Refer a Patient to a Chiropractor in Surprise, AZ

This page is for referring providers: primary care, urgent care, specialists, and physical therapists who have a patient with mechanical back pain, neck pain, headaches, sciatica, or pain after a collision, and want to know what happens when they send that patient to Dr. Derek M. Legg, D.C., M.P.H. at Legg Chiropractic and Acupuncture in Surprise, Arizona. The short version: your patient is seen the same or next clinic day, Monday through Thursday, you reach Dr. Legg by phone whenever you want an update, and your patient comes back to you.

How do I refer a patient?

Call the clinic at (623) 214-7600 and ask for Dr. Legg. You can also call or text his cell, (469) 584-1530. If he is with a patient, he calls you back the same clinic day. There is no referral form and no portal. Send the patient with your preferences for their care, any images you already have, and the name of who to call with updates. Walk ins are welcome Monday through Thursday, 9:00 to 5:30, Arizona time.

How soon will my patient be seen?

The same or next clinic day, Monday through Thursday. Dr. Legg makes the room when you call. Same day availability is subject to the schedule and to what is clinically appropriate for the patient.

Will my patient come back to me?

Yes. You stay their doctor. Dr. Legg treats the musculoskeletal problem and sends the patient home to you. Updates are by phone whenever you want them; call the clinic, ask for Dr. Legg, and he will talk through your patient with you.

Who sees my patient?

Dr. Legg, at every visit. He is the owner and sole provider at Legg Chiropractic and Acupuncture, a chiropractor who is also Certified in Acupuncture by the Arizona Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Nothing is handed to a technician or a rotating associate, and nothing is added to the plan that the examination did not call for.

Can I set limits on the care my patient receives?

Yes, and they are honored on the first visit and every visit after. Light force or instrument adjusting only, no neck adjusting, care without needles, education and active rehabilitation first, or a call to you before anything beyond the plan you agreed. You know your patient best; say so when you refer.

What care is available in one visit?

Four tools, applied where the examination shows a reason and never as a standing routine: the chiropractic adjustment, acupuncture, dry needling, and non-surgical spinal decompression for selected disc related cases. Structured education and active rehabilitation lead the plan. Because Dr. Legg is certified in both, the adjustment and the needle work happen in the same visit, so your patient does not need a second office. See how chiropractic and acupuncture in one visit works.

Does Dr. Legg take his own X-rays?

Only when the examination calls for it: trauma decision rules, a neurological deficit, fracture risk, or a structural question the examination cannot answer. Many patients are never imaged. If you have already imaged the patient, please send any important recent images. Digital X-ray is on site; MRI, CT, and motion studies are referred out, and that referral goes back through you or to the physician you choose.

When does Dr. Legg route a patient out?

Some patients leave on the first visit. Saddle numbness, a new bladder or bowel change, or bilateral leg weakness is sent to the Emergency Department for suspected cauda equina. Head or neck pain unlike any prior episode with ptosis, miosis, pulsatile tinnitus, or a visual change is sent to the Emergency Department for possible cervical artery dissection, with no cervical technique. Trauma meeting imaging rules, a suspected fracture, or seatbelt bruising with belly pain or left shoulder tip pain in the days after a crash goes to the Emergency Department before any care here. A progressive neurological deficit or a non mechanical pain pattern goes back to you the same day, with a call. If chiropractic, acupuncture, or dry needling is not the right fit, Dr. Legg tells you on day one and makes the next referral himself.

Which patients fit?

Mechanical low back or neck pain past the first weeks, cervicogenic or tension type headache, sciatica or radiating arm pain with a mechanical story, whiplash after your clearance, shoulder or hip pain that has not responded to rest, and patients who want care without medication. Non musculoskeletal complaints, a patient who needs a surgical opinion first, and anyone who does not want hands on care are not a fit, and you will hear that on day one. Dr. Legg makes no claims outside musculoskeletal care and no promises about outcomes. Results vary.

What do Medicare and insurance cover?

Medicare covers the medically necessary chiropractic spinal adjustment, billed directly. Acupuncture and dry needling performed by a chiropractor are not covered by Medicare and are self pay, quoted to the patient in writing before treatment. Spinal decompression and chiropractor ordered X-rays are not covered by Medicare either. Most commercial plans treat chiropractic acupuncture the same way; benefits are verified after the first visit and before the second. The plans accepted are listed on the insurance accepted page, and Medicare billing has its own page. Nothing is sold on the first visit, and there are no contracts.

What about patients hurt in a car accident or at work?

Care after a collision is covered on the auto accident injuries page and after a workplace injury on the work injuries page. Call before sending the patient so the visit is billed the right way from the first day.

Who you will reach

Dr. Derek M. Legg, D.C., M.P.H. earned his Doctor of Chiropractic at Logan University and his Master of Public Health at Grand Canyon University, and is Certified in Acupuncture by the Arizona Board of Chiropractic Examiners. Legg Chiropractic and Acupuncture is at 13757 W Bell Rd #101, Surprise, AZ 85374, located within Sheitelman Physical Medicine on West Bell Road, serving Surprise and the West Valley, including Sun City West, Sun City, El Mirage, and Peoria. See all of our services and every condition we treat.

Legg Chiropractic and Acupuncture, 13757 W Bell Rd #101, Surprise, AZ 85374. Call (623) 214-7600 and ask for Dr. Legg. General reference for licensed clinicians; the route out list does not replace clinical judgment. Reviewed by Dr. Derek M. Legg, D.C., M.P.H. Last reviewed October 3, 2026.