Patients often wait before seeking Chiropractic care. They hope the problem will go away on its own or they try home remedies (drugs, ice, heat, other therapies, etc.) first. Injuries are almost always slower to recover when care is put off, so the longer you wait, the harder it may be to “fix” your problem. Optimum care should start right away. As you wait, muscles become tighter, muscles atrophy, muscles weaken, soft tissue adhesions form, proprioceptive function decreases in the joint, and fluid flow to and from the cells decreases. This usually results in the pain lasting longer.
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 1992