Are you trying to decide whether to make your first appointment to see a chiropractor? Not sure what to expect? Here’s everything you need to know about your first chiropractic visit.
Your first visit to a chiropractor will usually take some time. Don’t expect to have the doctor walk into the room and immediately begin treatment. They will generally start by asking you a series of questions regarding your particular problem. The location of pain, type of pain, how long you’ve had the problem and how often you notice it are just a couple of the questions that are extremely important to determine what is causing your problem. The doctor will likely also ask about your health history and any history of trauma.
After asking these questions, if the doctor feels like he can help you, he will move on to an examination of your spine. This may include range of motion, orthopedic tests, reflexes, muscle testing, and neurologic testing. Once these tests have been performed, the doctor will decide whether x-rays of your spine are necessary or not. If they are, x-rays will be used to analyze the alignment of your spine, as well as to rule out anything that would keep you from being treated by a chiropractor.
Once all tests and x-rays are reviewed, the doctor should then explain, in detail, all of their findings. At this point the doctor will explain what is wrong and if they can fix the problem. If they can help you, the doctor should include a treatment plan that explains how often you will be treated and for how long. At this point, the chiropractor should answer any questions you may still have before moving on to treatment.
I hope this post has answered many of your questions about you first visit to a chiropractic office, and hopefully you are now a step closer to making your first appointment. My next post will explain much more about the type of treatments used by chiropractors.