THERE’S A DEFAULT IN OUR PROFESSION that I find a bit odd — the “once-a-month maintenance adjustment” model.
While it may be better than nothing for many patients, it strikes me as being far from optimal. If we want to move patients from surviving to thriving, we must reframe wellness care from being a safety net to a performance strategy that demands greater frequency and consistency.
Here’s why recommending more than one visit a month is clinically appropriate and truly essential.
Once-a-month care sends the message, “You’re fine. Just check in occasionally.” However, we know that life’s physical, emotional, and chemical stressors don’t follow a neat and tidy 30day cycle. Daily postural stress, tech fatigue, and environmental strain all take a toll on spinal alignment and neurological function.
If our goal is to support adaptation and resilience, then our care plans must reflect the frequency needed to maintain a high-level performance and not just the absence of symptoms. After all, isn’t that the basis of our chiropractic philosophy?
Most patients begin care in pain, but their journey shouldn’t stop at feeling “better.” Our job is to help them experience the full benefits of chiropractic, which include:
• Improved nervous system communication
• Enhanced energy, focus, and immune response
• Greater physical and emotional adaptability
• Better function in daily life
These outcomes require repetition and reinforcement, and one visit every 30 days isn’t enough to unlock or sustain this level of health. Think about it like this: We don’t brush our teeth just once a month, so doesn’t our spine deserve more?
Just like the brain needs consistent repetition to form new neural patterns, the spine and nervous system need regular input to maintain structural and functional integrity. A once-a-month adjustment is like going to the gym once every four weeks and expecting real results. It’s simply not enough of a stimulus to create lasting change.
“We are all living in a stress-driven world and expecting our bodies to perform without support.”
A consistent wellness optimization plan with a typical frequency of two to four times a month or more allows the body to integrate corrections and build stability over time.
All of us are under constant stress from poor sleep, being overworked, experiencing posture collapse from tech overload, and inflammatory diets. We are all living in a stress-driven world and expecting our bodies to perform without support.
Chiropractic is one of the few proactive tools that improves the body’s stress response. When we recommend infrequent care, we’re under delivering on the power of what we offer. Regular adjustments help deflect stressors proactively, preventing harmful compensation patterns from developing.
If we want the public to view chiropractic as a primary solution for longterm wellness, we must act like it is exactly that, starting by confidently recommending care plans that reflect:
• The demands of modern life
• The patient’s goals and stress load
• The physiology of spinal correction and neurological input
This isn’t about “selling more visits.” Instead, it’s about delivering the right amount of care to help patients thrive rather than coast.
We are in the business of optimizing human potential. However, when we recommend care too infrequently, we dilute the impact of what we do and fall into the same reactive model we aim to disrupt.
Let’s lead patients toward true wellness with care plans and recommendations built on consistency, education, and transformation. One visit a month keeps them in the game, but regular wellness care helps them win it.
Dr. Michael Perusich, a former investment banker, is a proven business strategist with over 25 years of success in the chiropractic industry. As CEO of Kats Consultants, he delivers powerful coaching and real-world solutions to help chiropractic entrepreneurs grow and scale with confidence. Reach him at 407308-5590 or visit KatsConsultants.com for tools and downloads to elevate your practice.
