Creative Ways to Bring Patients in for Chiropractic Services
PRACTICE
MANAGEMENT
Todd Singleton
In the United States today, only 4 to 14% of all adults see a chiropractor on a regular basis, despite the fact that everyone can benefit from an adjustment, whether they realize it or not. Just about everyone suffers from some type of health condition for which they would like to receive help, and chiropractic care can make a big difference. So how can you make it onto everyone’s radar and attract more than just the people who aie specifically interested in chiropractic?
If you just put up a sign that says “chiropractic clinic,” you won’t get many takers. For one reason or another, many people don’t seem to be interested in chiropractic care when it’s marketed to them in this general fashion. Potential patients see “chiropractic” and assume that it doesn’t apply to them, making them blind to the benefits of y our services. On the other hand, if you advertise relief from conditions that aren’t typically associated with chiropractic, you can widen your scope and draw in people from all walks of life. For example, if you run an ad for weight loss, knee pain, neuropathy, or insomnia, your response rate will improve dramatically.
However, to treat a wider variety of health concerns, you may need to expand your clinic’s repertoire to include additional modalities, such as nutritional counseling and/or effective supplementation. Though some chiropractors shy away from nutrition because they think it’s too hard or too different from their regular routine, such objections couldn’t be further from the truth. Adding nutrition to your clinic can be as simple as using done-for-you “plug-and-play” protocols that other chiropractors have already developed. These protocols can fit perfectly with the services you already offer because the whole philosophy behind chiropractic is to give the body what it needs to heal itself naturally.
Even if you’re not quite ready to expand the range of services you offer in your clinic, you can still dramatically increase traffic to your office by advertising specifically for the health conditions that you do treat. So, without further ado, let’s discuss some of the different avenues through which patients can enter your office.
Knee Pain
After back pain, knee pain is the number two cause of
“On the other hand, if you advertise relief from conditions that aren’t typically associated with chiropractic, you can widen your scope and draw in people from all walles of life Ï 5
chronic pain in the US, and one-third of Americans are affected at some point in their lives.1 Adults suffering from knee pain are less mobile than their pain-free counterparts, making them prone to poor health and more likely to experience psychological distress. When you start to specifically advertise relief from knee pain, you’ll find that members of your community are suddenly much more interested in your services than before, even if the services themselves haven’t changed. And, if you go a step further and offer simple nutritional protocols designed to reduce inflammation, you’ll make a big difference in your patients’ lives.
Neuropathy
Neuropathy is a condition that affects 20 million Americans, or one in 15 people in the US.2 Although it can occur at any age, it’s more common among older adults. Patients with neuropathy may experience damage to the nerves that regulate the internal organs (autonomic neuropathy) or damage to the nerves in the hands and/or feet (peripheral neuropathy). Peripheral neuropathy is easier to diagnose because it produces characteristic numbness, tingling, or prickling sensations in the extremities. Autonomic neuropathy, on the other hand, can cause a wide variety of symptoms ranging from urinary incontinence to excessive sweating. If you offer help for neuropathy in your clinic, you’ll not only do a world of good in your community, but you’ll also increase traffic to your office in a big way. To treat neuropathy, you may need to offer simple nutritional protocols and/or additional treatments, and though this can take a little bit of effort, the results are absolutely life changing for patients.
Weight Loss or Weight Maintenance
Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, and almost 70% of American adults are now overweight.3 Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the US, and the trend isn’t slowing down; it’s setting the stage to become one of the greatest public health crises of the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, obesity isn’t just psychologically upsetting for patients; it also increases a patient’s risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, and a number of other chronic health conditions. Obesity affects the whole body and requires a physician who can offer a holistic method of treatment. When you advertise specifically for weight loss, you’ll open your practice to thousands of new potential patients who will benefit from chiropractic care. Though helping patients lose weight will likely require some combination of treatments and nutritional counseling, you’ll find that the extra effort is absolutely worth it.
Insomnia
Insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic. Before the invention of the light bulb, people slept an average of 10 hours each night. Today, most Americans average a mere 6.9 hours per night! Getting enough sleep is essential for optimal health, and most people need at least seven to nine hours each night, beginning by at least 10:00 p.m. However, in our fast-paced, artificially lit world, we trick our brains into believing that it’s perpetually daytime. Many of the diet and lifestyle choices that
we make throughout the day (e.g., the choice to watch TV late in the evening, to eat a late dinner, or to skip exercise) can all contribute to this disruption of the body’s natural sleep cycles. If a patient is struggling to get enough sleep, he or she will be enormously grateful to find help in your clinic, and you, in turn, will benefit from that new patient! As with many other conditions, simple nutritional protocols can make a big difference for patients with insomnia.
Hormone and Thyroid Imbalances
Hormone and thyroid imbalances affect millions of people in the US each year, and the situation only seems to be getting worse. Compared with men, women are disproportionately affected by estrogen-mimicking chemicals in the environment, making them more likely to experience hormonal imbalances. Thyroid disorders, for example, affect more than 12% of the population, with women developing problems five to eight times more often than men.4 When you offer help for these conditions, you’ll open up your practice to thousands of potential patients in your area who will benefit from your care. And, if you incorporate simple nutritional protocols into your repertoire, your patients will experience life-changing results that keep them coming back for years to come!
Brain Health: Stress, Attention, and Focus
In tlie fast-paced world of the twenty-first century, many of your
‘ ‘At the end of the day, advertising for a variety of different health conditions can make an enormous difference in your ability to bring enough patients into your clinic. ï Ï
patients are living stressful, busy lives. Millions of Americans power through busy workweeks using a combination of caffeine, sheer willpower, and the occasional use of pharmaceutical stimulants. With all of this going on around us, many people are stressed and overworked, and the consequences may be more serious than you think. Fortunately, offering natural stress-relieving or attention-boosting services can make a difference in the lives of your patients, and can simultaneously help to increase traffic to your clinic. Brain-based treatments and protocols go hand-in-hand with chir opractic, and a small addition to your treatment repertoire can have long-lasting effects for your patients.
Ultimately, there ai e dozens of options when you think about everything that you could possibly advertise for in your clinic. Beyond the options we’ve discussed here, you could advertise help for managing diabetes, boosting the immune system, relieving pain horn fibromyalgia, clearing up acne, or quitting smoking. At the end of the day, advertising for a variety of different health
conditions can make an enormous difference in your ability to bring enough patients into your clinic. Don’t miss out on these unique opportunities to treat patients who would otherwise overlook the opportunity to receive chiropractic care.
References:
1. Alyssa Brown with Gallup-Healthways. (2012). Chronic pain rates shoot up until Americans reach late 50s. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/154169/Chronic-Pain-Rates-ShootUntil-Americans-Reach-Late-50s.aspx?ref=image
2. National Institute ofNeurological Disorders and Stroke. (2016). Peripheral Neuropathy Fact Sheet. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from http ://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/ detail_peripheralneuropathy.htm
3. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2012). Overweight and Obesity Statistics. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/ health-statistics/Pages/overweight-obesity-stati sties.aspx
4. American Thyroid Association, (n.d.). General Information/Press Room. Retrieved June 30, 2016, from http://www.thyroid.org/edia-main/about-hypothyroidism/
Todd Singleton, DC, is an author, speaker, and consultant who has been a practicing doctor for more than 25 years. He ran the largest MD/DC/PTclinics in Utah before switching to an all-cash nutrition model in 2006. He now runs a very successful practice-management business in Salt Lake City. For additional information, contact him at 801-903-7141, or www.NutritionForChiros.com.
