AT THE
CLINIC
YOUR APPOINTMENT (what to expect)
1. PRIOR
What we ask
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Upon making your first appointment our Chiropractic Assistants (receptionists) will ask you a few very important questions regarding your condition and the reason for you taking the first steps
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Knowing about your condition and severity helps us guide you to the best Chiropractor for you needs.
What to bring
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If you have any spinal x-rays or scans (even if they are old) they may be useful to help create the big picture. So bring them along.
2. THROUGHOUT
On Arrival
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You will be given an arrival time which includes the required time to fill in the appropriate paper work.
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Our friendly Chiropractic Assistants will greet you and kindly explain the New Patient Admission. We ask a lot of questions on the form, this is because we not only want to know about your primary complaint, but also about other issues you may have that may relate to the spine. Traumas, accidents, and injuries are all things that we need to know about as they can often be the cause of your spinal problems even years before you get the symptoms you are having today.
Resting
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It is ideal that you rest and relax in the waiting room while waiting for your appointment. This is to help calm and settle the muscles around your spine and pelvis. Resting these muscles helps you receive your spinal adjustment easier when it is time for you appointment.
Getting Ready
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One of our Chiropractic Assistant will show you around to a private changing cubical. This is where you will get ready for your appointment. This will be explained to you at the time by the Chiropractic Assistants. Our Chiropractors use a very particular form of Chiropractic where accuracy and precision are of the upmost importance. Checking the spine without the interference of clothing is the best way to get all the required information.
3. POST
Instructions
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Your Chiropractor will give you some simple instructions to follow after your first visit. It is important to follow these recommendations.
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You will most likely need a follow up appointment, your Chiropractor will instruct you if and when you need to come back.
Response
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You are likely to feel immediately better after your first adjustment. Taking the pressure off the nerve for the first time can give you tremendous relief. But you may also experience some extra swelling or feel a little “adjustment sore” after your first visit. This will settle down over the first two days.
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Each visit will build on the last. You will continue to improve after each adjustment and you will be to optimal health in no time.
We operate by the motto “Find it, Fix it, and Leave it alone”. This means we take pride in our work and aim to have you ‘back to normal’ as quick as possible. This means we usually see massive changes in our patients in just 4-6 visits, as compared to the state average chiropractic industry standard of 30-40 visits.
4. AFTER CARE MANAGEMENT
If in acute pain or following an adjustment, it is always best to ice your back for 5-10 minutes, followed by a short 10 minute walk. Leave the ice off for at least 20-30 minutes. This process should be repeated every hour or two.
Ice is important to reduce the inflammation at the disc or spinal joint that has been inflamed. Heat in this instance can actually exacerbate the swelling, so it is important not to put heat onto the affected joint to avoid making the swelling worse.
Walking, in affect, helps pump the fluid out of the disc, which therefore also helps reduce the swelling that has built up in the disc.
Ice or Heat?
In general, ice should always be used on inflamed or swollen joints (like in an injury). Heat is good to relax muscle but should never be put onto inflamed joints. Heat may feel better initially, but have an undesirable affect with inflamed or injured joints. When ice is used, it should only be for up to 10 minutes at a time only. This is because ice will cause our blood vessels to vaso-constrict, after 12 minutes the body thinks it's too cold and then vaso-dilates again, therefore creating unwanted heat at the injured area.