Frequently Asked Questions

At Intouch Chiropractic in San Diego, we see a wide variety of patients from all walks of life – but many of them are suffering from the same type of pain. Every patient is unique and always receives an entirely customized treatment plan from our top-quality chiropractors. However, we do get certain questions often, so we’ve gathered the answers here for your convenience.

FAQsIntouch Chiropractic

Do I need a referral?

What should I wear to my appointment?

What is the difference between spinal decompression and traction?

Are there any side effects or risks to NUCCA or spinal decompression?

Am I a candidate for spinal decompression?

Can I adjust myself?

Why is my nervous system important?

How long before I see results?

Are NUCCA care and spinal decompression safe after back surgery?

Do I get adjusted every visit?

What causes me to lose my adjustment?

What is your success rate?

What is an atlas adjustment?

What are NUCCA and Upper Cervical Care?

Can you help me with my knee pain?

Do I need a referral?

You do not need a referral to be seen in our clinic by our doctors. Simply call our clinic at (619) 759-6689 or click here to make an appointment directly.

What should I wear to my appointment?

We recommend you wear comfortable clothes to your appointments. Many patients appreciate wearing yoga pants, sweatpants, t-shirts, and light jackets. Please wear shorts for a knee appointment, as this will facilitate your examination and treatment.

What is the difference between spinal decompression and traction?

Traction can relieve some of the symptoms of disc injuries. However, traction does not address the source of the problem. Traction and inversion tables lower the intradiscal pressure from a +90 mmHg to a +30 mmHg (positive pressure).

Spinal decompression creates a vacuum phenomenon inside the disc. This effect causes the disc to pull back the herniation to center. In addition, the increase in negative pressure causes the flow of blood and nutrients back into the disc, allowing the body’s natural fibroblastic response to heal the disc injury and rehydrate the disc. Spinal decompression is clinically proven to reduce the intradiscal pressure to between -150 to -200 mmHg (negative pressure) – and that’s a very good thing.

Are there any side effects or risks to NUCCA or spinal decompression?

Most patients do not experience any side effects; however, there have been some mild cases of muscle spasming for a short period of time. NUCCA and spinal decompression are both safe and comfortable. Our Spinal Decompression System has emergency stop switches for both the patient and the operator. These FDA-required switches terminate treatment immediately.

Am I a candidate for spinal decompression?

A thorough patient history, evaluation, and imaging are required to qualify for non-surgical spinal decompression. The doctor will look at many factors to determine if you are a candidate.

Many of our patients have been told they need surgery but wish to avoid it and have failed to significantly respond to more conservative options such as medications, injections, physical therapy, traditional chiropractic care, and acupuncture.

Here is a partial list of inclusion and exclusion criteria:

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Persistent pain due to degenerated discs that has not responded after four weeks of treatment.
  • Pain due to bulging or herniated discs that are more than four weeks old.
  • Chronic pain from a failed back surgery that is over six months old.
  • Patients available for ten weeks of treatment protocol.
  • Patients over 18 years of age.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Appliances, such as rods or pedicle screws
  • Prior lumbar fusion under six months old
  • Metastatic cancer
  • Spondylolisthesis (unstable)
  • Severe osteoporosis
  • Severe peripheral neuropathy
  • Recent spinal fractures
  • Pathologic aortic aneurysm
  • Disc space infections
  • Pelvic or abdominal cancer
  • Hemiplegia and paraplegia
  • Cognitive dysfunction
  • Pregnancy
  • Pars defect

Can I adjust myself?

The short answer is no. Only a chiropractor can adjust your spine in a way that provides long-lasting results.

Why is my nervous system important?

An amazing self-correcting and self-healing ability exists within us. Science continues to gather evidence of the nervous system’s unique and powerful capacities. Research gathered from a variety of disciplines reveals that the most important key to our body’s healing abilities is a well-functioning nervous system. These disciplines include, but are not limited to, holistic medical approaches and ancient healing traditions.

Your central nervous system consists of your brain and your spinal cord. The proper function of all other body systems is coordinated by your nervous system – the digestive, cardiovascular, endocrine, and respiratory systems, for instance. Nerve impulses are sent from your brain to your body and from your body to your brain.  It is critical that these nerve impulses traveling to and from your brain communicate without glitches for proper function, movement, and sensation. The spinal cord, housed in the spinal bones, connects with the brain, held in the skull.

When your nervous system is clear and flexible, there is a natural flow to your life, growth, and health. However, when there’s interference to its communication, it becomes a threat to your body’s capacity to respond and recover from symptoms such as neck pain, vertigo, allergies, and headaches. Eventually, this interference puts your physical and mental health at risk. Therefore, the primary reason we, as chiropractors, care about spinal decay and arthritis is that having a healthy spinal cord is critical for optimal health. Above all, the nervous system is the master controller! 

How long before I see results?

This depends on several factors, including the complexity of your condition, how long you’ve had it, how much time, energy, and attention you’re willing to devote to treatment, and how well you respond to treatment. 

In general, health programs for chronic illnesses last between three to six months, but most patients start seeing improvement within the first month. Patients often feel significant relief after their first treatment. Patients may elect to continue with a maintenance program after their initial treatment plan is finished.

Are NUCCA care and spinal decompression safe after back surgery?

Yes. NUCCA is gentle and effective after back surgery. NUCCA care does not crack, twist, or pop your neck or back. The amount of pressure during an adjustment is equal to the amount of pressure used to take your pulse.

In many cases, non-surgical spinal decompression treatment is not contraindicated for patients that have had spinal surgery. Many patients experience symptomatic relief with spinal decompression after a failed back surgery.

Do I get adjusted every visit?

The goal of NUCCA care is for you to come in, get checked, and not need an adjustment. Our care operates on the principle that your body is self-healing and self-regulating. We celebrate with you when you hold your adjustment and do not need to be adjusted on every single visit.

What causes me to lose my adjustment?

There is only ONE cause for losing your adjustment: Your body’s inability to adapt to STRESS. There are 3 forms of stress that we encounter regularly: Physical, chemical, and emotional. 

  • Physical subluxations are caused by accidents, injuries, slips, and falls. 
  • Chemical subluxations are caused by too much sugar, alcohol, caffeine, medications, smoking, poor diet, etc. 
  • Emotional subluxations are caused by family stress, poor relationships, demanding jobs, etc.

What is your success rate?

You are unique. Your healing capacity is unique. That being said, the majority of our patients have a 60-80% (or more) reduction in symptoms within the first 3 months of care. There are select cases that are more complex, which will extend the healing process. Your lifestyle also plays an important role in the amount of time your body will need to heal and recover.

What is an atlas adjustment?

Atlas: noun. Anatomy. The first cervical vertebra, which supports the head.

Firstly, the human head contains the brain, which weighs about 3 pounds. Then there is the skull, the eyes, the teeth, the facial muscles, and the skin. Wikipedia reports the head weighs between 5 and 11 pounds. Another source puts the head weight between 9 and 17 pounds! Secondly, our head, whether light or heavy, sits atop the atlas, the first vertebra of our spine, named after the Atlas of Greek mythology because it supports the globe of the head. The atlas itself weighs about two ounces. To imagine the scale, think of a bowling ball sitting on a quarter cup of water! All of our nerves exiting the base of the skull pass through the atlas, making it the most important part of our spine.

An atlas adjustment is an alignment to the first bone in your neck. Atlas, also known as C1, is the 1st cervical vertebra that sits right at the base of the skull. Our doctors practice NUCCA, a special form of upper cervical care that is gentle, precise, and effective. It is a conservative adjustment approach that does not require popping, cracking, or twisting of your spine.

A misalignment of a vertebra causing disturbance and interference to the nervous system is called a subluxation. Most of the time, your body adapts to a subluxation without consequence. When it can’t adapt, a subluxation negatively affects your health, body function, and overall wellness. Therefore, a NUCCA atlas adjustment restores normal neurological communication between your brain and body, optimizing your health.

What are NUCCA and Upper Cervical Care?

Upper Cervical Care is a broad term for care that focuses on the upper neck. Upper cervical literally means upper neck. A vital part of your nervous system, the brainstem, resides in this delicate area.

NUCCA is a form of upper cervical care that gets to the root of the problem no matter where the symptoms are in your body. Dr. Jeanett Tapia and Dr. Devin Young are both part of a small group of specialized doctors that are active NUCCA members. The NUCCA work focuses on correcting a small misalignment of the bone structure that connects the head and neck. This misalignment can disrupt the communication between your brain and body, causing pain, stress, tension, and physical or emotional dysfunction. A childhood fall, sports or exercise injury, birth trauma, or car accident can be the cause of many common symptoms. NUCCA currently has less than 300 members and is an acronym that stands for National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association.

Don’t listen to those that have told you that nothing else can be done or that you just have to live with your symptoms. It is likely that your nervous system and getting upper cervical care hold the keys to your recovery. You owe it to yourself to come see the Intouch Chiropractic Difference.

Can you help me with my knee pain?

After examining your knee and performing X-rays, our doctors will know with certainty if they can help you. This is one of the few times in healthcare where results are virtually instant.

Call us at (619) 759-6689 or click here to schedule your appointment.

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