New Upright Health patients begin their first visit with a complete health history review, a comprehensive examination of the issue(s) that brought you in, as well as exploration for any underlying joint restrictions or muscular imbalances you may not be aware of. Your provider may also find it necessary to obtain x-ray(s); in this instance, you'll be referred to another healthcare facility that specializes in diagnostic imaging.
Your provider will keep an open dialog with you about his findings, your past care experiences and what treatments are recommended for your current condition(s). With your consensus, your provider will likely administer your first treatment; this could be a spinal or extremity manipulation, more commonly known as an "adjustment" and/or some type of soft tissue technique indicated to your care needs. At-home therapies may be recommended to speed up recovery, such as kinesiology taping, stretching, foam rolling and micro-exercises.
You and your provider will mutually agree on the next steps in your treatment plan, with the expectation that changes will be made based on how your body responds – or doesn't respond. Our ultimate goal is to develop a routine that gets – and keeps – you out of pain and in overall good health. You can expect your first visit to take approximately 45 minutes.
For your initial exam, it's best to wear lose-fitting clothes that do not restrict your body's natural range of motion. We encourage females to wear a sports bra and tank top, rather than under-wire support. Sweat pants or shorts and a t-shirt work well for males. Unless your provider instructs you otherwise, your normal attire should be sufficient for future visits.
Once you've been established as an Upright Health patient, you'll most likely be coming in for a what we consider a routine visit. The frequency of these visits and the treatment(s) you'll receive will vary depending on your care needs at the time. A routine visit can include 1 – 2 spinal or extremity manipulations, limited soft tissue work, like massage therapy, Graston® or Active Release Techniques®, Kinesiology taping, Corrective Exercise and flexion-distraction. You can expect a routine visit to take about 15 minutes.
If your provider feels a routine visit isn't sufficient to properly treat you, they may recommend an extended care session. An extended care session is very similar to a routine visit, except that your provider may need to adjust more than 1 or 2 areas, spend more time administering soft tissue work, like massage therapy, Graston® or Active Release Techniques®, or treat many areas with Kinesiology tape. You can expect an extended care session to take about 25 minutes.
All new patients must complete a New Patient Intake form. If you are able, please fill this out prior to your initial appointment. If your initial exam includes a School Sports Physical or Boy Scouts of America Annual Exam, please complete the appropriate form, as well.
If you have any additional questions or concerns about your visit, please don't hesitate to call our office and speak directly to an Upright Health provider. You can also read what some of our patients are saying about us here.