How much is a trip to the chiropractor

Nearly 30 million Americans choose to seek chiropractic care each year. It can help people with chronic pain, as well as athletes and those seeking to reduce joint stress.

And if you’re looking to try out a visit to the chiropractor, one of the first questions on your mind is likely, “How much does a chiropractor cost?”

Bear in mind that we cannot give you the exact cost, as the actual cost will depend on where you live and if you have insurance. However, we can give you an average price and how much you may expect to pay at the visit.

How Much Does a Chiropractor Cost If Your Insurance Covers It?

Nowadays, many people can get a chiropractic adjustment covered through their insurance. As insurance companies begin to offer, and cover, more complementary treatments, more people will find that their insurance will cover at least a portion of their visit.

How much your insurance will cover, of course, depends on the policy you’ve taken out. For some people, chiropractic care may fall under the realm of something an insurance company will never cover. For others, their insurance may cover the entire bill.

Most likely, your insurance company will cover a portion of the bill. This may be to the tune of 50% or 75%, or you may simply be asked to pay your co-pay instead of what the chiropractor actually charges for their services.

Initial Assessment

Some chiropractors will offer an initial consultation that may be free. This may be similar to a lawyer offering you an initial consultation before deciding if they would like to take your case.

With an initial consultation, a chiropractor can look at your body and what adjustments need to be made in order to help you look and feel your best. The chiropractor may also ask for further diagnostic tests that would be performed for a fee such as an x-ray or MRI.

Once the initial consultation is made, they can draw up a treatment plan for you. They can then give you an idea of how much their services would cost based on their treatment plan. This can be submitted to your insurance company for reimbursement, or you may have your insurance company pay the provider instead.

Diagnostic Tools

We briefly mentioned diagnostic tools in the previous section. Often times, chiropractors cannot get the whole image of what’s going on with your body without further investigation. While they can tell a lot by feeling your body and the bone structure, they may need an x-ray or an MRI to get a better picture.

These diagnostic tools are typically an add-on to the chiropractic fee. Some chiropractors may have x-ray or MRI machines in their office, but most often, you’ll need to travel to an imaging center to get the tests.

Once the results come back, the chiropractor will then take a look at them. They may also be a factor in how much you’ll need to pay, as what they look like may determine a further course of treatment.

If you have insurance, you’ll likely pay for any diagnostic imaging similarly to how you would pay for it if any other doctor ordered it.

Chiropractor’s Experience and Reputation

Just like you’ll expect to get paid a little bit more each year, thanks to your acquired experience, a chiropractor will also bill more based on their experience. Therefore, a chiropractor who has been in practice for 25 years may rightly bill more than one that’s fresh out of school. You may wish to keep this in mind when deciding who to go to for an adjustment.

Some chiropractors may also bill more because of their reputation. For example, there are many chiropractors that have an established presence on the Internet. Because many people find watching adjustments so satisfying, some chiropractors have tapped into that market.

A chiropractor who is Internet famous for their work may charge more than one who isn’t. This is also because they likely have a waiting list of clients, and can, therefore, be selective with who they choose to work with.

But remember, just because a chiropractor isn’t Internet famous doesn’t mean they’re not good at their job. They just haven’t harnessed the power of social media.

Range of Costs

You likely clicked on this article looking for cold, hard numbers. While we can’t tell you for certain how much individual chiropractors charge, you can expect to fork over between $60 and $300 per session depending on the clinic and the treatment necessary. This very ballpark estimation is without insurance covering the fee, so if you do have insurance that will cover chiropractic care, you may be able to take the final total down considerably.

As you may expect, anything that needs more treatment will cost more than something that doesn’t need as much.

Finding the Right Fit

So while we can’t answer the question, “How much does a chiropractor cost?” definitively, we can give you an idea of what to expect. When doing your research about a chiropractor, they may list their prices on their website. If not, do not be afraid to ask how much they charge when calling them over the phone. Remember, you’re the one paying for the service, so you have a right to know how much you may be forking over.

Looking for more articles about Lifestyle and living in the San Francisco Bay Area? Browse the rest of our Lifestyle section.

Anna Scanlon wrote this article on behalf of FreeeUp. This is the fastest-growing freelance marketplace in the US. FreeeUp only accepts the top 1% of freelance applicants. Click here to get access to the top freelancers in the world.     

SFGATE and Hearst partners may earn revenue when readers click affiliate links in this article.