Why This Question Comes Up So Often
New patients frequently ask Dr. Brett Chavez whether they’ll need an X-ray before starting care at Back 2 Health Chiropractic, and the honest answer is: it depends on what the exam finds. Imaging isn’t a routine formality for every patient walking through the door. It’s a tool Dr. Chavez uses when the history and physical exam point toward something worth seeing directly, whether that’s ruling out a structural concern, understanding the degree of a known condition, or confirming a diagnosis before building a treatment plan.
What Happens Before Imaging Is Even Considered
Every first visit starts with a detailed history and a hands-on physical exam. Dr. Chavez checks range of motion, tests specific movements that might reproduce a patient’s symptoms, and evaluates neurological function when the complaint suggests nerve involvement. In many straightforward cases, this exam alone provides enough information to begin conservative care safely without needing imaging first.
When Imaging Becomes Useful
Imaging tends to matter more in a handful of situations: when a patient has a history of trauma, like a car accident or a fall; when there’s suspicion of a structural issue like significant disc degeneration or a condition like spinal stenosis or scoliosis where seeing the actual curve or degree of narrowing changes the treatment approach; or when conservative care hasn’t produced the expected improvement and a closer look is warranted to understand why.
Having X-ray capability on site at Back 2 Health Chiropractic means patients don’t need to be referred elsewhere and wait days or weeks for results before care can begin. Dr. Chavez can review the images directly and explain findings during that same visit.
What an X-Ray Session Involves
The process itself is quick and straightforward. Depending on the area of concern, Dr. Chavez may image the neck, low back, or another specific region, sometimes from multiple angles to get a complete picture of the joint alignment and spacing. Patients are walked through what to expect beforehand, and there’s no lengthy prep required.
What Dr. Chavez Looks For
Beyond ruling out anything that would change or contraindicate chiropractic care, X-rays help Dr. Chavez assess disc spacing, joint alignment, the presence of degenerative changes, and structural patterns like a scoliotic curve. This information shapes not just whether chiropractic care is appropriate, but exactly how it should be approached, which techniques make sense, and what a realistic timeline for improvement looks like.
Setting Honest Expectations
Dr. Chavez reviews imaging findings directly with patients in plain language, explaining what’s actually shown rather than using imaging as a scare tactic to justify more visits than are clinically necessary. Not every finding on an X-ray requires treatment, and Dr. Chavez is upfront about which findings are relevant to a patient’s current symptoms and which are incidental, age-related changes that don’t need to be a focus of care.
What to Expect at Your First Visit
New patients coming in should expect a thorough history, a physical exam, and, when warranted, in-office imaging, followed by a clear explanation of what was found and a proposed plan. Dr. Chavez builds each plan around the individual exam and imaging findings rather than a one-size-fits-all protocol.
If you’re considering your first visit and want to understand what to expect, schedule a new patient appointment at Back 2 Health Chiropractic in Lubbock, TX.
References
- American Chiropractic Association, “Diagnostic Imaging in Chiropractic Practice,” acatoday.org
- American College of Radiology, “Imaging Guidelines for Low Back Pain,” acr.org
