The
purpose of this guide is to help you choose the right
chiropractic services for you by arming you with 11 important
questions you should ask any chiropractic office BEFORE
agreeing to care. We are sharing insider secrets with you that
some Doctors of Chiropractic may not want you to know. So
let's begin…
Chiropractic has never been more popular:
A recent CNBC poll asked
"Would you seek the care of a doctor of chiropractic for
your low back pain?" and 20% said no, 8% were undecided,
and a whopping 72% of the 2,584 respondents said
"Yes!" People who see chiropractors are seeking
relief from not only low back pain…but for carpal tunnel
syndrome, neck pain, headaches, as well as for work and auto
related injuries,….without the use of dangerous drugs,
sedatives, or surgery! Plenty of folks also utilize
chiropractic care for preventative purposes (think what your
teeth and gums would be like if you had never visited a
dentist!!), to maintain optimal health for a lifetime!
Across the country, the
number of chiropractic visits per capita has doubled in the
past 20 years. Today, doctors of chiropractic must complete 2
years of undergraduate study, followed by 4 years of training
at an accredited professional college of chiropractic. After
receiving the D.C. (doctor of chiropractic) degree, they must
pass national board examinations to obtain a license. To
maintain their license, the doctors are required to complete a
specified number of hours of continuing education each year.
So if you are experiencing
back pain, neck pain, headaches, carpal tunnel syndrome, have
been involved in an auto or work related injury, or you just
want to be as healthy as possible…then a doctor of
chiropractic may be the right choice for you!
But
Before You Are Convinced That Any Chiropractor Can Help You,
You Must Be Aware That Not All Chiropractors Are The Same, And
Choosing The Wrong Chiropractor Could Be A Big Mistake!
In a moment, you will
discover 11 questions you must know before choosing any doctor
of chiropractic. But first, let's review what most
Chiropractors do so you know why this form of care is so
popular and effective!
Doctors
of chiropractic relieve pain, and restore proper motion and
function of the body by relieving pressure on muscles, joints
and nerves. In fact, they can often resolve many symptoms, and
solve many health problems that will not likely get better
using traditional methods from medical doctors. If you have
any chronic back or neck pain, for example…you probably know
that taking drugs only masks the symptoms temporarily and does
nothing to actually correct the cause of the pain. And, you
certainly know that surgery can be very dangerous, and often
times an ineffective method to relieve your pain as well.
There
are literally countless examples of patients who could not get
better with traditional methods…yet found quick and long
lasting relief from chiropractic adjustments that required no
drugs, and no surgery!
So
what should you ask a doctor of chiropractic BEFORE agreeing
to care? Let's review these issues now:
Prior
to care, a chiropractor should ask detailed questions about
your past and present health history, do a complete physical
exam, and order or take x-rays and/or other tests when
necessary.
He or she
should analyze your posture and carefully examine your spinal
column while you stand, sit and walk, and then check the range
of motion of various joints. Then he or she will come up with
a diagnosis and a Recommended Action Plan. So for starters…
Do
NOT agree to care from any chiropractor that does not first
provide you with a written explanation of:
-
What is causing or
contributing to your problem,
-
An estimate of the costs involved,
and
-
A Recommended Action Plan that
details what specific care is needed…and why.
Unfortunately, there are a
small number of doctors, including Chiropractors who treat
every patient pretty much the same, regardless of their
condition.
As you
would expect, there's a lot the doctor must know before you
can decide what care is best for you, in your specific
situation. He or she will want to know if your problem is
caused, or aggravated by anything more serious, such as a
broken bone, disc disease, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, a
tumor or an infection. Or…is it a simple problem that can be
resolved within a reasonable period of time?
Here's
what you should know, and the 11 questions you must ask before
choosing a doctor of chiropractic:
-
"What techniques do you
practice?"
The correct answer is: It depends on what
is wrong with you. Some chiropractors are proficient in only
one technique. The problem with this is that not every
condition that chiropractic care can help responds to just
one technique. You need to know that there are many
wonderful chiropractic techniques that can be used to
successfully treat, and relieve your condition. For example,
I have training in 6 different techniques, and will use any
one or all of them, depending on the patient's specific
condition. I have many natural ways to relieve my patients'
pain…and restore their optimal range of motion,
flexibility, and function!
-
"Do you take x-rays when
necessary?"
Be sure to seek a
chiropractor who takes x-rays to rule out fracture or a
gross pathology (English translation - some other serious
problem) as indicated by the consultation, health history
and exam. Caring for a patient without first taking x-rays
is like flying in the dark without radar. Unfortunately,
there are some life and death conditions that can first
express themselves with back, neck, or bone pain. X-rays
also help me determine the health of your joints and discs,
which will aid me in determining an estimate of how long it
will take to get you better, as well as what specific
chiropractic techniques will likely do the most good for
you. Our office is one of the few in the nation which offers
you laser precision X-ray technology. What this means to you
is that the entire X-ray system was aligned using laser
technology, and each patient is aligned to the system using
a laser aligning tool. This state-of-the-art system allows
us to be confident when we share with our patients which
spinal areas are causing their condition, and what specific
misalignments have occurred and to what degree. If the
doctor you're consulting doesn't take X-rays before
recommending treatment, you should consider talking to
another doctor.
-
"Do you use any type of
objective means to assess the health of the nervous
system?"
This is a very critical
component of your initial evaluation, as well as for the
regular check-ups during your course of care. Most every
chiropractor will claim to aid your nervous system by
adjusting your spinal column, to allow your body to get back
on the healing track and help you feel better. This is due
to the intimate relationship of the spinal column with the
spinal cord, as well as the spinal nerve roots, which branch
off the cord, exit from the column and communicate critical
information from the brain to every cell, tissue and gland
in the body Unfortunately, most chiropractic offices use no
objective instrument to monitor what affect the adjustments
are having on your body and your health. In our office, the
patient's nervous system is examined on each visit, using
paraspinal digital infrared imaging. In addition, a post
treatment image will be performed to assess the neurologic
outcome of the adjustment. This will help get you better
faster, because we can literally see when your nervous
system is healing and which technique gets the best results
for you!
-
"Will you give me your
recommendations in writing?"
This is very important.
This allows you to go home and think about it before making
a decision. Plus, it gives you an explanation up front of
what the care will consist of, how long it will take, and
how much it will cost.
-
"Can you furnish me with
references?"
Ask for five references.
Three of these references should be current patients, and
the other two should be other health care professionals like
a medical doctor, a dentist, an optometrist, etc. There are
three reasons for getting patient and professional
references. First, any person in practice should have at
least three satisfied patients they can provide you with.
Secondly, if a chiropractic doctor cannot produce two other
professionals that will attest to his or her ability as a
chiropractor, he or she may not be respected by his or her
peers. Lastly, outside professionals in the community who
have a vast amount of experience will usually be aware of
what kind of care is available, and what kind of quality is
provided by different folks. Feel free to call the
references you receive. Many people ask for references, but
never use them! Call all five people. You can never learn
too much about the person you are considering using for your
chiropractic needs. Take the few minutes to talk to these
people. It will be worth it!
-
"Do you have payment plans
available?"
Successful practices
usually allow patients to make payments. For example, I
allow both my cash and insurance patients to spread out
their entire care, deductibles and co-pays into low monthly
installments. This allows them to get the care they want
without financial stress. Any successful practice will be
able to work with you on the payments, whether you're
covered by insurance or not.
-
"Will you guarantee my
satisfaction?"
You should receive a 100%
guarantee of unconditional satisfaction. By law, doctors
can't guarantee results. But, for example, an office that
offers the following guarantee: "You'll be totally
satisfied with each office visit, or that visit is
FREE!" shows you that they are putting their money
where their mouth is. In my office, every patient knows that
if they feel rushed or don't get the attention they think
they deserve, or aren't satisfied with how they are treated
that day…they will receive that visit for FREE. Make sure
the doctor you choose is willing to stand behind their care.
-
"Do you have a no excessive
waiting policy?"
A recent patient survey
revealed that what irritates patients the most is when the
doctor and the staff do not respect their time and make them
wait for an exceptionally long time in the reception area.
Now most doctors claim their patients don't have to wait
excessively. But, in our office, our policy is that no
patient waits longer than ten minutes more than is
clinically necessary (the digital infrared imaging device
mentioned earlier requires a ten minute acclimation period)…or
that visit is FREE. If the doctor you're talking to isn't
willing to put such a waiting time guarantee in writing,
they may not be as respectful of your time as you deserve.
-
"Do you use a criteria for
determining how many visits I need?"
Some doctors do not have
an objective method to determine how many visits are
necessary to relieve your pain and restore proper function
to your body. Nor will they then know objectively how often
to see you to maintain your newly found state of excellent
health. They make subjective guesses about your initial
treatment and progress. I use the infrared imaging every
visit and progress exams along the way to make sure we are
on track. These procedures tell us exactly when we are done
with the initial relief part of care, and how we are doing
in correcting the actual cause of the pain…so your pain
doesn't come back. That way you don't get even one more
visit than you actually need. Make sure to find out how the
doctor you're talking to measures progress, and whether it's
routine or not.
-
"Will you show me ways of
preventing what you are treating?"
I saw a sign the other day
in a dentist's office that read, "Support your dentist,
eat more candy". Although I know he's joking, I spend a
considerable amount of time customizing simple and easy ways
for you to stay healthy…no matter what caused your problem
to begin with. You'll be thrilled to find out how quick and
easy it is to prevent your pain from coming back without
drugs or surgery. This prolongs the benefits of the care
you've received; and helps prevent you from re-injuring
yourself.
-
"Do you offer free
consultations?"
There's no way a doctor
should expect a patient to choose him or her without first
visiting the office to see if the office, staff and doctor
is for them. This will also give you a chance to talk to any
of our patients while they are in the office. Initially, I
provide a FREE, NO OBLIGATION, consultation to determine if
I can help you, determine what it is you want out of our
care, and answer any questions you may have about your
condition or my treatment. No one in my office is going to
pressure you into receiving care. This is simply a chance
for you to meet us, and see if our services can benefit you.
If after your free consultation, you decide you do not want
to proceed with an exam, you simply let us know and that is
that. If however, you do find that you could use our help,
we will discuss the details of how we proceed from there.
Well I hope this
information will give you the confidence in taking the first
step to regaining your health by experiencing the benefits of
chiropractic care. By the way, I do:
