If this is your first visit to a chiropractor, you may be wondering what to expect. Typically, your first chiropractic visit at HealthQuest will follow this pattern:

Taking Your Health History

Prior to meeting with your chiropractor, we will ask you to fill out a simple form that will provide the doctor with background information about the symptom(s) and onset of your problem(s). You may be asked to sign a release for HealthQuest to obtain a copy of your relevant medical records from other practitioners.

Pre-Exam Consultation

After you have completed your health history, you will have a private consultation with your doctor. This is your opportunity to share any information or specifics you feel may be relevant to your condition, even if not strictly medical, and to discuss any concerns or questions you may have about your chiropractic treatment.

Physical Examination

Following your consultation, you will then receive a comprehensive physical examination. This is as harmless as an examination by your family physician. Because your spine is the path for information to travel from your brain to the rest of your body, chiropractors perform many of the same tests that your physician would. Your chiropractor will also test particular neurological and orthopedic responses to gain information about the range of motion of the affected area, neurological consistency, and muscule tone and strength. The purpose of the examination is for the doctor to better assess what diagnostic studies he or she may have to perform.

Diagnostic Study

The combined results of the history, examination, and diagnostic studies aid in developing a specific diagnosis. Once your diagnosis is established, your doctor can then determine if your condition will respond to chiropractic care.

Treatment Plan

If the findings are appropriate, your doctor will then discuss with you a treatment plan, including the methodologies, appointment frequency, costs, helpful tips and a general estimate of your personal healing process. Depending on your condition, you may receive an adjustment the same day. Your doctor will likely recommend a series of visits. Chiropractic, like most manual therapies, relies on repeated interventions over time to achieve maximum effect. If you have any questions, at all, about the treatment plan, be sure to ask the doctor.