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New Patient Encounter
A Typical Chiropractic New Patient Encounter With Us...
This page will take you through a summary of what to expect if decide you would like to come to the Melksham Family Chiropractic Centre as a chiropractic new patient. It will cover all the main aspects from the initial booking process to having had your first treatment. You will be able to find further details on these steps on other sections of our website.
Initial Booking Process
Booking your first appointment is quick and easy. You can make any enquiries by phone or email, however all bookings need to be made over the phone or in person. When you call up, Tracey or Karen will answer your questions whether about appointment times, finding us or costs. All they need initially is your name and a contact number.
As the chiropractors focus and work from the single practice, between them they are available Monday to Friday (mornings, afternoons and evenings) and every other Saturday morning, making it convenient to see them when it suits you.
Virtually all new patients will be able to be seen within 24 hours if needed, however sometimes it might be up to 2-3 days.
Finding Us & Arrival
The centre is really easy to find on Spa Road in Melksham, about 100 meters from the market place roundabout on the left as you head away from the town.
There is free on-site car parking for patients to help make it more convenient especially when you might be in a lot of pain. We also have disabled access.
When you come in the main entrance and through into the reception, you will be greeted by a member of staff, most likely Tracey or Karen. They will ask you to fill out a basic form with your name and contact details before you go through to see the chiropractor.
Case History
Going through a case history is the first part of your consultation with the chiropractor. This is where you will have a good talk through any aches, pains or problems you are having. There will also be some other questions to establish your general spinal health and function (and other joints too eg, shoulders or hips) and your past medical history, which may be relevant.
Part of the consultation will be discussion about your goals and what you are hoping to achieve from your treatment, whether its just pain relief or improving your spinal health and function.
This time is really important to get to the root of what the problem is. Having a proper talk about what is going on, when it is effecting you, how your life is being limited and effected as a result is key to a successful outcome. Muscle and joint pains, especially chronic (long term) conditions can be both physically and mentally draining and we want to do everything we can to help make you feel better, which is possible in the majority of cases.
Physical Examination
The physical examination is where the chiropractor will go through a series of checks to find out what the problem is and whether or not your pains are musculoskeletal in origin. These assessments are safe, non-invasive and you will not be put through any more discomfort than you may already be in.
The checks that our chiropractors do will predominantly assess your posture, joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and spinal discs.
The primary goals at this stage are to identify what is causing your current pain, to ensure that chiropractic treatment will be safe and effective for your current problem and to provide you with some initial treatment and self help advice for you to start doing straight away.
The examination will include postural checks, orthopaedic, neurological and chiropractic diagnostic tests, muscular strength and function tests, joint ranges of motion and flexibility. The chiropractor will explain what they find as they go along, building a picture of what the problems are and how they will need to be addressed. Men may be asked to remove their shirts and women may be asked to put on a gown, however this may not be required depending on the area being examined and the type of clothes you are wearing. You will not be made to feel uncomfortable and you generally won't be required to wear gowns on your follow up visits (unless you would prefer to, in which case you will be welcome to).
Discussion & 1st Treatment
Once the chiropractor has checked what they need to check and are happy that chiropractic treatment is safe and suitable for you, they will explain what is going on and what steps are needed to address any of the issues. Much of this will have been mentioned during the consultation already while going through your history and examination.
The aim of treatment at this stage is to start establishing better movement in the joints and soft tissues, which in turn will start to make the area feel more comfortable.
The chiropractor will also go through self-help measures which will help with your recovery. These may be stretches, exercises, postural tips, advice on painkillers or using ice/heat packs that you will be expected to start doing from the time you get back home.
For further information on the techniques used, click here.
Payment & Booking Follow-Up Appointment
Following your consultation, the chiropractor will take you back out to the reception and leave you with Tracey or Karen who will sort out the payments and will find a suitable day and time for your next appointment.
Payment can be made by cash, cheque or card.
We can issue you with written receipts should you need them for work or to send off for private insurance claims. You can also request a reminder call if you would like too.
2nd Visit & Subsequent Treatments
When you return for your follow-up visit, you will have a chat with the chiropractor about how you have been feeling and what has started to change since your initial visit. Most of the time people will have started to notice some improvements, some more than others depending on various reasons.
The chiropractor will re-cap on the results and findings from your initial visit, go into more detail about the various treatment options and different techniques that can be used. Some people prefer firmer treatment where as others prefer more gentle treatments - all of this can be catered for as our chiropractors are trained in multiple techniques ranging from the firmer spinal manipulations to the more gentle mobilisation and stretching techniques.
Your treatment will be continuing to establish better alignment and mobility of your joints while also working on the surrounding muscles, nerves and other soft tissues. The chiropractor will be able to give you some guidelines on time scales for your recovery and improvements and what you need to be doing at home and what the best course of treatment would be to get the best results. Some types of problem will be able to be significantly helped in a few sessions, most will require a course of treatment over a few weeks and then some will take several months to make improvements.
You will also be given more stretches and exercises as time goes on that are appropriate to what you need and what you are comfortably able to do at that time.
Once you start to make real progress and are approaching feeling back to 'normal' you will have a chat about what longer term measures you need to continue with to further improve your back (or other areas) and to maintain it in the future.