Understand the care
being considered.

Before a technique, a conversation.

Your clinician begins with your account of the concern and a relevant health history. The examination is guided by that conversation and may include looking at how you move and how muscles and joints respond.

The findings help determine whether chiropractic care is appropriate. Further assessment or another health professional may be the better next step.

What hands-on care means.

Manual care uses the clinician’s hands to work with muscles or joints. Depending on the assessment and agreed plan, the discussion may include soft-tissue work, joint movement or manipulation. These approaches are not interchangeable, and not every approach is appropriate for every person.

Before proceeding, your clinician explains the particular approach being considered, its expected benefits and risks, and the alternatives. You can ask for that explanation again, decline an approach or stop.

A plan you can talk through.

The plan connects the proposed care to the concern and activities you have described. It should also explain how your response will be reviewed. Improvement is not guaranteed, and a useful review may lead to a change in approach.