic insurance coverage can enable you to see a chiropractor right when you need one most, even if your financial situation is not at its best at the moment. It can also potentially save you money as compared to getting chiropractic care without such insurance and even as compared to treating a condition without getting chiropractic care.

Finding a chiropractor who accepts and gives you the maximum benefit from your insurance policy is also key. In downtown Toronto as well as in the Greater Toronto Area, Chiro-Med Rehab Centre specializes in chiropractic care, massage therapy, and custom orthotic services. Contact us to book your services today!