February 2009

The spine of chiropractic

by Herb Newborg

The human spine is an amazing physiological construction. It's a hardened support mechanism for the body as well as the protection of the spinal cord, which transmits vital impulses from the brain that regulate nearly all bodily functions. Fundamentally, it's that which connects us. Ironically, however, it's our own profession of chiropractic that (as yet) has lacked its own connective spine.

In an era when alternative forms of care are becoming mainstream and consumers are seeking to become more proactive in the management of their health, now should be a golden age for chiropractic. Yet, there's a disconnect in the chiropractic's public image, where the average consumer's understanding of what chiropractic is remains years behind the reality. We still operate in a patient landscape dominated by the misperception that chiropractic is only a means of alleviating back pain.

The divide among chiropractors as to what chiropractic is has made it difficult for any group to form a united front in order to convey to the layperson what chiropractic has to offer. Age-old debates in chiropractic include:

***  Nerve vs. musculoskeletal

***  Upper cervical vs. full spine

***  Diagnosis vs. non-diagnosis

***  Modalities vs. adjustment only

***  Back pain vs. general health

***  Symptom relief vs. lifelong care

This lack of clarity within the profession ultimately translates to a lack of credibility -- and lack of understanding -- in the minds of consumers. Based on the confusion that the profession has created about its own work, the stagnation in chiropractic should come as no surprise.

That stagnation has been a drain not only on the profession as a whole, but within individual practices, as it puts more pressure on a practice leader to constantly drum up new business. Individual chiropractors are challenged with providing quality patient care, educating patients about the benefits of chiropractic care and promoting their own practice -- a tall order for even the best and brightest within the profession.

If chiropractic is to evolve beyond current consumer perceptions, we have to lift the burden of mass education and promotion from individual chiropractors, and instead combine the various (and often disparate) promotional efforts within the industry. Yet, the band-aid solutions of the past to this problem will not suffice. In today's consumer-driven digital era, perceptions are shaped not by pushing a message at patients, but rather engaging with patients and those whose opinions they trust, in environments where they're comfortable receiving and acting on information.

In order to take our proper place in the health care considerations that consumers make each day, chiropractic must first usher in a new consumer understanding of the importance the spine plays in overall health. From that improved vantage point, chiropractors can become the source of spinal health maintenance that stays with consumers in times of good health and bad. This is the spine of a new story for chiropractic.

To this end, there's now a profession-wide campaign, backed by leading chiropractic professionals, to introduce chiropractic to the masses in a way that's never before been accomplished. With a growing number of consumers seeking health information via the Internet, the campaign is centralized around Chiropractic America's new website, YourSpine.com -- a virtual community learning center for chiropractic stakeholders including patients, doctors and industry partners.

The new website is the only consumer information and education source for chiropractic supported by a strategic search engine marketing campaign that places the site at the top of the search results across all major search engines when health care consumers search for information. It's specifically designed to bring our research and message forward to the 9-10 million Americans who search the Internet every day for quality information about health.

Thanks to the research by the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project, we know exactly how today's Internet-savvy health care consumers conduct that search. They go to a major search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, and type in a symptom, diagnosis or condition they're concerned about. This is precisely the moment when accurate, positive information about chiropractic care can have the greatest impact.

An effective search engine optimization and marketing campaign to reach these consumers, which can cost upwards of $2 million a year, isn't economically feasible for any single practice or even a regional consortium, yet it's absolutely necessary in order to effectively reach consumers in a digital age.

Additionally, to assure that positive information about chiropractic receives high visibility throughout all media outlets and drive campaign efforts, Chiropractic America has aligned itself with one of the nation's leading health care public relations firms, the Feinstein Kean Healthcare division of Ogilvy PR Worldwide. This firm's client list, which features the leaders of the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and molecular medicine industries, includes names like Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, US Genomics and the National Cancer Institute.

The message of Chiropractic America and YourSpine.com to patients is simple: The spine is important, and overall health can be maintained and improved over the lifetime with chiropractic care. The benefit of Chiropractic America's campaign to chiropractors is also simple. YourSpine.com drives well-informed, new patients directly to member chiropractors who hold the exclusive rights to represent their community through exclusive zip code allocations.

What this means is that for the first time in our profession, there is a progressive and thoughtful strategy to improve consumers' understanding of chiropractic tied directly to patient care and practice growth. In this environment, chiropractors can avoid being divided by competing schools of thought and instead be united by their desires to improve patient health naturally and grow their practices exponentially. This is a healthy spine for a stronger chiropractic profession.

(Contact Herb Newborg, president of Chiropractic America by visiting YourSpine.com.)