What to Expect

You will immediately feel at home the moment you walk in the door. If you’ve ever gone to a social event where you didn’t know anyone, you know how uncomfortable that can be. Our goal is to eliminate every shred of apprehension and make you feel at home.

Since chiropractic care involves a series of visits, with each one building on the ones before, it’s important that our relationship can go the distance. We have found that one of the best ways to have successful patient relationships is to explain everything in advance. No surprises!

The more you understand who we are, what we do and why we do it, the better results you’ll enjoy. It’s as simple as that.

So, check us out here. Poke around. Get to know us. Then, contact us to make an appointment so we can get to know you.

First Visit. To find out if we can help you, we ask questions and listen.
Second Visit. We’ll report what we found and answer all your questions.
Regular Visit. A typical visit will be much shorter, but just as important!
Progress Check. This visit allows us to ensure your goals are being met.

Your First Visit to Our Kingston Practice

Welcome!

You will be warmly greeted by name at the front desk by our office manager, Maria.

When you arrive through the front door at Anchor Chiropractic, we’ll be expecting you. You’ll be warmly greeted by name at the front desk by our office manager, Maria.

So that we can learn a little bit about you, she will present you with some initial paperwork. To expedite this aspect of your visit, you can complete this paperwork before you arrive by downloading our online paperwork.

If you will be using insurance to assist with your financial obligation, please bring your insurance card with you, and Maria will gladly check your benefits before getting started.

Once your paperwork is complete, she will put together your file and give it to the doctor to review.

You’ll then meet Dr. Lamar who will direct you to the consultation area of the examination room.

History

To find out if we can help you, we ask questions and listen. The doctor will ask questions to gain additional information and insight into your decision to visit the office. One of our goals is to educate our patients on what’s wrong and how chiropractic is likely to help. We find that informed patients tend to respond faster and are more likely to share their positive experience with others— enabling us to keep our fees reasonable by avoiding costly advertising.

Dr. Lamar will then give you a brief explanation of chiropractic and how it might apply to your situation.

Examination

The chiropractic examination gives the doctor valuable clinical clues to determine the source of your problem. The doctor will conduct a thorough chiropractic examination. No two examinations are exactly the same, as each one is tailored to the individual’s presenting problem and circumstances.

Your examination will likely include a postural check, range of motion evaluation, orthopedic and neurological testing, muscle strength ability, leg length measurement, muscle and soft tissue palpation, and spinal motion assessment.

Then, to further evaluate your nervous system, Dr. Lamar will usually conduct a static spinal thermography and SEMG with our computerized MyoVision System. These tests act as an excellent objective baseline of how your nervous system is reacting to your particular condition.

X-ray

X-ray imaging provides the doctor with a history lesson of your spine -- unveiling areas of accumulated mechanical stress and misalignment. Depending on the findings of your history and examination, Dr. Lamar may recommend spinal X-ray imaging. X-ray imaging gives unique insight as to the stresses that your spine has seen in its past and can often assist the doctor in making your chiropractic adjustments more precise.

Of course, if you have recently had X-rays taken at another facility, let us know, and we will do our best to obtain them.

Rest assured, if we do end up taking X-rays with our on-site state-of-the-art High-Frequency Radiology Equipment, only the necessary views will be taken.

Report of Findings

In your Report of Findings, the doctor will share the information he has gathered, explain what is wrong, and if chiropractic can help. By combining the information gleaned from the initial history, physical examination, thermography, SEMG, and X-rays (if taken), Dr. Lamar will then explain what’s wrong and if chiropractic can help.

One of his duties is to make sure you are, indeed, in the right office. If, in his clinical judgment, he feels that your problem requires the service of another health provider, he will see to it that the appropriate referral is made.

Adjustment

To begin the healing process, you will likely receive a chiropractic adjustment near the end of the first visit. Because Dr. Lamar understands that his patients are often in considerable pain and discomfort when they first consult the office, he will do everything he can to start the healing process by offering some form of care near the end of the first visit. There are over 100 chiropractic techniques or styles. Dr. Lamar practices a number of these techniques and will choose the one(s) that he feels will best suit your condition. Most people describe their first adjustment as if a weight has been lifted from them. At the end of your care, Dr. Lamar will give you instructions as to what to expect from your initial visit and will often give you some simple homework. You’ll be asked to take mental notes as to how your body responds to your first adjustment. On your followup visit, you’ll share these findings with him. He’ll then conduct some testing on his end. With both sets of information, he will have a much clearer understanding as to how your condition will likely unfold.

Before You Leave

Upon finishing up with Dr. Lamar, at the front desk Maria will help you set up a follow-up appointment, give you information to take home, and work with you to settle up your financial obligations.

Expect to spend 60-90 minutes for your first visit.

Your Second Visit to Our Kingston Practice

Dr. Lamar will help you by charting a course of care designed to help you reach your health goals. Your second visit will usually take place one to two days following your first. This is the day that you will share with Dr. Lamar how your first adjustment went. He’ll then conduct his own evaluation and will share with you what he finds. More than likely, a second adjustment will be given — building off of the momentum that the first adjustment started.

Dr. Lamar will then discuss with you, based on his findings, what your prognosis is and how your condition will likely progress. He will then chart out — in conjunction with your health goals — a reasonable course of action for the next days and weeks.

In addition to chiropractic adjustments, his plan for you will likely include specific spinal stretches and exercises to assist you in the rehabilitation of your condition. He may also recommend incorporating other types of care, such as massage therapy. Plan on this visit taking about 20 minutes.

How Long Until I'm Better?

Like anything in life, chiropractic care is a process, and how long it takes to reach your desired goals depends on many different factors. How long it takes to get "better" depends on many factors such as your age, how long you’ve had the problem, how severe the problem is, as well as other possible compounding issues. Because everyone responds differently to chiropractic, Dr. Lamar will recommend a custom course of care tailored to you, based on his experience and clinical judgment, over a reasonable timeframe. Ultimately, of course, how well you follow through with these care recommendations will have the greatest effect on your feeling better sooner.

Regular Chiropractic Visits

After the investment of time needed on the first and second visits, many patients become concerned that every visit will be of equal length.

Actually, a typical office visit may require just five to 10 minutes.

But don’t think the brevity of a regular visit lessens its value! With the groundwork laid, we can quickly size up the condition of your spine and nervous system, adjust you and get you on your way.

Like a regular workout at the gym, each visit builds on the ones before. Miss a visit and you can lose the momentum necessary to make the needed changes.

We recognize your time is valuable. So we do everything possible to run on time and minimize the impact on your busy life.

Progress Check

It’s always exciting to see how far you’ve come! At the end of the course of care mapped out in your initial visits, Dr. Lamar will perform a progress examination with the MyoVision System to objectively demonstrate that the intended changes are being made. Not only is the progress evaluation a chance to check the location on your chiropractic care "road map," it is also a chance to reaffirm your health goals and for us to make the necessary recommendations to further you along.

This visit usually takes about 20 minutes.

What if I don’t get better?

We care about you getting better. In the event that you are not showing the progress we would expect, we will do what we can to find out why. At Anchor Chiropractic we will not waste your time nor your money. Chiropractic care is an extremely effective form of health care — so much so, that it has been Dr. Lamar’s experience that the majority of patients will sense that their adjustments are working and moving them in the right direction within the first two weeks. In the event that patients are not progressing as he would expect, he’ll put the "brakes on" and reevaluate the situation. Sometimes performing other examination procedures or special tests can give him the information he needs to get your progress rolling. Other times, a change of adjusting technique will do the trick, or the addition of another form of care such as massage or physical therapy can "boost" your response to chiropractic. And in some cases, Dr. Lamar may recommend an evaluation by your medical provider or other health care specialist. We care about your getting better.

Worth Watching

We encourage you to watch our 4 minute video which gives a brief orientation to chiropractic and helps answer some of the most frequently asked patient questions. By knowing what’s going to happen in advance you can relax, participate, and enjoy your first visit with us.

Ready to Get Started?

Click on the "Make an Appointment" link at the base of this page or give our office a call to begin your chiropractic experience at Anchor Chiropractic.

Still Sitting on the Fence?

It is okay to have questions or concerns. And we stand ready to provide you with any information you may need to make a decision you are comfortable with.

If, even after spending some time at our website, you find you are hesitant or unsure about committing to an appointment, perhaps e-mailing the doctor with some of your questions or apprehensions would be an easy first step.

Or you might want to consider our No cost Meet Us visit. This is your chance to stop by and "size us up." We’ll give you a tour of the office, answer additional questions you may have, and address any concerns. You’ll also have an opportunity to sit down for a few minutes and briefly chat about your condition with Dr. Lamar. Of course, there is no obligation, and the visit is free. If this sounds like a good "fit" for you, contact us today and request one of these unique visits.