Before You Visit A Chiropractor, Read This...

Making an appointment to see any doctor is not as fun as buying a new outfit, going out to eat, or purchasing a new pair of shoes. In addition to this unpleasant task add that you are making an appointment to a chiropractic office. My experience with many of our patients, is that they have come to us with a certain.... hesitation. They hesitated because, some have heard  many MYTHS and very few FACTS. 

This is unfortunate for me, because this means I help fewer patients and unfortunate to the folks who never make it past picking up the phone to see if our solution is the perfect fit.

 I write today to express some common sense, and consumer protection awareness when choosing a conventional chiropractor or a structural corrective chiropractor (what I focus on in practice).

Read on to find out,

"Before You Visit A Chiropractor, Read This First!"

1.) Does the doctor offer a complimentary consult - NOT EXAM, just a consultation a conversation where you can explain what is going on with your situation and where you can ask questions about the doctors focus or approach to care. Will the doctor thoroughly explain what normal range is, what indicators they are looking for, how they find these indicators, and how will they track progress, etc...

2.) Does the doctor do the exam or do they have staff do the exam? In my opinion when I go to a doctor's office I want the doctor to do the exam, and that exam better take longer than 10 minutes and include much more than just feeling my spine and moving my arms and legs around. Does the doctor show you what a normal response is vs. an abnormal finding. Can you see or experience the abnormality from the exam? For example, we routinely check for balance and stability, we show you the normal response and then test you. If you are unstable you will know it and FEEL it! What you should expect is more than a few orthopedic checks and just feeling your back. Your nervous system is vital and a quickie exam is not in your best interest.

3.) Does the doctor give you a written report (not a computer generated boiler plate report) of the exam findings? Does the doctor give you a written customized plan of care with goals and objectives? If they can't or don't put it in writing, then what does that tell you?

4.) Does the doctor show you everything that will be done for you before it is done to you? No surprises, as I get older I hate surprises and because of my deep-seated hate for surprises we tell you way UP FRONT what to expect.

5.) Does the doctor explain the type of care they give? I provide gentle, specific, non-invasive correcting procedures followed up by our structural rehab and complementary recommendations. I do not use any form of aggressive manipulations (not that there is anything wrong with aggressive manipulations, they are safe and effective), so if you want the aggressive stuff - I am NOT your guy.

If you want gentle, specific spinal corrections which are non-invasive and backed by extensive research, then I am the go to guy.

Any good chiropractor will answer these questions in a complimentary consultation or offer a Chiropractic:101 group presentation, they would also allow you to bring in a family member or friend as an extra set of eyes and ears so they can help you with your decision.

There should be absolutely no pressure to do anything and the chiropractor should explain to you other common options with out any bias.   Folks, there is more than one way to cook an egg!

About Advanced Chiropractic...

Advanced Chiropractic is owned and operated by Dr. Chris Chase. Dr. Chris has a direct approach to patient care with a focus on structural correction of the spine, which is a little different than conventional chiropractic care. You can read more about Advanced Chiropractic at or on Twitter or Facebook.