Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College Your practice supply partner through with their care and stay on their program. Another way we can communicate function versus feeling to our patients is to use examples from other professions. One powerful question you can ask is: “Do you wait for your teeth to hurt to brush them or get a cleaning? If not, why do you brush them?” Consider also: “Why do you check your blood pres-sure? Is it because your arm or body hurts?” The answers are obvious and show the patients that how they feel should not determine what they do or think about their state of health. RMT Chiropractic Acupuncture DEMONSTRATION Demonstrating loss of function should occur at a new patient’s first exam. The best exam that I have seen conducted is performed by Dr. James Carter in which the focus is on showing the loss of func-tion due to subluxation (I will be touching on this in a future ar-ticle). This is accomplished through using muscle testing, range of motion testing, and regular orthopedic tests to really make it clear to the patient how the spinal problem has affected their function and health without you having to tell them. We can continue to demonstrate loss of function during daily adjustment visits using one or two muscle tests (looking for improvements), a range of motion test before and after a set of adjustments, and even balance tests. If we want to take it a step further and get off the pain dialogue we can begin to discuss and demonstrate the function of the brain and nervous system as it relates to their chiropractic care. We can perform a test such as Rhomberg’s and re-visit the test at a progress exam to show the effect chiropractic has on the brain and balance. What do you think the value of this will be to the patient and where the focus will be once they experience that type of improve-ment? CONCLUSION Once we effectively communicate and demonstrate functional changes, versus focusing solely on pain relief, we motivate the patient to follow through with their program of care. This is because they have been inspired and educated that their chiro-practic care does more than just relieve their pain. Be prepared! Effective communication and education will in-crease energy and create a buzz – referrals will flood your office! Remember – when it comes to your practice, work from the inside out. • KEY TO SHIFTING YOUR PATIENTS’ FOCUS Communication and demonstration are the keys to rerout-ing your patient’s focus from how they feel (lingering pain) to how they function (improvements in lifestyle) Visit our new online store at www.cmccstore.ca CMCC Supply Centre & Bookstore 6100 Leslie Street Toronto, Ontario, M2H 3J1 Local: 416 482 1532 Toll Free: 1 800 268 8940 Fax: 416 482 9745 [email protected] ACTION STEP 1: Communicate loss of function by asking lifestyle questions related to their spinal problems. ACTION STEP 2: Demonstrate loss of function by using muscle and neurological tests to show the effect spinal problems have on their health. ACTION STEP 3 : Follow up with both communication and demonstration on how function is improving at each visit or at progress exams. www.canadianchiropractor.ca 36 • Canadian ChiropraCtor | SEptEMBEr 2012
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September 2012: Page 36
