New Patients

New Patients

A new patient at Duluth Chiropractic Clinic can expect the following on their first visit:

History: This is when you get to tell our doctors how your symptoms started and how they are effecting your life. This is the most important part of your first visit because it helps the doctor start to determine what is causing your symptoms and how it can be relieved. An accurate history can be 90%+ effective in detecting “RED FLAG” issues like cancer, infection, and fracture that may require further testing or a referral to another health care provider. We frequently refer our patients to multiple providers for co-management of your health conditions.

Examination: After the history, your doctor will then examine you to determine what is generating the pain you’re experiencing and any postural imbalances that may be contributing to it. This examination may include: static postural evaluations, ranges of motion, orthopedic and neurological examinations, muscle and joint palpation, etc.

X-Ray & MRI: Most spinal pain does not require initial x-ray evaluation. There is strict criteria that must be met for appropriate imaging of spinal pain syndromes that includes:

Major trauma
History of cancer
Fever/Night pain/Unexplained weightloss
Failure to improve with conservative care

Report of Findings: Can chiropractic help me? What is causing my pain? How did this happen? What can I do to feel better? How long will it take until I feel better? These are the questions that are answered in the Report of Findings. We will let you know what the history and examination have revealed to be causing your pain and, if you have a condition that chiropractic can help, what it will take to get you back on track. Any questions you have will be answered to the best of our abilities and we will give you a realistic outlook on what your recovery should look like. If we have determined that we need more advanced testing or you need to see another health care provider, an appropriate referral will be made.

Treatment: After we have determined if we can help you and have described what the next steps are, you will receive your first treatment usually on the same day. We want you to feel better as fast as possible. Please see the Services and Treatments for a description of how we help our patients get back on track.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us. We look forward to serving you.