Chiropractor Chandler AZ
What To Expect On Your First Day
Alpha Chiropractic & Physical Therapy takes a unique approach to rehabilitation, in that it is more integrative, and supports patients in taking an active approach in their treatment. Your first visit will begin with an assessment, but you can expect to begin your therapeutic program right away. Therefore it is important to come prepared. This includes:
- Downloading your patient paperwork from our website using the following link: Click to Download New Patient Paperwork.
- Bringing your insurance verification along with your completed paperwork. This will save valuable time at check-in.
- Also bringing any imaging studies or documentation from medical providers that you would like to share with us.
- Dressing appropriately. Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing and please either wear or bring a pair of athletic shoes along. If you don’t own a pair of athletic shoes a pair of lace-up walking shoes will work as well.
Video: What To Expect On Your First Day. Please Watch!
Following check-in, you will meet with a member of the clinical team for an initial assessment, based on your intake paperwork. We are interested in hearing (in your own words) about what led up to your injury, signs and symptoms, how long the condition has been going on and how it is interfering with your ability to perform activities of daily living.
At this point, we will probably start you on a passive treatment to reduce the pain level. This can include heat or ice packs, traction (roller table), electrotherapy (interferential, Russian, surge, etc.) or Class IV cold laser. Depending on the nature of the injury, we may also start with some passive stretching or relaxation exercises.
How you respond to the previous steps will tell us more about your injury for a better evaluation.The formal assessment with our chiropractor, Dr. Carson Robertson, will enable him to determine the overall course of therapy for your injury or condition. Chiropractic treatment is not a one-size-fits-all modality. There are many approaches to treating back pain and related conditions. Your input is very important here: you need to be comfortable with the treatment plan, and feel confident that you can invest the time and effort into homework exercises that will make your recovery as fast and complete as possible.
Following are some of the modalities that Dr. Robertson may recommend, depending on his diagnosis:
- Different techniques for chiropractic adjustment, including manual manipulation, use of an activator, electric activator, flexion-distraction, drop table, decompression, etc.
- Corrective exercise. This will involve a combination of sessions with our physical therapist and/or corrective exercise specialist as well as a home program. Where you begin with the exercises will depend on the severity of your injury, your overall level of fitness and your ability to balance. Because safety is our priority, we always address balance deficits first, before you begin any other exercises.
- Treatments to address scar tissue and fascial adhesions that may have caused soft tissue injuries to become chronic. This can include Graston technique and/or Extracorporeal shockwave therapy. Both of these treatments jump start the healing process by breaking up scar tissue so healthy collagen tissue can aggregate in its place.
Because we are an integrative medicine facility, we may also recommend ancillary services from other co-located providers, including naturopathic medicine, massage and acupuncture. The idea is to take a holistic approach that will yield the fastest and more effective path to recovery.
Most patients are pleasantly surprised by all of the treatments and services we offer. The combination and amount of treatments help you to get pain free faster than with chiropractic adjustments or physical therapy alone. There will also be some education on your injury either in the form of books or email.
