Your First Appointment?

When you book your first appointment we will email you an online health questionnaire, helping your Chiropractor to build a complete picture of who you are and why you are coming to see us. When you visit the clinic we will ask you to complete one more form, giving your Chiropractor as much information about your symptoms and reason for visiting the clinic. 

Your Chiropractor will then consult with you about your symptoms, how they started, what makes them better or worse, discuss any previous treatment you have tried and ask some specific questions to help them determine their next course of action. Once your Chiropractor is happy they have all of the information about you and your symptoms, they will then proceed with the physical examination. 

The physical examination will often start with an assessment of your spine, checking the alignment, movement and overall joint condition throughout your spine. Chiropractors are experts in locating areas of dysfunction in the spine, using their trained hands to palpate each spinal joint, and applying a combination of gentle and firm pressure around the spine. They will also assess your muscle tension, check for any areas of inflammation or swelling and if needed will perform more advanced physiological and neurological testing.

Following your examination, it may be necessary to refer you for x-ray imaging to help us determine the underlying causes of your symptoms and ensure it is both safe and appropriate to continue with care. These X-rays will then help to form our rationale for care and ensure you are getting the most appropriate care based on your spinal condition. 

Once your Chiropractor is happy they have all the necessary information to assess your case, they will discuss their initial findings, and if you are both happy they will often want to perform the first adjustment. This adjustment is treated as part of the examination, as once the Chiropractor has located the joints in your spine which are causing your symptoms, they will then want to feel how your joints move and how they respond to being adjusted. 

After your first adjustment, your Chiropractor will need to go away and study all of their notes, the findings of the physical examination, your health history and if available any x-ray images. This will then allow them to create a treatment plan aimed at rehabilitating your spine, restoring your function and addressing your symptoms.

Following your New Patient Appointment, your Chiropractor will spend time studying their notes and findings from your appointment. This will include studying your intake form (which includes all of your health histories), primary complaint form (which includes information about all of your symptoms and reason for visiting us), all of their notes from your consultation, the findings of your physical examination, and if you have needed X-Rays they will need to study these in detail. If you have had X-Rays, we also send the images to a Medical Radiologist for a second opinion and to ensure nothing is ever missed.

Having studied your case fully and compiled all of this information together, your Chiropractor will then form the most appropriate treatment plan aimed at rehabilitating your spinal motion, restoring your function and addressing your symptoms. These treatment plans are different for each patient and typically follow this rough structure;

Phase 1; the first phase of care is typically focused on restoring motion to areas of the spine which your Chiropractor has determined are the most fixated, out-of-alignment or in the most amount of dysfunction. This will often include specific at-home stretches to encourage and maintain optimal joint motion between each of your Chiropractic adjustments. This first phase of care is typically the most intensive phase of care, lasting from 4 to 8 weeks and with adjustments 1 to 3 times per week. The exact frequency and length of the first phase are determined on a case-by-case basis and personalised to your recovery plan.

Phase 2; following successful completion of the initial phase of care, you will then move into the second phase, which is focused on increasing strength and stability to your spine, most importantly the areas which have needed the most amount of work during the first phase, or the areas which are the weakest in your spine and core. To complement the stretches in the first phase, your Chiropractor will often recommend various strengthening exercises to help increase muscular tone, strength and stability throughout your body. This second phase of care is typically at a lesser frequency of adjustments, lasting from 4 to 8 weeks and with adjustments 1 time per week. The exact frequency and length of the second phase are determined by how you have responded to the first phase of care and personalised to your recovery plan.

Phase 3; by the end of the second phase of care, we would expect the majority of patients to have their symptoms under control, experience increased flexibility, and improved ability, feel stronger and more stable, and overall experience higher levels of well-being. The third phase of care is different for each individual, we typically have two directions from this point; some patients will be discharged at this stage, with either your chiropractor or yourself feeling like they have achieved everything you wanted. For those not continuing treatment, we still suggest a continuation of regular stretching and strengthening exercises to maintain your progress. In some cases, a maintenance schedule of care can be recommended, aimed at maintaining your spinal motion and alignment over a longer period of time. This can be important in cases where we have found evidence of joint degeneration, as these areas can be prone to stiffening and becoming dysfunctional far quicker, and can be harder to self-manage through only stretches and exercises. At the end of your second phase of care, your Chiropractor will consult with you on all options, allowing you to make an informed decision on the best path forwards for yourself.