I had a few ideas in my head but of course I had to turn to my old friend Google to get even more inspiration and see if I was on the right track. I don’t recommend searching for “why people hate chiropractors” unless you need a good cry or want to beat someone up. Turns out, I was barking up the right tree.
Keep on reading to find out why chiropractors give some folks the heebie-jeebies.
I was always try and be very cognizant of this with my patients. When I was a student at Palmer, I had a really amazing professor for diagnosing and examination. I distinctly remember him telling us to always describe everything you are doing to the patient. Imagine yourself narrating to the patient why you do DTR’s, ROM, muscle testing, leg length inequality and what is going to happen step by step during the adjustment. I just stand there talking out loud (mostly to myself) telling the patient exactly what I am doing and why. Especially when I first got into practice, I felt like as a then 25 year old it helped to establish me as the authority. Fast forward seven years later, I still think it helps establish me as the authority and helps the patient relax. If the process is broken down step-by-step it takes away the mystery, allows the patient to express concerns and ask question before anything unknown happens to them. Let’s face it, no matter what technique you use, it’s more than likely going to be completely different than anything else they have ever experienced.
2. All about the Green Backs or Pound Sterling
Hey, we don’t corner the market on this but sometimes chiropractic care can be very expensive. I’ve seen this two-fold. First way, is the pre-paid high dollar amount programs which allows a patient to come a certain times a week for a certain length of time and can run in the thousands of dollars. As a red-blooded capitalist American I can’t hate on chiropractic offices who do this, I just know I have heard complaints from patients on some this type of practice.
The second way is super high cost per visit prices. Some techniques go for $100 for 15 minutes or upwards up $10,000 for a set treatment plan. I’m not saying the treatment isn’t worth it but I think if your going to charge serious cash you need some serious patient education.
3. Once You Go, You Always Have to Go
I hate when people say this. You mean because people are immediately indoctrinated into the medical establishment at birth? (Whoa where did that come from?) Anyways, I do my best to answer this question diplomatically and professional (even if it gives me great pains). I like to use analogous references like getting dental check-ups twice a year, a yearly eye exam, routine male/female checks, etc. Once you make them feel better, they have a better understanding of your voo-voodoo than the idea of “maintenance or wellness” care becomes less crazy and a makes a lot more sense to the patient.