What About My Symptoms?

It's the most natural question in the world: "Should I tell my chiropractor what's hurting?"

Of course you should. But not for the reason you think.

You're Used to Talking Symptoms

And that makes sense. It's what you do everywhere else, right?

You tell the mechanic what the car is doing
You tell the TV repair person what the screen is doing
You tell the appliance person about that funny noise the fridge is making

For those folks, symptoms are essential. There are hundreds of things that can go wrong with a car, a TV, or a fridge. Your description helps them narrow it down and find the problem faster.

Your medical doctor works the same way. Symptoms help them narrow down the possibilities and come up with a diagnosis. That's their job.

But Chiropractic Is Different

Here's the thing: I'm not looking for what's "wrong" with you in a medical sense. I'm looking for one specific thing—vertebral subluxations.

And subluxations don't have symptoms.

Every vertebra in your spine is either in its proper position or it's not. That's it. Two choices. And your feelings don't tell us which one it is.

The Sneaky Part

Here's what most people don't know:

Only about 10–15% of your nerves are sensory nerves—the ones that feel pain, heat, pressure, and other sensations. And only about one-third of those actually deal with pain.

What does that mean? It means most subluxations don't cause any obvious symptoms at all. You can have vertebral subluxations for weeks, months, or even years and never feel a thing.

They don't send up a flare. They don't knock on your door. They just quietly sit there, interfering with the messages between your brain and your body.

Symptoms vs. Subluxations

Symptoms	Subluxations
What you feel	What I find
"My back hurts"	"This bone is blocking a message"
Come and go	Can be there for years without you knowing
Helpful for medical diagnosis	Only found through chiropractic analysis
Don't decide your care here	Do decide your care here

So Do I Care About Your Symptoms?

Here's the honest answer:

As a person, yes. I'm not callous. I'm a human being, a mom, a neighbor. I care about how you feel. If something serious is going on—an injury, a sudden change, something that would make an adjustment unsafe—I absolutely want to know. Please tell me those things.

As a chiropractor, no. Your symptoms don't tell me whether you have a subluxation or not. Only a chiropractic analysis can do that. And symptoms don't determine how your care progresses. Only the presence or absence of vertebral subluxations does.

So when you tell me your back hurts, I hear you. I genuinely do. But then I'm going to check your spine—because that's where the real answers are.

Why This Matters

If you think chiropractic is about relieving symptoms, you might stop coming when you feel better. And that's a missed opportunity.

But if you understand that we're checking for subluxations—even when you feel great—you'll keep coming in, and your body will keep working better.

That's the chiropractic objective: removing nerve interference so your body can function at its fullest. Not just "feeling good" today, but functioning well for a lifetime.

So yes, tell me about your symptoms. I love hearing your story. I care about you as a person.

But know this: I'm checking for something you can't feel. Because that's where the real progress is.

Come In—Even If You Feel Fine

You don't need a symptom to get a check-up. Book online in under a minute.

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