One of the things that some patients are most resentful about chiropractic care is their perception that chiropractic care can get repetitive, and expensive.  They feel that a “good” chiropractor will be able to fix all their problems in 3 -5 visits… any more than that, and he’s creating more work for himself and running up the bill and lining his pockets.  

After taking my car to the dealership for repairs, or having someone come in to repair something in my office, I’ll admit that I understand that feeling.  That feeling of being taken for a ride is a tough pill to swallow.  

Here’s a confession:  We chiropractors are aware of this.  We are so fearful and afraid of being perceived as crooks, that it consumes us.  We talk about it in our meetings together.  ”How can we communicate the need for their intensive schedule of care, while at the same time not appearing to be just in it for the money, and be able to fit it into their budget?”

When someone comes in with a chronic problem that’s been developing for more than 2 years that they are popping pills for every single week, the truth is, there is no quick fix.  Their lifestyle (posture, work postition, previous injuries, lack of exercise) is partly to blame, and to expect a successful resolution within 5-10 treatments becomes highly improbable.  

Here’s where the confusion comes in:  Many people look at chiropractic care as an “alternative” to taking pills.  When you look at the goal of a pill (to mask a symptom), the problem always comes back, so you need more pills.  If you are using chiropractic care as an alternative to pills, then you are forever chasing your pain away with an adjustment.  Although it works, that is not and never has been the goal of true, pure chiropractic care, and the REAL cause ends up getting worse as you age.  Have you noticed how your aches and pains sometimes feel worse as you get older?  That’s because of the decay process that is the same as the decay process that occurs with your teeth.  Imagine what happens when you treat tooth pain with pills all your life.

The question is… WHAT THE HECK CAUSED THE SYMPTOMS IN THE FIRST PLACE?  Answer:  Traumas from birth, childhood falls, chronic sitting in school, sports injuries, car accidents, emotional stresses and conflicts that accumulate and manifest in the body, crappy diets high in processed fatty foods and sugars that cause your levels to rise and crash (along with your emotions), and not enough exercise.

These toxicities and deficiencies over a lifetime are what cause you to be sick, tired, and sore (dis-ease).  After being taught that you can solve each and every one of those problems with a different pill, when that fails, you look into an “alternative” solution. 

So you come to “get an adjustment” hoping it will solve all of that.  

Here’s where things break down:  Chiropractors are humans too, with feelings, and a need to be appreciated and liked.  So, knowing this, we have to balance your NEEDS, with our need to be liked and not thought of as a crook.

Next confession:

You know what I used to do about it?  I’d tell a patient they only needed to see me the exact amount of times their plan would cover, so they didn’t have to pay out of pocket and resent me and think I was a crook.  Even though I knew they needed more care, I would “sell them short” of their required healing time and care.  Their opinion of me mattered more than their health.  Guess what the result was?

They would feel good for a while, it wouldn’t last because their lifestyle didn’t change, they didn’t follow the exercises, they didn’t come in to get to the deeper layers of healing their chronic problem, they left my practice and said “chiropractic didn’t work for me, Nima’s just in it for the money anyway.”  

They were absolutely right.  I was in it for their acceptance, and I was judging them based on my own fears about money and where I was spending it.  I didn’t value my own health to spend my own money on it. So why should my patients?

When the switch went on, I realized that no matter what care plan I recommended, someone was going to judge me.  Since then, I’m more aware of being truthful with my patients about what they require, and I am able to have them make the choice.  If it’s going to take 40 visits over the next 6 months, then I will let you know that it’s going to take that amount of care to bring you back to health, and I will support you with classes on stress management, diet, and postural exercises to help you learn more (if you really care).  Have some patients followed the recommendations?  Absolutely… They’re the ones that are feeling more energized, less sore, more fulfilled, and more responsible for their own healing journey.  

Have some patients not complied?  Absolutely.  They are the ones that come in 2-3 times a year in excruciating pain (after 3 weeks of popping pills didn’t work) and getting worse as the years go on and resenting me and blaming me for their pain.  It happens all the time, and it’s the reason why I’ve noticed my desire to  teach and write grow.  I have to stop myself every day from jumping out and screaming and yelling at them for not sharing my value of a having a healthy body and mind.  Good indication that it’s time for me to start making a bigger impact.  

I’ve chased a lot of people away by judging them in this way.  I apologize for that.  I’m workin on it.

My patients who are still looking for a band-aid have left my care and went to other chiropractors who will give them just that– getting “their back cracked”.   

I’ve now attracted a whole new variety of patients: Those that are making their overall health (physical and emotional) as their main goal, and that lifestyle factors of diet and stress management, discovering who they are and what they want to manifest in their lives, and learn proper ways to move… They WANT TO BECOME STUDENTS OF WELLNESS.  Proper spinal movement and function is one big piece of that puzzle, but we can’t just stop there.  To be healthy, we have to learn how to eat, move and think like the healthiest people in the planet do.  It’s just that simple (but never easy).

Am I liked by some of my patients?  Absolutely.  Are there people walking around that resent me because of the nature of our interactions and my schedule of care and maintenance and the fact that they have to actually spend their money on their health?  Sadly, yes (sigh).  I’m in the same boat as you:  Some people at work like me, and some don’t.  

I confess, I want to be liked and accepted by everyone all the time (Good luck with that one, Nima).  It actually used to consume me to the point of misery.  But lately, my desire for my patient’s well being is becoming much stronger than my desire to be liked.  I observe how this transformation in me is causing a transformation for my patients.  Some leave to find a different doctor, and others leave their doctor to find me.  I’m working on the judgement part.  Now sit up straight, will you?  Do you REALLY NEED that chocolate chip cookie?

(Darn.  Can’t help it.)

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