FAQ’s

Initial Consultation Faq’s

If you are in pain and need help quickly we aim to get you booked in for your first consultation within 1 working day.  We may have same day appointments so please call us when we open at 8.20 am on 01332 224820 to check availability as appointments are offered on a first come, first served basis.

If you would like for example a specific time (e.g. we work late 2 nights a week) then you may well need to wait a little while as a new consultation takes quite a bit longer than a standard treatment and the late appointments are very popular for everyone.  Essentially the more flexible you are time wise for the first consultation the quicker we can get you seen.

Usually, yes. However the main purpose of the initial consultation is to gather as much clinical information as possible about the cause(s) of your problems, so that the right treatment or course of action can be decided upon. If time permits (and if it is appropriate) you will be treated at this visit. If this is not the case e.g. your history is complex or involved or you are in too much pain to examine safely, you will be given advice on how you can start to minimise the pain severity and you will be asked to return to start your treatment in a few days.

You will need to set aside just over an hour for your initial consultation as it consists of 15-20 minutes to complete your consultation paperwork (past medical history form including details of current medication and any recent investigations, consent form , etc.) , followed by an extended consultation appointment with your Chiropractor. Once your paper work is completed, your Chiropractor will collect you from reception and take you to his consulting room for your consultation.

Your Chiropractor will need to ask you details regarding what has brought you to our clinic and may also need to clarify details about your previous medical history too, if they feel it is relevant. You will be asked to describe your symptoms, how they came about and how they are affecting you e.g. things you can/can’t do and things that aggravate/alleviate your pain. You will be asked to clarify anything which is still unclear so that a full picture of your health can be established. The next step is to perform a thorough physical, hands-on exam which will consist of Chiropractic, Orthopaedic and Neurological tests to firmly establish your diagnosis – you may need to get changed for this and if this is the case, you will be given a gown and shown to a changing cubicle. Once the discussion and examination are complete, your Chiropractor will then take time to explain what he has found. Using simple, everyday language and with the help of analogies and 3D models he will help you understand what is causing your problem.

You will have time to ask questions and clarify anything you don’t understand. If it is then appropriate to treat you , your Chiropractor will explain what treatment will entail, how often you need to have your treatments and for how long, so you have a good idea of how much a course of treatment will cost. If you are happy to go ahead, he will seek your consent and treat you before you leave.

Occasionally, a patient may present with a problem that is not suitable for Chiropractic treatment. If this is the case with you, rest assured that your Chiropractor will be completely honest with you and will explain why they won’t be treating you. They will also seek your consent to write to your GP explaining what they have found so that you can contact your doctor and be confident that they are fully appraised of your Chiropractor’s findings.

You can come in your normal clothes. At the end of the case history we will advise you whether you will need to change into a gown – this will depend on what examination tests we need to perform to establish your diagnosis and also what treatment types we anticipate you will need for your problem. If you wear something loose e.g. a T-shirt/vest top with jogging pants/shorts/gym wear then we may be able to examine and treat you by just moving your clothes up/down a little. Wearing loose clothing may also be better for you if you are immobile or are in a lot of pain and find changing a problem.

At the end of the initial consultation we will advise you whether you will need to change into a gown on subsequent visits or whether we will be able to treat you without having to get fully changed. Rest assured, your dignity will be respected at all times and a gown will always be available if it is needed.

If you arrive by car we have ample, dedicated free parking. You will see the block paved parking spaces all located on one level, so you have easy access to the front door. All the spaces are located directly in front of the clinic itself. There are numerous light sensitive security lights on the exterior of the Clinic itself thereby giving good visibility and security.

WellBeing Clinics is located close to the A52, A38 and the Derby ring road, as well as being close to bus routes – how to find us. The train station is only a five minute taxi ride away for those who travel from further afield. Local taxi firms regularly drop patients off at the clinic and know the fastest routes to reach us. After your treatment, our staff will be happy to telephone a taxi if you wish. Of course this telephone call is complimentary.

Of course!  You can bring anyone into the room for moral support having two sets of ears can be helpful too!  Partners and friends will remember things that you may not, so feel free to bring someone along.

Yes.  All the major insurance companies cover Chiropractic treatment.  We will ask you to pay for your consultation and treatment as you go along and we will then provide a full receipt either hard copy or by email each time you come in (or at the end of a treatment episode if you prefer).  You can then forward it to your insurance company for reimbursement.

 Treatments Faq’s

Experienced Derby Chiropractors

This is sometimes very easy to answer, sometimes less so. Those of you with more recent problems usually settle far more quickly compared to those that are more long standing or have underlying health issues. Many factors affect how quickly you get better e.g. :

  • The older we are generally, the slower the healing time
  • Fitness – how much muscle strength and flexibility do you have? Do you need specific rehabilitation exercises for your problem?
  • Do you have co-existing underlying arthritis or other health issues complicating your problem?
  • What job you do i.e. what physical strains do you place upon the part that hurts? Do you sit all day at a computer or do you bend over/lift in a more manual job?

Notwithstanding these variables we always try to give you an idea of how long (and therefore how much) it is going to take for you to feel better. We will discuss with you whether we expect you to make a full recovery or, realistically whether you can expect to improve but always carry an element of your problem. This is important so that your expectations are discussed and understood.

Chiropractic care is covered by all the medical insurance companies, not just the major players, and we can provide you with a receipt (hard copy or .pdf by email) for your treatment so that you can send a copy to your you medical insurance company for reimbursement.

Other Faq’s

Questions

It is quite true that Chiropractors are considered experts in treating bad backs and so a high percentage of patients that come to see us are suffering with pains in the neck, mid back and lower back regions.  However, Chiropractors do far more than just ‘bad backs’. Chiropractors diagnose and treat all manner of aches and pains all over the body from head to toe e.g. Headaches, painful shoulders, elbow pains, sports injuries and arthritic pains.

If you are unsure if you should come to see us for your particular problem then why not give us a call on 01332 224820 and ask (with no obligation) to speak to one of the Chiropractors first.  You can rest assured you will not feel pressurised into making an appointment by us, we promise to give you honest advice as to the best course of action.

No!  This is probably the most common misconception about Chiropractic treatment. Chiropractors are trained in numerous different treatment techniques.  The decision to use a specific technique or a group of techniques for a problem is dependent upon taking into account numerous factors such as:

  • A persons age – Chiropractic is suitable for every age group – children to the centenarians
  • Pain levels
  • The nature of the problem
  • The presence or absence of arthritic changes in an area
  • Previous surgery in an area
  • Medications you may be taking.  Warfarin for instance could mean that you would bruise more easily and so deep massage techniques may not be appropriate.  Long term steroid use for asthma or arthritic conditions could make your bones more brittle and so you may be better suited to specific mobilisation techniques
  • Your personal preferences.  If you do not want to have a specific treatment type e.g. manipulation (even if it would get you better faster) we can discuss what options you have from our repertoire of other techniques

Our aim is to get you better in the shortest period of time.  For spines this often does involve manipulation techniques which can produce popping or clicking noises from the joints.  For sporting injuries the treatment given may well be indistinguishable from an approach by a Sports Physiotherapist and involve deep tissue massage and rehabilitation exercises, both in the clinic and at home.  We may decide to use our Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) – PBM Therapy machine which painlessly:

  • Reduces pain
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Reduces swelling
  • Promotes tissue repair

The PBM Therapy machine may be used exclusively for a particular problem or as part of a package of care.  It has the benefit that it and can be used anywhere from head to toe, but it is especially useful for treating joint, tendon and ligament problems.

Chiropractic treatment is suitable for patients from newborns to the very elderly.  Our Chiropractors treat patients from every age group and pregnancy does not exclude you from it’s benefits.  We have special equipment which means we can safely accommodate you and your ‘bump’.  As you get bigger we will use different techniques based on what is most suitable for your body and your problem.

You may have arthritic changes (many of us do!) but even so, it does not automatically mean that all your pain is solely due to your arthritis.

  • The presence of arthritis could well be a 'Red Herring' – the pain could be referred from another area and so not coming from your arthritis at all
  • Other tissues around an arthritic joint e.g. tight/short/spasmed muscles around a stiff hip/back joint may be the cause of the pain and not the arthritis at all
  • In most cases, when patients have been told ‘it’s arthritis’, we can find evidence of arthritis but in our opinion it is often responsible for only part of your pains.  This means that if 40% of your pains are arthritic you could still potentially improve your pain and symptoms by up to 60%!
  • Studies have shown a manual treatment approach combined with physical exercises can help reduce/manage the symptoms of arthritis to help you feel better
  • Research shows that PBM Therapy can also be a very good way to help manage pain and symptoms that you get when you are arthritic

We will be happy to discuss what will be your best course of action at your consultation after a thorough case history and examination.  If we conclude that we are unable to help you, then will be honest with you about that and will discuss what your next course of action might be.  You will not be advised to start treatment if we do not think we can help you.

Not all therapists have the same levels of expertise and experience.  Ask yourself this simple question, if your trusted local garage could not find that annoying fault with your car and fix it, would you then assume that all garages are the same and not take it to another garage?  The simple answer to that is of course ‘no’ you would take it to another garage to get it looked at by a fresh pair of eyes.  We can often help patients where other clinicians or approaches have failed.  If for instance you have had manipulation/mobilisation/exercises in the past and it did not yield the best results, we can also offer Photobiomodulation Therapy (or PBM Therapy for short).  As PBM Therapy treats you at the cellular level (inside out – not outside in treatment!) PBM Therapy can often provide results where other treatments have not.  PBM Therapy can, at the cellular level:

  • Treat pain
  • Treat inflammation
  • Treat swelling
  • Promote tissue healing.

This can be achieved without touching you with our state of the art THOR LX2 PBM Therapy machines.

Chiropractic Vs Osteopathy

If you want to get bogged down in details about philosophies (and we say don’t bother going there!) there really isn’t enough difference to significantly separate the professions, which may come as a surprise to you.  Both professions have statutory regulation, both have similar training.  There are urban myths about how Osteopaths work more on muscles and manipulate less and Chiropractors manipulate more and do less work with the muscles.  In our opinion this is not the case.  As for manipulative techniques, there are some differences but we feel they are just different ways of achieving the same result; who is to say which is best?  There has never been any research into this.

In our opinion, a great clinician treats you as an individual.  After taking into account what he/she has learnt about your general health, the nature of your problem, what has been gleaned from a physical examination etc., you deserve to receive a package of care that is tailored specifically to you.  Our advice is don’t get hung up on which profession is right for your problem but go with the individual(s) and practice that inspires you the most.

Chiropractic Vs Physiotherapy

In comparison to a Physiotherapist, as a general rule physiotherapists do not use hands-on manipulation to anything like the extent that Chiropractors do.  Physiotherapy is often an exercise based treatment programme and to quote a physio I spoke to at a conference a while ago “physiotherapy is something you do, not something that is done to you” – and this probably epitomises the difference.

Chiropractors ‘do things to you’ and get you to do exercises in your own time, rather than go through sets of exercises as the predominant method of treatment in the clinic setting.  Having said that of course there are physiotherapists who work very much like Chiropractors and vice versa.

The main thing to remember is if Osteopathy or Physiotherapy has not ‘worked for you’ then please do not assume that Chiropractic is just the same and will produce the same lack of results.

It may surprise you that up until graduation Chiropractors study many of the same subjects as your GP and spend thousands of hours studying.  Ian has worked out he spent IRO of 6000 hours studying (lectures and self directed) for his degree but thinks it could have been a lot higher than this!  As you would expect there are distinct differences in their core training and so scope of practice (what Chiropractors can do and what your GP cannot and vice versa).