5 ways to know if
you are a Chiropractic Patient or Chiropractor’s Paycheck.
I am a board certified Chiropractor, and I am taking a stand
against all of the sham doctors out there that continue to give the
chiropractic profession a bad name. I
get so tired of hearing writers on behalf of the AMA bash this life changing
profession because the majority of chiropractors are practicing a style of care
that is outdated. I am afflicted with a very scientific, left handed,
analytical brain that will not let me believe in wish-washy crystals and body
energy based therapies, nevertheless, expect them to work. I focus on
scientific, reproducible, evidence-based, and clinically proven methods of
patient care to ensure that each patient that walks in my door will get quality
care that they can depend on. Each patient that enters New-Start Health Center
will know their exact pain generator, they will know how long my treatment plan
is supposed to take to alleviate their pain, and they will know that I am not
going to drag them through an exhaustive examination, expose them to unnecessary
radiation, or give them a 6 month, 40 visit, treatment plan that “might” help.
I love my profession, and I love what it can do for
patients, but since the birth of chiropractic about 110 years ago, things have
changed. DD Palmer made the first chiropractic adjustment when he adjusted a deaf
janitor named Harvey and his hearing came back. Unfortunately, in the majority
of the chiropractic curriculum, these are the stories that you hear. They teach
the students how chiropractic adjustments are the only therapy in the world
that can put the spine back in alignment and turn the power of the nervous
system back on to restore health. I remember stories of how adjusting the right
ankle of someone with hemorrhoids has made them disappear. Adjustment of a
patient’s big toe made his back pain go away. We were trained that each spinal
level has a set of nerves that innervate each organ, tissue, and cell in the body,
and if they spine is out of alignment, the body cannot heal itself. All of
these concepts were so inspiring to hear, I, Me, could heal the entire world
with any condition, with my hands.
Unfortunately, science happens, and the medical world
demands you to prove that you can treat a condition. Considering the facts, you
will not find any clinical studies that prove that any bone is displaced in the
body, and that bone puts pressure on spinal nerves. You will not find
reproducible evidence that adjusting the first vertebrate of anyone will lower
blood pressure, or adjusting the lumbar spine in a child will cure bed wetting. You can find case studies and hear stories of
these miraculous events, but again, they are not scientifically proven, or even
suggestible that they will work. It is only a trial and error method. A treat
and hope plan. NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.
Where you will find scientific evidence, case studies,
control trials, and even validity within the medical world is this. The
chiropractic profession is proven, time and again, to be more effective at
treating acute back pain and keeping it at bay, than medication and surgery. That is what the profession has settled into.
We are PAIN MANAGEMENT doctors. The adjustment is effective at blocking the
pain receptors. We have a superior education to any other primary care
physicians in the realm of the musculoskeletal system. Considering low back
pain is one of the top reasons Americans seek out medical relief, I would say
we have settled into a pretty good niche. Chiropractic physicians need to
understand that we are primary care physicians, we are capable of diagnosing
any major condition, but we are not treating these conditions with adjustments,
there just isn’t enough proof to suggest it.
You should NEVER hear at a doctor’s office, “this might work”
or “this has worked before.” If you are
wondering why you have been to your chiropractor for so many visits and they
never seem to address what is really going wrong with you, then there is a good
chance you have become a Chiropractor’s Paycheck instead of a Chiropractic
Patient.
Here are some quick tips to
analyze if you have been seeing a sham doc instead of a real doc.
1. X-ray every patient on their first
visit.
The traditional chiropractor loves the use of
x-rays to tell patients things that will scare them, and ensure each of them
that ongoing care for the rest of their life is necessary. Chiropractors love showing the patient the film,
too. This is where a trained eye can point at anything and tell a layman person
whatever they want, and the patient has no choice but to believe them because odds
are, they have no clue what the doctor is pointing at. The basic concept I want you to take from this
is that you cannot see any pain generators on an x-ray that were not determined
from the history and physical examination.
If you present to a chiropractor with a new ache or pain and you haven’t suffered
from any trauma, make sure you ask if an x-ray is necessary and ask the doctor
what they are looking for with this film. If they say something like, “we are
looking to see how healthy your spine is,” run. You should not expose yourself
to the radiation if you can avoid it.
The common findings on x-rays that I am sure
you have heard are:
Reduced
curvature in your neck
I am sorry, but there is no evidence that displays how a reduced
curvature in your neck will lead to a pain syndrome. Better idea, why not just
do a physical examination and check the patient’s posture. I can bet that if a
patient has a forward head translation in regard to their shoulders, they have
a reduced lordotic curvature in their neck.
Degenerative
Disc Disease
“We cannot cure this in your spine, but we can make sure it doesn’t get
worse.” I can understand why every chiropractor wants to tell a patient they
have this. It is SCARY. The irony is, general osteoarthritis, Degenerative
Disc, Degenerative Joint Disease, or whatever you want to call it, is NOT an
inflammatory process within the body. This means, there is no pain pattern that
is clinically reproducible with this diagnosis.
2. They diagnose you with a SUBLUXATION.
The principles of chiropractic are based around this concept. A bone in the spine gets out of alignment and
it puts pressure on the vital nerves coming from your central nervous system,
reducing nerve flow to the peripheral tissue.
As I stated before, it all sounds good and believable,
but scientific evidence says otherwise.
If you even hear your chiropractor use the
term subluxation in his report of findings, RUN.
3.
40+
visits treatment plan
Have you ever heard your friend say, “Once
you go to a chiropractor you have to go forever!”
This is my favorite. The profession is
always thinking of ways to maintain patient compliance. So they have designed a
generic treatment plan that will cure your ails.
3 visits/week for 3 months, then 2
visits/week for 1 month, then 1 visit per week for 6 months, then 1 visit/month
FOREVER.
News Flash, if a chiropractor does not make
a considerable difference in your symptoms in 3 weeks, chances are, they, WON’T.
4.
Same
treatment for every conditionI have shadowed some doctors in my
educational pursuit. I kept questioning whether I was crazy or the doc was. It
did not seem to matter what the patient was coming to see that doctor for. Headaches,
back pain, neck pain, dizziness, vertigo, digestive issues, bed wetting,
pregnancy, You NAME IT, the doctor always did the exact same treatment. They
would start face up, get their neck adjusted, on both sides, then rolled up
into a ball and their mid back adjusted in about 3 places, then the doc would
roll them on each side and adjust both of their hips or low backs, (pretty much
whatever they could get to make the popping sound), then EVERY patient went to
the next room where they would either get electric stimulation and heat or the
traction table.
Either way, it did not matter what the
patient was suffering from, they all got the exact same treatment protocol.
Rule of thumb, if you do not find your
treatment plan to be focused on your area of complaint, or if you do not find
your treatment options progressing through the treatment plan, RUN.
Of course, we all like the feel goods that
go with a traction table or a heating pad, but you are not at the chiropractor
for this fluff, you are there to get treated.
5.
“Wellness”
Center
I constantly ask my colleagues that name
their business, Bob’s Chiropractic and Wellness or Smith’s Chiropractic
Wellness Center, “How exactly are you promoting “Wellness”?” The responses are
always entertaining. Some discuss the obvious chiropractic mentality, “Alleviating
the subluxation in the spine will allow the body’s natural healing powers to
make every cell in the body well and happy.” Some reply with a better answer, “We
always promote a healthy lifestyle in the office.”
Wellness can only come from one thing, good health. Do not let any chiropractor
tell you that your spine is out of alignment and this is why you are getting
the flu. Wellness comes from a low stress life that encompasses a healthy diet
and some moderate levels of physical activity. If you think that you are going
to have “Wellness” by getting adjusted after eating a McDonald’s Big Mac and fries,
sorry, you are sadly mistaken.
There
is always a principle that I follow, To Each Their Own. Maybe you have
experienced all of the five things and think that I am crazy for saying it. You
might love the way you can go into your chiropractor’s office and get treated the
same way you always have. Maybe you get great relief from this style of
therapy, and maybe you have been one of those miracle cases that demonstrate
that a chiropractic adjustment can do more than just block pain.
I
am just trying to help the stability in my profession by explaining the true
evidence behind our profession. Chiropractic was created by a genius of a man
that was 70 years ahead of his time. He was designing adjustment protocols and
treatment strategies long before they were even understood. But this is now
2014, we have the Internet, and anyone in the world that googles “subluxation”
is probably going to think that their chiropractor is out of his mind.
If you have heard your doctor say, “you are
suffering from a subluxation, and it is putting pressure on your nerves, keeping
your body from homeostasis,” RUN.
It
is scientific research and evidence that shows how effective a chiropractic
treatment plan can be for managing any musculoskeletal pain syndromes. If you
are seeking relief from any aches or pains, be sure to find a chiropractor that
is geared to take on the case. Make sure you get into an office that is
primarily working to get your out of pain so you can better enjoy your daily
life, and stop wasting money on the flying 7 adjustment and some electric
stimulation.
Dr. Moz
If you are tired of seeking pain relief with no results, call (812) 799-0668 TODAY and schedule a FREE CONSULTATION, and let's get you back to the PAIN-FREE Life you are missing.
Visit www.NewStartHealthCenter.com TODAY!
As many of my readers understand, I spend the majority of my time trying to introduce a new spin on many of the health care options that we have at our disposal in the US. As a Board Certified Chiropractor, I spend a lot of time tying to explain the changes that the profession has made. As any profession, technology improves, research tightens, and clinical results are evident. With this innovation to the field of chiropractic, I am proud to say that I stay abreast the most current findings and research to provide the most cutting edge, and effective form of chiropractic care that Columbus, Indiana has to offer. I hope I help you gain some understand of what the therapy at New-Start Health Center entails.
