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What To
Expect As You Begin Care
FIRST VISIT 1. Health History and Consultation (Can we help?) This is a get-acquainted visit to determine if chiropractic care will benefit you. You will meet the office staff and decide if this is the best place for you to be. It should be clearly understood that we do not accept all patients for chiropractic care in this office; however, we do help almost all that we accept. The purpose of the first visit is to gather as much information as possible so that we can make that determination and set a course of action. Our patients fill out an in-depth health questionnaire. Next is a consultation with the doctor. He will delve into the current reason for consulting the office. He will ask about your prior health history, health concerns, lifestyle, etc. We will correlate all information and make recommendations for additional tests, should they be necessary. 2. Examination (How do we know?) Here we look at posture, range of motion, etc. Orthopedic and neurological tests will be performed to assess your overall physical condition. 3. X-Ray (Blueprint of your spine) X-rays reveal the extent of any disease and damage (examples; arthritis, degeneration, etc) to the bones. They also show fractures and spinal defects. Chiropractors especially look for misalignments, subluxations, or distortions of the spinal column, which show up on x-ray. 4. The Chiropractic Adjustment (The key to allowing your body to heal) Office visits primarily consist of an adjustment. An adjustment is a gentle force to reposition the vertebrae to a more normal alignment. This procedure takes only a few minutes and is predicated by careful analysis of the factors we’ve discussed above. It is the specific procedure that we use to correct vertebral subluxation, thus allowing the body to heal itself.
SECOND VISIT Relating of Findings (A plan to help) On the second visit we schedule a report of findings to go over all the test results. We will discuss if chiropractic care can help you, what it will cost, and how long it will take. The length of time you may be under care depends on: 1) Your age and the length of time you have had the problem, 2) The degree and number of spinal subluxations, 3) Your occupation/activity level, 4) Your cooperation in keeping appointments and your desire to do what you can to help, and 5) Your body’s ability to adapt to corrective changes.
THE CLASS (The big picture of health and chiropractic)
We give a weekly orientation on chiropractic. It is important for all patients and any prospective patients to attend this class. We have found that those who attend get better results. This is a way of providing a means of explanation and exploration for those people who want to participate in correcting their spinal problems. To find out more about when the classes will be held, ask at the front desk and we can sign you up and give you that information. The classes are held in the training room at the office.
FEES We believe that being totally up front is the best policy with our patients. Approximately 80% of our current patients are either not covered by insurance or have insurance that does not provide for chiropractic care. It is our desire to keep our fees affordable so that all patients who need chiropractic care can afford to obtain it. The initial visit is very reasonable. Our consultation is completely free of charge. It is your opportunity to meet the Dr. Zerba and make sure you feel comfortable with him. He will also be able to tell you if he thinks you have a problem which chiropractic can address. We charge $95 for a complete set of x-rays of your spine, if paid at time of service. If you are adjusted, there will be an additional charge of $35. Payment plans are available. Please call our office at (520) 458-3400 and we will be happy to discuss our fees as well as your recommended participation.
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