I totally understand when I have new patients that are unsure or scared on their first visit. When you have never been adjusted (this is what chiropractors call “cracking” your back, although there is more to it than that, read on) it can be a little daunting, but rest assured after the first visit everybody agrees it is enjoyable and nothing to worry about. I had a root canal for the first time last year and I was nervous and unsure what to expect. Needless to say I would rather see my chiropractor everyday for the rest of my life than have to see my endodontist again, although he did a great job 🙂
On your first visit I will sit down and talk to you about what is hurting and take a medical history. We can discuss how you injured yourself and what treatments you have tried in the past and what has helped and didn’t help. Even if you have seen other chiropractors, we all have different techniques and some work better for other people.
Typically I will refer my patients to Borgess at Woodbridge for x-ray imaging as needed. This imaging helps us sit down so I can explain what is going on with your spine and why you are experiencing your symptoms. Common symptoms are back and neck pain, arm pain, sciatica, numbness and tingling, headaches and tight and sore muscles.
If you have not suffered a major trauma I can often adjust you on your first visit and get you back on the road to recovery. This consists of doing what we call flexion distraction. You lay on your stomach on a table and I gentle stretch your spine out with my hands. Then I can do stretching type adjustments that may produce cavitations (cracking) in your spine. This will align your bones properly. If you are scared to have your back or neck “cracked” then I can use my adjusting instrument.
After you get adjusted most patients will do mechanical traction. This is a table that has rollers in it that massage and vibrate to help relax your muscles and speed up your recovery. I also have a cervical traction unit for patients that have neck pain or headaches. This helps stretch open the joints in your neck to alleviate the pressure on the nerves and decreases the pain.
The entire visit typically takes 30-45 minutes for your first visit and 15-20 for follow up visits.
This is one of my adjusting tables
This is the traction tables that have massaging rollers in them.
This is the instrument I use to adjust in case you don’t like being “cracked.”