What to Expect at Landriault Chiropractic

A look at how care begins from the moment you walk in through to your first adjustment.

We Don’t Adjust on Day One. Here’s Why.

Your first appointment with us is a full exam. We sit down with you, we talk, we assess, we scan if necessary, and we take the time to actually understand what’s happening in your body.

Then we go away, review everything, and bring you back within 24 to 48 hours to walk you through what we found and discuss care with you.

Male chiropractor conducts x-rays on woman in clinic

Visit 1: Your New Patient Exam

Plan for about an hour. Wear something comfortable. You won’t be adjusted today.

A Real Conversation First

Megan will greet you at the front desk. Julie will bring you into our consultation room and get you settled.

When Dr. Rob or Dr. Jayla joins you, the first thing they’ll do is read through the paperwork you filled out — actually read it, not skim it. Then they’ll ask you to walk them through what’s been going on in your own words.

The question that matters most to us isn’t “where does it hurt.” It’s:

Tell me how this is impacting your life. What’s it stopping you from doing?

Because the real problem isn’t the symptom. The real problem is the things you’ve stopped doing: the workouts you’ve cut out, the sleep you’re losing, the hobbies you’re afraid to flare up. That’s what we want to understand.

A Quick Chiropractic 101

Before we examine you, we’ll give you a short walkthrough of how the spine, the brain, and the nervous system actually work together — and what we mean when we talk about “subluxation.”

This part isn’t a pitch. It’s context. We want you to understand what we’re looking for and why, so that when we explain the findings on day two, none of it feels like a black box.

The Physical Exam

From there, we move into the assessment itself, in this order:

Postural assessment: How you hold yourself, where you’re loading, where you’re compensating. This tells us a lot before we touch you.

Structural exam of the spine: A hands-on, segment-by-segment assessment of how your spine is moving — and where it isn’t.

X-rays, if needed: Not every patient needs them. When we do take them, it’s usually for one of two reasons: to make sure the techniques we’re considering are safe for your spine specifically, and to look at the longer-term wear-and-tear picture so the care plan we build matches what we’re actually working with.

Insight Scans: A Window Into Your Nervous System

After the structural work, Julie will walk you through three nervous system scans. They are non-invasive, take about 15 minutes total, and give us an objective picture of how your nervous system is functioning right now.

Thermal scan: A handheld scanner rolls up either side of your spine and measures temperature differences. Those differences tell us how the autonomic nerves — the ones controlling things you don’t think about, like blood flow and digestion — are functioning where they exit the spine.

Surface EMG:This measures how much energy your postural muscles are using to keep you upright. There’s a normal pattern. When the spine is subluxated, that pattern gets distorted. We can see exactly where, and by how much.

Pulse Rate Profiler (Heart Rate Variability): This one tells us nothing about symptoms. What it tells us is something more important: how coordinated, balanced, and resilient your nervous system is. How well it can adapt to stress before that stress starts to break down your tissues.

That’s day one. We send you home, we sit down with everything we’ve gathered, and we get you back in the door within 24 to 48 hours.

Male chiropractor analyzes x-rays on computer screen

Visit 2: Your Report of Findings

Bringing you back 24-48 hours after your first visit, this session is where everything comes together. It lasts about 20 minutes.

You’ll get a copy of every test we ran. We’ll walk you through what we found, in plain language on our screen, with the images and the data right in front of you.

By the end of this conversation, you’ll know:

  • What we found: Where the dysfunction is, what it’s likely doing, and how long it’s been there.
  • Whether we can help: If we’re not the right fit or it’s out of our scope, we’ll tell you and refer you to someone who is 
  • Your recommended plan: How often you’ll come in, when we’ll re-examine you to track progress, and the milestones we’re working toward.
  • Which technique we’ll use: Chosen based on your exam findings. Manual or instrument, it’s your call. You’re never locked in.

What Your First Visit Looks Like

1. Initial Intensive Care

The goal here is straightforward: get you back to feeling like yourself as quickly as possible. This is where most of the heavy lifting happens, which is why visits are more frequent and consistent. Days to weeks.

2. Corrective Chiropractic

Once you’re feeling better, we re-examine you and have a conversation about what’s next. Our corrective care process is about strengthening the spine and the nervous system so the changes hold.

3. Maintenance Care

Once you’re in a healthier place, the conversation becomes: how do you want to maintain it? Some patients come in for maintenance chiropractic weekly. Some every couple of weeks. It’s based on your goals.

Ready to Start?

Your new patient exam is the most thorough first appointment most of our patients have ever had. It’s also where everything that makes the care work begins. We look forward to meeting you!

Have a question first? Call us at (705) 494-8077

Male chiropractor treats neck of woman using tool

Common Questions

Honestly it depends on what we find and how long it’s been there. Someone who has been compensating for 10 years isn’t going to reverse that in a week. Someone with a recent issue is often back up and going much faster. After your exam, we’ll give you a realistic timeline based on what we actually see.

No. Your initial plan covers what we believe it’ll take to get you through Phase 1. After that, every next phase is a conversation, not a contract. We re-examine you, we share what we’re seeing, and you decide what makes sense for you.

The most common difference our patients point to is the exam. When we don’t know exactly where the problem is, adjustments get general— and a general adjustment to the wrong segment doesn’t produce the change you need. The exam is what lets us be specific. That specificity is usually what people are missing.

It’s where a lot of people start, but it’s not what we focus on. Your spine’s most important job is protecting and communicating with the nervous system that runs everything: your sleep, your stress response, your energy, your focus, how well your body adapts to what life throws at it. That’s what we’re working on.

Then we’ll tell you. We’d rather refer you to the right person than keep you in care that isn’t a fit. We’ve built strong relationships with the medical, physio, and massage communities in North Bay specifically so we can do that well.

Most extended health plans cover chiropractic care, including the exam. Coverage varies. Julie can walk you through what to expect for your specific plan when you come in.