What to expect at your first chiropractic visit

What to bring and prepare

Bring records that help explain the concern:

• Photo ID.
• Relevant health-plan or accident-claim information.
• A current medication list.
• Reports or imaging records related to the complaint, if available.
• Names of providers involved in current care.
• A short timeline of when the problem began and how it affects one or two ordinary activities.

For a car accident, add the report number if issued, claim contact information if a claim is open, and a list of care received since the collision. Read the accident-focused first-visit guide.

Describe what happened

Begin with the event or pattern, not a diagnosis you found online. State when the complaint started, whether a specific event preceded it, what changed next, and what is hardest now.

Useful sentences sound like:

• "The stiffness built gradually over three months."
• "The headache began the evening after the collision."
• "Sitting is tolerable for about twenty minutes; walking feels different."
• "The pain stays in my back, but numbness reaches my foot."

The office should also ask about relevant conditions, medications, prior injuries, and warning signs.

The examination

There is no single exam checklist that fits every person. The clinician chooses the examination based on the history and the concern. The important part for a patient is understanding what is being checked and why.

Ask for plain-language explanations:

• What are you assessing?
• Did anything in the history change the exam?
• Is there a reason not to proceed with chiropractic care?
• Do I need medical or emergency evaluation?

Do not use this page to assume that imaging, manipulation, exercises, or another modality will be part of your visit.

Hear the findings

The explanation should separate observations from certainty. It should tell you what the office found, what it cannot conclude, how that connects to your symptoms, and what options exist.

A responsible answer may be:

• A trial of conservative care may be reasonable.
• More information is needed.
• Another provider should evaluate this first.
• The complaint appears outside the office's scope.

Referral is a clinical answer, not a customer-service failure. No website can promise that care will begin the same day or that a specific technique will be appropriate.

Decide what happens next

Before agreeing to care, ask:

1. What is the goal?
2. What technique or approach is being proposed?
3. What common short-term effects or material risks should I understand?
4. What alternatives are available?
5. How will progress be measured?
6. When will the plan be reviewed?
7. What would make us stop or refer?

The NCCIH spinal manipulation guide(opens in a new tab) can help you prepare safety and evidence questions.

If the visit is after a car accident

An accident visit adds context:

• Direction and type of impact.
• Your position and movement in the vehicle.
• Symptoms at the scene and later.
• Emergency, hospital, or other care already received.
• Crash report and claim information, if available.
• Work, sleep, driving, and household activities that changed.

The clinical record describes the health-care encounter. It sets out the history, the findings, and the plan discussed at the visit.

Keep clinical details out of the website form

The online form is for contact and scheduling basics — call the office for the clinical conversation, and keep diagnoses, records, and identifiers out of the form.

Frequently asked questions

Schedule the visit

The office is at 719 Chillicothe St, Portsmouth, OH 45662, across from Kroger. Hours are Monday through Thursday, 9:00 AM–1:00 PM and 2:00 PM–6:00 PM. Call (740) 876-8394 to ask about availability.

This page provides general information. It cannot diagnose an injury or replace emergency or medical care.