Frequently Asked Questions

Under what insurance companies are you listed as a provider?

We are providers for the following insurance companies:

  • Aetna U.S. Health
  • Affordable Health Care
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
  • Choice Care Network
  • CIGNA
  • Core Source
  • Fallon
  • Great-West Healthcare
  • Harvard and Harvard Pilgrim
  • Health New England HMO
  • Mass Health (under 21 yrs. of age)
  • Medicare
  • Metra Health Care Plan
  • Mutual Alliance Plan
  • One Health Plan
  • Preferred Plan of Massachusetts
  • Private Health Care System
  • Pro America
  • Tufts
  • Unicare PPO
  • Universal Health Care

Will my health insurance cover chiropractic visits?

If health insurance is provided by your employer you may or may not be covered for chiropractic care. Your insurance policy or insurance member handbook usually states the type of coverage you have. If you are not sure, call your customer service number on your insurance card to verify coverage. Insurance companies vary and have different plans of coverage such as HMOs and PPOs which offer limited care.

Always be sure to check your coverage ahead of time. If there is any confusion we can also call when you come into the office.

If you need any assistance for any reason or have any questions please do not hesitate to call our office.

What if I'm involved in an auto accident and need chiropractic care?

If you are involved in an auto accident, you are usually covered by the insurance of the automobile you were in at the time of the accident.

In most circumstances, there are no out-of-pocket expenses. In some cases your automobile insurance and health insurance will be combined after you reach $2,000.00 in medical benefits.

When covered under automobile insurance, your health care deductibles and copays are paid by the automobile insurance.

Please do not hesitate to call our office if you have any questions regarding your coverage.

What is Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is a branch of the healing arts and, as a science, is based on the premise that good health depends, in part, upon a normally functioning nervous system. When body structures such as cells and organs are functioning normally, a state of health or normal physiology is said to exist. However, when the body's physiology is abnormal, a disease state begins. Thus, we begin to understand that abnormal physiology leads to abnormal function, predisposing the body to disease processes.

Diagram of human spine

The spinal cord has 31 pairs of spinal nerves which exit from the spinal column (backbone). The most delicate and important organs of the nervous system (brain and spinal cord) are encased in a hard bony covering composed of the skull and spinal vertebrae. The spine has undergone marvelous adaptation in providing protection, mobility, and weight-bearing support for our upright position. The spine, in particular, offers protection to the delicate spinal cord and spinal nerves which exit from the spinal column. Irritation to the nervous system can occur when spinal bio-mechanics are compromised and thus not functioning properly.

Chiropractic teaches that within the body there are well-established "survival mechanisms" designed to maintain a state of good health. This body intelligence is working all the time, even when you are not aware of it.

What kind of conditions do Chiropractors treat?

Chiropractic has given the world a different and drugless concept of health, stressing the fact that the cause of many disease processes begins with the body's inability to adapt to its environment. The chiropractic approach to treating man's ills was not to look for the cure in drugs or chemicals, but to locate an area (tissue or organ) of the body which was receiving an improper nerve supply and, therefore, was not able to function properly. If chiropractic had not been different in its approach to health care, the profession would not have continued to expand and flourish into the largest drugless health care profession in the world. The difference in chiropractic's clinical approach has restored good health to millions of people, many times after other methods have failed. There may be times, however, when your body is not able to overcome a condition that has overwhelmed its defense mechanisms. Then the efforts of drugs or surgery may be warranted. When this occurs, your doctor of chiropractic will refer you to the appropriate type of health practitioner for your particular problem. Your doctor's training enables him to advise you in these matters, so feel free to discuss your health problems at any time.

How does Dr. Gregory J. Gordon locate the problem?

First of all, the patient history identifies the problem with which you are chiefly concerned. You might also be asked about your family history, dietary habits, other treatment you may have had (chiropractic, osteopathic, medical, and other), your job, and other questions, each designed to help determine the nature of your illness. In addition to the consultation and case history, a physical examination including laboratory analysis and X-ray examination, will be performed in accordance with Dr. Gordon's clinical judgment. In addition a careful spinal examination and analysis will be performed to detect any structural abnormalities which may affect your condition. You may not see any connection between a fall 25 years ago, an accident as a child, or some other seemingly unrelated item and your present illness, but all these factors will be significant to Dr. Gordon when your total health profile is evaluated.

In many cases, spinal X-rays may be necessary. While much can be determined from a case history and physical examination, the X-ray is the only manner in which the specific outline of your spinal column can be seen.

The spinal X-rays, when studied by a chiropractor, take on a new meaning. They are being viewed for more than pathology (disease) or fracture; they are being viewed for normal and abnormal structural alignment. The static X-ray analysis, coupled with the dynamic spinal motion examination, results in a more complete understanding of spinal bio-mechanics and the resultant spinal stress areas. When your X-rays are evaluated from this aspect, your structural system (the spine) may have weaknesses which lead to derangements (subluxations) of the spine. The X-ray examination provides your doctor with a "blueprint" of your spinal column. This "blueprint" helps to determine specific areas of spinal weaknesses so that the appropriate type of adjustment (manipulation) can be applied in the management of your problem.

Your spinal examination and other findings, when analyzed through the skill and experience of Dr. Gordon, greatly aids in the identification of the causes of your condition. It is one of the bases for the initiation of appropriate treatment.

How does Dr. Gordon "adjust" my spine?

An "adjustment," as doctors of chiropractic use the term, means the specific manipulation of vertebrae which have abnormal movement patterns or fail to function normally. These levels within the spinal column may cause irritability within the nervous system and interfere with normal nerve supply. Dr. Gordon has spent countless hours learning motion palpation (the art of examining by movement and touch) and special spinal examining procedures in order to administer a specific spinal adjustment. Considerable skill and dexterity are required to become proficient in the art of chiropractic.

The primary treatment will be specific vertebral adjustments or "manipulations," as they are sometimes called. Particular attention will be paid to that area of your spine where a spinal derangement (subluxation) has been detected. Once these spinal areas have been adjusted to restore normal movement, the nerve irritability at that spinal level will be reduced, and this will have a positive influence on your area of complaint or discomfort.

The adjustment is usually given by hand or activator instrument. It consists of placing the patient on a specially designed adjusting table and then applying pressure, using specialized techniques, to the areas of the spine that are out of proper alignment or that do not move properly within their normal range of motion.

How long will it take to get well?

In most instances, the patient's concept of "being well" is to be free of symptoms that caused the patient to come to the doctor's office in the first place. It is common for a person to come to a doctor of chiropractic after having spent weeks in pain while doctoring with drugs and other types of therapy. When that approach has proved to be ineffective, the patient seeks chiropractic treatment, often as a last resort.

Chiropractic science teaches that we should try to determine the underlying cause of the problem and correct it, rather than trying to remove the symptoms and have you "think" you are well.

How long will it take to actually "get well" depends on many important factors such as lifestyle, weight, age, duration of the condition, living habits, occupation, genetics, attitude and, of course, your cooperation. Dr. Gregory J. Gordon will suggest a program designed to get you well in the shortest possible time, and then show you how to stay that way.

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