What To Expect On Your First Visit

If you’re new to chiropractic as a patient, you probably have a lot of questions and concerns about the over all intake process works and how your first adjustment will go. At Tuck Chiropractic Clinic, our doctors and staff strive to make it as easy as possible to schedule your first appointment and begin your journey towards living a better, pain free life. We make scheduling your first appointment and filling out your patient form a seamless online experience. This way we can dive right into delivering collaborative, hands-on care. While everyone has an experience that is catered to their individual needs, here are a few things that you can expect on your first visit.

Your Intake Process

Once the Clinic that is most convenient to you has reached out to schedule your first appointment, it’s smooth sailing from there. They will direct you to our New Patient Form so that we have a great deal of information about your personal health problems and goals before you even walk through the door. It will guide the intake process when you arrive.
You’ll often get greeted by name, even on your first visit! Our friendly staff work hard to review your information prior to your arrival so that they can provide a smooth intake experience. Upon arrival, you will be asked to fill out a small questionnaire about the areas you are experiencing pain. Then, you will sit down with a doctor to discuss your needs further. During this intake interview, they will ask more about your lifestyle and habits. This way, we can set baseline goals for outcomes as well as provide recommendations on how you can get the best of your chiropractic care by making changes in your daily life.

Chiropractic Exam

After your doctor has gotten a solid foundation of knowledge about your personal needs, they will perform a chiropractic exam and possibly order X-rays, depending on the severity of the problems. The chiropractic exam consists of performing a few minor physical movements, checking reflexes, and gauging the severity of your injury. These steps are taken to assure that they have a full understanding of how your musculoskeletal system is reacting to stimuli and how it is straining, causing pain. It’s also useful to rule out any deeper nervous system issues. If needed, the doctor may order X-rays in the area of pain to make sure there are no broken bones or to identify any disc compression.

Initial Therapies and Adjustment

With a full knowledge of your pain and a clear direction for the treatments needed, the doctor will administer any necessary therapies and adjustments to begin the process of healing. Sometimes, electric muscle stimulation therapy or ultrasound therapy is used as a way to stimulate the muscles and prepare them for the manipulation adjustment. Using electrical currents or ultrasound waves, the muscles are relaxed, helping to reduce stiffness and spasms. Settings for these therapies are adjustable to your comfort. We never want to cause more pain or comfort than you are already experiencing.
At this point, it’s time for your first adjustment! You doctor will talk you through each of the techniques before they perform the manipulation and what you can expect from each. You will almost always experiencing a “cracking” or “popping” sound and sensation. Over time, these may become less intense as your skeletal system decompresses over the next few visits. If at any time the sensation is too intense, please let your doctor know so they can adjust their technique. After your adjustments are complete, the doctor will likely give you further instructions on ways to stretch the area properly, frequency of icing needed to reduce inflammation, and any other key daily adjustments to achieve the maximum benefit from the adjustments. From here, you will likely need to visit the clinic 5-6 times over the next one to two weeks to get the best results. After these first visits, the doctor will revisit your goals, level of pain, and advise your continued treatment.
If you have any further questions about what to expect, we gladly provide more information and Frequently Asked Questions on our website!