Do I Have To Keep Going To The Chiropractor?
One of the most common objections I hear from people who have never tried chiropractic sounds like this: "Once you go, you always have to go."
Here's the thing — that complaint almost always comes from people who have never actually been to a chiropractor. Ask someone who has, and you'll get a very different answer.
The truth is, nobody is going to make you keep coming. Your spine doesn't have a self-destruct sequence if you stop care. Dr. Bruce Jon Hagen has been practicing in Sioux Falls for nearly 50 years, and patients have quit care on him plenty of times over the decades. Some felt better and moved on. Some didn't see the results they hoped for. That's the reality of any healthcare relationship, and chiropractic is no different.
So where does the "always have to go" idea come from? I think it's a misunderstanding rooted in not knowing the different ways people actually use chiropractic care. Once that picture becomes clear, the whole thing makes a lot more sense.
There are three basic ways people use chiropractic: short-term care, long-term care, and wellness care. Understanding which one applies to you is the key to getting the most out of your experience at Back Specialists.
Short-Term Chiropractic Care
The most common reason people come to see us in Sioux Falls is a specific problem that needs to be resolved. Low back pain that flared up lifting something heavy. Neck pain after a long drive. Headaches that won't quit. Injuries from a car accident or a workplace incident.
Short-term care is designed to address a specific, acute problem and get you back to living your life. Think of it like going to the gym after the holidays to get back in shape. You have a defined goal, you put in the work, and when you've achieved what you set out to do, you're done. There's nothing wrong with that.
At Back Specialists, short-term care is delivered exclusively through the Activator Method — a gentle, instrument-assisted technique that gets to work on the specific joints causing your problem without any twisting, cracking, or high-force manipulation. For most acute conditions, patients notice meaningful improvement within the first few visits.
One thing worth knowing: short-term care works best for short-term problems. If you've been dealing with a chronic issue for years and are hoping it resolves in one or two visits, that's not a realistic expectation for any provider. The right care plan — and the right timeline — depends on what's actually going on in your spine, which is why every new patient at Back Specialists starts with a thorough examination before we recommend anything.
Long-Term Chiropractic Care
A lot of patients come in for short-term care and decide to stick with it long-term. Not because anyone pushed them to, but because they experienced the benefits and chose to continue.
Think about how people approach exercise. Someone joins a gym to lose a few pounds before a vacation. They hit their goal, but they feel better than they have in years — so they keep going. Chiropractic works the same way for a lot of people. They came in for a specific problem, it got better, and they realized their body felt noticeably different under regular care.
For other patients, long-term care is simply what their condition requires. Degenerative disc disease, chronic sciatica, recurring herniated disc flare-ups — these are conditions that respond well to ongoing management rather than a single course of treatment. For those patients, regular adjustments keep the spine functioning properly and help prevent the kind of acute episodes that would otherwise put them back at square one.
Dr. Hagen has patients he has been treating for decades. Some of them started as young adults and have continued care through middle age and beyond. Their families come in now too. That's not because anyone is requiring them to show up — it's because the care works and they've made it part of how they take care of themselves.
Wellness Chiropractic Care
The third category is the one that tends to confuse people the most.
Wellness chiropractic patients aren't in crisis. They don't have a specific injury they're recovering from. They're not in significant pain. They come in regularly because they want to stay mobile, active, and feeling their best — and regular chiropractic care is part of how they do that.
This is the chiropractic equivalent of someone who exercises four days a week not because they need to lose weight, but because it's part of how they live. Nobody questions that choice. Wellness chiropractic is the same idea applied to spinal health.
Is wellness care for everyone? No. But for patients who are committed to an active lifestyle, who want to stay ahead of spinal degeneration rather than chase it, or who simply feel noticeably better when they're under regular care, it's a genuinely valuable choice. Learn more about the wellness lifestyle approach we offer at Back Specialists.
You Decide How Chiropractic Fits Into Your Life
The bottom line is simple: you are in control of how you use chiropractic care. At Back Specialists, we will give you our honest assessment of what your spine needs, explain your options clearly, and support whatever level of care makes sense for your goals and your life.
Short-term, long-term, or wellness — the right answer is the one that works for you.
If you've been on the fence about trying chiropractic because of the "always have to go" concern, we'd encourage you to come in for an evaluation. Find out what's actually going on, ask every question you have, and make your own decision from there. No pressure and no obligation.
Call or text 605-361-1700 or schedule online to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chiropractic Care Frequency
