First things first: wear or bring clothes you can move in, dig out any recent scans or X-rays, and jot down what medications you’re on. That’s your whole to-do list. The rest is our job.
What actually happens
Your first appointment runs longer than a standard visit, usually 45 minutes to an hour. Dr Gordon starts with a proper history. Not a form-and-five-minutes history, an actual conversation about when the pain started, what makes it worse, what you’ve already tried, and what you need your body to do, whether that’s sitting through back-to-back meetings or getting through a Saturday surf without your lower back seizing up.
Then the physical assessment. The Gonstead approach checks each spinal segment individually: movement, tenderness, temperature differences along the spine, posture, the way you walk. If something doesn’t add up, or the problem looks like it isn’t chiropractic territory at all, you’ll hear that straight away and we’ll help you find the right practitioner instead.
Will I be adjusted on the first visit?
Usually, yes. Occasionally no. If we need imaging first, or your presentation suggests something that shouldn’t be adjusted, we wait. A day’s patience beats a guess.
Afterwards
Some people feel looser straight away. Others are mildly sore that evening, about the same as after a decent gym session, and it settles within a day or so. Before you leave you’ll know what we found, what the plan is, roughly how many visits we think it will take, and what it will cost. No surprises at reception.
Still curious? The patient FAQs cover the common questions, or just book online. We’re at 2/529 Old South Head Road, Rose Bay.