What happens on my first visit?
On your first visit to our clinic, you will be asked to complete some paperwork.
You may download our New Patient Form and complete this in your time. If you prefer you can email the completed form to us or bring it with you on your first visit to our office.
Your chiropractor will consult with you on your health and lifestyle history and then conduct a thorough examination of your areas of concern. Have a look at our videos for what to expect during a back, neck orknee examination.
You will be with us for about 30 minutes once the paperwork is completed. The chiropractor will discuss with you and find out:
-
what is wrong
-
what other health issues you may have
-
what has helped in the past
-
if other health problems may be helped by our approach too
We can do some movement and safety checks of the area of concern and figure out whether we are best to treat you at the time or whether you need to be referred elsewhere or get X-rays to see what is happening.
We usually try to do some gentle treatment on the first visit to give some relief. This can include some stretches, home advice and self care instructions.
Your second visit
On your return, we can monitor how you felt after your first treatment and review any X-rays or scans that you may have brought. Further treatment can be given and a plan of care is then discussed and recommended.
What actually happens during a visit?
Most of our chiropractic work on spine-related problems involves specific joint manipulations that we call “adjustments” on the areas in your spine that we find not to be moving properly.
These adjustments involve short-distance but fast movements of joints in the neck, mid-back or low back to restore relaxed, pain-free movements. This in turn leads to a balancing of muscle tone, greater mobility and usually some immediate pain relief.
Other effects of the adjustment can include a greater range of pain free movement with better muscle control and improved coordination. Nerve referral of pain can reduce and correct feeling to an arm or leg can return, but this usually occurs over a series of treatments.
As things improve with further treatments, home exercise and postural advice can be given. This helps with settling your condition and aids in allowing you to return to the enjoyable activities that you may have put on hold.
More questions? Please view our FAQ’s page.