December 2008

The Stress Response

by DeDe Van Riper

Chiropractic's future is being decided at this very moment. It's often difficult to see you're at a crossroads when you're standing in the middle. But take my word for it, chiropractic's there. Years from now we'll all look back and realize that this period in our profession was a defining moment. The question now is, which way will we go? While the options are pretty clear, the answer may not be.

Over the past several months there have been countless articles written on the connection between stress and its affect on health. Much of the research is focusing on what's called "the stress response." In one published study, a patient's stress response was a better indicator of an impending heart attack or major heart event than any other factor -- including age, sex, weight, cholesterol, blood pressure or even smoking.

A tremendous amount of research is being done in this area by the medical community, which believes (and is spending the money to prove) that the ability to identify these "at-risk" individuals will save millions of lives and billions of dollars. I agree with them. Yet, having identified the symptom, the question remains how will they go about "fixing" the problem? Do they have any tools in their toolbox to really address the problem?

In spite of all of the success stories that come out of your practice on a daily basis, I'm sure you've had the universal experience of chiropractic non-responders. Patients who simply seem stuck or can't "hold an adjustment." Patients you avoid putting through a re-exam with a surface EMG or thermal instrument because you know in the back of your head they're going to look worse than before. Patients who want to know what you did to them on their last visit because they have been in pain ever since.

As discussed previously, the effects of stress comes as no surprise to most chiropractors. The big question is, given the knowledge that a poor response to stress is a precursor to dis-ease and a plethora of ailments, how can we use this information to benefit our patients? And given that this information is available, how can we practice without it?

Imagine for a minute that we're playing a game. The rules are simple. There are 100 people in a room -- male, female, young, old, short, tall, all walks of life. They all appear perfectly healthy. You have two tasks. First, you have to adjust them all. Second, in the course of adjusting, you have to identify the victim of years of chronic stress, that one patient whose nervous system is shot, exhausted, spent -- at the end of its metaphorical rope. Using your hands, your head, your experience, and any equipment you currently have in your practice, how confident are you that you can identify that patient? How comfortable are you that you won't let that patient walk out your door and continue down the same road?

There are many challenges to being a DC today; compliance, reimbursement, and the economy to name a few. But, there's another side to the coin. In many ways there has never been a better time to be a chiropractor. Each year more people become proactive in their quest for health, as indicated by the huge markets in bottled water, supplements, and health spas.

Finally, with what seems to be the weekly publication of research connecting stress to a laundry list of ailments, the public has never been more aware of its dangers. Chiropractic is in the middle of the perfect storm of influences. Will we set our own course or allow ourselves to be buffeted by the winds of change?

(DeDe Van Riper has extensive knowledge and experience in the chiropractic field, having worked with Insight Technology, CLA [Chiropractic Leadership Alliance], Now You Know, and other major chiropractic companies. For questions about chiropractic instrumentation, call her at 877-233-0022.)