Why Your First Visit Takes 60 Minutes: Inside the Full Gonstead Exam

A first visit here runs about 60 minutes, start to finish. That's a genuinely different time commitment than a quick intake-and-adjust visit, and it's worth understanding what fills that hour.

After check-in, we start by listening — your history, your goals, and what you've already tried. From there, the exam moves through visualization (posture, gait, skin changes, weight-bearing alignment), instrumentation (a Nervoscope/Delta-T scan along the spine to find nerve irritation), and palpation (checking joint movement, tenderness, and swelling segment by segment, in a weight-bearing position).

When indicated, we take digital X-rays on-site and review them with you directly, explaining what we're looking at and why. All of that comes together before the first adjustment is delivered — a specific, targeted correction based on what the exam actually found, not a general adjustment applied by default. The visit closes with clear next steps and a follow-up plan.

The length of the visit isn't padding — every step feeds into the next one. Skipping visualization means missing postural clues; skipping instrumentation means missing where nerve irritation shows up; skipping X-ray means adjusting based on incomplete information. The full sequence is what allows a specific, rather than general, adjustment on day one.

Read more: the full breakdown of your first visit, the Gonstead exam pillars.

Frequently asked questions

Will I get adjusted on my first visit?

Often yes, once the exam is complete — the first adjustment is based on that day's findings.

Do I need to bring anything to my first visit?

Bring any relevant prior imaging or medical records if you have them, along with your ID and insurance information if applicable.

Is the 60-minute visit longer than a typical chiropractic first visit?

Full-exam visits with X-ray review generally run longer than a quick screening visit, since each of the five exam steps takes real time to complete properly.

[Book Your First Visit](https://mainestreamhealthco.janeapp.com/) — Mainestream Health Co., 15 Main Street, Gray, ME. Call or text (207) 317-6770.