they have a good reputation? Those are the questions I try to answer. KEY REASONS ATHLETES CHOOSE A PRACTITIONER • Reputation. If you show results, athletes will tell others. • Explain treatment in simple terms. Remember, if you can’t explain it simply you don’t know it well enough. • Preference in manual work, muscle release and acu-puncture. 2 What factor would make you select one practitioner over another? BJ: I prefer having a practitioner who gets to know me as a person instead of just a patient. TG: Personality. I want to be able to build a trusting rela-tionship with my doctor, feel like he/she truly cares about my health instead of making me feel like a “project.” CN: One important factor that would make me pick one practitioner over another would be how well we “click.” I can relate and express myself better during our visits. PW: Probably the number one factor would be a recommen-dation from a teammate or another athlete. KEY REASONS ATHLETES WILL STAY WITH A PRACTITIONER • Listen to your patient. • Be personable. • Truly care about the results. Do young athletes value treatment, even when they are not injured, to keep themselves in good shape? PW: Definitely not. I think most athletes are largely unaware of how beneficial rest, recovery, and proactive treatment can be for their performance and their overall well-being. At Elite Performance Academy, we are constantly educating our young athletes on the importance of recovery and preventative modalities. EM: In my early years of minor hockey, I saw no real benefit in going to see a chiropractor for a sore shoulder, knee or any other injury. Now that I’m in my third season with the Kitch-ener Rangers of the OHL, and as I look forward to the NHL, I have seen a greater need for professional help with my body. LF: It is vital to continue with treatment even when you are feeling good. Although many athletes understand this, many do not choose to make the commitment to regular care. So, I would say most athletes do not recognize the value of performance care. 3 KEY REASONS ATHLETES WILL NOT SEEK TREATMENT IF THEY ARE NOT INJURED • Young athletes are not educated in the benefits of regular treatment. • We need to be educators during every visit. 38 • CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR | DECEMBER 2012 I want to be able to build a trusting relationship with my doctor, feel like he/she truly cares about my health instead of making me feel like a “project.” Which would you value more: a doctor who charges a fair price for treatment or a doctor who treats you for free? EM: Generally, my opinion is that if the treatment is free then the therapist won’t care as much and have any personal in-centive to do the job the right way. However, it is more respect-able if the therapist charges a fair price. For me, it’s important that the therapist is motivated, and wants to do a good job to make sure I return for another treatment. BS: I believe that usually you get what you pay for in life. 4 With that said, I just wouldn’t expect a doctor who doesn’t charge for treatments to really be concerned about who he is treating. I want someone that charges me the fair price because it will make me feel as if he is serious about his practice. SB: I feel that when I’m paying for treatment I become more accountable for my health. Nothing in life is free. TG: I don’t want anything for free. It makes me question the level of treatment I would get. KEY POINTS REGARDING PERCEPTION OF VALUE IN TREATMENT • Unfortunately, many chiropractors fall into a trap where they treat amateur and even professionals athletes free of charge. Sometimes we think that doing this will provide us with more exposure, but in the long run it can de-value our product. • Athletes perceive cost of treatment to equal the quality of treatment. • Charging a fair price for treatment makes the athlete more committed to you and to their health. You will notice that outside of the athletes’ preference of manual-based treatments, their requests are really no different from those of anyone else looking for treatment. In general, people looking for any service tend to prefer someone with a good reputation, someone who listens to their concerns and someone who genuinely cares about attaining a positive result. Doing all this while you provide a service of value will keep people (and athletes) coming back. • www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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