July 2009

Posturing for success

by Dr. Mark Payne

This month, I'm going to discuss how your basic chiropractic paradigm of practice can impact your success. I make no claim to being a practice manager, but I've founded four successful businesses in my career, and there's one principle which should be carved in stone: Long term success is ultimately dependent on the real value of your products or services.

Of course there are plenty of folks in every line of business who can get by for a while on nothing but hype, but they rarely last. Such businesses typically fail once enough folks in the community have experienced the poor quality of the product or service. I'm sure most of you have known any number of businesses or practices that served their customers or patients poorly and eventually failed as a result.

On the other hand, our profession has thousands of doctors all over the country who are quietly doing their job, delivering what they promise, and serving the needs of their patients. In most cases, they aren't flashy or particularly charismatic. Instead, they are caring, competent, and able to communicate effectively with their patients. And it is here, in the realm of communication, that your most fundamental paradigms of practice may play a direct role in your success or failure.

Without doubt, chiropractors of all techniques and philosophies tend to be very good at relating to their patients and helping them feel better. Unfortunately, many doctors struggle with delivering real and substantial spinal correction.

Additionally, many doctors employ methods which are so subjective or complex that their patients have no firm understanding of what the doctor is trying to accomplish. As a result, they're unable to communicate to others what it is they're doing for them. Certainly, building a practice on real and valuable service to patients is fundamental to lasting success, but it may not matter much if your methods are so intricate and abstract that your patients can't see their own progress and relate it to their families and friends. The old K.I.S.S. acronym (Keep It Simple Stupid) was never more relevant than here. Effective patient education can only occur when there's a high degree both of objectivity and simplicity in your approach to care.

It's probably no surprise that I believe a postural chiropractic paradigm has certain advantages in this regard. At the same time I realize and respect that many of you incorporate any number of different treatment procedures in your practice. Where I might concentrate on educating patients about their spinal structure and posture, another doctor might focus on various parameters of patient function like quality of joint motion, leg checks, or enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living.

Yet, the possibility for problems arises when clinical findings are only apparent to the doctor. Many methods of analysis simply aren't readily understandable by patients. Improvement in palpated joint motion or manual muscle testing for example, are usually more perceptible to the doctor than the patient. Other clinical findings, like X-Ray, or visual postural analysis, tend to be more easily communicated to, and visualized by, the patient. My point is that the degree to which patients can see and truly comprehend their problem (and clinical progress) can be critical to their perceived value of your care (see Fig. 1).

It's my experience that practices with a strong focus on biomechanical correction have little problem educating patients as to the nature of their problems. Spinal misalignment and abnormal posture generally don't require a sophisticated or trained eye to see. Once patients understand what their spine should look like, they also start to understand the real need for various rehab activities like exercise, extension traction, or work modifications to help return their posture to normal. The result is better compliance and as a result, better clinical outcomes. These doctors may include any number of procedures in their practice, but in terms of focusing and educating their patients, they keep things simple and to the point (see Fig. 2).

If you have shied away from a structure-based practice because of uncertainty in your ability to produce real and substantial corrections, then it may be time to consider adding a few new tricks to your bag. Regardless of your technique or philosophy, there's good scientific evidence now that simple, low tech, postural rehab procedures bring results far exceeding those of adjusting alone. Such postural improvements are critical to reducing long term spinal degeneration and increasing the real value of the services you render in your community.

Hopefully, the above discussion has stirred your thoughts as to how the simple, “common sense” paradigm of postural-based chiropractic can be a sound framework around which to educate your patients and build the health of your practice as well. Call our office today (334-448-1210) to receive the FREE report, "Dueling Paradigms: Why Every Chiropractor Should Embrace Postural Rehab Concepts."

Special thanks to Dr. Mark Berry, Vestavia Hills, AL for sharing his pre- and post-care results. Congratulations Dr. Berry on a job well done!

(A 1979 graduate of Life Chiropractic College, Dr. Mark Payne is the president of Matlin Mfg., a manufacturer and distributor of postural rehabilitation products since 1988. For more information regarding issues, products or methods discussed in this column, call 334-448-1210. Visit www.matlinmfg.com for a free product catalog.)