Information for New Patients
Your first consultation
The first consultation will be approximately 45 – 60 minutes in duration. The time will be spent taking a thorough history, performing an examination, discussing treatment options and starting the treatment unless a referral is necessary first.
Please wear
- loose fitting, comfortable clothing
- your own face mask
Please bring your medical aid card and your glasses – there are a few forms that need filling in!
What can I expect from a Chiropractic Treatment?
Chiropractic is a hands-on profession. You may need to expose an area in order to view and touch the site of pain or injury, but your modesty will be preserved at all times. You will likely need to perform certain movements and actions, pressure may be applied over joints and muscles to determine where the problem may be. These would be standard orthopedic tests as performed in most medical settings.
Joint manipulation or ‘clicking’ is the form of treatment that Chiropractor’s are best known for. However there are many other modalities which may be included depending on the presenting complaint e.g. fascial release, dry needling, mobilisation, strapping, rehab exercises, advice etc.
Your chiropractic care will start with the taking of a complete health history. Questions such as what type of pain you have, where the pain is, how did the pain start and so forth will be asked. He/she will also ask questions about your past health history, family history, and any other conditions that you might previously have suffered from.
After the case history has been taken, a complete physical exam will be performed in order to assess your condition. It will include analysing your posture, testing your range of motion, testing reflexes and carrying out other neurological and orthopaedic tests. Together, all these tests will help give your chiropractor a greater knowledge of what the cause of the problem might be. X-rays or laboratory tests may be required. This is not always necessary, and your chiropractor will determine if such tests are required.
If your chiropractor determines that your case can be treated through chiropractic care, the treatment you will receive will generally consist of highly specialised manipulative techniques often referred to as adjustments. Such adjustments are performed by hand and consist of a high velocity, low amplitude thrust being applied to a specific vertebra in the spine.
Adjustments are safe, and some patients can experience immediate relief as the normal joint motion is restored and the nerve is freed of any restrictive pressure or irritation. However, some patients require a few treatments in order to correct the problem. No two patients are the same, so be patient as your body starts to realign itself and learns to adapt to the changes that are occurring.