The most common complaint in the clinic
Low back pain brings more people through our Wortley Rd door than anything else. Some felt it lifting a planter in an Old South garden. Some sat through one deadline too many at a downtown office. Some woke up with it and cannot point to a cause at all, which is common and does not usually mean something sinister. Whatever brought yours on, the first step is the same: a careful exam before anyone talks about treatment.
How the exam approaches low back pain
We start by listening. When the pain began, what it feels like, what makes it better or worse and what your days ask of your back. Then we examine how you move: bending, standing back up, sitting and walking, along with the hips and mid back that share the load.
The exam also screens for the small number of low back cases that need a physician first. If your history or exam raises one of those flags, we say so plainly and point you to the right place instead of booking you in.
Your report of findings, before any treatment
Once the exam is done, Dr. Whitfield explains what it showed in plain language and puts the recommended plan in front of you in writing, with every cost on one page. He calls it showing you his homework. You can ask anything, including about risks and alternatives, and you decide what happens next. The full sequence is on our first visit page section.
What care can involve
If the exam suggests chiropractic care is appropriate for your back, the plan can involve adjustment together with soft tissue therapy, plus movement guidance for the hours you spend away from the clinic. Which of those your plan uses depends on what your exam shows, and the plan is reviewed as you go based on how you respond.
Low back pain often keeps company with long days in a chair. If that sounds like your week, see how we approach posture and desk strain. And if tension creeps up past your shoulders by the afternoon, our headaches page explains how we assess that separately.
What a first visit for low back pain looks like
Set aside about 45 minutes. The clinic sits in the heart of Wortley Village, about five minutes south of Victoria Park by car, and plenty of Old South patients simply walk over. Most low back patients pick the 8am slot before work or the end of the day. You fill in a health history, Dr. Whitfield examines how you move and then you sit down for the report of findings. If adjustment is appropriate for you and you are comfortable going ahead, treatment can often begin the same visit. The first visit costs $95 as of June 2026 and we direct-bill most extended health plans.