New Patients
Here at Absolute Wellness Centers, we love seeing patients! Whether you find us through a friend or online, we always welcome new faces.
We strive to give our patients the very best chiropractic care available. We work hard to offer the most up-to-date chiropractic services. We want you to walk out of each appointment feeling better than when you walked in. It is always our goal to improve your life through our specialized and individualized chiropractic care.
We want you to enjoy your time seeing us. You will be greeted by our friendly and knowledgeable receptionist and staff, and your chiropractic needs will be taken care of by our compassionate doctors.
We strive to keep our office clean and welcoming. Our aim is to offer you a calm and relaxing environment so you can feel comfortable and right at home.
When visiting us, you should expect nothing but the absolute best. We appreciate your business and truly look forward to serving you in the future.
If you have any questions regarding your first visit, click here to send message online or call (813) 654-5413 for the Brandon office or (813) 488-6315 for the Riverview office.
What to Bring to Your First Appointment?
On your first visit to our office, please bring your drivers' license and insurance card. Please arrive 10-15 minutes before your first appointment to fill out the necessary paperwork.
Realistic Expectations For Seeing A Chiropractor
Many patients entering a chiropractors office for the first time may experience an uneasy feeling largely because they are uncertain about what to expect before, during or after their treatments. We have also found that many of our patients have unrealistic expectations for their care, which can ultimately cause them to become disappointed with chiropractic in general. Since patient satisfaction is our highest priority, letting you know what you can realistically expect during your care becomes the first step toward wellness.
The first step towards aligning our expectations with reality is to discuss what it is chiropractors do? Chiropractors specialize in treating physical problems. To explain what we mean, we should start by saying that all doctors are specialists in their own field. Any doctor is going to be the most successful when they treat the cause of the problem and not just the symptoms. For example, when you go to a medical doctor you would expect him to recommend some type of medication. This medication is a chemical. Even though chemicals are great at solving chemical problems, no amount of chemicals can solve a physical problem. Of course, medication can make the pain go away for awhile, but at that point you are just treating the symptoms.
The realities of having a physical problem are two fold. First of all, most patients who have a physical problem usually have physical symptoms. Physical symptoms can be anything from pain, discomfort, poor performance or a nagging feeling that something is not right. The second part of having a physical problem is that you will need some type of physical solution. For our purpose, this means that “if we don’t do something too you, we can’t do something for you.” It also means that if you can not move your body around without it hurting, there is no way that your doctor can move it around with out it hurting as well. This is where your pain tolerance and your level of comfort with chiropractic come into play.
It may sound strange, but the goal of your first visit is not to fix you. The goal is to get started fixing you and becoming committed to the process of change. The truth is that most patients did not get in the condition they are in overnight and they will not get better overnight. Going to a chiropractor is a lot like going back to the gym. You would not expect to get in great shape by going to the gym once. On the other hand, if you over train on your first visit back to the gym, then you may be so sore you never want to go back. This is why there is a catch 22 when it comes to making positive physical changes to your body. We don’t want to do so little on your first visit that we don’t change anything, nor do we want to make so many changes that you get overly sore. Simply put, “too much of a good thing” can literally feel like a bad thing.
So what can you expect as far as improvement on your first visit? Most of our patients get 10-20% improvement on their first visit, which unfortunately does not feel like a lot. Sometimes a patient will notice that some of their range of motion comes back. Sometimes they simply sleep better or they notice that the pain is not as sharp. Often, a patient will actually be more sore and this is especially true if they also received a massage. This soreness is a result of the release of inflammation in a chronically swollen joint. Since motion is what pumps inflammation out of a joint, reestablishing proper alignment and motion to a painful area is the only way to release the inflammation trapped in the joint. Once the inflammation is out of the joint and into the surrounding tissues, the body’s reaction is to get sore. This process may feel bad in the short term, but restoring function is the only long term solution. As each visit begins to add additional improvements, the results begin to speak for themselves. This is why our office is full of patients who understand the benefits of Chiropractic and keep coming back. It is our sincere wish that you also receive the benefits of a new level of wellness through treatments offered at Absolute Wellness Centers.
Your Five Keys To Health
The human body is the most complex machine on earth! But no matter how perfect the body is, it still needs maintenance and check ups like everything else. Chiropractic deals with both the function and alignment of all the major joints of the body. However, this is not the only reason to see your chiropractor regularly. Since the spinal column houses the communication system of the body, misalignments of the spine have the ability to interfere with the bodies communication system. Your body is a system made up of individual parts. Like any healthy family, communication is the key to getting everyone doing their part. Chiropractic, like a good family therapist, gets everyone talking again and restores a feeling of well being and precision.
Recommendations: Since 80% of the fibers in a nerve do not have anything to do with pain, you can have up to 80% of your health being interfered with without ever feeling pain. So see your chiropractor at least once every three months. More often if you work more than 40 hours per week, participate in competitive sports or have an old injury.
A Healthy Diet
Nothing says more about our potential for health more than our regular diet because we are what we eat! There are so many diet fads and misinformation out there that it is hard not to get confused. So what should we eat? Here are a few recommendations.
Recommendations: Eat 1-2 servings of either a fruit or a vegetable with each meal. People who eat 4-5 smaller meals per day loose 70% more weight. Breakfast is the most important meal and those who eat it have the ability to lose 23% more weight. A small meal is equal to about 300 to 500 calories or about the size of 1 or 2 of your fists. If you are still hungry, extra portions of veggies or fruits are free calories. Do most of your grocery shopping out of the whole foods section of the grocery store. In general, stay away from processed foods or even foods in a box with a long list of ingredients you can’t pronounce. Avoid sugary meals and drinks as they spike your blood sugar levels and are hard on the pancreas and adrenal glands. Try to combine your meals so that you get some protein, carbohydrates and fat in a meal. Choose a leaner piece of meat like chicken or fish. Soy protein is especially good for women and beneficial for men as well. Remember, fat is not a bad word, unless it is saturated or even worse, partially hydrogenated! This means read the label on all those cookies, crackers and even processed peanut butter. Good fats include grape seed oil, olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil. Also remember, the oils found in fish, nuts and other fruits and vegetables are healthy and combat heart disease. Avoid caffeine in soda and coffee, but moderate amounts of green and black teas are OK. Milk is OK if it is skim or 1%. Butter is better than margarine, but now you should be able to find a non hydrogenated butter spread made out of canola, olive oil or grape seed. For most people convenience is why they don’t eat well. So plan for at least 10 healthy meals that you routinely eat and have the ingredients on hand. This will take some work at first, but soon everything will be a snap. Buy a garlic press and add this spice to your foods.
Healthy Snacks: Watch the size and calories of course, but in general these are OK. Protein bars, smoothies, yogurt with flax seed or granola added, cottage cheese with fruit, one scoop low fat ice cream or frozen yogurt, baked snacks like pretzels, 1 ounce of chocolate or natural peanut butter.
A Healthy Digestive System
Possibly the most over looked area of health today is in the area of the digestive system. The digestion system is responsible for breaking down, absorption, assimilation and elimination of food. This component of health is so important because the digestive system is the barrier responsible for both acquiring or getting rid of what the body does or doesn’t need.
Symptoms: Allergies, indigestion, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, ulcers, fatigue, head aches, fibromyalgia, diabetes, low back pain, skin problems, cancer and depression. There are several test that your doctor can perform in order to determine digestive problems as well.
Recommendations: Take a cleansing program along with a complete healthy bacteria supplement at least once per year or after taking antibiotics. Take digestive enzymes if you have trouble digesting your food. Chew properly, moderate your caffeine intake and drink UN-chlorinated water. Avoid antacids as they deactivate enzymes and can lead to cancer.
1 Fact: There are 3 ½ pounds of healthy bacteria in the body. These organisms help the body do things that it can’t do without them. Taking antibiotics doesn’t just kill the unhealthy bacteria in the body, but also the healthy ones as well.
Exercise
Exercise is one of the best things to help maintain your physical body and your emotional well being. Many health conditions are caused by either a lack of activity or an imbalance in activity. Imbalances can cause problems in every joint in the body, but are most common in the hands, wrists, shoulders, low back and hips. Specific exercises and stretches are necessary to correct these imbalances once they are diagnosed by your doctor.
Recommendation: Exercising should be performed 3-6 times per week. These activities should include at least three sessions consisting of 30 minutes of sustained aerobic activity. Aerobic activities include such things as: walking, running, stair stepping, elliptical trainers, biking, roller blading, aerobics classes and some sports like tennis and soccer. Weight training is also very beneficial and is best when performed 3-6 times per week for 30-60 minutes and can be combined with aerobics for maximum weight loss.
Vitamin & Mineral Supplementation
In June of 2001, the American Medical Association reversed it’s long standing view on vitamin supplementation. Fifty years of skepticism was not over turned on a whim, but by the consistent proof of research that a good diet alone is not enough. We are only just now discovering some of the types of supplements that are beneficial in the maintenance of the healthy body and in the prevention of disease. Research is showing that disease is no longer just an alien that attacks us from the outside, but rather a breakdown or failure from within due to lack of supplies or poor maintenance.
Recommendation: Everyone should take a multivitamin every day! Here are some specific recommendations: Vitamin E (400iu/day), Vitamin C (1000mg/day), B-Complex (B1, B6, B12, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Calcium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Magnesium, Fiber, Omega 3&6 Fatty Acids, Alpha-lipopic Acid and Chromium. These are general recommendations and specific recommendations can be made with proper nutritional counseling.