What is Chiropractic?
As a regulated healthcare profession, the term ‘chiropractic’ quite literally means ‘done by hand’ and it’s a section of the healthcare market that has grown significantly in recent years. By manipulating the joints and muscles, chiropractic doctors can diagnose, manage, prevent, and treat certain disorders within the musculoskeletal system. With the joints, muscles, and bones looked after, this should keep the nervous system in a much stronger position while also contributing to overall health and wellness.
If you were to visit a chiropractor at Carpe Diem Chiropractic, it may be because you’ve been experiencing pain or excessive aching in the neck or back and these are two of the most common areas for complaint. By manipulating the affected area, the chiropractor will massage deep within the muscle and tissue to assess the problem.
However, you don’t have to wait until there’s a pain to start looking after your musculoskeletal system and many people visit a chiropractor to prevent certain conditions. Since we all seem to lead busy lives these days, visiting a chiropractor regularly is a great way to relieve stress and allow yourself to be removed from the day. At the same time, the chiropractic techniques the professionals use should alleviate pain, increase mobility, and improve function within the body.
With a focus on the spine and how this impacts the rest of the body, this will be one of the key areas for concern when visiting a professional chiropractor. By using gentle manipulation techniques around the spine, the idea is to free joints that aren't functioning as they should. In addition to manipulation, chiropractors are also known for various other techniques including ultrasound, ice, heat, and acupuncture.
Depending on whether you’re looking to recover after a car accident injury, a sports injury or simply prevent damage to your body, the care you receive will differ as will the frequency at which you visit the office. Regardless of what stage you’re currently at, your chiropractor will have one main aim; to improve your wellbeing as much as possible. With this in mind, chiropractors are also known for self-help, lifestyle changes, exercise, and promoting overall wellbeing. If you look after yourself and lead a healthy lifestyle, your body will function as normal and you shouldn't have to worry about issues within the joints, tissue, muscles, or bones.

What to Expect with a Chiropractor at Carpe Deim Chiropractic
As we’ve mentioned previously, your visits to the Carpe Diem Chiropractic Clinic will vary and much depends on the nature of your visit. If you’ve been experiencing some health issues, your first meeting with the professional, in our case the brilliant Dr. Meraz, will be about finding more information regarding your lifestyle, habits, and daily routine. From here, you might be asked to fill out a questionnaire with a focus on your medical history as well as your current health.
In your first visit, this will then be followed by a physical examination so your body can really be assessed. If you have an injury, Dr Meraz will carefully manipulate the area in an attempt to identify the ailment before then using this to create a chiropractic treatment plan. During your visit, you’ll likely take part in a number of tests and exercises so the chiropractic doctor can get a better idea of your condition. For example, your range of motion will be tested along with muscle strength, palpitation, reflex testing, and more.
If you don’t have an injury and you’re visiting the chiropractor in Fort Lauderdale purely as a preventative step, you’ll still be put through a number of tests just in case there’s a problem the doctor can pick up on early. If all is well, you’ll be invited back at certain intervals for realignment to keep your spine in the best position to prevent injury. Furthermore, you’ll also be told lifestyle tips to keep injury at bay.
Creating a Chiropractic Treatment Plan
In truth, there are four different factors that play a role in creating a chiropractic treatment plan;
- The injury or irritation being experienced
- Your overall health
- The health and position of your spine
- Your goals
All things considered, your goals are likely to be the most important factor because everybody seems to be unique. While some go looking for light relief from the pain or irritation, others will want a more extensive care program to have the pain removed completely. Of course, you won’t be pushed into any decisions and Dr. Meraz will talk you through every step while providing advice so you have nothing to fear.
Typical Visit To Your Favorite Chiropractor
Before we launch into the many benefits of visiting a Carpe Diem Chiropractic chiropractor, we should first discuss the visits for chiropractic treatment because these will encourage healing within the body and prevent injuries from taking hold. Often called ‘adjustments’, a typical chiropractic visit will have you lie down and get comfortable. From here, the chiropractor can use manipulation…but what does this mean?
Ultimately, there are numerous techniques a chiropractor can use and each will feel slightly different in their approach. However, the whole treatment centers around using controlled force, velocity, leverage, and amplitude in the muscles and joints. For some reason, there seems to be a misconception that a chiropractic adjustment is nothing more than a massage but you can see this clearly isn't the case.
Although the main focus will be on the spine, chiropractors can also deal with injuries in other joints such as the shoulder, ankle, knee, elbow, and wrist. In the same way, these areas will be manipulated using controlled force and this is to restore structural alignment while also encouraging improvement in joint function. In order for any joint to function as it should, it needs proper structure alongside a healthy lifestyle.
Depending on the extent of your injury, you might visit the chiropractor for a few weeks or a few months. Over time, the pain should alleviate and your overall health should improve. Also, there are certain non-force techniques that can be used if you don't like the manual adjustments but these won’t be as effective.
Benefits of Visiting a South Florida Chiropractor
In truth, there are numerous benefits of working with a chiropractor near you and we’re going to list some of them here. While reading, keep in mind that Dr Meraz has many years of experience within the profession and has mastered the techniques required to keep the body in great shape. With previous clients, he has a fantastic reputation and only one main concern; getting you back up to full fitness and wellness without having to endure pain in everyday life.
Pain Relief - Back in 2012, a study actually showed chiropractic care to be more effective than medicine when dealing with acute neck pain. Furthermore, a study one year later showed that neck pain patients showed progress much faster when they attended chiropractic adjustments. What’s more, they paid less money overall for their treatment. Although the list is extensive, you could receive help for ear infections, frozen shoulder syndrome, sciatica, neck pain, lower back pain, scoliosis, headaches, and more.
No Drugs - In today’s society, we live in a world where drugs are given out extensively to treat certain health issues. Not only is this harmful for our bodies, we soon become immune to the drugs because they aren't powerful enough to bypass what we’re accustomed to. If you want to decrease your reliance upon medication, chiropractors see the body as a holistic system where the focus is on a healthy body. In addition to no drugs, we could also extend this to ‘no surgery’ too.
Causes v Symptoms - With most medications, they actually reduce the symptoms as opposed to making an effort to treat the root cause of the issue and this is something else to keep in mind. When we deal with only the symptoms, we don’t have an action plan in place to remove the actual health condition and this just means the symptoms are going to come back time after time.
If you’re tired of taking painkillers only to find your neck still hurting the next day, this is the reason that a chiropractic care plan can help. By working with the nervous system and your overall health, the aim will be to get you back up and running without having to worry about the issue holding you back.
Complimentary Service - Considering chiropractic care doesn’t require any medication at all, it can actually be used with other treatments and this means you’re free to seek the best techniques of dealing with your health issue rather than being restricted. With chiropractic care being used in conjunction with other treatments, you’re likely to see better success both now and long into the future.
Personalized Care - Rather than choosing a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach where, normally, it actually fits nobody, Dr. Meraz and the wider chiropractic community offer a personalized service. With this in mind, you know the treatment is best for you as opposed to something a book said many years ago. By targeting the troubled joint, the treatment plan will aim to relieve all pain and bring you back up to full health as soon as possible. With every session, you’ll know that progress is being made.
Low Risk - With some ‘solutions’, they can lead to medical complications and the medication can make the situation even riskier. Since there’s no medication and you’re simply having your muscles and joints adjusted, the worst side effect you’ll experience is a light aching after an appointment. Sure, headaches and fatigue may also be experienced but this is nothing compared to the side effects that come with medication and other solutions.
Positive Results - With back and neck pain especially, the chiropractic results speak for themselves because it does actually work. With millions of Americans suffering from these two issues, this is the main focus for a chiropractor and the positive results allow us to be confident moving forward. Back in 2002, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health noted how two-thirds of all who participated in chiropractic care saw ‘great benefits’.
Numerous Conditions - Finally, chiropractors are known for treating several issues within the body including sciatica, text neck, pinched nerves, subluxations, digestive problems, disc herniation, back pain, degenerative disorders, shoulder pain, elbow pain, spinal curve, lower back pain, hand/wrist pain, sprains/strains, and many more.
Summary
What is chiropractic? With this guide, you should now have all the answers while being aware of exactly how chiropractic care can help. As long as you take the right steps today, you can walk towards a healthier lifestyle with fewer injuries and surely this is the goal for us all?
If you have any questions or want some more information regarding Dr. Meraz, contact the Carpe Diem Chiropractic office near you in either Fort Lauderdale ((954) 350-0077) or Plantation ((954) 371-2170)


Recovery Today
The Carpe Diem Difference
-
We Find the Root of The Problem and Create a Customized Care Plan
-
We Spend Time with Our Patients - All Appointments Are 1 Hour
-
We Are Passionate About Helping People & Natural Healing
-
Dr. Barak Meraz Is a Board-Certified Chiropractor

Board-Certified Chiropractor
View Profile