What To Expect at Your First Chiropractic Visit
For a lot of people, the first visit to a chiropractor can be a little unsettling.
I am sure you remember all of the horror stories about having your "neck and back cracked".
Although the fear of the unknown is quite understandable, put those stories aside and begin your journey of enlightenment about what really happens during an initial visit/consultation with a chiropractor.
Chiropractic care is deemed as one of the safest medical treatments to date.
This is a natural and drug free alternative to traditional western medical treatment.
It is extremely rare for a patient to become paralyzed or suffer from a stroke during treatment.
According to the ACA (American Chiropractic Association), only 1 in 5.
8 million Americans suffer a specific type of stroke (vertebral artery dissection) due to neck adjustments (high velocity upper neck manipulation).
The ACA's statistics state that you have a better chance of injuring yourself by getting into a car accident than via chiropractic adjustments.
As with any medical treatment, chiropractic care included, there are some risks.
The good news is that there are very few risks during an adjustment compared to the laundry list of risks that come with traditional methods of healing.
The big question is, "what should I expect during my first chiropractic visit"? There are several steps that must be followed during your initial consultation: 1.
Make sure you wear clothing that will allow you to move comfortably and freely.
The exam usually takes about an hour to complete because the chiropractor needs to take their time as to not miss anything that could be a critical piece to your "health puzzle".
2.
You will be instructed to fill out patient intake forms, although more and more clinics are requesting that you to go to their website and print these forms so you can have them filled out when you arrive.
You will be asked to provide your personal and insurance information.
Then you will be asked to write down your medical history including the information of every doctor you have seen for your current condition.
You will also have a survey type form to fill out.
This form will ask very specific questions about your injury/condition along with your primary home and work environment(s) and daily activities.
Some of the questions you will be asked are: When did you first start noticing pain? How did you become injured? Does your pain come and go or is it constant? Where is the pain and is there any particular activity or environmental conditions that makes it worse? Describe the pain.
3.
The next step is testing.
The chiropractor will perform a number of tests to determine the extent of the damage, how long this injury/condition has been going on, and if there is any other damage that has been done to the body as a result of the current issue.
Some of the tests are X-rays, MRI's and lab tests.
4.
Now it is on to the physical exam.
You will undergo a thorough physical examination.
They begin by taking your vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, etc.
), orthopedic and neurological tests and a series of range of motion tests.
These tests will tell the chiropractor the extent of the damage and which treatment(s) will work the best for your situation.
These tests are also a good baseline for the doctor to track your rehabilitation progress.
5.
The chiropractor will then take all of their findings and decide whether or not chiropractic care would be the right avenue for you.
S/he will also determine if supplemental therapy (massage, acupressure/acupuncture) would help in the rehabilitation process.
6.
In the final stage, your chiropractor will either discuss the findings and treatment recommendations with you during this initial appointment or make a follow-up appointment.
Most chiropractors will make the follow-up appointment so they can spend the entire time going over the results in detail and answering any questions you may have.
During the this session, the treatment appointment schedule will be presented to you.
The number of visits and which treatment methods will be used depends on the severity of your injury/condition.
Now you know what to expect on your first chiropractic appointment.
Once you get this initial consultation out of the way, you will be on the road to recovery and living a fuller and healthier life.
I am sure you remember all of the horror stories about having your "neck and back cracked".
Although the fear of the unknown is quite understandable, put those stories aside and begin your journey of enlightenment about what really happens during an initial visit/consultation with a chiropractor.
Chiropractic care is deemed as one of the safest medical treatments to date.
This is a natural and drug free alternative to traditional western medical treatment.
It is extremely rare for a patient to become paralyzed or suffer from a stroke during treatment.
According to the ACA (American Chiropractic Association), only 1 in 5.
8 million Americans suffer a specific type of stroke (vertebral artery dissection) due to neck adjustments (high velocity upper neck manipulation).
The ACA's statistics state that you have a better chance of injuring yourself by getting into a car accident than via chiropractic adjustments.
As with any medical treatment, chiropractic care included, there are some risks.
The good news is that there are very few risks during an adjustment compared to the laundry list of risks that come with traditional methods of healing.
The big question is, "what should I expect during my first chiropractic visit"? There are several steps that must be followed during your initial consultation: 1.
Make sure you wear clothing that will allow you to move comfortably and freely.
The exam usually takes about an hour to complete because the chiropractor needs to take their time as to not miss anything that could be a critical piece to your "health puzzle".
2.
You will be instructed to fill out patient intake forms, although more and more clinics are requesting that you to go to their website and print these forms so you can have them filled out when you arrive.
You will be asked to provide your personal and insurance information.
Then you will be asked to write down your medical history including the information of every doctor you have seen for your current condition.
You will also have a survey type form to fill out.
This form will ask very specific questions about your injury/condition along with your primary home and work environment(s) and daily activities.
Some of the questions you will be asked are: When did you first start noticing pain? How did you become injured? Does your pain come and go or is it constant? Where is the pain and is there any particular activity or environmental conditions that makes it worse? Describe the pain.
3.
The next step is testing.
The chiropractor will perform a number of tests to determine the extent of the damage, how long this injury/condition has been going on, and if there is any other damage that has been done to the body as a result of the current issue.
Some of the tests are X-rays, MRI's and lab tests.
4.
Now it is on to the physical exam.
You will undergo a thorough physical examination.
They begin by taking your vital signs (temperature, blood pressure, etc.
), orthopedic and neurological tests and a series of range of motion tests.
These tests will tell the chiropractor the extent of the damage and which treatment(s) will work the best for your situation.
These tests are also a good baseline for the doctor to track your rehabilitation progress.
5.
The chiropractor will then take all of their findings and decide whether or not chiropractic care would be the right avenue for you.
S/he will also determine if supplemental therapy (massage, acupressure/acupuncture) would help in the rehabilitation process.
6.
In the final stage, your chiropractor will either discuss the findings and treatment recommendations with you during this initial appointment or make a follow-up appointment.
Most chiropractors will make the follow-up appointment so they can spend the entire time going over the results in detail and answering any questions you may have.
During the this session, the treatment appointment schedule will be presented to you.
The number of visits and which treatment methods will be used depends on the severity of your injury/condition.
Now you know what to expect on your first chiropractic appointment.
Once you get this initial consultation out of the way, you will be on the road to recovery and living a fuller and healthier life.
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