Because the profession of chiropractic in Louisville KY has a curiously large selection of practice values and chiropractic techniques, people should feel at ease raising all the queries necessary to comprehend the chiropractic examination, diagnosis, and treatment program.

This blog elucidates what patients should expect during their very first chiropractic consultation. The next headings describe the preliminary exam in office clinical procedure, which normally includes three areas:

Patient History and Symptoms
Before the chiropractic consultation, the patient will be required to fill the forms that list the background information about his or her symptoms and condition. Types of questions typically include:

• When and how the patient began to feel discomfort?
• What is the region of discomfort?
• Describe the pain, is it continual or it comes and goes?
• Is the pain a result of an injury?
• Which activities make the condition better or worse?
• Patients are usually required to provide necessary information about family medical history, pre-existing medical conditions and accidents, and preceding and existing health providers and their treatments.

The Chiropractic Exam
A systematic chiropractic exam consists of standard tests including respiration, reflexes, blood pressure, pulse, as well as specific orthopedic and neurological tests to analyze:

• Range of motion of the affected part
• Muscle tone
• Muscle strength
• Neurological integrity
• Secondary chiropractic tests may be vital to assess the affected region, such as asking the patient to move in a certain
• manner to analyze the posture etc.

Diagnostic Studies
Rooted in the result of the patient's history and chiropractic exam, diagnostic studies can prove to be helpful in understanding the pathologies and pin pointing the structural abnormalities to precisely identify a condition.

Diagnostic studies are not always essential during a chiropractic exam. This is why they should only be recommended if the chiropractor has a valid reason to believe that the X-ray or other tests will reveal information needed to guide the patient's condition through complete health.

The most common diagnostic studies during chiropractic exams include:

• X-ray exam
• MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan

Many chiropractic clinics can easily conduct basic X-rays, but an MRI scan is highly technical and imaging studies are usually relayed to an outside center.

At Louisville Chiropractic, we guide our patients step by step so that they know what to expect. For further information, please contact us here.