There should be no anxiety over your first visit to a chiropractor. I know what you’ve heard. All that popping and cracking, twisting and bending. It would put anyone off from seeking care. That should not be the case. You shouldn’t fear. There’s nothing painful about chiropractic treatment. Just the opposite is true. Chiropractic produces pain relief and improves health.
Let’s talk about your first visit. There will be some paperwork, much like an office visit at any doctor’s office. All of our patient information forms can be copied from our office website. To have these filled out in advance will save time. After reviewing your information the doctor will sit down in consultation with you. Eighty percent of a diagnosis is made from information taken from a patient history. From there, a thorough exam is performed, concentrating on the area of complaint. If there has been a history of trauma, infection or moderate degeneration (arthritis for example) then x-rays may be taken.
Once all information about your condition is gathered, the doctor will arrive at a diagnosis and will again sit down with you and present an outline for you treatment. Length of treatment is an individual thing, depending on factors like overall physical condition, degree of injury, age and compliance. You may receive treatment at the time of your first visit. This may not always be the case. Your doctor may have you return home for 24 hours to apply ice or follow home care procedures prior to beginning care. When the time is right, you most likely will be given exercises to do at home to help expidite healing and keep surrounding tissues flexible.
That doesn’t sound so bad. Much like it would be at most other doctor’s offices. Next, we’ll talk about what to expect with a typical chiropractic office visit once treatment has begun.
