Your First Visit
The initial visit for a chiropractic evaluation and treatment session in our office typically takes about one hour. When you arrive at the office for the first time, we will greet you, and present you with some initial paperwork that needs to be completed prior to evaluation and treatment. Additionally, we will need to make a copy of your current insurance card in order to establish an account for you. If you are without insurance, or you do not have chiropractic coverage under your current plan, we do have a cash rate available for you.
The paperwork is largely insurance and demographic information, but it also gives us insight as to your personal and family health history. This information gives us critical insight regarding your current discomfort and/or pain episode, so that we may more effectively address your needs. In this section, we will ask you about your current medications. If you take multiple medications, you may find it helpful to bring in with you a complete list, so that we may copy this into your patient file.
With paperwork completed, we will then proceed into an examination room for evaluation and treatment. You will be asked a series of questions to gain a better sense of the area in question, and then we will evaluate the region in the form of an orthopedic and neurologic examination. With the examination process completed, we will then outline a treatment plan for the office and at home, and establish a course of care for your individual condition. An example of a course of treatment may consist of two visits per week for two to three weeks. This is dependant on the nature and severity of the condition in question.
Treatment will, in most cases, include a modality such as electronic muscle stimulation, ultrasound, ice or heat, followed by soft tissue therapy and regional mobilization. Generally, this will be followed by a chiropractic “adjustment”. The adjustment process is a procedure to reset the exact movement pattern of a particular joint or multiple joint segments, in accordance with normal range of motion based on your framework structure. In addition, the adjustment allows neurologic, vascular and biomechanical interference to normalize as the fixation pattern is reduced. This is the hallmark of chiropractic care and is considered to be the optimal form of treatment for many common musculoskeletal conditions. Chiropractors are the preeminent specialist in manipulation of this type.
When your treatment is completed, recommendations for home measures will be reviewed. These will typically include suggestion for the appropriate use of ice and/or heat, positions of rest with modification principles for your activities of daily living, and appropriate therapeutic exercises for the affected region. When in the office, you are encouraged to ask any questions that you may have.
Save some time and download and complete the patient forms to bring with you to your first appointment. Click here.