Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the questions our patients often ask us

What is chiropractic care?

Chiropractic care focuses on the relationship between the spine, nervous system, and our overall health. The spine protects the spinal cord and brain, which are part as our central nervous system. When our nervous system becomes out of balance due to lifestyle factors or injuries, it creates help challenges.

At Nixa Chiropractor Plus, we focus on restoring optimal health through the lens of the nervous system. Our state-of-the-art nervous system scans help us get to the root of the problem fast. Our focus is on finding the root of where any symptoms are coming from, to keep you from wasting time and money on endless symptom management.

We would love to help you or your kids find answers! Click here to schedule an appointment.

What are the health benefits of chiropractic care?

Chiropractic care aims at improving your spinal and nervous system health. Restoring the proper balance to the nervous system positively impacts the whole body. Here are some key benefits of chiropractic care:
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• Alleviating pain, inflammation, and discomfort
• Helping with headaches and migraines
• Improving sleep
• Strengthening the musculoskeletal system.
• Enhancing performance and recovery
• Optimizing the immune function
• Having a healthier pregnancy
• Addressing the underlying cause of problems rather than dealing with symptoms

If you are looking for chiropractic care in Nixa, MO, click here to book an appointment.

What causes spinal misalignments?

When people refer to ‘spinal misalignments’ , they are referring to spinal vertebrae being moved out of their normal position. Chiropractors call these “vertebral subluxations”. Subluxations create spinal stress and may cause the misaligned vertebra to put pressure on the nerves that exit through them.

This creates imbalance and interference within the nervous system, which may result in a wide range of symptoms, including pain, inflammation, muscle spasms, limited range of motion, muscle weakness, sleep disruption, low energy, weakened immune state, ear infections, colic or constipation in babies, and more.

Vertebral subluxations occur due to a variety of reasons. Here are the common factors that provoke subluxation and nervous system imbalance:

• Injuries- past or recent-including previous vehicle accidents
• High stress levels
• Working on the computer for extended periods of time
• Sitting at a desk for years/ lack of motion
• Text neck from cell phone usage
• Emotional stress
• Physically demanding jobs or hobbies
• Moving (twisting and bending to pack, moving heavy items)
• Birth stress/challenges
• Improper body mechanics while gardening, doing lawn care, or household chores
• Poor diet
• Poor sleep habits

The good news is that chiropractic care can help relieve and, many times, reverse the effects of these factors and allow you to return to normal activity without pain. Schedule your first visit here.

What is a chiropractic adjustment?

A chiropractic adjustment can be made through sustained pressure, a light focused tapping, or other methods of manipulating the spine, which return the vertebra to their proper position. It relieves the pressure from compression on the nerves and allows normal communication to the brain to resume.

This will also induce an electrical response that occurs in the brain and makes a positive change to the nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments activate the body’s innate ability to heal and allow you to start feeling good again!

If you’re ready to start feeling better again, schedule your first visit here.

What is the “popping” sound that you often hear during an adjustment?

The “popping sound” is not from your vertebrae. It is a byproduct of a change in pressure within a joint.

Many people will experience this “popping” when they crack their knuckles or move their neck or body in a specific way. Simply hearing a pop or crack does not mean an adjustment has taken place.

If you have a fear of cracking or popping, you may choose an ajdjusting technique that does not cause any cracking or popping and is just as effective..One of these is the Pulstar instrument, which uses a gentle pulsing (Click here to learn more and see an adjustment using our Pulstar Table).

Another is the Cox table, which involves applying controlled traction, flexion, and lateral bending movements to stretch the spine and increase space between vertebrae to relieve the pressure on the nerve while pumping the healing nutrition back into the disc space. (Click here to learn more and see an adjustment using our Cox Table.).

Start seeing a chiropractor in Nixa — book an appointment today.

What kind of training or practice do chiropractors go through?

Doctors of chiropractic undergo extensive training. It’s comparable to the number of hours a medical doctor goes through in training. A typical applicant to a chiropractic school has four years of premedical education. Studying at a chiropractic school involves four academic years.

The main difference in our training is the focus of our education. While the medical profession learns more about disease and how to manage symptoms of disease with medicine and surgery, chiropractors learn more about how to manage and restore proper health to the body through structural care and natural therapies.

After several years in his own chiropractic practice, Dr. Greenwood went back to school at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon and completed his degree as a Naturopathic Doctor (ND). This is a four-year program focusing on holistic and preventative healthcare which trains doctors to be primary care physicians who diagnose, treat, and prevent illness.

NDs emphasize identifying the root cause of illness and supporting the body's natural healing processes. NDs utilize a range of natural therapies, including nutrition, herbal medicine, lifestyle counseling, and other modalities, in conjunction with conventional medical science.

Although there is no licensure for NDs in Missouri, Dr. Greenwood retains his Washington state licensing and operates under the scope of his chiropractic license in Missouri.

Dr. Greenwood is also certified in acupuncture and utilizes the Vital Body Scan to discover and correct imbalances in the body and suggest acupuncture treatments and Chinese remedies, as well as providing acupuncture for pain relief and other conditions to his patients.

With over 40 years of practical experience, Dr. Greenwood combines his education and experience to give his patients the best care. This is why many people travel to see us from all over Missouri!. Click here to schedule an appointment.

Can I take my child to a chiropractor?

Chiropractic care is ESPECIALLY important for newborns and kids. Birth, even under the most ideal conditions, is very stressful to both mom and baby. Adjustments for babies and young children are extremely gentle. Being adjusted ensures optimal development so that kids do not grow into symptoms down the road that could be completely prevented. Common symptoms that we see great results with include:

• Colic symptoms
• Sleep challenges
• Ear infections
• Constipation or digestive troubles
• Scoliosis

The first thing we must master as babies is eating, sleeping, and pooping.If we experience challenges here, it carries over into the next phase of development.

Ready to grow healthier kids without waiting for symptoms to show up? Click here to make an appointment with a Nixa chiropractor.

Which conditions respond well to chiropractic treatment?

The goal of chiropractic care is to ensure the proper balance and function of body and the nervous system. Your nervous system is like the power box and wiring system that connects everything in the body. It is how the different muscles and organs of your body and your brain communicate with each other.

Often problems in the extremities (arms, hands, legs and feet) actually stem from subluxations of the spine.

Dr. Greenwood has developed many of his own techniques in working with difficult and chronic conditions in his over 40 years of practice. We often see many cases that do not respond well to traditional chiropractic care, or that just may need a slightly different approach.

A wide range of neuro-musculoskeletal issues responds well to chiropractic treatment. Here are the most common ones:

• Back pain, neck pain, hip pain
• Headaches or migraines
• Sciatica
• Focus or concentration problems (kids and adults)
• Knee or Leg Pain
• Foot and ankle pain
• Pregnancy related symptoms
• Chronic ear infections in kids and adults
• Colic in babies
• Scoliosis
• Sleep challenges
• Sports injuries
• Tech neck or poor posture
• Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) issues

If you or your family members are facing these challenges, we are happy to help! Click here to schedule your visit to a Nixa Chiropractor.

Is it safe to visit a chiropractor during pregnancy?

Pregnancy is considered the “ultimate athletic event,” yet we don’t treat it like one. Could you imagine competing in a triathlon without preparing physically?, Unfortunately this approach is commonly used when it comes to pregnancy.

At Nixa Chiropractor Plus, we help moms to become more comfortable during the pregnancy process along with helping them get their nervous system into the best possible place.

This often results in less pain, less headaches, sleep challenges, pubic or tailbone pain, along with improved birth outcomes like shorter labor time. We use gentle techniques to help your body have the best pregnancy and birth experience possible..

To get started with a prenatal chiropractor in Nixa, Click here to schedule your visit.

What to expect from my first visit to a chiropractor?

Many people have a degree of anxiety about seeing a new doctor. At Nixa Chiropractor Plus, we understand this. You will be met by friendly faces and treated as family from the minute you walk into our office!

Please click here to read our page explaining in detail what your first visit to our office for chiropractic care will be like!

How many visits to a chiropractor do I need?

It depends! It depends on how chronic your state of health is and the goals you have for your overall health. Most of our patients feel relief after their first visit, but that alone does not mean their condition is resolved. Some conditions may be resolved in only a few visits. The longer you have had the condition and the more serious your condition is, the longer it may take to fully resolve.

At Nixa Chiropractor Plus, Dr. Greenwood doesn’t believe in “one size fits all” care. Although he will suggest certain parameters for Each patient is unique. Some patients will respond to care more quickly than others.

Patients with physical jobs that demand a lot of their body may take longer to heal as these activities may slow the healing process. Dr. Greenwood will evaluate your progress each time he treats you to determine how your body is responding to care and how much more care you will need.

To get personalized testing and a personalized chiropractic treatment plan that’s right for you, schedule your visit to Nixa Chiropractor Plus.

When should I stop chiropractic treatment?

Your duration of care is always your choice! We make the best recommendations based on your health goals. Most of our patients desire ongoing maintenance care to keep an optimal state of health after they reach peak function.

​​​​​​​This varies from person to person, but typically it’s once or twice a month for maintenance care. Some patients enjoy what chiropractic care does for them so much that they come weekly because they want to be at peak health and feel great all the time!

We recommend ongoing maintenance because it’s cheaper and more effective to maintain a healthy state than it is to pay for ongoing symptom management. The frequency of maintenance depends on lifestyle factors like stress levels, computer time, the physicality of your job, your daily physical activities and sleep.

To experience a more optimal state with less time away from things you love with the people you love, schedule your first visit to our chiropractic clinic in Nixa.

Do you adjust all patients the same way?

No! Check out our website and see for yourself. Many claim to use “personalized approaches”, or “tailored care” only to do the same treatment on everyone. Click here to see a few of our adjustment methods.

Looking for truly individualized care? Book an appointment with Dr. Hunter Greenwood at Nixa Chiropractor Plus today and see how you can feel better, look better, and perform better with chiropractic care!