In short
It depends on what the examination finds. Your care plan, and its length, is agreed with you at the second visit, the report of findings, before any care begins, and the tests from your first visit are repeated as you go so progress is measured rather than assumed.
It is a fair question and it deserves a straight answer, which is: it depends on what we find. Anyone who gives you a number before examining you is guessing. What we can tell you is how the length of a plan is decided, when you will know it, and how you will be able to see whether it is working.
The plan is agreed at your second visit
The New Patient Consultation is two visits. The first is the examination and testing. The second is the report of findings, where your chiropractor goes through what was found, shares your care plan, including what we can do to help and what you can do to support yourself, and answers your questions. Based on the information collected, a customised treatment plan is created to best suit your needs, and the length of your care plan is decided at this point.
If you are happy with everything discussed, care begins with your first adjustment at that same second visit. If you are not, nothing happens until you are.
What decides the length
How long the problem has been there, what the examination shows about how your body is compensating, and what you want to get back to all shape the plan. A few weeks of stiffness after a long drive is a different plan from a problem that has been building for ten years. Care plans run over a period of weeks, with the tests repeated to track progress.
How progress is measured
The tests from your first visit, including the posture and gait analysis and the vitality tests, are repeated as you continue through your care so that improvement is something we can show you rather than something you have to take on trust. The plan is reviewed against what those tests show, not against a number set at the start.
Your part in it
Every plan includes things to do yourself between visits: exercises, and advice on posture, lifting and the way your day is set up. People who do them tend to progress faster. If something in the plan is not working for you, say so and it will be adjusted.
Once a plan has finished
Chiropractic adjustments and treatment are available once you have been through a New Patient Consultation, so if a problem returns later, or you would like to keep on top of it, you can book treatment directly without starting again from scratch.
Book a New Patient Consultation
Two visits: a thorough examination, then your findings and a plan before any treatment begins. Evening appointments on Mondays and Thursdays, free parking outside.
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