A quiet chiropractic exam room in mid-morning light: an adjustable exam table, a cervical spine model, and a clipboard with a pen on the counter — **Plate**Where the first visit happens. An exam, findings written down, a plan you can read and keep.

Key takeaways

Pick the room you can drive to this week and call it; all three close daily from 12 to 2.
On the phone: it was an auto injury, the date of the crash, and whether your head was involved.
Bring any emergency department paperwork, your insurance card, and your attorney's contact if you already have one.
The first visit produces two things: care that begins, and a dated record that exists.
Severe or worsening symptoms skip the call and go to an emergency room.

Three rooms, three telephone numbers, hours arranged around working life. The steps, in order. This desk has written this entry as plainly as it can because the hardest part of getting examined is usually not the exam; it is the twenty minutes of friction before the call gets made.

Step one: choose the nearest room and call it

North County, Hazelwood. 14 Village Square Shop Ctr, Hazelwood, MO 63042. (314) 627-1411. Mon to Thu 9am to 6pm. Fri 9am to 12pm. Closed daily 12 to 2.
Tesson Ferry, South County. 11144 Tesson Ferry Road, Suite 200, Saint Louis, MO 63123. (314) 530-5480. Mon to Thu 9am to 6pm. Fri 9am to 12pm. Closed daily 12 to 2.
O'Fallon, Lake St. Louis. 2163 West Terra Lane, O'Fallon, MO 63366. (636) 280-0990. Mon, Tue, Thu 9am to 6pm. Wed and Fri by appointment. Closed daily 12 to 2.

Readers in north county are nearest Hazelwood. South county readers are nearest Tesson Ferry. Readers in St. Charles County and out toward Lake St. Louis are nearest O'Fallon, where Wednesday and Friday are by appointment. The daily 12 to 2 closure is real at all three rooms, so call in the morning or after two. Hours are worth confirming on the call.

Step two: what to say on the phone

State that it was an auto injury and give the date of the crash. Say where it hurts today, in a sentence. If your head was struck or you have felt foggy, dizzy, or sensitive to light, say so; the clinic publishes a TBI and concussion rehab lane alongside auto injuries, and the front desk should hear that you may belong in both. Ask for the earliest opening. If they ask about insurance or how the visit is billed, answer them and take their answer; this desk does not publish payment terms for a clinic it does not own, and it will not describe an arrangement it cannot verify.

Step three: what to bring

Any paperwork from an emergency department or urgent care that saw you first.
Your insurance card and identification.
The note you made about the mechanics of the crash: direction of impact, headrest position, whether your head struck anything, whether you felt dazed. Entry 01 explains why those details matter.
A list of anything you have been taking for the pain, and how much.
If you already have an attorney, their contact, so records can be sent where they need to go. You do not need to have decided anything about a claim before you get examined.

Step four: what the first visit consists of

In general terms, and as Missouri Injury Clinic publishes its auto-injury lane: a history of the crash, an examination of the neck and whatever else the crash involved, a diagnosis if the findings support one, and a written treatment plan you can read and keep. Expect the clinician to measure range of motion, press on specific structures, and ask about the head. Expect them to tell you whether this is the right room or whether you need imaging, a referral, or a different specialty.

Ask the questions plainly: what did you find, what is the plan, how long before we should expect a change, and what would make you send me somewhere else. A clinician who can answer those is handing you a record worth keeping. Joseph L. Hollingsworth, DC, runs the clinic; its stated principle is putting the CARE back in healthcare.

The bright lineChest pain, a sudden severe headache, weakness or numbness on one side, trouble speaking, a loss of bowel or bladder control, or a head injury with vomiting or worsening confusion is an emergency room trip right now, not a call to a clinic. An injury clinic is built for planned care; if the clinic sends you to an emergency room instead of booking you, that is the system working.

Step five: the two things you leave with

The visit produces care that begins and a record that exists. Both matter, and they are the same document. The record is a care document first: it is the fixed point the next visit measures against. If a claim is ever part of your story, the dated record from that first exam is what everyone will ask for. This desk says that the lawful way and does not say anything else about it; Entry 08 is the long version.

If you are calling for someone else

A parent, a spouse, a shop owner, a friend still answering the phone at nine at night. The useful handoff is small: the injured person's name, a number that actually reaches them, one sentence on what happened and when, where it hurts today, and which room is the shorter drive. Call the room first so nobody arrives at a closed door, and tell the injured person what you told the clinic. Then step back. You are getting someone an exam, not managing their care, and you should not promise an outcome, a schedule, or a dollar figure on anyone else's behalf.

Addresses, hours, and phone numbers are as published by Missouri Injury Clinic on moinjuryclinic.com. This entry is educational, not medical advice.