One of the most asked questions that I get is “How do I find a good wellness chiropractor?” There are so many chiropractors out there and I often say that chiropractors are like restaurants. Some are good and some are bad, and some chiropractors and the focus of their office won’t be the best fit for you or your family.
You need to find a chiropractor who is a good fit for you, your lifestyle and natural health choices. I hope I can help you find a chiropractor you can trust and be a patient there for years.
The truth is that there are many types of chiropractors out there. Some chiropractors specialize in pain, sports injury or rehab. Some chiropractors’ philosophy is for treating back pain only. They may adjust you in a few sessions over a short period of time and then discontinue care when your pain is better. There is a time and place for this type of chiropractic. These types of chiropractors would not be the right choice for your family for overall wellness.
There are chiropractors that specialize in treating the whole family for overall wellness.
This means they treat you to keep your body and nervous system healthy and can care for more than just your spine. This is what I mean by a wellness chiropractor.
Oftentimes a wellness chiropractor will also incorporate additional training such as functional medicine with their practice as well. A functional medicine appointment would include discussing health related questions in depth and ordering lab tests. This is usually separate from an adjustment appointment.
In Minnesota, chiropractors are considered primary care physicians. They can sign notes and give a lot of patient care advice. This is not the case in every state however. As primary care physicians, chiropractors can share a lot of advice.
What to Look For in a Wellness Chiropractor
When looking for a wellness chiropractor you want someone who is a good adjuster and knowledgeable about taking care of babies, toddlers, kids, adults and pregnant women. A good wellness chiropractor will be a great resource to you for any health question. Getting personalized health advice in person is going to be far superior that what you can learn about online. And it will save you time doing a lot of research or to focus your learning easier.
You will want someone who would give you more resources. One of the reasons I started this blog was to have a place to put resources for my chiropractic patients. Some chiropractic offices have extra resources and classes for their patients. Some offices may not provide this but I think it’s a benefit to you if they do.
Now we have established what a good wellness chiropractor is, how do you find one?
You many need to drive a little bit and that is okay. If you are going to see them often, a longer drive is not going to be feasible. When I was working in practice we had a lot of people who would make drives around the city to come and see us.
Here are my tips:
1. Search for a wellness and family chiropractor
Open up the internet and search for wellness and family chiropractors. Look at their website. More specifically, look at their ‘Meet the Doctor’ page or ‘About Us’ page. Take note about what they focus on and what they talk about online.
The office I worked at previously had great resources online and you knew pretty quickly what we were all about based on our website. Our best referral sources were either word of mouth or google searches.
Another option would be to ask in a local Facebook group or from a friend who they see or recommend for chiropractic. People want to share their good chiropractors.
2. Call a few offices
Pick up the phone and call a few chiropractic offices in your area. Any good office will have the front desk staff trained to answer questions about their treatment and office.
A few questions I recommend asking:
- Do you see pregnant women or kids?
- What technique do you use?
- Do you offer supplements or provide functional medicine appointments?
- Do you believe our bodies were created to heal themselves?
- What additional resources or classes for patients to attend?
- Do you believe a subluxation (misalignment) can put pressure on the nerve and affect the organ function and create health problems?
- Do they want to make sure your brain and spinal cord function optimally?
3. Schedule an appointment
Now, you have found a Chiropractor who seems like a good fit from word of mouth, their website or a phone call. Schedule an appointment and check them out. Be seen by them and get adjusted.
As a chiropractor in practice, I was so passionate about what I did that I wanted everyone to come to my office. However, with each new patient I saw, I was also evaluating if they were a good fit for our office. You are trusting this chiropractor with your health and allowing them to adjust you. You are paying them for their service. It is important that you feel comfortable with that. It is a partnership between you and the chiropractor.
If you try it and it doesn’t work, that is okay. As a patient you get to advocate your health. You get to make decisions for your health because you have medical freedom. You can tell a provider, “You’re Fired” (nicely, of course). Even a pediatrician or family practice provider who doesn’t agree with your health choices. I believe that you should feel comfortable asking the hard questions if needed. The relationship needs to be a good fit. Start the steps over again and try another chiropractor.
And maybe you find a good wellness chiropractor on the right fit the first try. That’s great!
Having a provider that you trust for you and your family and have a good relationship with is so important!
The thing I miss most about practicing is interacting with patients and teaching them. I love watching lives and people’s health transform. It was just an honor to be a part of health success for my patients. And once you find a great wellness chiropractor, tell others and share about it. Be a resource for others to find a great chiropractor too!
I love being able to provide healthy living information here on this blog and social media. I hope you enjoy it! If you want healthy living tips right to your email weekly, sign up for my newsletter HERE.
Related Links & Resources
- Ep. 88: Why Infants and Children should be Adjusted with Dr. Robyn Martin
- Ep. 87: Why Pregnant Women Need to Get Adjusted with Dr. Robyn Martin
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