What to Expect

My First Visit

Your first visit to Chiropractic Clinic of Iowa will give you an opportunity to find out how chiropractic care can help you. On your first visit to our office you will be welcomed as a member to our family, and our receptionist will greet you with a warm smile. You will then be asked to fill out our required forms (or you may simply click 'Patient Forms’ above and fill them out before your appointment), which will help us gain some information about yourself and your condition.  If you wish to submit your chiropractic charges to an insurance company, please bring along your insurance card, as well as a form of photo identification.

Consultation

Your Doctor at Chiropractic Clinic of Iowa will meet with you to learn your health history and ask specific questions regarding your condition.  This is also your opportunity to talk to the Doctor about questions or concerns that you may have.  At the conclusion of your consultation, the Doctor will let you know how chiropractic care can help you.  If the Doctor feels your condition should be addressed by another health care professional instead, we will refer you to the practitioner that will help you the most.

We will do a complete chiropractic examination which includes Cervical and Lumbar R.O.M. Testing, Cervical and Lumbar Strength Testing, Posture Analysis, Comparative Scales, Weight, Height, Neurological Tests, Orthopedic Tests, and a Proprioceptive Test which will assess your balance. The Doctor will gain valuable information from these tests to develop a treatment plan specifically for your case.  If necessary, the Doctor may take x-rays or refer you for additional testing procedures.

X-rays allow the Doctor to gain a thorough understanding of the cause of your condition. The need for x-rays is determined on a case by case basis.  However, when a patient has never been to a chiropractor, has not had x-rays taken for a long period of time, or in the event of a significant injury, it will be necessary to obtain x-rays. If recent x-rays (or an MRI, etc.) have been performed elsewhere, we request they to be sent to our office as soon as possible to help evaluate your case.

Report of Findings

Once all of your health information has been gathered and examinations have been performed, the Doctor will prepare and present a Report of Findings, as well as give a recommendation for treatment. Your Doctor at Chiropractic Clinic of Iowa will meet with you for the Report of Findings on the day following your first visit.  This allows your Doctor the time and attention required to gain a firm understanding of your condition and determine a schedule of care.  Your adjustments and any necessary rehabilitation therapy will begin that day, following your Report of Findings.

Treatment

Most of our patients begin to see results from the very first adjustment. However, for optimum results, it is important to Our gentle, yet effective, treatment techniques are appropriate for kids able to restore function and movement to even the most heavily muscled athletes. In addition to chiropractic treatments we also use physical therapy modalities such as electrical muscle stimulation (which massages and relaxes the muscle while pumping swelling out of the area). We also use corrective stretching and strengthening exercise on most of our patients. These exercises help to regain the flexibility, strength and stability that are lacking in many of our new patient’s spines.

Please note that some people are nervous to have any type of hands-on adjusting (especially in the neck region) where they will hear the ‘noise’ created when bones move. This is easily addressed by using the Activator technique where a very low force impulse is delivered into the bone to move it. There is no ‘noise’ produced and the movement of bone is absolutely painless.  It is a very effective procedure which produces wonderful results.