Once my blog went live, I have received several questions about how to choose a chiropractor. Since I was in that position less than 2 months ago, I thought I would write a quick list of items that I think are important when looking for the right chiropractor for you.
1. Complete Transparency - Up front and honest about everything.
After I threw my back out and decided to go to a chiropractor, I really didn't know where to start. I initially ended up visiting a chiropractor in my area that has been around for a long time. To make a long story short, he wasn't right for me. It had nothing to do with how good of a chiropractor he was, but had everything to do with how he ran his practice. Then I visited Dr. Pagano in Pennington and I understood the difference between finding a chiropractor and finding the right chiropractor. Within 45 minutes, we covered pricing, his philosophy about frequency of visits, he reviewed my x-rays with me, and we are all set for my first adjustment. This is the way I work in my business and it felt right to have someone treating me the same way that I treat my clients and customers. The core point to take away from this bullet is to make sure you feel comfortable with the chiropractor. Are they personable? Are they up front with their pricing? Do they seem honest? How many times do they want to see you? If they cannot answer these questions, run. :-)
2. Philosophy About Frequency of Visits
I briefly mentioned this in my first bullet, but it's important enough to have its own line item. I'm sure you have heard stories about people that start receiving chiropractic treatments and then find themselves going back time and time again for years. They don't have much pain anymore, but they still keep going! I didn't want to find myself in that situation. Dr. Pagano's philosophy matched my expectations. Once my back started feeling better, he wanted to me to visit him every other week. Then if that worked well, I could visit him once per month. Then if that worked well, I could probably come every other month. That made sense to me... Make sure you understand your chiropractor's philosophy about frequency of visits. If you don't, you may find yourself at his office 3 times per week for the rest of your life!
3. Find a Chiropractor with Similar Types of Patients
I exercise a lot, from jogging to weight training to playing sports like baseball, tennis, and golf. Dr. Pagano has a background in training, so when I explained the back problems I was having after working out, he immediately could give me real world examples of how other patients in the same situation dealt with it and improved. This was important to me and it gave me confidence that my treatments would help my situation. For example, once I started feeling better, he gave me good recommendations for beginning to exercise again. He also explained how to start weight training again so it wouldn't affect my back, how to start running again, how to stretch, etc. This was extremely valuable to me, and should be to you.
4. A Chiropractic Plan of Action
After reviewing my x-rays with me and explaining what was wrong with my back, Dr. Pagano explained clearly how we were going to tackle the problem. This included explaining what a chiropractic adjustment was, which areas of my back we were going to focus on, how many visits it would take to get me on the right path, what my exercise schedule should look like, so on and so forth. If you cannot map out your plan, then your expectations may be improperly set, you cannot measure your improvement against the plan, and you may end up getting frustrated. This chiropractic plan of action is extremely important. Ask about it when you visit the chiropractor for the first time. If they don't believe in setting a plan, then I would find a chiropractor that does.
I'm sure I will add to this list later on, but it's a good starting point. Again, I was in your position 2 months ago and I would have liked to have seen a list like this. Good luck and ask a lot of questions. Find a chiropractor that matches up well with your needs and you'll be in good shape. No pun intended.
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