What to Expect on Your First Visit
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About Chiropractic Care |
People usually visit a chiropractor for the first time because they’re experiencing pain or discomfort. Our goal at Lake Shore Chiropractic is to relieve your pain and get you moving better as soon as possible. But all good relationships must start by building a strong foundation. Before we can address your symptoms, it’s important to take a patient history and conduct a thorough clinical examination.
When visiting our offices for the first time, expect to spend some time in consultation and examination with your doctor before undergoing treatment. This will allow them to determine if chiropractic treatment is appropriate for you. Each patient present with their own specific needs and requires individualized treatment. All patients undergo a reasonable trial treatment to see if they will respond to chiropractic. If you are not responding favorably we will alter your treatment and/or refer you to appropriate providers for further evaluation and treatment. We work closely with many MD's, in particular, Physiatrists and Physical Therapists.
The Patient History:
It will provide us an understanding of your symptoms and health history. It will help us treat you more efficiently and effectively. You’ll be asked to fill out a standard questionnaire regarding pre-existing medical conditions, family health history and health provider information. Be prepared to answer a few basic questions such as:
Your doctor needs to perform funtional, postural, orthopedic and neurological tests before recommending a course of treatment. Checking your muscle strength and tone, range of motion and neurological integrity is necessary to determine the best course of action. Diagnostic tests such as x-ray, MRI or laboratory tests may or may not be needed.
Results of the consultation will help our chiropractor develop the best course of treatment for each individual patient. At this time, the doctor will be happy to answer your questions about the diagnosed condition and the treatment plan.
The Treatment: 3 Phases of Treatment:
Treatmetn is individualized to the patient.
Patients new to chiropractic care are naturally curious about the frequency of treatments needed to maintain optimal spinal health. It’s important to realize that there is no set formula. Patients require different levels of care depending on the severity and causality of their pain/injury. Generally speaking, at Lake Shore ChiroCenter we view treatment as something that happens in 3 stages.
When visiting our offices for the first time, expect to spend some time in consultation and examination with your doctor before undergoing treatment. This will allow them to determine if chiropractic treatment is appropriate for you. Each patient present with their own specific needs and requires individualized treatment. All patients undergo a reasonable trial treatment to see if they will respond to chiropractic. If you are not responding favorably we will alter your treatment and/or refer you to appropriate providers for further evaluation and treatment. We work closely with many MD's, in particular, Physiatrists and Physical Therapists.
The Patient History:
It will provide us an understanding of your symptoms and health history. It will help us treat you more efficiently and effectively. You’ll be asked to fill out a standard questionnaire regarding pre-existing medical conditions, family health history and health provider information. Be prepared to answer a few basic questions such as:
- Where is your pain located?
- How and when did the pain start?
- Can you describe the pain? (Is it throbbing, burning, continuous or intermittent, etc?)
- Do certain activities make the pain better or worse?
- Have you recently suffered a work injury, sport's injury or been in an auto accident?
Your doctor needs to perform funtional, postural, orthopedic and neurological tests before recommending a course of treatment. Checking your muscle strength and tone, range of motion and neurological integrity is necessary to determine the best course of action. Diagnostic tests such as x-ray, MRI or laboratory tests may or may not be needed.
Results of the consultation will help our chiropractor develop the best course of treatment for each individual patient. At this time, the doctor will be happy to answer your questions about the diagnosed condition and the treatment plan.
The Treatment: 3 Phases of Treatment:
Treatmetn is individualized to the patient.
Patients new to chiropractic care are naturally curious about the frequency of treatments needed to maintain optimal spinal health. It’s important to realize that there is no set formula. Patients require different levels of care depending on the severity and causality of their pain/injury. Generally speaking, at Lake Shore ChiroCenter we view treatment as something that happens in 3 stages.
- Phase 1: Relief/Acute Care – The length of treatment varies with each patient and the condition from which they suffer. We use as a rule of thumb to prescribe a trial period of treatment for acute conditons 4-6 treatments. During this time we want you to experience improvement. For chronic conditions, we prescribe 6-8 treatment (2x/week for 3-4 weeks) to see if we can obtain positive results. This frequency is the best way to relieve pain, restore function and get you on the road to wellness without drugs or surgery.
- Phase 2: Corrective/Restorative Care/Rehabilitative – During this phase, muscles and other soft tissues can begin the process of healing which helps prevent future injury. Depending on the severity of your problem, this phase of care varies.
- Phase 3: Wellness/Supportive Care – Entering the phase of wellness or supportive care means your body has responded to treatment and has fully healed. However structural and functional deficiencies may still exist. Based on your condition, physical condition, lifestyle and goals, wellness/supportive care regiments vary as to frequency of care to maintain optimal spinal health. Many benefit from 1x/month.
What Your First Vistit to the Chiropractor Will be Like
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We want all of our patients to feel comfortable and confident in
their choice of our chiropractic care team.
