Choosing the right chiropractor for you requires knowing the right questions to ask and doing a little bit of your own research. Your health is arguably the most valuable thing you have, so making sure it’s in the right hands should be your number one priority—we know it’s our priority at Advanced Medical of Twin Cities.
What type of care you seek is dependent on your injury or reason for searching for chiropractic care in the first place. In large metropolitan areas like Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are a wide variety of clinics and chiropractors to go to for care and treatment. Methods, technology, experience and atmosphere vary from office to office, so taking into consideration your own priorities is crucial in the decision-making phase of chiropractic care. When it comes to making this decision, though, you might not be familiar with what to ask or where to start. When it comes to getting you back on your feet or on a healthy path, Advanced Medical is here to help you with care and advice.
Here are some important things to consider when you start on your way to finding a chiropractor.
Tips to Choosing a Chiropractor
A good first step to choosing a chiropractor is making a checklist of must-haves specific to you. Selecting a chiropractor, as with any doctor, is a very personal process and there is no one-size-fits-all formula for picking one. Your chiropractor checklist should prioritize a few factors in treatment that matter to you, including:
Location, Hours and Ease of Communication
When you live in the Twin Cities, there is seemingly no shortage of transportation. However, buses, light rails and trains don’t stretch across all of the suburbs, yet, which could limit the area in which you search for a chiropractor. If you have your own readily available transportation, this may be less of a concern for you. However, many will want to be mindful of how they will get to and from appointments or how long it will take them to do so in their own cars.
Just as the physical location of a clinic is important, so too is a clinic’s operating hours. Some chiropractic clinics around the Twin Cities offer limited hours. Some may be open during a standard 9 to 5 on any weekday while others may have extended hours, including weekends. If taking time off of work is a challenge, search for a chiropractor who offers care during weekends so that your scheduled doesn’t have to be upended just to get the treatment you need.
Access to your chiropractor includes more than location and hours, though. Good access also means how easily they can communicate with you. If your doctor is going to be difficult to get in touch with, anticipate frustrations in the future. Ease of communication such as email, phone or even texting (as offered by some clinics) will ensure questions get answered and appointments get scheduled with little confusion and fewer headaches.
Treatments and Services Offered
Now that you’ve established you can get to a certain clinic, make sure it has doctors who can offer the treatment you need. Did you endure a specific injury? Ensure a doctor can help with that specific care. Or have you been suffering from chronic pain? Arthritis? Sometimes you need more than spinal manipulation or adjustments.
If you need additional services such as acupuncture, massage therapy or even nutrition advice, make sure the clinic you choose has the capability to offer those things. Don’t settle for an office that can’t offer acupuncture if that is something you need as it could be the key to your full recovery. If services or expertise seems lacking, move onto another office. Becoming healthy is your top priority, so make sure your chiropractor has the resources to help you do just that.
Quality and Experience of Chiropractors
Chiropractors need to be able to do more than accurately perform adjustments. They need to be able to assess your condition or injury and establish a plan and timeline to aid in recovery. They need to know what supplementary care you need, such as acupuncture, and they need to be able to identify the root of your ailments or pain. Inexperience, or bad experience, renders a chiropractor unable to give you the treatment you deserve.
One benefit of the internet is its constant access to online reviews of everything from gas stations to employers, including chiropractors. Sometimes, a chiropractor’s website will be chock-full of patient testimonials, but sometimes these can’t be found. If you’re wondering what experiences others have had with a specific chiropractor, simply type that doctor’s name into a search engine. You’ll be met with reviews, ratings and testimonials that could help you make your final decisions about who you want providing your chiropractic care.
Insurance, Cost and Financing
Some people are dissuaded from seeking much-needed chiropractic care due to financial restraints or the idea that adjustments will cost too much. Look into your health insurance plan and see if it covers services like adjustments, acupuncture and massage. Also, ensure that the doctors you’re researching would accept your specific plan. Often times, simply calling the offices you have in mind and asking your questions in regard to health insurance will provide all the insight you need.
Conducting research for cost of care and potential payment plans often takes as little effort as a phone call and a few minutes to an office. And, as always, if hard financial times or unexpected events occur, you aren’t committed to continue seeking treatment if it isn’t within your budget anymore. Find a chiropractic clinic, like Advanced Medical, that will have safe, friendly and open communication about helping you get the help you need with your budget in mind. This may mean adjusting frequency of treatments, length of treatment, or taking other budget-conscious steps so you can achieve the relief and recovery you need.
Finally Feel Relief through an Informed Decision
With a little bit of research and prioritizing your specific needs, you’ll be able to sift through the noise and find the right chiropractor for you. During your search of chiropractors in the Twin Cities, call Advanced Medical or send us a message today. With our incredible history of high-quality experience, variety of chiropractic services, growing list of great testimonials and sincerely friendly staff, we could be just what you’re looking for in a Twin Cities chiropractor.
