Before Your Appointment
Once you book, we send a short intake form and any imaging request links. Filling these out at home saves 10 to 15 minutes in the office.
Wear loose, comfortable clothing — workout clothes are ideal. If your pain is in your lower back, hip, or knee, athletic shorts make the exam easier. You will not be asked to change into a gown.
Bring any recent X-ray, MRI, or CT report. A photo of the report on your phone is fine. If you have an active personal injury or workers' compensation claim, bring your claim number and adjuster contact.
Arrival and Check-In
Plan to arrive 5 minutes early. Parking is free at both offices — on-site at Vista Way in Oceanside and inside the Bressi Ranch plaza in Carlsbad.
The front desk will confirm your paperwork is complete, ask a few quick questions about the day, and walk you back when the doctor is ready. Most new patients are seen within five minutes of arrival.
Consultation with the Doctor
The doctor sits down with you in a private room and reviews your intake form line by line. Expect questions about how the pain started, what makes it worse, what relieves it, your work, sleep, and any prior treatment you have tried.
This part matters. A careful history points to the diagnosis faster than any test. Plan on 10 minutes of conversation before the hands-on exam begins.
Physical Examination
The exam is region-focused. The doctor checks posture and how you stand, then evaluates the area causing pain with orthopedic and neurological tests.
Depending on your case, that may include reflex testing, sensation checks, strength testing, joint range-of-motion measurements, and palpation of the spine or joints. The whole exam usually takes 15 to 20 minutes.
- Standing posture assessment from front, side, and back
- Functional movement screen — squat, reach, hinge, single-leg
- Spinal palpation to locate restricted joints
- Orthopedic tests specific to your complaint
- Neurological screen if you have radiating pain
- Review of imaging you brought, if applicable
Treatment Planning
After the exam, the doctor walks you through the findings on a screen or anatomical model. You see what they see. Then they outline a recommended plan: how many visits, what techniques, what self-care work between visits, and what milestones tell us it is working.
You also receive a written estimate. No high-pressure pitch. If you want to think about it, that is fine. If you are ready to start, the first treatment usually happens the same day.
Your First Treatment
Same-day treatment is included in the $49 New Patient Special when the exam clears you to proceed. Depending on the diagnosis, that may be a chiropractic adjustment, soft-tissue therapy, shockwave, decompression setup, or a starter set of rehab exercises.
You will not be pushed into anything aggressive on day one. The first session is usually gentle — the goal is to calm the area down and confirm you respond well before progressing.
Follow-Up Care
Most follow-up visits run 15 to 30 minutes. Early in the plan you may come 2 to 3 times per week. As you improve, visits taper to weekly, then every other week, then on an as-needed basis.
We re-examine every 6 to 8 visits to make sure you are progressing. If you are not, we change the plan — or refer you out. We do not run patients on autopilot.