Rapid, Lasting Solutions for Stubborn Problems

The best Des Moines chiropractor welcomes and respects all patients.

At Compass Chiropractic, we welcome, respect, and focus on achieving rapid and lasting results for anyone who chooses us as their chiropractor.

The best Des Moines chiropractor starts with a thorough exam.

Chiropractic care has an incredible level of safety. Ask to see my malpractice insurance and you’ll find that it’s less than my car insurance!

However, that safety doesn’t decrease the need for a thorough exam before care is provided.

We believe the best Des Moines chiropractor starts with a thorough exam with the first goal of never causing harm to a patient. There can be anomalies in the spine that cause the need for changes in technique. Sometimes past injuries or surgeries change how we do things to make sure we keep patients safe. We believe it is necessary to prioritize the safety of our patients by starting with a thorough exam.

The second reason we believe the best Des Moines chiropractor starts with a thorough exam is because it is essential to understand the problem to be confident to fix it. Knowledge of how the muscles, joints, and nerves of the spine are functioning allows us to put together the plan that is most likely to fix stubborn, ongoing conditions.

The best Des Moines chiropractor takes X-rays when indicated.

Would you let a dentist diagnose your dental problem and work on your teeth without ever looking in your mouth?

While a dentist has the option of having you open the mouth and looking in, we don’t have the same option with the spine. That’s why we believe the best Des Moines chiropractor takes X-rays when indicated to know exactly what’s going on in the problem areas of the spine.

Seeing the structures of the body can instantly give clarity about past injuries, alignment issues, and degenerative changes or arthritis. X-rays also allow us to rule out the more serious and scary problems that can cause pain. With this information, the best Des Moines chiropractor can explain the problem to the patient more clearly, and lay out the best plan to get the body working properly as quickly and completely as possible.

The best Des Moines chiropractor does a motion study to see exactly what’s working and what’s not working.

Structures can look good and have significant problems. Imagine this: You walk up to a car and it doesn’t start. You open the hood of a car and the engine looks spotless. Does this mean everything is working right? We all know any number of things could be working wrong even though the structures look good.

A motion study allows the best Des Moines chiropractor to see which bones in the problem region are working and which are stuck. “Why would a bone be stuck?” you ask. Traumas can tear the deeper tissues of the spine while stresses of life can add up and cause “microtraumas”. You usually don’t end up in the Emergency Room as these injuries happen. Your body “fixes” the areas by adding scar tissue. Ultimately this keeps the bones from moving normally. When regions aren’t moving right ultimately it causes swelling and “pinching of the nerves”. You end up feeling pain or other symptoms when the nerve messages are disrupted.

All the time Des Moines chiropractic patients say, “What I’ve been feeling finally makes sense!” after seeing the results of their motion study.

The best Des Moines chiropractor recommends what provides the quickest and most complete resolution of the problems.

Your body has an amazing ability to heal itself. As soon as you sleep wrong and wake with a “crick in your neck”, or get that catch in the low back your brain is trying to send nerve messages to coordinate the healing in the painful region and get things back to normal.

In acute pain situations like this we believe the best Des Moines chiropractor will recommend what we are most confident in to get you out of pain and get things back to normal as soon as possible. We also want to make sure the problem doesn’t come back again. We know that every person with an ongoing pain or problem had a time when it first started. We are super-motivated to make sure that short term problems don’t turn into rest-of-your-life problems.

“Let’s do an adjustment and see how you do” almost never works for ongoing problems.

Chronic, ongoing problems require a specific plan to fix them. If that wasn’t the case they simply wouldn’t be an ongoing problem… Your body would have fixed itself a long time ago!

When you come in with a problem that you’re “sick and tired of being sick and tired of,” we believe the best Des Moines chiropractor should go over what “we are MOST CONFIDENT IN to fix the problem as quickly and completely as possible.”

The best Des Moines chiropractor educates and empowers patients to keep problems from coming back.

Would you respect a dentist who told you brushing and flossing were pointless? “Just wait till you have a zing or one wiggling and give us a call.”

I’d fire that dentist in a heartbeat.

We believe the best Des Moines chiropractor will do what they can to educate and inspire each patient to keep their body working better and avoid problems in the future.

Des Moines chiropractic patients should learn the “brushing and flossing stretches and strategies of the spine.” This includes general focus on posture, proper sitting, and increased focus on breaks through the day.

Also, we believe that the best Des Moines chiropractor should teach patients the specific stretches and exercises that keep the previous problem areas working better for the long term.

Finally, periodic tune-ups are generally recommended when our goal is to keep a stubborn, significant problem from worsening or flaring up in the future.

The best Des Moines chiropractor has an array of powerful healing strategies to resolve tough, ongoing issues.

As mentioned previously, new problems sometimes fix up relatively quickly because of your body’s incredible ability to heal.

However, we believe the best Des Moines chiropractor recognizes that stubborn, ongoing problems require a more comprehensive solution to address problems in the joints, discs, ligaments, muscles, and nerves of the spine.

Complete Corrective Care is how we set people free from ongoing pain!

For joint issues we employ a variety of highly effective adjustment strategies as well as traction to restore motion.

For discs and ligaments seized up by scar tissue or arthritis we provide spinal decompression and traction.

For muscular issues in Des Moines chiropractic patients we are able to apply Active Release Techniques to resolve areas of scar tissue and restore muscles to normal ranges of motion.

Patients are taught the specific stretches they can do on their own to maintain the improvement we make in the office.

We also have electrical muscle stimulation which can be effective at decreasing muscle spasm and pain and “resetting” the problem area to work more normally.

Specific exercises should be recommended by the best Des Moines chiropractor to bulletproof the body against problems coming back.

Additionally, we take into consideration the nutritional needs of Des Moines chiropractic patients and are able to recommend strategies and supplements as needed to empower the body to heal more quickly and completely. Don’t worry though, we don’t get preachy when it comes to this. We have an opt-in on our new patient paperwork where you can let us know if you’d like to talk about nutritional improvement or prefer to avoid that discussion.

At times stress must be reduced from regions of the body to allow complete healing to take place. We carry pillows and foot orthotics that my staff and myself personally use to allow the body to stay healthy.

The best Des Moines chiropractor keeps care within each patient’s comfort level.

We get it! Going to a new chiropractor or going to the chiropractor for the first time ever can be scary.

We believe the best Des Moines chiropractor recognizes and respects that trust can take time to build and that patients have different preferences when it comes to the intensity of their care.

Share with us you’re nervous and we’ll be happy to stay with all gentle, instrument-assisted styles of chiropractic. You can learn more about our gentle styles by researching “Activator” or “Arthrostim” adjustments.

Some Des Moines chiropractic patients request gentle styles in some regions of their body while they appreciate the more intense styles elsewhere. The most common example of this would be when we do gentle, instrument adjustments of the neck but the hands-on styles in the upper and lower back.

Other patients request that we avoid twisting motions in the lower back or neck and we’re able to use “flexion-distraction” and “drop” adjustments in the lower back and “drop” adjustments in the neck to get great results while keeping those patients comfortable.

Finally, many patients seek us out for the hands-on styles of chiropractic. I focus on using just the right amount of force to correct the problem without being rough. Often patients comment on how my hands-on adjustments are very comfortable while still being extremely effective!

Lately, we have had Des Moines chiropractic patients inquiring about the ring dinger adjustment. While we don’t use the specific table that Dr. Johnson uses, we are able to provide patients with a similar adjustment to the ring dinger here in Des Moines.

The best Des Moines chiropractor accepts insurances.

From a Des Moines chiropractor’s perspective, some of the local insurance companies’ payment policies can feel like an insult.

However, when it comes to being in-network with insurances we still believe it’s right to go with the “golden rule.”

If I have been paying for an insurance I’d like to use it when I have a health problem. For that reason I stay in-network with as many insurances in the area as possible so that my patients can use the benefits they have been paying for.

Des Moines chiropractic patients are always welcome to inquire if we are in-network with your specific policy.

In the rare instances when we are considered out-of-network, we can only promise to provide such exceptional care with the goal of rapid improvement and lasting solutions that your investment feels 100% worth it.

The best Des Moines chiropractor gives clear costs of any recommended care.

Surprise bills are the worst. We believe the best Des Moines chiropractor should do what they can to avoid any surprises and give patients clear understanding of their financial responsibility before they proceed with care.

To achieve this goal a member of my team does both an online and a phone call verification of insurance benefits for any insurance that is new to us or rarely seen in our office.

We go over what the insurance says they will cover and what the patient is responsible for. Though it's not always 100% possible, we do what we can to never have surprises.

The best Des Moines chiropractor has payment options that allow patients to spread out the cost and still received needed care.

Healthcare can be expensive and we understand that patients are often juggling multiple financial goals. If needed, Des Moines chiropractic patients can apply for CareCredit at our office. If they qualify, they can spread out the cost of recommended care for 6, 12, or 18 months with no interest applied when they get their balance paid off during the promotional period.

The best Des Moines chiropractor treats those who are unable to follow recommendations due to time or money with respect and grace.

I keep my job quite simple:

“My job is to recommend the same thing I’d tell my mom or sister or brother if they lived around the corner, got the care for free, had all the time in the world, and had come in and asked me ‘David, what do I need to do to get rid of this problem as quickly and completely as possible?’”

That’s my job.

However, you’re in charge of your money and your time.

If my recommendation doesn’t line up with your financial situation or time-schedule, I believe the best Des Moines chiropractor has a responsibility to treat you with respect and grace. No high-pressure and no belittling. We believe Des Moines chiropractic patients deserve to be treated better than that.

The best Des Moines chiropractor invites and answers any questions.

We believe patients get better results when they understand how their body works, how healing works, and all the strategies they can do to empower that healing process. We believe the best Des Moines chiropractor should welcome and answer questions. While we are often busy, we invite patients to let us know any questions. We can set aside time if needed to answer any questions.