Frequently Asked Questions in Rochester Hills MI

Yes, chiropractors are board certified practitioners with the title of Doctor. They go through undergraduate and graduate studies, along with a series of National Boards to receive licensure. The schooling typically consists of four years of undergraduate education, followed by a minimum of 3-4 years of chiropractic college. Doctors of Chiropractic go through student interning while in school, and have the option of doing a clinic abroad while in school as well. Upon graduation, the Doctor of Chiropractic is ready to see patients.

Yes, there are different philosophies when it comes to chiropractic care. Some chiropractors, like The Joint, will have a “stop in as the patient deems necessary” approach to care recommendations. Some chiropractors are what are called “patch care” chiropractors, meaning they will see the patient until they are out of pain, and then release them from care at that time.

Some offices (like Buller Chiropractic) are called “corrective care and wellness” offices, where they work to correct and reduce the number of stress points (problem areas or subluxations) in the spine ultimately leading to the pain and “dis-ease” someone experiences. Once these subluxations are reduced or corrected, wellness or maintenance care is a recommendation given to patients to help continue toward their health goals.

Chiropractors treat something called a subluxation. A subluxation is a joint in the spine that has gotten locked up, stuck, and restricted, ultimately causing irritation on the nerve that exits that joint and causing dysfunction to whatever that nerve supplies information to. That nerve might be a pain nerve, or it might be a nerve to a specific organ system of the body like the heart or the lungs.

While chiropractors never say that they can treat things like sleep issues, high blood pressure, digestive issues, or female issues, we see an indirect positive effect when these subluxations are reduced and the body and nervous system are able to work better.

When it comes to chiropractic care, each patient is treated differently based on his or her health challenges, length of time the problem has been there, and the severity of his or her case. So when it comes to care and cost, it varies widely. Insurance also plays a role in the cost of care.

For a cash patient at our office, the average cost per visit can range from $65-$95 depending on the services rendered. We also offer discounts based on how the patient decides to pay for care that can provide significant savings to the individual.

When it comes to insurance, each policy is different. We look at each policy to determine the covered and noncovered services that will be recommended based on the patient’s initial consultation and examination. Many policies have something called a deductible that must be met before the insurance company pays anything. While we do our best to understand each policy, there are times where discrepancies can exist in the information provided by the insurance company.

While we try to work as in-network providers with most insurance companies, there are times when we choose not to participate as an in-network provider. The reasons for this can include: the insurance company not paying in a timely manner or rejecting services without proper reasoning, trying to dictate a patient’s care recommendations and the ability to use their benefits, or having a reimbursement amount below the cost required to see a patient in the office.

Many practitioners (including non-chiropractors like dentists and orthopedists) have experienced the increasing difficulty of working with insurance companies and are now what are called out of network providers. Many insurance policies have Out-of-Network benefits for their insureds. A practitioner can supply you with something called a Superbill for services rendered during your care that you can directly submit to your insurance company to seek reimbursement. The insurance company will then reimburse you directly if these services are covered as part of your out-of-network benefits.

Being out of network can also provide some savings to you because an office can offer time of service discounts for care that they could not if they were participating in the network.

Insurances our office is currently out-of-network with include: all Medicaid programs (including Priority Health Medicaid and UHC Community Plan), Humana, Blue Care Network, Meritain, Meridian, Molina, Aetna, and Cofinity.

This is another great question that we often receive. Some patients come in expecting to get one “quick fix” adjustment, but this is not the case for 99% of our patient population. The answer truly depends on a few key details in the patient’s history and examination. First off, how long has the health challenge or symptom been occurring for? While many patients come into the office when a new episode of pain occurs, what we often find out is that this problem has been occurring on and off for years. Also, has the patient had any injuries in the past like a car accident or a sports injury, even if they were years ago? What does the patient do for work? Lastly, what is the age of the individual? An elderly patient heals much slower than a professional athlete, for example. All this helps in determining the patient’s healing time.

The examination and X-rays tell the other part of the story. We take specific X-rays of the problem area (including something called a motion study) to determine three things. First, how many subluxations does the patient have? Second, is there a loss of the normal curvature in the spine? Third, are there signs of degeneration present?

Once the doctors have this information and have time to analyze everything, a specific care plan is put together for you to help correct these problems in the spine. Typically care frequency to start with is three times a week as this is what the research shows provides the best benefit to the patient to correct their problems. For some individuals this may last a few weeks, for others it could be a few months. Each person is a unique individual, and each person heals differently. The best way to understand this approach is that health is not a one-time event, it is a journey.

The short answer, absolutely! We work with many pregnant patients throughout their pregnancy as there are many benefits to care during this time. For those who come in as new patients with these symptoms, many can get these resolved without having to resort to any type of pain medication. There are no X-rays taken while someone is pregnant. Instead, our office uses a computerized stress analysis along with the examination that helps in creating a care plan unique to the expecting mother. The research has shown that chiropractic care helps to reduce the possibility of lower back pain or sciatica from developing during pregnancy. This in turn also helps the pregnant patient be active throughout their pregnancy and avoid the risk of needing bedrest. As the expecting mother gets closer to her delivery date, there are specific techniques our doctors are trained in to help make sure the baby and mother are ready for the big day.

We work with all ages of children when it comes to chiropractic care. Our youngest patient has been just a few hours old when receiving the first adjustment. The adjustments for a child are very different than an adult adjustment. Typically there is no sound produced by the adjustment, and the amount of pressure required for an adjustment is very light. The doctors may even utilize something called an Activator (handheld adjusting instrument) to adjust a little one. Our doctors are trained to evaluate all ages of children and infants and provide specific pediatric adjustments. Some symptoms we have seen reduce or resolve in children include: colic, ear infections, digestive issues like acid reflux, vomiting, or constipation, latching difficulties during breastfeeding, and trouble sleeping. The doctors have also had cases of ADHD and other learning disabilities become less severe after chiropractic adjustments. While some insurances do cover pediatric chiropractic adjustments, others do not. If this is the case, our office offers cash care plans for the child’s care.

Our doctors are extremely thorough in their approach to patient care and do not like to do guesswork when it comes to your spine and your health. Because of this, the doctors do not typically adjust you on your first visit as they are gathering all the details required to provide you with the most specific care possible. It takes the better part of an hour to put together the combined details from your examination and your X-rays. This is why the doctors will try and schedule a report time as soon as the next day to review your findings with you and go over treatment options. If you have any questions regarding this, we ask you speak with the doctor directly on your initial consultation visit.

We typically recommend wearing “athletic style” clothing to your visit. If the doctor deems X-rays will be necessary during your examination, wearing clothes without a zipper or metal means you will likely not have to change into a gown or shorts. Also, limiting the amount of jewelry you are wearing on your initial visit will help to speed up the process of preparing you for any X-rays taken.

For any other visits in the office, you can wear normal clothing and there should be no issue with receiving your chiropractic adjustment and any therapies.

Chiropractic wellness care is a form of preventative care that helps ensure your spine and nervous system are working at their optimal levels. Research has shown that wellness care (or maintenance care) helps reduce hospitalizations and can also reduce the likelihood of a fall in the elderly population.

Our patients say they use wellness care for a variety of reasons, such as: prevention of injury, improved athletic performance, maintaining healthy movement in the joints of their spines, slowing or stopping the development of degenerative changes in the spine that come with injuries and poor posture, as well as improved gut health, improved sleep, and stress relief.

Most insurances state in their physician and insured guidelines that they only cover rehabilitative (or active) care. This means that we are working towards getting a patient back to pre-injury status following a trauma or specific pain symptom in their spine. Typically, insurance companies want to see that we are working towards specific goals with the patient, including the reduction of the specific pain that brings them in and getting them back to the normal activities of daily living. Usually active care means that we are seeing the patient at a frequency of two to three times a week for a set period of time. Once the patient reaches functional stability, whether through the elimination of pain or creating a more stable condition for the patient, then any further care is considered maintenance in nature. At this time, the patient is either released from active care in the office, or chooses to pay out of pocket for wellness care.