Five Things to Tell Your Chiropractor

When you make an appointment with a chiropractor for the first time, there are various things that you should plan on telling him or her. If you don’t disclose everything, you may not get the level of care that you need – and this means you’re missing out on a lot of relief. It could also cause more damage. Before your chiropractor even starts to ask questions, you can be ready to talk about these things.

Where the Pain Is

Your chiropractor is going to ask where the pain is and you want to be as specific as possible. While x-rays are likely going to be taken, you also need to vocalize the pain, as it can lead to a different diagnosis and overall treatment plan. Think about where the pain actually is before you answer the question – and then make sure you try and point to the area.
The chiropractor is also going to want to know if the pain is constant, sharp, tingling, or is aggravated when you perform certain activities.

Past Injuries

Any past injuries that you have sustained should be shared. These may be recent or ones that occurred many years ago. Don’t discount any of them because some injuries may have taken longer to show up. Further, the injury that you may have had years ago could have slowly gotten worse because of doing certain activities and functions over and over again.
Some of the injuries that you will want to talk about include car accidents, sports injuries, and slip and falls.

Past Surgeries

Don’t dismiss any surgery as being insignificant, even if it has nothing to do with the pain you are feeling now. Let your chiropractor be the one to make the determination that it is not important. This can include anything, even a C-section or cosmetic surgery. Don’t leave it out because when you are getting an adjustment, the chiropractor needs to know how to proceed on certain areas. If you fail to mention something, it could result in more pain.

Family History

Your family history matters. If all of the women in your family have experienced osteoporosis or one of your parents had an abnormality, then it’s something you want to share because it could affect you. It is something for the chiropractor to be on the lookout for when providing you with a diagnosis.

Comfort Level

There’s going to be a lot of snapping and popping during a chiropractic adjustment and this has to do with gases being released. If you are uncomfortable with certain things, you need to tell your chiropractor. If you fail to mention these things, you could inadvertently tense up during the adjustment, resulting in more pain. By speaking up, it’s possible for the adjustment to be tailored to your comfort level.