8 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Chiropractor

8 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Chiropractor

Your chiropractor needs to be someone who you can trust. Someone who has your best intentions in mind and will give his or her best recommendations to you, at all times. Here are 8 important questions you should ask before choosing a chiropractor as a new patient.

1. Can the chiropractor help me with my goals?

What health goals are you searching for? Are you looking for help with a sports injury, pain relief, or wellness care? Does the chiropractor treat babies, adults, or people with medicare? Are you seeking treatment following a motor vehicle accident or a work injury (these will often require different forms of paperwork than normal new patients to the office)? Are you seeking nutritional advice, acupuncture or rehabilitation? Do you prefer a certain type of chiropractic adjustment? Be sure to find a chiropractor that can meet your specific health goals.

2. Does the doctor have positive and satisfied patient testimonials?

One of the best ways to check on the chiropractor’s credibility is to read reviews and testimonials from people who have been seen by the doctor before. A great source of reviews are found online. Google Places, Facebook, Yelp and others are among great places to check for.

3. What types of examinations does the doctor take?

Granted that all chiropractors are required to examine a patient before initiating any type of treatment, some are better than others. Depending on what type of problem that you have also dictates where the direction of the examination should go. So where I am going with this? You want your doctor be very specific in deciphering your complaint and determining the cause of the problem. Some questions include: Does the doctor take x-rays? Does the doctor have enough time to discuss and examine all of your complaints? Does he utilize any other instruments to make his recommendations?

4. Does the doctor network with other doctors of specialty?

While chiropractic treatment is beneficial to most people, some require treatment from other providers. This is usually done collaboratively to reach a common goal. Your chiropractor should not be afraid to send you to someone who can more appropriately handle your problem, if need be.

5. How does the chiropractor track my progress?

Both you and the doctor need to be on the same page regarding how treatments are coming along and what lies ahead. Your chiropractor should be notating how you are feeling each visit by asking you directly and using clinical skills to determine the future care schedule. Some chiropractors do re-exams at a certain point to check for improvements, some will utilize objective findings on x-rays, and some will use tools and instruments. Your chiropractor should be able to gather enough information to add to clinical experience for progress analysis. In the case that you are regressing, your doctor should have a plan to figure out if he needs to change his treatments with you or refer back to question 4 and refer you to someone else who can help.

6. Is the doctor in good standing with the state boards?

A quick search online to any chiropractic state board should be able to tell you if the chiropractor has any complaints filed against him.

7. Does the office have a no (or minimal) wait policy?

Who likes to go into a doctor’s office, on time, and still have to wait an hour to finally get in to see the doctor? People these days are busy. You have things to do and places to go. Your chiropractor should be on time and respectful of yours.

8. Does the chiropractor offer preventative solutions/exercises for at home?

Speeding the healing process is often achieved with home care recommendations. Preventative recommendations present a way to minimize the chances of these problems reoccurring in the future.

These questions are some of the best questions to ask before choosing a chiropractor. There are also many others. Here in our office we love questions as they are part of the education process!

Learn more about the types of chiropractic care we provide here→ Types of Care

Yours in health,

Dr. Glenn Ezell