This is one of the most common questions I get. I wish there was an easy answer, but the truth is, one size does not fit all. There are many factors that need to be considered that I will explain to you here.
The most important thing to consider is how much are you using your body. Just like you car, the more miles you put on your body, the more often you will need to bring it in for maintenance. Someone who works out intensely everyday will be on a different schedule than someone who never works out. Someone who has a sedentary job will need a different schedule than someone whose job involves heavy lifting.
To keep things simple, if you are heavily physically active 5 or more days per week, I would recommend that you come in once per month. If you are that active, things will most definitely be out of balance, and we want to correct them before they start to create symptoms. If you put it off, those imbalances will turn in to pain, dysfunction or eventually and injury that will take much more time to repair.
If you are moderately physically active 3 or 4 days per week, I would recommend you come in quarterly. Again, your activity level will likely put things out of balance, but not as quickly and the lower intensity level will not turn those imbalances into pain or injury as quickly.
If you only do low intensity activities I would recommend a tune up twice a year. Low intensity activities are far less likely to put the body out of balance, but it is important to be checked on in awhile to prevent issues that can arrive from longer term compensation of imbalances.
Of course, if you’ve had an injury, you should always come in. Even if the pain has subsided, there will be imbalance and compensation patterns, that left unchecked, can created further injury down the road.
There are other things to consider that might bring you in more often. One is your underlying conditions. If you have a history of significant injuries, surgeries or health issues, you may need to come in more often. Also if you are training for an athletic event or for some heavy work, come get balanced so you are able to perform at your best and be less likely to injure yourself.
You only get one body in this lifetime. Yes, you can get some replacement parts, but they don’t work as well as the original. A little investment in maintenance in the short term can insure a healthy active lifestyle for years to come.
If you have more questions, book a discovery visit, I’d be happy to chat with you!
