MMM Summer 2012
At a time when some believe chiropractic would be more popular by resembling medicine, remember what makes today's chiropractic attractive.
Monday Morning Motivation | Different From Medicine
June 4, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's different from medicine.
As much as we wish it weren't so, chiropractic is often a last resort for many patients who investigate chiropractic only after exploring medical solutions. Often, patients must first become disenchanted with the side effects of their medications, become alarmed that increasingly larger doses are required or find some other defect before being available for chiropractic care or some other non-medical solution.
Them's the facts.
That's why you'd want to create a distinctly different patient experience than the medical model they've already tried and abandoned. In other words, patients don't want same, they want different. That's good news. It means you have incredible latitude to show up truly different. You can show up as the facilitator, guide, coach, partner and cheerleader that patients rarely see in their medical experiences. You could even lose the white lab coat if you wanted to. Gasp!
Monday Morning Motivation | No Prescription
June 11, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it doesn't require a prescription.
You might want to ask patients why they think some drugs require a prescription and others don't. It's probably something they've never given much thought about.
"Because some drugs are dangerous?" they might eventually volunteer.
"That's correct. Chiropractic is so safe, it doesn't require a prescription or a warning label."
Most patients are familiar with the "Rx" symbol for a prescription. The letter "R" is from the Latin meaning ‘recipe' and the "x" on the tail is said to be from the astrological sign for Jupiter. Preceding a formula with the sign of Jupiter was thought to assure a favorable result. Moreover, according to astrologers, the period during the ascendancy of the planet Jupiter was thought to be a good time to gather herbs and concoct medicines. Huh?
Kind of takes some of the patina off the so-called "science" of pharmacology!
Monday Morning Motivation | Completely Natural
June 18, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's completely natural.
Perhaps it's due to the Baby Boom Generation who avoided polyester in favor of natural fabrics. It seems there's a growing interest in things natural.
Consider the growing interest in organic produce, antibiotic-free poultry, growth hormone-free milk and a myriad of other all-natural products. Those who tend to be more highly educated and attempt to live consciously are inclined to avoid processed foods and artificial just about anything.
Chiropractic resonates with this new focus on natural. However, based on the observations of futurist John Naisbitt, some form of technology must offset the natural, low-tech and high-touch aspects of chiropractic. That might be X-ray analysis, surface EMG or some other high-tech tool.
When given the choice, most people would prefer natural over artificial, authentic over phony and the truth over a lie. That's why chiropractic just needs to be told, not sold.
Monday Morning Motivation | Remarkably Safe
June 25, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's safe.
What makes this so ironic, is that many chiropractors are more sensitive to this than patients or perspective patients.
Sure, the bogus stroke thing is paraded out from time to time by chiropractic detractors, but they overlook the fact that people make decisions based upon how they feel (emotions) rather than what they know (intellect). In other words, most people don't consult actuarial tables before choosing a treatment option.
Credibility, trustworthiness and cultural authority are far more influential than some statistical analysis or comparison with adverse reactions to drugs or iatrogenic statistics from medical interventions. This is why patient testimonials can be so powerful, and financial inducements ("Save $100 off our regular exam fee.") and other questionable marketing practices are so damaging.
The real safety patients and prospective patients want is "social" safety. Proof that choosing a non-mainstream solution won't make them look foolish.
Monday Morning Motivation | Wisdom of the Body
July 2, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it trusts the wisdom of the body.
Many chiropractors overlook this when explaining chiropractic to patients. Perhaps this is because the allure of showing up as the hero, mimicking the attitude of traditional doctors, is more gratifying than telling the truth about the nature of healing. In other words, doctors, of any ilk, don't heal. Nor do drugs. Or adjustments!
Recovering one's health is a shedding process not an acquiring process. Which is to say, we each have within us the ability to heal. Usually, health can manifest by reducing obstructions or interferences rather than filling a void because something is missing.
We're not flawed, we're merely blocked. We're not deficient, we're merely constrained from our fullest expression. We're not suffering a drug shortage; we're merely exceeding our ability to accommodate one or more stressors. Patients are fully equipped for health. It's not you, it's them.
Monday Morning Motivation | Side Effects
July 9, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because its side effects are largely positive effects.
Virtually every intervention can have an "unintended consequence" or "adverse reaction."
Even chiropractic.
Fortunately, these are overwhelmingly positive, even if unintended. Such as the patient whose allergies improve after receiving chiropractic care for headaches. Or the patient whose indigestion disappears after receiving chiropractic care for back pain. Or the expectant mother whose restored fertility seems to have coincided with her chiropractic care for low back pain. You know the list.
The danger when seeing these frequent associations is to make the leap that chiropractic treats allergies, indigestion and fertility. Of course, chiropractic doesn't treat anything. However, with a revived nervous system, just about anything is possible. Even the relief of headaches and back pain.
Oh, and the stroke thing? When such a reaction occurs with such a winning-the-lottery infrequency, it's hardly a side effect. It's more like a rare effect.
Monday Morning Motivation | Regardless of Age
July 16, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it can help anyone regards of age.
Look up the word help and you're likely to see terms such as assist, comfort and support. Chiropractic care helps people who have assumed a defensive posture we call subluxation in an attempt to accommodate physical, emotional or chemical stress. That's no guarantee of cure since countless other factors can impair the healing response. However, all things being equal, if the stressor is no longer present, people tend to function better without subluxations than with subluxations.
Naturally, anyone who expects to benefit from chiropractic care must meet one important condition: they must be alive. Granted, this is the same criteria that medical interventions require, however the important distinction afforded chiropractic is that it focuses on the person with the condition, not the condition in the person.
Which allows chiropractic care to be dynamically tailored and appropriate regardless of age.
Monday Morning Motivation | Licensed Professionals
July 23, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's delivered by licensed professionals.
Revere him or revile him, chiropractic licensure was one of the most significant achievements of B. J. Palmer. Not only did this protect chiropractors from being arrested for practicing medicine without a license, it codified chiropractic as a separate, distinct and nonduplicative healing art.
Governmental regulations brought legitimacy to chiropractic that decades of results were unable to produce. That patients are seemingly more concerned about their insurance coverage than whether your CE hours are up to date is further proof that the transition from ridicule and violent opposition to being self-evident has occurred.
Never forget that practicing chiropractic is a privilege that can be modified, constrained and even eliminated. Which is one reason why if you aren't a member of your state association you should be and if you haven't donated to its political action committee you should do so.
Monday Morning Motivation | Scientific
July 30, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's based on proven scientific truths.
Not that science is the end all be all! However, there is one undisputed aspect of chiropractic often overlooked by chiropractors, yet new to most patients: that the nervous system is the master system that controls and regulates virtually every cell, tissue, organ and system of the body.
I know. Old news to you, but potentially earthshaking to patients who are far more likely to believe genetics exert greater influence over their well being than the integrity of their nervous system.
Explain efferent and afferent nerve communications. Explain how a stomach problem could actually be a nerve communications problem. Explain how the sensory nerves make up such a small part of their nervous system. Use a technology such as surface EMG to measure and report the integrity of their nervous system.
Make chiropractic about nerves not bones; function not feeling.
Monday Morning Motivation | Affordable
August 6, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's affordable and cost effective.
Go back 50 years or more and many people saw their chiropractor as their "primary care" doctor. Entire families would regularly crowd into adjusting rooms to have their nervous systems checked so they could stay well rather than get well.
These days, our burdensome, so-called "health care system" is based on treating symptoms after they emerge. Which is always more expensive and less effective than preventive measures, whether one is maintaining their car, their weight or their relationships.
Actually, many people get this already. It's a mindset that is revealed by many types of behaviors. They're likely to be teeth flossers, joggers, organic food purchasers, supplement takers, savings account contributors, recyclers, composters, midwife users and the like. They are driving past your practice every day. But they probably think you're merely a back doctor who treats symptoms after they emerge. Oops!
Monday Morning Motivation | Test of Time
August 13, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's stood the test of time.
Many forget that "modern" medicine is relatively new. Many of its most popular (and profitable) drugs and procedures are often the subject of recalls, unintended adverse reactions or rushed to market with success rates that barely exceed that of cheaper, side-effect-free placebos.
This is in sharp contrast with the scrutiny, longevity and proven history of the discipline of chiropractic.
For over a century, chiropractic care has been pressed into service to revive the self-healing capacity of those who have exhibited virtually every named and unnamed disease or health condition. And while chiropractic care is NOT a treatment of any ailment or illness, it has never been the subject of a recall or even warning label.
While the limitation of matter or other constraint may prevent the wished-for outcome, reviving one's ability to self-heal will never go out of style.
Monday Morning Motivation | It Works
August 20, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it works when traditional methods fail.
Many forget or take for granted the highly-targeted and personalized nature of chiropractic care. That's because, rather than focusing on the condition in the person, chiropractic targets the person with the condition. It's a revolutionary point of view with far-reaching implications that have permitted millions to regain their health after exhausting the limitations of conventional symptom treating.
Sadly, many chiropractic patients are never acquainted with this profound yet simple truth. Instead, they think their chiropractor is treating their headaches, with adjustments metered out like the dosage of more familiar drug therapy.
Overlook this and while you may bask in glory when their symptoms resolve, you are rightfully blamed when they don't.
Remember, chiropractic ONLY works when patients have the desire, resources and capacity to self-heal, independent of your technique, procedure or philosophy. It has never happened any other way.
Monday Morning Motivation | It's Simple
August 27, 2012
Chiropractic is attractive because it's simple.
By the second quarter in chiropractic college, many chiropractors have lost the simple elegance and minimalism of chiropractic. Obfuscated by technique, practice procedures, physiology and beneath layers of dogma and seminar rhetoric, many chiropractors emerge later as spinal therapists, medical doctor wannabes, patient pleasers or just confused.
The principles of chiropractic often take a backseat to the practice of chiropractic and the "how" of practice often eclipses the "why." In the process, patients rarely learn that their nervous system controls the whole show and reviving their ability to self-heal, mediated by the nervous system is the focus of chiropractic care—not pain relief, posture restoration or even treating subluxations.
Obviously, this creates a major communication challenge. This week resolve to tell the truth. And do it simply. Because as Einstein observed, "If you can't explain something simply, you don't understand it well enough."