September 2004

The vision of a wellness lifestyle practice

by Dr. Chris Akey

Recently, I attended a life‑enhancing seminar where the words "change," "lifestyle," and "doing more for our patients" came up frequently. The common theme was that in order to keep up with change and demands for the future, we need to plan and do it NOW. Getting into discomfort of the willingness to change is the topic I want to focus on this month.

A change for the better

What does "discomfort of the willingness to change" mean, and what does it have to do with practice? For some, it may mean a total transformation of the service(s) provided to patients. It could mean getting more information or education on another technique or service that will benefit patients the most. More importantly, this change may be something personal, i.e., the ability to expand one's vision toward a wellness lifestyle practice. A doctor may believe that he or she is already there ‑‑ or maybe that belief is limited.

Ask yourself if there's one way you could expand that would produce the most benefit to your patients and office. I've done this, and realized that my idea of wellness was getting adjusted for the rest of my life! Vitamins, exercises, custom‑made flexible orthotics, custom‑made pillows, etc., were NOT in my vision. Yet, while subluxation free is the biggest part of my lifestyle program, I had to ask myself what if there was something more I could provide, not only for my family and myself, but also for my patients?

Taking the leap

I was introduced to custom‑made, stabilizing orthotics in January of this year. I had been vaguely aware of the concept before but (like many of us) I got a great idea, got excited, and a week later forgot about it. I decided this time to take the advice of my peers who had researched these products. If they recommended orthotics, that was good enough for my patients and me. I took the leap of change and put custom‑made orthotics in my practice ‑‑ and I am ever thankful!

This is one tool that, once understood, totally complements what we do as chiropractors. Stabilizing orthotics help the body stay aligned, hold the adjustment longer, and help reduce subluxations. Have you ever adjusted a patient, had him or her get up and walk around the table, and then discover that the adjustment didn't hold? Why is that? Look to the feet. If the feet aren't in balance, how long can we expect the rest of the body to be correctly positioned?

Judge for yourself

I challenge all of you who don't currently provide custom‑made, stabilizing orthotics for your patients to try a pair for yourself first. If you want to see research, then be the research subject. You'll love the orthotics and want your family, staff, and patients to experience them, too.

(Dr. Chris L. Akey has been in practice for five years and currently runs a family practice in Northwest Arkansas. His focus is educating his community to be subluxation free. He can be contacted at www.kidschirodoc@msn.com)

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