If you’re about to go to your first chiropractic appointment you may be wondering what you should wear. This is completely normal as we often get asked this question when patients schedule visits. This guide will help you ensure that your chiropractic visit is unimpeded by your choice of clothing. The simplest piece of advice is to wear something comfortable. If you’re going for an adjustment, wear loosely fitting clothing that won’t get in your doctor’s way while they adjust you. Your body is going to be moving around, so avoid wearing anything that might give you an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction. A t-shirt and shorts or leggings should suffice.

Wear Something Comfortable

The most important factor is that your movement is not restricted. Your clothing should be flexible and loose. You don’t want to have stiff jeans or a bulky belt stabbing you in the stomach. Loose clothing will help make your chiropractic visit go smoother. We often recommend running shorts, basketball shorts, yoga pants, leggings, and t-shirts or tank tops.

Coming Straight From Work?

If you’re coming straight from a job that requires you dress nice there are a couple of things you should do. If you’re wearing a suit take your tie off and leave your jacket in your car. You won’t be needing it in your appointment. You might be tempted to make a good impression by dressing your best. Don’t. We want to help you heal and we’re not worried about your appearance. If possible wear something comfortable underneath your formal attire or change before your appointment to avoid being uncomfortable.

Leave The Heals At Home

If you wear heels we recommend that you bring an extra pair of comfortable shoes to change into before your appointment. High heels can snag on the table and break or cause damage to the table itself. Sneakers or running shoes are the best choices for shoes at your appointment.

Avoid Dresses

While dresses do conform to our advice of loose fitting comfortable clothes it can be difficult to adjust a patient who’s wearing a dress. In addition to getting your legs tangled in the dress, many fabrics also become wrinkled easily. Dresses and skirts also come with the possibility of wardrobe malfunctions. We want you to feel comfortable and safe and to avoid this, we recommend that you don’t wear dresses or skirts.

Avoid Too Many Layers

The Northwest is cold and wet. And then all of a sudden it’s warm and sunny. We wear layers in Portland. When you wear layers on the day of your chiropractic appointment make sure you’re able to remove a few of them to avoid having a bunch of bulky sweaters and jackets. Our office is kept at a comfortable temperature which is just a few feet from our parking lot. So you should be fine with just a shirt or two.

No Jewelry Please

Rings should be fine but necklaces and bracelets can get tangled and cause issues during an adjustment. The last thing you want is to get stabbed or accidentally stab your chiropractor with a sharp piece of metal from your bracelet. We recommend you leave your jewelry at home but if you forget we may ask that you remove it during your appointment.

Advice For Men

We understand that you may have to come straight from work for your appointment. That’s why we recommend that you take off any suspenders, ties, jackets, and other accessories before your appointment. To avoid having a pile of stuff in the chiropractors’ office, leave it in your car. Consider changing before your appointment or wearing an undershirt to avoid wrinkling your nice work shirt.

Advice For Women

Formal attire can often be less comfortable for women than it is for men. Formal workwear for women can be very restrictive. Skirts, belts, jackets, and heels can all negatively affect the quality of your chiropractic visit. You want to choose clothing options that allow for plenty of movement. Also, you may want to avoid wearing stockings of any kind as they could run as you’re moving around on the table.

Ultimately, we want you to be comfortable and to have the greatest opportunity for healing. For other advice on the do’s and don’t of chiropractic visits check out our blog.