The first thing to consider when deciding what kind of chiropractic care you’re looking for is what kind of experience would best suit your availability and schedule, your expectations for what kind of relationship you’d like to build with your chiropractor, and what of treatment options you’d like to have readily available for you.
To better understand what kind of practice it is, here are some questions to ask a new chiropractor:
1. How long are your appointments?
Appointment lengths can vary from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the kind of practice it is: some have a simple ‘show up, get adjusted and leave’ set up that is perfect for people who know what they like to have done and can benefit for a quick visit. Others encourage much longer visits where follow-up and feedback are important, and a relationship can be fully developed, which are more appropriate for people who are looking to have a dedicated chiropractor know and follow their case.
2. What treatments do you provide on-site?
Some practices focus only on manual manipulations and basic heat/ice therapy, while others can offer a wide variety of options, including:
o Graston Technique ®
o Active Release Techniques ® (ART)
o Soft tissue treatment
o Ultrasound Therapy
o Massage Therapy
3. How do you determine how many visits I’ll need?
You will always want to choose a chiropractor whose aim is to help relieve your pain in as few visits as possible, and who will continue to evaluate your progress at every visit so that you avoid going in more often than you need to. The aim should always be to achieve initial pain relief, and then develop a plan that will allow you to continue to maintain that relief on your own so that
your pain doesn’t come back.
4. Will you show me ways of preventing what you are treating?
When a chiropractor’s goal is to help you achieve pain relief and develop an easy maintenance plan that you can continue to follow on your own, you’ll find that the benefits of the care you’ve received is prolonged and the risks
or re-injuring yourself are low.
5. Will you show me ways of preventing what you are treating?
When a chiropractor’s goal is to help you achieve pain relief and develop an easy maintenance plan that you can continue to follow on your own, you’ll find that the benefits of the care you’ve received is prolonged and the risks or re-injuring yourself are low.
When it comes to the treatment plan your chiropractor has developed for you, subsequent visits may be necessary. Some chiropractors offer pre-paid care packages. While buying a pre-determined amount of visits might be convenient, be sure to ask this last question:
6. If you feel as though the problem has resolved and you don’t wish to continue your treatments, will you be refunded the remaining balance?
It is stated in the Chiropractic Patient Charter of Rights that you are to receive a refund of any fees paid in advance within seven days of a formal request