Diagnosis by a Chiropractor

As soon as you enter a chiropractor’s clinic for the first time, they make it they key aim to discover what is wrong and make an accurate diagnosis. This allows the chiropractor to administer the correct route of treatment and care. Your chiropractor will wish to discover the precise area from which the pain and/or discomfort is radiating from so they can perform procedures that will be very effective and beneficial for that specific issue.

Whilst formulating their final diagnosis, your chiropractor may come up with what is known as a ‘differential diagnosis’.


Differential Diagnosis

A differential diagnosis is formulated of the numerous possible causes behind the symptoms that you are displaying. To narrow this list down to a more specific diagnosis, the chiropractor will most probably perform some tests. The results of these can then be added to the background information (lifestyle, medical history, general data like gender) to decide what is wrong precisely.

Although it may seem like a long method of trial and error that may not produce the most accurate results, it has actually been claimed that differential diagnosis is the most effective method of diagnosis in medicine today. This is because it takes in a number of different possibilities and looks in detail at each one to determine the likelihood. This ensures that nothing is dismissed immediately as different individuals often display different symptoms.

It is relatively common for the chiropractor to reach the conclusion that the patient is suffering from multiple issues. This is especially frequent when someone approaches the chiropractor with complaints of spinal pain as often, numerous issues collaborate to cause the pain.

After Diagnosis

After examinations and consultations, the chiropractor should have reached a diagnosis. They will then use this conclusion to determine what kind of treatment would be effective to solve the problem. This will generally be discussed with you at the end of your first session and will result in a plan of how often to attend the chiropractor and the procedures that will be carried out. This will allow you time to question anything as well as research the procedures to ensure you are comfortable with them.

The diagnosis may also lead to the chiropractor formulating a tailored lifestyle plan to be carried out in between treatments. This may include changing aspects of your diet, exercise routine, posture or stress levels. This plan is made to benefit you and to be sure that the chiropractic treatment will reap the optimal results, therefore it is very important that you follow the advice given.


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