Most anxiety about a first chiropractic visit comes from simply not knowing what will happen. So here is the whole thing, in order, exactly as it runs at our Silverdale office. Plan on 60 to 75 minutes.
Before you arrive
Download the intake packet from our paperwork page and fill it out at home, or come 15 minutes early and do it at the front desk. If a car crash brought you in, complete the accident report form too, while the details are fresh. Wondering about coverage? Call or text ahead with your member ID and the front desk verifies your benefits before you ever sit down.
The consultation
You and Dr. Siegel talk, unhurried. Your current complaint, when it started, what makes it better and worse, your history, medications, surgeries, old injuries, and what you want to get back to doing. This conversation steers everything that follows.
The examination
A thorough physical exam: vital signs, range of motion, posture, and orthopedic and neurological testing that traces your symptoms to their source. If the findings warrant it, X-rays or other imaging will be ordered before treatment proceeds. If not, you move straight to the report of findings.
The report of findings
Plain language, no jargon, no scare tactics: here is what is going on, here is whether chiropractic can help it, and here is the plan with goals attached. If your problem belongs with a different kind of doctor, you will hear that too, along with a referral.
Your first treatment
In most cases, treatment happens the same day: gentle manual adjusting matched to your comfort, instrument adjusting if you prefer the lightest touch, and supporting care such as Graston or cold laser where the findings call for them. You leave knowing what was done, what to expect afterward, and when to come back. Follow-up visits, for the record, run about 15 minutes.
That is the whole mystery. If you have been putting off that first visit, the unknown was probably worse than the appointment.