Your First Visit
Consultation
Your first visit to our office is designed to feel comfortable and informative. Our office is one of a family chiropractic environment, where all ages are welcome. Our goal is to make you feel comfortable asking questions of any type of staff or of the doctor that you may have. No question is too simple or too complex – we are always open to your questions and your thoughts.
We will first ask you to provide some information about you and your condition. We ask that you please bring any insurance cards or claims information with you so that we can assist you in making sure the correct paperwork is completed and filed on your behalf to optimize the care provided by your healthcare benefits should you have such. If you do not have insurance, then our office is definitely the right place for you. Our commitment is to providing chiropractic health care to all of the Gainesville community at values that do not require insurance coverage.
Upon completion of your patient health questionnaire, Dr. Mionie will then talk with you and ask you some specific questions regarding your condition. He will take a history of your medical condition, discuss your symptoms and proceed with a physical examination. The doctor will assess whether you could benefit from Chiropractic care. If not, then he will make a recommendation and referral to the type of care from which you may benefit.
Physical Examination & X-Rays
Dr. Mionie will conduct a thorough chiropractic examination, including taking your blood pressure, testing reflexes, flexibility, as well as other orthopedic, neurological, postural, and physical examination tests. The doctor will gain valuable information as input into formulating a comprehensive treatment plan specific to your condition and your capabilities. If necessary, Dr. Mionie may take x-rays as an additional point of information in determining your condition, as well as a benchmark to measure and show your continued progress under his care.
Your Second Visit
Report of Findings & Treatment Plan
After your first visit, which included the completion of initial new patient forms, and the physical examination and x-ray by the doctor, your x-rays will be processed, and Dr. Mionie will explain your physical examination results, your x-rays, and any other information relevant to your condition (i.e., medical history, any history of injury; medical reports; etc.). He will then formulate his Report of Findings.
He will discuss this Report of Findings with you on your second visit, as well as the proposed plan of treatment. You will discuss with the doctor your investment in this treatment plan, key progress benchmark points, his plan for helping you maintain your adjustments between visits, as well as his focus on restoring you to optimal health free of any long-term dependence upon chiropractic care.
What is Chiropractic?
The Association of Chiropractic Colleges defines chiropractic as "a healthcare discipline that emphasizes the inherent recuperative power of the body to heal itself without the use of drugs or surgery. The practice of chiropractic focuses on the relationship between structure (primarily the spine) and function (as coordinated by the nervous system) and how that relationship affects the preservation and restoration of health."
Chiropractic is based on the anatomy of the human body and its functioning, which has shown that the nervous system controls the function of every cell, tissue, organ, and system in your body. The nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, and millions of nerves – which continuously send and receive nerve impulses during the normal functioning of the body. The brain is protected by the skull, and the spinal cord is protected by the 24 movable bones (vertebrae) of the spine.
Physical (falls; accidents; repetitive movements; etc.), chemical (food toxins; prescription or non-prescription drugs; alcohol; etc.), and emotional (stress) stressors can cause these spinal bones to be moved out of position, causing nervous system blockage, resulting in inflammation, tension, adhesions, and other joint mobility restrictions.
Doctors of Chiropractic perform spinal adjustments, normalizing nerve impulses and balancing muscle tensions, which, in turn, restores health, reduces pain, increases range of motion, and boosts the immune system's ability to protect the body naturally.
Why Chiropractic?
Chiropractic Care is Both Safe and Effective
Safe. Treatment has broadened from Family Chiropractic to include all ages and stages – from Pregnancy in Chiropractic, to Pediatric Chiropractic, to Seniors, experiencing the vast benefits of care.
Though there have traditionally between disparities in the ways that Doctors of Chiropractic and Medical Doctors have viewed healthcare and how they approach such, there have been great synergies in the past decade in these healthcare professionals coming together to offer patients the very best of care. Like the body is a balance of Biology and Chemistry, so should healthcare represent a balance of approaches, all in the interest of optimal care for its patients.
Based upon the continuous research findings released on behalf of Chiropractic methodologies and results, the American Medical Association (AMA) stated in 1997 that, "Manipulation has been shown to have a reasonably good degree of efficacy in ameliorating back pain, headache, and similar musculoskeletal complaints." They went on to endorse the referral of patients to Chiropractors with the following statement: "A physician may refer a patient for diagnostic or therapeutic services to a chiropractor permitted by law to furnish such services whenever the physician believes that this may benefit his or her patient" 1. Additionally, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that when "employed skillfully and appropriately, chiropractic care is safe and effective for the prevention and management of a number of health problems."2 The International Chiropractic Association (ICA) states that chiropractic is one of the safest health professions, citing that Chiropractors have some of the lowest malpractice insurance premiums, due to this record of safety, in the healthcare industry3. Estimates of serious complications from chiropractic care range from 1 in 400,000 manipulations (less than .0003%) to 1 in 5 million manipulations, whereas complications from cervical spine surgery, are at a rate of 3-4%, and 4,000-10,000 deaths per million occur each year from neck surgeries4.
1. American Chiropractic Association
2. WHO guidelines on basic training and safety in chiropractic, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2005. ISBN 92-4-159371-7
3. ICPA Website
4. American Chiropractic Association
Effective. Studies and articles continue to document the safety and efficacy of chiropractic care for a number of conditions. From pregnancy to delivery, to toddlerhood, childhood, teen years, adulthood, and into senior adulthood, chiropractic care has proven to dramatically improve a vast number of conditions and improve quality of life. Below are some studies illustrating the efficacy of chiropractic care:
ADD. Chiropractic Manipulation an Important Non-drug Intervention in ADD. The majority of the children in this study improved under specific chiropractic care. The results of the study are not conclusive; however, they do suggest that chiropractic manipulation has the potential to become an important non-drug intervention for children with hyperactivity.
Giesen JM, Center DB, Leach RA. An evaluation of chiropractic manipulation as a treatment of hyperactivity in children. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 12 (5): 353-363 (Oct 1989)
Asthma. Children under chiropractic care showed a 96.5% non-occurrence rate of asthma. The authors of this study concluded that the immune systems of children under chiropractic care are better able to cope with allergens that may cause asthmatic conditions.
Van Breda WM; van Breda JM. A Comparative Study Of The Health Status Of The Health Status Of Children Raised Under The Health Care Models Of Chiropractic And Allopathic Medicine. J Chiro Res 1989; 5:101-3
Blood Pressure. Atlas Vertebra Realignment and Achievement of Arterial Pressure Goal in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Study (Jan 25, 2007). The study concluded that blood pressure increases due to anatomical abnormalities of the cervical spine at the level of the Atlas vertebra are markedly and sustainably reduced when Atlas alignment is restored via chiropractic care, with results similar to the use of two-drug combination therapy.
Ear Infections. A promising study published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics indicates that there is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustments and the resolution of ear infections. The results show that close to 80% of the children in the study did not experience another ear infection within the six-month period following their initial visits. Fallon, JM. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics Vol 2, No. 2 1997 p.167-183
Immune System. Chiropractic Care and the Immune System. There is an increasing body of evidence that the nervous system is capable of modulating the immune response. Receptors for neuromodulators and neurohormones have been found on human T lymphocytes. Activation of these receptors can be stimulatory or inhibitory depending on the neuroactive substance. The immune system may be able to communicate with the nervous system using neuromodulators and neurohormones secreted by lymphocytes. Sympathetic innervation of lymphoid tissues is not restricted to blood vessels and smooth muscle but directly supplies lymphocytes and blood precursor cells. It is theorized that spinal fixations may adversely affect the immune response through somatosympathetic reflexes. Spinal manipulation can correct the spinal fixations and may eliminate the adverse effects of somatosympathetic reflexes.
Neck Pain. Manipulation is Effective for Neck Pain and Safer than NSAIDs. Evidence indicates that cervical manipulation for neck pain is much safer than the use of NSAIDs, by as much as a factor of several hundred times. There was no evidence that indicated NSAID use to be any more effective than cervical manipulation for neck pain.
Dabbs V, Lauretti WJ. A risk assessment of cervical manipulation vs. NSAIDs for the treatment of neck pain. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1996; 18 (8) 530-6
Pregnancy. Chiropractic Manipulation Relieves Sacroiliac Subluxation Associated With Pregnancy. A retrospective review of 100 consecutive pregnancies involving 94 women receiving prenatal care at a rural western New York family practice was conducted. Back pain was spontaneously reported to the physician by 23 women in 23 pregnancies. Eleven of the 23 women met diagnostic criteria for sacroiliac subluxation. After manipulative therapy, 10 of the 11 women (91%) had relief of pain and no longer exhibited signs of sacroiliac subluxation. Daly JM, Frame PS, Rapoza PA. Sacroiliac Subluxation: A Common Treatable Cause of Low Back Pain in Pregnancy. Fam Prac Res J 1991;11(2):149-159
Chiropractic Education
Doctors of Chiropractic are educated as primary contact healthcare providers. As such, they are approved by federal and state authorities to diagnose and treat conditions within the realm of their training without a referral from other healthcare providers.
The education of a Doctor of Chiropractic is very similar to that of a Medical Doctor (M.D.). Chiropractic students typically enter chiropractic college with four years of pre-med undergraduate coursework completed. Once accepted into an accredited chiropractic college, they complete another, on average, four to five academic years of professional study. In addition to coursework in Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Organic and Inorganic Chemistry, Pathology, Neurology, and other relevant areas of study, Chiropractors spend a significant amount of time in clinical training.
In total, the chiropractic curriculum includes over 4400 hours of classroom, laboratory, and clinical experience, followed, after graduation, by stringent requirements for ongoing, continuous education. This course of study is approved by the Council on Chiropractic Education, an accreditation agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education.
Similarities in courses and lab work between Doctors of Chiropractic and Medical Doctors and Doctors of Osteopathy can be seen below. Differences are such that medical practitioners emphasize surgery and pharmacology, thus requiring more Chemistry and Pathology, while Chiropractors focus on the diagnosis of musculoskeletal and nervous system disorders and treatment, requiring more Physiology, Neurology, and Radiology training.
| 520 | Anatomy | 508 |
| 420 | Physiology | 326 |
| 271 | Pathology | 335 |
| 300 | Chemistry | 325 |
| 114 | Bacteriology | 130 |
| 370 | Diagnosis | 374 |
| 320 | Neurology | 112 |
| 217 | X-Ray | 148 |
| 65 | Psychiatry | 144 |
| 65 | Obstetrics & Gynecology | 198 |
| 225 | Orthopedics | 156 |
| 2,887 | Total Hours | 2,756 |
| 1,598 | Specialty Courses | 1,492 |
| 4,485 | Entire Total Hours | 4,248 |