When visiting a chiropractor for the first time, patients have many ideas of what they may experience, influenced by crazy internet videos, the enthusiastic person who referred them and other assorted opinions and expectations. Some patients who have visited a chiropractor before jump on the table not realizing that I always evaluate patients before we treat them. The first time I visited a periodontist I did not understand what they did. I remember meeting Dr. Kahn, my periodontist who helped me keep rear molars in my mouth for 30 years since I met him. Over the years, he became a patient and friend of mine improving his running and feeling good into retirement age through chiropractic care. He understood that chiropractic helped him perform better both professionally and during his many marathons and did not question the value of the care we delivered to him and his family. Great professionals are hard to find, but when you find great ones, hold on to them as they are difficult to find. In the profession of chiropractic, many of our patients have been in our practice in excess of 30 years and they too understand that great people are hard to find and they value what we do for them and their families and friends. Patients new to chiropractic care may have misunderstandings about why they hurt and are surprised at how thorough and careful we are when we evaluate and eventually treat them. They appreciate how we communicate and explain their problems and how they feel days, weeks and years later. NJ has many fine chiropractic sports physicians including myself. Sports chiropractic began in NJ and every professional sport uses chiropractors to improve performance and reduce recovery time for their team members. Personally, I was the medical director for USATFNJ for 26 years helping runners and other athletes recover and compete at their best. Currently, I have been working as team chiropractor for the Jersey Shore Wave women’s pro football who just completed their first season in NJ. First visit expectations. History and evaluation Patients who meet me have already had their blood pressure and pulse taken. I begin our conversation with their main problem and then I ask them about other less important or resolved complaints in their past history. Patients are often unaware that I have already visually assessed them and their gait as they walked in our hallways in the office. Our evaluation begins with a postural evaluation from the feet up. I point out everything I see and explain what those findings may mean as we continue. Most patients are not accustomed to their doctor explaining what they see as they go along. We check their flexibility, balance, neurology if needed, pulses if needed as well as the usual neurological and orthopedic tests most doctors rely on. Muscle tone and the fascial system is also part of our evaluation as well. Some patients may require foot orthotics to balance their hips as this is a common cause of back and neck pain. X-rays are sometimes recommended if advanced degeneration or anomalies of the the spine are suspected. Past traumas and surgeries may also require an x ray to rule out problems developing from these areas months or years later. Once the evaluation and history has been completed, treatment begins immediately afterward unless there is a medical concern which needs to be evaluated first. The good news is most patients receive care during the first visit and often feel a relief of pain on that visit. Chiropractic treatment. Once the evaluation is completed, the doctor will begin by loosening the tight fascia and work on improving the problems found on the evaluation with the goal of reducing your pain. Inflammation often is a feature of why people hurt which is why people may move and function better but continue to feel pain. Improvement takes time but we do what we can to help. We do give followup advice and sometimes will recommend a natural product to relieve pain and inflammation in the short term. Our treatment methods include Manipulation of the spine and extremities to improve movement and reduce pain. Manipulation of tight fascia, the important connective tissue that is responsible for how we move and function. Exercises and foot orthotics if needed to level the pelvis and reduce strain on the legs, feet and back. Future visits include Conversation with the doctor about current complaints and a comparison to the prior visit Brief evaluation and a report of findings to discuss our first visit findings. A discussion of physical changes from the previous visit. Treatment including soft tissue, spinal and extremity manipulation as needed. Exercises to strengthen the area involved and retrain the body to function better than before. Discharge from care and future recommendations. Patients are discharged when their physical function has improved to maximum benefit under the treatment program. Treatment recommendations are designed to result in long term functional improvements rather than just temporary pain relief. Most patients have chronic problems that became acute which is why they called us initially. At discharge, patients have learned exercises to keep themselves functioning better, they learned about what their body needs functionally such as exercises to loosen the hip or shoulder capsules or foot orthotics. Patients are often instructed to return in a month to evaluate their stability and current health. Care is recommended either as needed, periodic or they may be given a different follow-up frequency dependent on their unique needs. Our goals are your goals. Chiropractic care keeps things simple rather than requiring multiple people who pass you around with multiple opinions and tests to make a diagnosis first. We believe a thorough history and evaluation of the musculoskeletal system will solve your painful problems. While we do order tests if necessary, most MRI exams show us a history of malfunction, while the evaluation shows us the malfunction causing your problems. In many cases, care for the problem costs less than most medical care and the multiple practitioners who evaluate you. Chiropractic patients come from all walks of life and patients often refer other patients including family members. Our specialty in sports medicine has allowed us to help thousands of runners, football players, basketball players, marshal arts participants, soccer players, swimmers, gymnasts and more. Keep it simple, think chiropractic first. Book online today.