Frequently Asked Questions

You can book online any time, or call the clinic on 902-404-3828 and we will find a time that suits you.

Chiropractic visits and massage therapy are booked separately — book a chiropractic visit or book a massage.

You do not need a referral from a doctor to see us.

New patients can get started for $37. That covers a full consultation, a chiropractic exam, a surface EMG scan, and a Report of Findings — so you leave knowing what is going on and what we would do about it.

You can claim the offer online or call 902-404-3828 and mention it.

If a friend or another patient sent you, the same offer is on our referral page.

Your first visit takes about 45 minutes. We start with a thorough conversation about your health history, what is bothering you and what you want to get back to.

Then a full examination: a physical exam of your posture, range of motion and muscle strength; an orthopedic exam to isolate the affected joints and soft tissues; a neurological exam of your reflexes, coordination and sensation; a palpation exam of the joints of your spine and extremities; and a surface EMG scan that measures muscle activity to find areas of imbalance. X-rays are taken if they are needed.

We do not usually treat on day one. We would rather know what we are treating first.

The second visit is your Report of Findings. We go through what the examination showed, in plain language, and set out a structural care plan built around your goals.

You get the chance to ask anything before you decide. Once you have agreed the plan, your care begins with your first adjustment.

A treatment is only given on day two if you have agreed to begin care. That adjustment is $50 for students and seniors and $55 for adults under 65.

Yes please — completing the patient intake form online before you arrive means your first visit is all care and no paperwork.

It asks for your contact details, your health history, what is bothering you and your insurance details. It takes about ten minutes, and your health information goes straight to the clinic and is stored securely.

Bring a list of any medications and supplements you take, any recent imaging reports (X-ray, MRI or CT) if you have them, and your insurance plan details.

Wear something comfortable that lets you move easily.

Most of all, bring your questions. We would far rather answer them than have you wondering.

• Monday: 7:30am–6:15pm
• Tuesday: 7:30am–12pm
• Wednesday: 7:30am–6:15pm
• Thursday: 2:30pm–6:15pm
• Friday: 7:30am–12pm
• Saturday: 9am–12pm
• Sunday: closed

We are closed on Sunday. If you need us outside those hours, leave a message on 902-404-3828 or email info@roachchiropractic.com and we will come back to you the next business day.

We are at 1658 Bedford Highway, Unit 95, Bedford, NS B4A 2X9 — inside Bedford Place Mall.

That last part matters: the street address on its own has sent people to the car park looking for a door. Park at the mall, come inside, and we are Unit 95.

There is a map and a directions button on our contact page.

Call the clinic on 902-404-3828 as soon as you know. If we are closed, email info@roachchiropractic.com and we will pick it up the next business day.

Letting us know early means we can offer the time to somebody who is waiting.

Phone 902-404-3828 · Email info@roachchiropractic.com · Fax 902-404-3830

Or send a message from our contact page — we answer within one business day.

Not for extended health plans — the kind you have through work or buy privately. You pay at the time of your visit and we give you a receipt to submit to your insurer yourself.

There are two exceptions, and both are answered just below: motor vehicle accident claims and Veterans Affairs Canada can usually be billed directly, so there is nothing for you to pay up front.

Please check your plan before your first visit so you know what it covers. The intake form asks for your provider and the amount you are covered for, so we can help you make sense of it.

Yes. A great deal of what we see is the aftermath of a car accident — whiplash, neck pain, headaches, back pain and the stiffness that arrives a few days later.

In many of these cases we can bill your insurer directly, so you are not paying out of pocket for your care. Bring your claim details to your first visit, or call 902-404-3828 beforehand and we will tell you what we need.

Yes, we do. In many of these cases we can bill VAC directly, so there is nothing for you to pay up front and nothing to claim back afterwards.

Bring your VAC details with you, or call 902-404-3828 before your first visit and we will confirm what is needed.

Not at present. We are not currently on the workers' compensation provider list, so we are not able to take a claim while it is being handled.

Once the work-related injury has been dealt with, we would be glad to see you — call 902-404-3828 and we will find you a time.

We are not on the current provider list for serving military members, so care here is not covered through the military.

A good number of serving members come to us anyway and pay for their care directly. If that is you, you are very welcome — call 902-404-3828 and we will get you booked in.

Many extended health benefit plans in Nova Scotia cover some chiropractic care, often a set number of visits or a dollar amount per calendar year. Plans vary a great deal, so the only reliable answer is your own plan document or a call to your insurer.

We do not direct bill extended health plans, so whatever your plan covers you claim back yourself with the receipt we give you.

It depends on what we find and what your plan needs to be — which is exactly what the Report of Findings is for. You will know the cost of your care before you agree to any of it, and we will not start until you have.

The day-two adjustment is $50 for students and seniors and $55 for adults under 65. For current fees on anything else, call 902-404-3828 and we will talk you through it.

Because most extended health plans are built around getting you out of a crisis rather than around finishing a correction. In practice that often means cover runs until the pain has gone, which usually comes earlier than the end of a care plan.

It is worth reading what your own plan actually says before you start — a number of visits, a dollar amount per calendar year, or both — so nothing lands as a surprise halfway through. We are happy to go through it with you.

We do not direct bill extended health plans, so whatever your plan covers you claim back yourself with the receipt we give you.

No. Chiropractors are primary care practitioners in Nova Scotia, so you can book directly with us. Bring your family doctor's name along anyway — we ask for it on the intake form so we can keep everyone in the loop if that would help you.

Usually not. We treat everyone from newborns to people in their nineties, and the technique is matched to the person on the table — what we do for an athlete is not what we do for a baby or for someone with arthritic joints.

The one time an adjustment can feel tender is when muscles and joints are so tight and rigid that any pressure at all is uncomfortable. That settles as things start moving again, and we would far rather you told us than put up with it.

That noise is gas releasing from the joint as it moves. Nothing is breaking, nothing is cracking, and nothing is being snapped back into place.

Adjustments to the neck sound much louder than the rest of the spine for one reason only: they happen close to your ears. It is the same small sound — you are just nearer to it.

The noise is not the point of an adjustment and it is not a measure of one. Several of the techniques we use — a handheld instrument, a drop-piece table, pelvic blocks — make no sound at all.

It is common early on, and it settles. An adjustment changes how a joint moves, and that change can happen faster than the muscles around it adapt — much like the stiffness after a new exercise.

Those muscles have often held the same pattern for years, so the first visits are where most of the adapting happens. It usually passes within the first week or two of care.

Tell us either way. Soreness that is not settling, or anything that feels wrong rather than tender, is something we want to hear about and work around.

No. We adjust only the joints that are not moving properly and leave the rest alone — which is why every visit starts with feeling your spine to find which ones those are that day, rather than working through the same list.

Patients who have been under care a while often become far more aware of their own spine and start noticing small changes they would once have missed entirely. That can feel like more is going wrong, when what has actually changed is how much you can feel.

For the great majority of people, yes — it is non-invasive and drug-free, which is exactly why many people come to us before they try anything stronger.

That said, it is not right for everybody, and finding out which you are is what the first visit is for. See the next question.

Yes. Severe osteoporosis, a spinal fracture, active cancer in the spine, some inflammatory arthritis affecting the upper neck, certain vascular conditions and recent spinal surgery can all make spinal manipulation the wrong choice. If you take blood thinners, tell us.

Every new patient gets a full health history and examination before anything is done, and if chiropractic is not appropriate for you we will say so and point you to somebody who can help. That is not us being careful for the sake of it — it is the reason the assessment comes first.

It depends on how long you have had the problem, how severe it is, and your health, activity and goals. Some people notice a change in a few visits; a problem that has been building for years takes longer.

You will get a plan with a realistic timeframe at your Report of Findings, and we reassess as we go rather than guessing — which is what the range-of-motion, posture, weight-distribution and EMG measurements are for.

At the start, more often; as things improve, less. Your plan says what we are aiming for and we adjust it as your reassessments show what is actually happening.

Once you are well, many patients choose wellness care — an occasional visit to keep things moving, the same way you would maintain anything else you rely on.

No. Your structural care plan has an end, and when you reach it we will tell you.

Wellness care after that is a choice, not a condition of being treated. Some people want to stay ahead of a problem that used to put them out of action; others come back when something flares up. Both are fine.

A quick, painless scan that measures the electrical activity in the muscles along your spine and shows where they are working unevenly.

It gives us something objective to measure your progress against, rather than relying only on how you say you feel on the day. We repeat it at reassessments so you can see what has changed.

Only when they are clinically necessary — to see the structure of your spine or rule something out. Most people do not need them.

If you have had an X-ray, MRI or CT of your spine in the last five years, bring the report; it may mean we do not need a new one.

It is the approach we take here. Rather than easing a symptom and sending you off, we look at the natural curves and alignment of your spine, because that structure is what your nervous system depends on.

Misalignments — what chiropractors call vertebral subluxations — build up over a lifetime of physical stress and eventually interfere with how well your nervous system communicates. Correcting the structure is what lets the symptom stay gone.

Broadly: a chiropractor works on the joints of your spine and extremities and how your nervous system functions; a physiotherapist works largely through exercise and rehabilitation; a massage therapist works on muscle and soft tissue.

They are not rivals, and the honest answer is that plenty of people need more than one. We have registered massage therapy here for exactly that reason, and we will refer you on when somebody else is the better fit.

Back pain · neck pain · headaches and migraines · sciatica · hip pain · joint pain in shoulders, knees and ankles · arthritis · sports injuries · whiplash · carpal tunnel syndrome · golfer's and tennis elbow · concussions · numbness and tingling · colic in infants · digestive issues · asthma.

There is more detail on each on our services page. If you are not sure whether we can help, call 902-404-3828 and ask — we will tell you honestly.

Often, yes. A great many headaches are driven by tension and joint restriction in the neck and upper back, and that is squarely what we work on.

Migraine in particular frequently has a cervicogenic trigger that gets missed. An assessment will tell us whether yours does.

It is the word chiropractors use for a joint in the spine that has lost its proper movement or position.

A joint that is not moving well irritates the tissue and nerves around it: muscles tighten to protect it, and the messages travelling between your brain and the rest of your body have a harder job getting through.

They are often surprisingly tender when pressed, even when you had no idea they were there — which is why the examination involves feeling your spine joint by joint rather than only asking where it hurts.

Three kinds of stress, and most people have had all three.

Physical — the repetitive kind, like years at a desk or on an assembly line, or a job of bending and lifting; and the sudden kind, like a car accident, a fall, a sports injury or a difficult birth.

Chemical — what we eat, drink, smoke and breathe.

Emotional — the sustained kind, which holds the body in a fight-or-flight state for far longer than it was built for.

They rarely arrive one at a time, which is why the first visit asks about your whole history and not just the week the pain started.

No. Dr. Roach's answer to this one is gravity: you do not have to believe in it for it to apply to you.

A joint either moves properly or it does not, and that is something we measure rather than something you have to take on faith.

Because feeling and function are not the same thing, and only one of them can be measured.

Very few of the nerves in your body carry pain, so a problem can be well established before it hurts — the same way high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a cavity all announce themselves late, or not at all.

It cuts both ways. Pain often leaves early in care, which can feel like the job is finished while the correction is still going on. So we measure: range of motion, posture, weight distribution and the surface EMG scan, repeated at your reassessments. We would far rather show you what has changed than ask you to remember.

We repeat the measurements from your first visit, compare them, and go through the results with you. Dr. Roach calls it a report card — an objective answer to "is this working", rather than a conversation about how you think it is going.

Three things mostly decide what it shows: how much change had already happened to your spine before you came in, how much physical, chemical and emotional stress is still in your life, and how consistent you have been with your visits and with anything we asked you to do at home.

If your plan needs to change, this is where it changes.

Usually not. A flare-up partway through care is common enough to be expected, and it is rarely a sign that anything has gone backwards.

The stresses that caused the problem are still in your life — the desk, the drive, the old injury — and while your spine is still changing it is easier to provoke than it will be later. A long car journey, a heavy weekend or a bad week of sleep is often all it takes.

Call us on 902-404-3828. Do not wait for your next scheduled visit and do not push through it: it is far quicker to settle early, and it usually tells us something useful about your plan.

Because the pain is usually the first thing to leave, not the last thing to change.

Pain is the symptom. The movement and the structure underneath it take longer, and stopping the moment you feel better is the most common reason a problem comes back — often within weeks, brought on by nothing more than an ordinary week.

Your plan says how long correction should take, we reassess along the way rather than guessing, and when you reach the end of it we will tell you.

Because a joint can stop moving well long before it starts to hurt — the same way a cavity is found at a check-up rather than announced by a toothache.

That is also the honest answer to why we are glad to check a family member who feels fine. A check-up is an examination and a conversation; if we find nothing worth treating we will say so, and that is a perfectly good outcome.

It commits you to nothing. No care begins until you have had your Report of Findings and agreed to it.

Yes — from newborns upwards. The technique is completely different from an adult adjustment: gentle, age-appropriate, and no more pressure than you would use to check a ripe tomato.

Dr. Josie Cross has done extensive training in pregnancy and pediatrics, holds Webster and Activator certifications, and is working towards her CACCP with the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

More than most people expect. Birth itself is the first physical stress a spine ever meets — and more so after a long labour, a C-section or a forceps delivery — and what follows is a couple of years of learning to walk by falling over, then sport, then school bags.

None of that necessarily hurts at the time, which is the point: a problem that starts young and goes unnoticed is one somebody carries into adulthood.

A child's check-up is a gentle examination, and if there is nothing to treat we will tell you so. Scoliosis is the other reason worth naming — it is easy to miss early, and early is when it matters most.

Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people come to see us. Prenatal care uses modified techniques and specialised positioning for low back pain, pelvic discomfort and sciatica through pregnancy, and we carry on through postpartum recovery.

Dr. Josie is Webster certified, which is the technique most often asked for in pregnancy.

Yes, and a good part of our practice is exactly that. Adjustments are adapted to your bone density and joint health — gentler, and often with an instrument rather than by hand.

The goal for most of our older patients is independence: staying mobile, steady on your feet and able to do what you want to do.

Yes. Dr. Roach spent the early years of his practice in sports chiropractic, treating athletes of all ages and disciplines.

We use Active Release Technique alongside adjustments for muscle tension, nerve entrapments and the soft tissue problems that come with pushing hard.

That is most of what we do — from babies to grandparents, often on the same afternoon. Chiropractic care is useful to people of all ages and walks of life, and there is a real advantage to one clinic knowing a whole family's history.

Chiropractic care (including structural care and Active Release Technique) · Theralase laser therapy · registered massage therapy · practitioner-grade vitamins and supplements.

Full detail on our services page.

ART is a patented hands-on soft tissue therapy. It works on muscle tension, nerve entrapments, scar tissue and adhesions — the things an adjustment alone will not reach.

We often pair it with adjustments, because the joint and the tissue around it are one problem, not two.

A non-invasive treatment that uses low-level laser light to stimulate healing at a cellular level. It speeds tissue repair, reduces inflammation and eases pain, without drugs and without downtime.

We use it for numbness and tingling, joint inflammation, arthritis, muscle strains, ligament sprains, tendonitis, bursitis and recovery after surgery. A session takes 20–30 minutes and you carry straight on with your day afterwards.

Whether it is right for you is decided at your assessment.

Yes — registered massage therapy with Dana, who works closely with the chiropractic team so the two halves of your care pull in the same direction.

No referral is needed. Book a massage online or call 902-404-3828.

Yes. We stock practitioner and pharmaceutical-grade brands only — clinically researched ingredients, free of contaminants and fillers, made under strict quality control with third-party testing.

We will point you to what actually helps with what you are dealing with, and tell you when you do not need anything.

It is our own patient education programme, and it is the thing that most sets this clinic apart. Every patient receives 40 videos by email over the course of their care — not just about chiropractic, but about the health concepts that help you get well and stay well.

It now has its own patient portal at adjustingattitudes.roachchiropractic.com, where every video also carries a full written transcript — so you can read one instead of watching it, or go back and find something Dr. Roach said without hunting through the video for it.

A video from Dr. Roach explaining why chiropractic might be the missing piece in your health, plus three questions to think about before your next visit.

You can watch it here.

"Align and Thrive — The Chiropractic Blueprint for a Healthier You" is a guide that pulls together decades of treating and advising patients: chiropractic information, nutritional advice and stretches for a range of joints and conditions.

Read it or download the PDF from our care package page, and bring your questions about any of it to your next appointment.

Yes. We have printable exercise protocols for specific problems — sciatica, neck pain, shoulder pain, plantar fasciitis, IT band, hip pain and bursitis, knee pain, carpal tunnel, tennis and golfer's elbow, thoracic outlet, SI joint, lumbar sprain and facet problems, core strength, forward head posture and office stretching among them.

They are all on our exercises page. Which one is right for you is a question for an assessment rather than a printout — the wrong exercise for your problem can set you back.

Dr. Clayton Roach — chiropractor and founder. A graduate with honours of Logan College of Chiropractic in St. Louis, in practice since 2005. Originally from Chéticamp in Cape Breton, and currently treasurer of the Board of Chiropractors of Nova Scotia.

Dr. Josie Cross — chiropractor. A graduate of Life University, back home in Nova Scotia after practising in Florida, with extensive training in pregnancy and pediatrics and certifications in Webster and Activator technique.

Dana — registered massage therapist, a graduate with distinction of Eastern College in 2022.

There is more about each of them on our team page.

Chiropractors carry the letters DC after their name — Doctor of Chiropractic. It is a different degree from an MD, and it is not a short one.

Most applicants arrive having already done three to four years of pre-medical study: biology, chemistry, physics, psychology and the laboratory work that goes with them. Chiropractic school is a further four to five academic years — around 4,800 hours of classroom, laboratory and clinical study, including a full year of hands-on patient care in a teaching clinic. After that come national board examinations, written and practical, and depending on the province a further examination before anyone may practise at all.

The curriculum overlaps a medical degree heavily and diverges where you would expect: medical students spend far more time on pharmacology and obstetrics, chiropractic students far more on anatomy, radiology and the diagnosis of muscles, joints and nerves. Continuing education every year is then a condition of staying licensed.

Since 1895. Daniel David Palmer gave the first adjustment in Davenport, Iowa, and taught the first class two years later; his son B.J. set out the four founding principles the profession still teaches.

It had a difficult century in between. Chiropractors were prosecuted for practising medicine without a licence and hundreds went to jail — 450 in 1917 alone — and the American Medical Association ran a formal campaign against the profession until a 1987 court decision, Wilk v. AMA, brought it to an end.

It is now among the largest regulated drug-free health professions in the world, with accredited schools across North America and well beyond.

Yes. Dr. Roach is from Chéticamp in Cape Breton and is proudly bilingual — care in English or in French, whichever you are more comfortable in.

Dr. Roach founded the clinic in 2005, and we have been serving Bedford, Halifax, Dartmouth and the wider HRM ever since.

In that time: 8,704 patients treated, 436,290 adjustments given, and 268 talks given in the community. We are rated 4.9 stars from 314+ Google reviews.

Please do — there are patient reviews on our about page and on our Google listing, where we are rated 4.9 stars from 314+ Google reviews.

If we have looked after you, leaving one helps more people in Bedford find us than anything else we do.

A short list of local businesses we know and trust, several of whom offer something extra to our patients. It is on our preferred network page.

If you run a business in HRM and would like to be considered, you can apply to join.

We publish practical guidance every week on back and neck pain, posture, sciatica, movement and staying active — written for people here, not in general. It is on our blog.

You will also find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.