Your First Visit: The Art and Science of Understanding You

A chiropractic examination at Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences is not merely an evaluation — it is an artful and scientific process of understanding the story your body is telling. Every movement, every posture, and every subtle asymmetry reveals a piece of the pattern beneath your discomfort.

Your experience begins in one of our private, thoughtfully designed treatment suites, where your Chiropractic Physician will review your health history and listen closely to your concerns. With both empathy and precision, your doctor will perform a comprehensive assessment, observing posture, joint movement, muscular tone, and balance. When indicated, specialized orthopedic and neurological tests may be used to identify the precise structures involved — muscles, joints, nerves, or connective tissues. These assessments are gentle, precise, and always explained beforehand so you remain informed and comfortable throughout.

Your provider may then use their hands to palpate, or “read,” the soft tissues and joints of concern — a refined skill developed through years of advanced clinical training. This tactile analysis helps identify restricted movement, inflammation, or structural imbalance that may not be visible to the eye. At every stage, your comfort, privacy, and consent remain paramount.

Following this examination, your Chiropractor will synthesize their findings into a working diagnosis — a professional interpretation of the patterns contributing to your pain or dysfunction. Together, you’ll review these insights in a clear, collaborative “Report of Findings,” where your provider will explain their recommendations and discuss potential treatment options, frequency, and expected outcomes. When appropriate, your first treatment may be performed the same day, beginning your journey toward improved function and relief.

Medical Massage Assessment and Integration

For patients referred to or beginning care with our Licensed Medical Massage Therapists, the process begins with a similarly thoughtful intake designed to support your chiropractic care plan. Your therapist will review relevant history, areas of concern, and current functional goals before performing a focused muscular assessment — evaluating tissue tone, symmetry, flexibility, and tenderness.

This intake helps your therapist select the most appropriate therapeutic techniques, from deep tissue and myofascial release to neuromuscular therapy and rehabilitative soft-tissue work. Communication is continuous throughout your session — pressure, positioning, and comfort are always adjusted to your preference. Every massage is approached as both a standalone therapy and a key component of your integrated care plan, carefully aligned with your chiropractic and rehabilitative goals.

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, each assessment — whether chiropractic or therapeutic — is guided by our belief that understanding precedes healing. Through deliberate attention, clinical mastery, and respect for your individuality, we transform examination into insight, and insight into care.

Crafting Care in Motion: What Happens During Your Chiropractic Visit

Each chiropractic session at Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences is thoughtfully curated to reflect your current condition, clinical findings, and individual needs on that specific day. Your physician will begin by reviewing any changes in symptoms or lifestyle since your last appointment, using that information to shape a precise, real-time care plan.

Treatment may include gentle spinal or extremity adjustments performed by hand, specialized low-force techniques, or instrument-assisted manipulation using precision tools designed to mobilize joints and release restricted tissues. These methods are applied with clinical intention — not routine — ensuring that every adjustment is appropriate to your anatomy, comfort, and therapeutic goals. Soft-tissue therapies, rehabilitative exercise guidance, or physiologic modalities may also be incorporated to support stability and improve recovery.

After your adjustment, you may feel relaxed, lighter, or mildly fatigued as your body begins to integrate the changes in alignment and neurological tone. Your provider may recommend resting for the remainder of the day unless otherwise directed, maintaining good hydration to aid metabolic recovery, and emphasizing anti-inflammatory nutrition — fresh vegetables, clean proteins, and avoidance of processed or inflammatory foods — for the next 24–48 hours.

When indicated, your Chiropractor may also provide professional recommendations for over-the-counter (OTC) medications or supplements within Oregon’s approved scope of practice. These may include temporary use of analgesics, topical agents, or nutritional support aimed at decreasing inflammation and enhancing tissue repair.

Every aspect of your visit — from the adjustment itself to the after-care guidance — is part of a unified philosophy: to restore motion, reduce pain, and support your body’s innate capacity to heal through skill, science, and compassion.

The Therapeutic Art of Medical Massage

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, our Licensed Massage Therapists practice a level of precision and professionalism rarely encountered in conventional massage settings. Working in concert with our Chiropractic Physicians, they provide medically directed massage therapy — a scientifically grounded and diagnostically informed approach to restoring movement, reducing pain, and promoting long-term healing.

Each session is guided by collaboration. Before beginning treatment, your therapist reviews your chiropractic assessment and any recent updates from your provider, ensuring that every moment of care serves a specific clinical purpose. Together, your providers determine which soft-tissue structures are contributing to your condition and design a targeted therapy plan tailored to your immediate presentation and long-term recovery.

This collaborative model elevates our massage therapy far beyond relaxation or deep tissue work. Our therapists are hand-selected for their medical expertise, anatomical mastery, and clinical reasoning — qualities that allow them to work fluidly within a diagnostic framework established by our Chiropractic Physicians. With the confidence of medical oversight and interdisciplinary insight, our massage team is able to achieve outcomes that less clinically oriented therapists often cannot.

Your session may include advanced methods such as myofascial release, neuromuscular re-education, trigger point therapy, rehabilitative stretching, or lymphatic techniques — all applied with deliberate, evidence-based intent. Each technique supports the body’s healing process while complementing your chiropractic and rehabilitative treatments.

Because every session is performed under direct clinical supervision and thoroughly documented, medical massage at Mid-Valley Chiropractic frequently qualifies for insurance reimbursement under the category of medically necessary treatment. This distinction separates our work from general wellness or spa-based massage, which, while beneficial, lacks the diagnostic integration required for medical classification.

After your treatment, your therapist may recommend supportive aftercare such as rest for the remainder of the day, increased hydration, gentle movement as tolerated, and short-term anti-inflammatory dietary choices. When appropriate, and within Oregon’s chiropractic scope of practice, your supervising physician may also provide over-the-counter medication or supplement recommendations to further support your recovery.

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, medical massage is not a luxury — it is a partnership of science, skill, and compassion. Our providers share one purpose: to deliver integrative, intelligent, and individualized care that restores balance to both structure and spirit.

You Don’t Have to Hurt Alone: Restoring Health After an Auto Accident

 In Oregon, every auto insurance policy includes Personal Injury Protection (PIP) — a no-fault medical benefit that covers healthcare for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, regardless of who was at fault. This means that anyone involved in a collision can receive prompt, necessary, and fully covered care — no referral required. At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, our providers bring a combined two decades of experience in treating post-accident patients, helping them not only recover but return to thriving function and wellbeing.

Our clinic specializes in guiding patients through every stage of recovery — from acute care (“stabilize and calm pain”), to active care (“restore motion and coordination”), and finally, rehabilitative care (“rebuild strength and prevent recurrence”). This structured, evidence-based approach—integrating chiropractic treatment, medical massage therapy, and rehabilitative exercise—has consistently been shown to deliver better outcomes when initiated early and performed frequently.

Even seemingly minor collisions can create whiplash or subclinical soft tissue injuries that may not be immediately painful but can worsen over time if untreated. That’s why it’s crucial for everyone involved in an accident—adults and children alike—to be evaluated. Children, in particular, may not yet have the language or self-awareness to accurately describe discomfort, yet they can still sustain musculoskeletal strain or joint misalignment during impact.

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, we believe that healing after a collision should be both compassionate and comprehensive. Our experienced providers combine diagnostic precision with gentle, evidence-based care to restore mobility, relieve pain, and rebuild long-term strength and confidence—helping our patients truly move beyond recovery.

Strong, Supported, and Serene: Modern Chiropractic Care for Pregnancy and Beyond

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, we specialize in the art and science of supporting mothers through every phase of pregnancy and recovery. Our perinatal chiropractic and medical massage services are grounded in the latest research, showing that gentle, evidence-based chiropractic care is not only safe for both mother and baby — it’s profoundly beneficial. Studies demonstrate that regular chiropractic care throughout pregnancy can shorten labor times, reduce the risk of tearing, improve comfort, decrease back and pelvic pain, ease back labor, and even enhance delivery outcomes by lowering the likelihood of induction or Cesarean intervention. Babies born to mothers who receive prenatal chiropractic care consistently show higher APGAR scores and greater ease in postnatal adaptation.

But the benefits extend far beyond birth. The postpartum period — now recognized by modern medical science as the “Fourth Trimester” — is a vital phase of physical and emotional restoration. Women who receive chiropractic and rehabilitative care within the first month after birth report less musculoskeletal pain, improved sleep, reduced anxiety, and a stronger sense of well-being and connection with their newborns.

Without guided recovery, lingering issues such as pelvic instability, ligamentous strain, urinary incontinence, or even pelvic floor prolapse may develop over time. That’s why our providers take an integrated, rehabilitative approach, working in collaboration with pelvic floor therapy specialists and using modern, data-driven techniques to restore alignment, stability, and confidence.

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, our mission is to help mothers feel strong, supported, and vibrant — not only during pregnancy but throughout the remarkable journey that follows.

Pediatric Chiropractic Care: Gentle Support for Growing Bodies

At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, we believe that children deserve care as unique and dynamic as their development. Our pediatric chiropractic services are thoughtfully tailored to the needs of each stage of growth — from newborns to adolescents — using state-of-the-art, evidence-informed techniques and compassionate clinical expertise. Our physicians hold advanced training across the pediatric spectrum and employ the gold-standard Webster Technique, alongside a diverse portfolio of specialized, child-focused interventions designed to optimize comfort, mobility, and neurological balance.

From their very first days, infants may experience strain from prolonged labor or birth trauma, leading to neck, shoulder, or back discomfort that can cause persistent crying or difficulty soothing. Gentle chiropractic assessment and treatment can help relieve muscular tension, encourage proper alignment, and support healthy nervous system function. In many cases, improvements in digestion, reduced gas or constipation, and even better feeding and latching have been observed — not as guaranteed outcomes, but as common and encouraging patterns of improvement.

As toddlers begin to crawl, walk, and explore, new challenges arise — bumps, tumbles, and growing pains that can disrupt balance or movement. Our doctors are trained to evaluate and refer any suspected trauma that requires further medical care, while safely managing the vast majority of common sprains and strains in-office. Many children experience remarkable relief, often within just a few gentle sessions.

For school-age children, we address conditions such as bedwetting, scoliosis, headaches, postural fatigue, and sports injuries, focusing on the lumbar and pelvic regions to restore proper communication between the spine and the autonomic nervous system. As children approach adolescence, our care evolves with them — offering relief from discomfort associated with rapid growth, heavy backpacks, athletic strain, and, for young women, the new physical demands that accompany the onset of menstruation.

Pediatric chiropractic care at Mid-Valley Chiropractic is more than treatment — it’s a partnership in growth, supporting children as they thrive, move freely, and experience life with balance and vitality.

Beyond the Spine: Comprehensive Chiropractic Solutions for the Whole Body

Chiropractic care is far more than back and neck adjustments — it is a refined, evidence-based discipline designed to restore balance, mobility, and vitality throughout the entire body. Using advanced diagnostic insight and precise manual skill, our physicians at Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences address a wide spectrum of conditions not always associated with chiropractic medicine, including TMJ (temporomandibular joint) dysfunction, migraine and tension headaches, shoulder pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, hip and pelvic instability, knee strain, and ankle misalignment.

Each treatment plan is tailored to the individual, blending gentle joint manipulation, soft-tissue therapy, rehabilitative exercise, and modern integrative techniques that target the root cause of dysfunction. Patients are often astonished to discover how interconnected their systems truly are — that a misaligned jaw can contribute to headaches, or that wrist pain may stem from tension patterns in the neck and shoulder.

This comprehensive, science-guided approach allows us to support the body as an elegant, unified system — helping patients achieve not just relief, but genuine restoration of comfort, movement, and confidence in their health.

Inclusive Care for Every Neurotype: Redefining Accessibility in Chiropractic Medicine

True innovation in healthcare begins with a simple, human question: How can we make care more accessible, more comfortable, and more compassionate for everyone who seeks it?
At Mid-Valley Chiropractic Allied Health Sciences, that question guides everything we do. Our clinic stands at the forefront of neurodiversity-informed chiropractic medicine — leading the way in making musculoskeletal healthcare accessible to individuals within the neurodivergent spectrum who may have unique sensory or communication needs.

We thoughtfully adapt our care to each patient’s comfort, modifying lighting, sound, texture, and pressure sensitivities while respecting communication preferences such as eye contact comfort, conversational tone, and pacing. We strive to ensure that every interaction reflects clarity, consent, and emotional safety.

Under the leadership of Dr. Marisa Aptecker, the first Chiropractor in Oregon endorsed by the Autism Society of Oregon, our team integrates advanced continuing education with heartfelt advocacy to expand inclusivity across chiropractic medicine. While our office is not currently equipped to safely provide care for individuals with Level 3 Autism, we proudly offer comprehensive, individualized treatment for patients of all other neurotypes — ensuring every visit is both effective and affirming.