What to Expect as a New Patient

If you’re new here, welcome—we’re glad you’re considering care with us. Whether you’ve seen a chiropractor before or this is your first time, we want you to feel informed, comfortable, and confident. This page outlines what you can expect during your first few visits and answers some of the most common questions we hear.

Before Your First Visit

New Patient Paperwork & Insurance Information

Prior to your first visit, you will be asked to:

Completing the new patient paperwork typically takes about 15 minutes. Providing completed paperwork and insurance information ahead of your first visit will ensure your new patient appointment is as productive and efficient as possible. Completed paperwork can be emailed to info@motivitychiropractic.com

We are in network with BCBS and VIVA Health, and we offer a self-pay option as well.

New Patient Process

The new patient process typically involves 3 visits: 1-2 visits are typically required to determine what works best with your body and specific issue. On the 3rd visit, we will review your x-rays and exam findings and discuss the best way to meet your goals.

First Appointment

The first visit is focused on gaining insight into the origins of your concerns, establishing goals, and beginning to formulate a game plan for your recovery. You’ll spend an hour face-to-face with Dr. Ray. During this time, he will:

  • Review your health history

  • Conduct a comprehensive exam

  • Talk through your concerns and goals

He may also take x-rays to help rule out more serious conditions and help guide your care.

Once the evaluation is complete, you’ll receive your first adjustment. This may include soft tissue work as well as spinal and extremity adjustments.

Before you leave, we’ll encourage you to schedule a follow-up visit. This follow-up visit will allow Dr. Ray to explore treatment strategies further, and adapt, if necessary, our approach to address anything the first visit did not accomplish.

The first appointment will take about 60 minutes.

Second Appointment

At your second visit, Dr. Ray will follow up on how your body responded to your first adjustment. When beginning care, most people will feel a return of their symptoms after 1-2 days. Therefore, we encourage you to schedule the 2nd visit within 2-3 days. As we work with you more, relief from your adjustments will last longer and longer.

Dr. Ray will review self-treatments, such as at-home exercises, to help relieve any possible soreness from your treatments.

The second appointment will take about 20 minutes.

Third Appointment

At your third appointment Dr. Ray will review findings from your initial exam and treatments thus far. If x-rays or other diagnostic tests were performed, we will review them on this visit. He will discuss and recommend a treatment plan to best meet your individual needs and desired goals.

The third appointment is roughly 30-40 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Patients can schedule their appointment in person, online, or by texting our main number. Patients are provided access to our online scheduling app so they can schedule their own appointments. Appointments can be booked online up to an hour in advance. To cancel or reschedule, please contact our office.

    Schedule new patient appointment online

    Schedule existing patient appointment through the ChiroHD app

  • We are in network with Blue Cross Blue Shield and VIVA Health. If you have coverage through another insurance provider (primary or secondary), we will gladly provide you with the necessary documentation needed for you to submit to your insurance provider for reimbursement. 

    Typically insurance doesn’t cover anything until you’ve met your deductible for the year, so appointments can actually cost less via direct pay. Let us know if you have any questions about what your insurance covers!

  • We do accept HSA (Health Savings Account) and FSA (Flexible Spending Account) cards as forms of payment.

    • The first appointment for a new patient typically takes 1 hour.

    • The second appointment takes about 20 minutes.

    • The third appointment is roughly 30-40 minutes.

    • Routine chiropractic appointments take about 15-20 minutes.

  • We recommend that you wear something you can comfortably move in.

  • An adjustment is many things! On the most basic level, most chiropractors will tell you that an adjustment is the mobilization of a joint in the body, delivered at high velocity and low amplitude (ie. fast and over a short and safe distance). This movement causes the joint capsule to stretch, which increases the volume of that joint capsule, which leads to a pressure change that causes dissolved gasses to come out of solution and make a “pop” sound. The “pop” is not the therapeutic event, but rather a side product. Not all joints make this sound. And by the book, the absence of this sound does not necessarily mean that nothing good happened. That being said, most patients describe the popping sensation as being quite pleasant.

  • I’ll make sure you’re totally comfortable and let you know just what I’m about to do and what it feels like. I’ll try to make you laugh as much as I can. And you’ll be on your way. Sometimes it’s necessary to work on soft tissue like muscles, fascia, ligaments, and tendons. This type of work can be uncomfortable and intense. Many patients appreciate the feeling.

  • Well, you probably didn't ask that, but I’ll tell you anyway. Skip along if the above answer was sufficient to satisfy your curiosity. An adjustment mobilizes joints. I already covered that, yes, but this mobilization does two main things. Mobilization allows your various “parts” to be more able to move within their full range of motion. However, it’s not that simple. Having the range of motion within one joint does not guarantee that it WILL move properly. We are not brick chimneys that can be fixed by just pushing a misplaced brick back into place. Our structure is dynamic and is the result of many parts tensioned in many opposing directions. Think of a tent. The structure only works if all the poles are in their proper place, all pulling or pushing in the proper directions with just the right amount of tension. Take one pole out and the entire structure collapses.

    There are many changes that happen in the body in response to an adjustment.  Research shows that the balance between the sympathetic (“Fight or Flight”) and parasympathetic (“Rest and Digest”) is tipped toward parasympathetic—which could translate to things like a decrease in blood pressure, improved digestion, less anxiety, and better sleep.  Advanced imaging studies have also shown that an adjustment lights up the brain!  The reason for this is the brain is not just a human computer that sends outgoing messages.  The brain also requires input from the environment.  When an adjustment causes movement in your “parts”, millions of receptors in those “parts” send information to your brain about their position in space.  This interaction stimulates the brain, improving the communication between it and the rest of your body.  Movement becomes more precise and coordinated when the brain and all your parts are in tune.  Often this improved coordination translates to more strength and fewer injuries.  This is one of the reasons you see high-level athletic teams employ a team chiropractor!

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“If you are slightly worried about going to a chiropractor, he does a great job easing you into having adjustments. He will explain everything he is doing (if you prefer) and how it can help…”

— Eric H