Everything Chiropractic

Chiropractic Marketing Secrets

If you go to Google and type in “chiropractic marketing”, you get 345,000 results. Now, not all 345,000 of the results are going to be chiropractic marketing businesses or websites, but there are many more than I could have imagined. I clicked through the first ten pages of listings and there were still different chiropractic marketing websites listed, even after 15-20 pages there were still a few different chiropractic marketing websites.

Why and how did there get to be so many businesses trying to teach chiropractors how to market themselves? Can they all actually be making money?
Here is a listing of some of the top listed sites:

www.chirosuccess.com
dcincome.com
marketingchiropractic.com
www.newpatientsfromtv.com
www.thechiropracticdashboard.com
www.GetNewPatients.com
www.UltimateChiropracticAds.com
www.chiropracticemarketingsolutions.com
dcpracticetools.com
www.patientmedia.com/solutions/chiropracticmarketing

Chiropractic marketing secrets, chiropractic marketing tools, chiropractic coaching, get new patients. All of these search terms will bring out just as many websites. Most of these chiropractic marketing websites have some very good things to offer, but the one problem is that the programs can be expensive to buy or implement.

That’s why I put a few chiropractic marketing books on my website www.ChiropracticBookstore.com as an inexpensive way to start. Before you put $500 or $1000 down and $200/month, please check out some of these books by chiropractors who have done it all before and share some of their tips.

It is an easy cost-effective way to start marketing. Then if there are some marketing tactics that you can’t put together yourself, refer to the list above for help.

Here are some great chiropractic marketing books to get you started from ChiropracticBookstore.com:

Chiropractic Marketing Tools That Will Absolutely Grow Your Practice
Marketing Chiropractic to Medical Practices
How to Make One Hell of a Profit and Still Get to Heaven
The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing, & Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly
Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business

Plus many others at www.ChiropracticBookstore.com

Chiropractic Is Neither Unconventional Nor Alternative

A recent article on Rueters.com describes how more people are turning to unconventional and alternative methods of healthcare for their health problems. While the article was neither for nor against other forms of healthcare, the writers once again fail to understand that chiropractic is neither unconventional nor alternative.

Unconventional refers to something that is out of the ordinary or not conforming to accepted rules or standards. Whose accepted rules and standards are they referring to when they call chiropractic unconventional?

Medical doctors have reasoned that chiropractic should not be considered a standard treatment of care because there has not been enough scientific research to prove its viability. This thought process may have been true in the early 20th century, but chiropractic has been heavily researched and studied over the past 20-30 years and proven time and time again to be very effective for many types of conditions.

Research Supporting Chiropractic

Numerous studies have shown that chiropractic treatment is both safe and effective. The following are excerpts from a few of the more recent studies. By examining the research supporting chiropractic care, you will find that chiropractic offers tremendous potential in meeting today’s health care challenges.

For Acute and Chronic Pain

“Patients with chronic low-back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients treated by family physicians. Satisfaction scores were higher for chiropractic patients. A higher proportion of chiropractic patients (56 percent vs. 13 percent) reported that their low-back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one-third of medical patients reported their low-back pain was worse or much worse.”
– Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Nyiendo et al. (2000),

In a Randomized controlled trial, 183 patients with neck pain were randomly allocated to manual therapy (spinal mobilization), physiotherapy (mainly exercise) or general practitioner care (counseling, education and drugs) in a 52-week study. The clinical outcomes measures showed that manual therapy resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy and general practitioner care. Moreover, total costs of the manual therapy-treated patients were about one-third of the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care.
– British Medical Journal, Korthals-de Bos et al. (2003)

In Comparison to Other Treatment Alternatives

“Acute and chronic chiropractic patients experienced better outcomes in pain, functional disability, and patient satisfaction; clinically important differences in pain and disability improvement were found for chronic patients.”
– Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Haas et al. (2005)

“In our randomized, controlled trial, we compared the effectiveness of manual therapy, physical therapy, and continued care by a general practitioner in patients with nonspecific neck pain. The success rate at seven weeks was twice as high for the manual therapy group (68.3 percent) as for the continued care group (general practitioner). Manual therapy scored better than physical therapy on all outcome measures. Patients receiving manual therapy had fewer absences from work than patients receiving physical therapy or continued care, and manual therapy and physical therapy each resulted in statistically significant less analgesic use than continued care.”
– Annals of Internal Medicine, Hoving et al. (2002)

For Headaches

“Cervical spine manipulation was associated with significant improvement in headache outcomes in trials involving patients with neck pain and/or neck dysfunction and headache.”
– Duke Evidence Report, McCrory, Penzlen, Hasselblad, Gray (2001)

“The results of this study show that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches. . . Four weeks after cessation of treatment . . . the patients who received spinal manipulative therapy experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in all major outcomes in contrast to the patients that received amitriptyline therapy, who reverted to baseline values.” ‘
– Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Boline et al. (1995)

Cost Effectiveness

“Chiropractic care appeared relatively cost-effective for the treatment of chronic low-back pain. Chiropractic and medical care performed comparably for acute patients. Practice-based clinical outcomes were consistent with systematic reviews of spinal manipulative efficacy: manipulation-based therapy is at least as good as and, in some cases, better than other therapeusis.”
– Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Haas et al. (2005)

Patient Satisfaction

“Chiropractic patients were found to be more satisfied with their back care providers after four weeks of treatment than were medical patients. Results from observational studies suggested that back pain patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than with medical care. Additionally, studies conclude that patients are more satisfied with chiropractic care than they were with physical therapy after six weeks.”
– American Journal of Public Health, Hertzman-Miller et al. (2002)

Popularity of Chiropractic

“Chiropractic is the largest, most regulated, and best recognized of the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professions. CAM patient surveys show that chiropractors are used more often than any other alternative provider group and patient satisfaction with chiropractic care is very high. There is steadily increasing patient use of chiropractic in the United States, which has tripled in the past two decades.”
– Annals of Internal Medicine, Meeker and Haldeman (2002)

We need to get the word out to everyone that chiropractic care is not an unconventional treatment and never has been.

Please go to The Foundation For Chiropractic Progress and donate to help spread the chiropractic message.

Or

Go to www.ChiropracticBookstore.com and purchase a book you may need. 2% of all profits go directly to the Foundation For Chiropractic Progress.

What Is Universal Health Care? What Will Be Its Affect on Chiropractic?

Universal health care is health care coverage, which is extended to all eligible residents of a governmental region. These programs vary widely in their structure and funding mechanisms, particularly the degree to which they are publicly funded. Typically, most health care costs are met by the population via compulsory health insurance or taxation, or a combination of both. The US is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care, according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and others. Universal health care is provided in most developed countries, in many developing countries, and is the trend worldwide.

Universal Health Care was a big debate with the 2008 elections and will continue to be a big debate in the coming years. We seem to be a nation very divided on the subject and everyone has their own opinions on whether it will be a help or a hindrance. Here is a look at both sides of the issue at balancedpolitics.org. Take a look a decide for yourself. As far as chiropractic care being covered under Universal Health Care in United States no one knows yet, but many senators and representatives and promised to make sure it will be included.

Let’s take a look at what happened to chiropractic in Ontario and see if this is what will happen in the U.S. or to see if we can learn anything to make sure it doesn’t happen in the U.S.

On May 18, 2004, the provincial government of Ontario, Canada, announced its intention to delist chiropractic services from the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), the province’s health care plan, effective Dec. 1, 2004. And despite the heroic efforts of the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) and other organizations, the government remained steadfast in its decision, bringing an end to more than 30 years of public funding for chiropractic services in Ontario.

The government announced that along with chiropractic care, optometry examinations and physiotherapy would be also delisted from OHIP, in an effort to help balance the province’s budget deficit. Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, who termed chiropractic a “less critical” service in a May press conference defended the cuts by saying that they would add up to more than $200 million in savings over the next two years and free up money for other procedures.

The decision by the legislature to delist chiropractic flew in the face of previous evidence that suggested coverage of chiropractic care could reduce overall health care costs. A 1993 study funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, for example, found that enhanced OHIP coverage of chiropractic treatment could save Canada’s health care system an estimated $380 million a year in direct costs, and up to $1.2 billion per year in indirect costs attributed to short and long-term disability.

Massachusetts’ lawmakers made history in April 2006, becoming the first state to approve legislation that will require all residents to have some form of health insurance coverage by July 2007. Signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney on April 12, 2006 the plan forges a unique compromise between government assistance and personal responsibility, with the cost to individuals and families based on income. The legislation is expected to drive down the cost of insurance for everyone, as public funds are redirected to more effectively cover the state’s 515,000 uninsured. Since the implementation of this type of Universal Health Care coverage is still fairly recent, no one has been able to say what the long-term affect for the chiropractic profession will be.

Barack Obama’s Universal Health Care plan would include chiropractic coverage and he has said that chiropractors would play a significant role in expanding access to preventative care and strengthening our public health system.

For the sake of the 60,000 chiropractors and the 60 million chiropractic patients, lets all do are best to make sure that chiropractic is included in any type of U.S. health care system.

How Financial Stress Affects Our Health!

Ever woken up in the middle of the night wondering how you were going to pay the bills? Then you know that a car payment or the electric bill can affect your health!

There are three types of stress: physical, emotional, and chemical. Financial worries (and other anxieties) fall into the emotional stress category. And chiropractic can be helpful.

All three types of stress affect your nervous system. Like a chain that breaks at its weakest link, stress tends to show up where we are most vulnerable. Our neck. Our low back. Tightness between our shoulders. Stress can increase the frequency of headaches and compromise our ability to get enough restful sleep.

Chiropractic care, with its purpose of reducing neurological stress, can be helpful. Of course chiropractic can’t eliminate stress, but it sure can improve your ability to tolerate it. Regular chiropractic care now, especially with the holiday stress around the corner, could be a wise investment for a happier, healthier, and financially secure you!

Please go to www.chiropracticbookstore.com and look through the selection of health books chosen to help everyone achieve total wellness.

When Will We Reach Chiropratic’s Tipping Point?

Universal acceptance. A strong goal for the chiropractic profession, but hardly attainable: even medical doctors are not universally accepted. Chiropractic is searching more for majority acceptance. We have been talking about it for years, but when will chiropractic finally reach its tipping point and become widely used by everyone everywhere? Can we do just “one thing” to change this or will it take more?

10% of Americans use chiropractic regularly—30.5 million people
80% of Americans will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives—244 million people
More than 20 million of Americans will seek Chiropractic care this year
30% of US population over age 18 had visited a chiropractor—68.4 million people

The US population right now is 305 million people. 75% of the population is over aged 18, which would be 228 million people. If 30% of the population over age 18 have visited a chiropractor, that would mean 68.4 million people over age 18 have visited a chiropractor. Overall that is close to 23% of the population that has been to a chiropractor in their lives.

I don’t know about you, but if I was selling a product or service that 23% of the US population had purchased I would be very happy and wealthy. Of course, there is not one chiropractor servicing 23% of the population, but the market penetration is at a pretty high level right now. So why do so many chiropractors seem to be struggling? Why do we see so many companies offering marketing plans, cards, services, coaching, all to get new patients?

One of the main problems is patient retention. We have tons of marketing information, brochures, pamphlets, and coaches telling us how to get new patients, which is a good thing, but with 23% of the population having visited a chiropractor already, maybe we should focus out attention on those that have already been. Someone who is referred to a business is 15 times more likely to buy and a satisfied customer is 10 times more likely to buy than someone new. We should be “selling” to our existing patient base, because they have already been there done that, and if we did a good job, they are satisfied patients. A Gallup Poll in 1991 said that 9 out of 10 chiropractic patients felt that their treatment was effective.

Chiropractic for years had been striving to get the other 76% of the population, those that have not visited a chiropractor before, to embrace the profession. The progress has been long and slow and has even had some success, especially over the last 25 years, but we still have not reached that proverbial tipping point. How about we switch gears completely and concentrate on the ones that accept and understand the power of chiropractic for a while.

If 68.4 million people are current or former chiropractic patients and there are 53,000 chiropractors in the US, then there are 1290 patients per doctor. This is more than enough chiropractic patients for every chiropractor to be helping and also makong a decent living doing it. Just like the chiropractic philosophy of inside-out, lets turn our marketing programs into an inside-out philosophy. Concentrate on retaining and reactivating the patients we already have and teach them the chiropractic philosophy and lifestyle and all chiropractors will be more than busy. Then if we ask those 68.4 million chiropractic patients to tell 5 people about chiropractic, we will reach the tipping point and have a shortage of chiropractors and not a shortage of chiropractic patients.

Let’s not give up on those unforunate 76% altogether. Donate as much as you can to the Foundation For Chiropractic Progress and let them handle getting the chiropractic story to those 76%, while we concentrate on retaining and reactivating, and our patients tell 5 people for us.

www.ChiropracticBookstore.com give 2% of all profits to the Foundation For Chiropractic Progress.

MEDITERRANEAN DIET REDUCES RISK OF MAJOR DISEASE

Italian researchers reported in a new study that a Mediterranean style diet can reduce the risk of numerous diseases. The people in the study saw an overall drop in mortality of 9 percent, a 9 percent drop in death from cardiovascular disease, and a 13 percent reduction in cases of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and a 6 percent drop in cancer.

The Mediterranean diet has a reputation for being a model of healthy eating and contributing to better health and quality of life, since it is rich in olive oil, grains, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and fish, but low in meat, dairy products and alcohol, reports the British Medical Journal. It has been noticed that people in the Mediterranean region, an area of three continents, differ in their culture, tradition and food habit, but lead very similar active lifestyles and share similar eating habits. It was observed that cases of chronic heart diseases, diabetes, gallstones and cancers were minimal in the Mediterranean region.

The daily Mediterranean diet includes mostly fresh vegetables, fruit mainly as dessert, cereals, whole grain breads, pastas legumes, beans and nuts cooked in olive oil. The diet is supplemented by low to moderate use of milk, cheese and yogurt along with mostly red wine or water. Seafood, poultry and eggs are a weekly add on to the diet, and the consumption of red meat is limited to few times a month. Sweet and dessert intake is also limited to a few days a week. Fruit is the most preferred type of dessert.

The Mediterranean diet is well-balanced with a supply of essential vitamins, minerals, low in saturated fat, salt and sugar to ensure good health. As stated, people in the Mediterranean region lead active lives, but they also find enough time to relax, enjoy and socialize with every meal. This, in turn, helps in digestion of food and proper functioning of body systems.

For books on the mediterranean diet and other diet and nutrition books please visit, ChiropracticBookstore.com.

Kinesio Tape & Chiropractic Helping Athletes at The 2008 Beijing Olympics

While Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have been stealing the show at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, other athletes have been trying to rehab or keep their bodies in shape or healthy, and an increasing number are using alternative ways to heal their bodies. Kerri Walsh has been seen numerous times with kinesio tape on her shoulder during her beach volleyball matches. Kinesio tape has been around for many years, but only in the last 5 years has it been used widely in the US, with sports chiropractors being some of the first to use it.

Athletes have been some of the first to try and discover the great benefits of kinesio tape, just as they have been the first to try many other new forms of treatment. While chiropractic is not a new form of treatment, it is getting the same amount of respect from athletes that kinesio tape does. Many athletes over the last decade have come to use chiropractic and sports chiropractors as a way to get out of pain, heal faster, and also to get the body aligned and tuned up into peak physical performance.

U.S. sprinter Tyson Gay has used chiropractic to get himself ready for the 2008 Olympics. An injury to his hamstring at the Olympic trials threatened to end his Olympic dreams early, but chiropractic and massage treatments got him feeling better in time for the start of the Track & Field competition. While he did not win the 100m sprint, he said the problem with his slow time was not the hamstring.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Dr. Glenn Lowenberg, Dr. Marcus A McCray, and other chiropractors will be on hand with other medical staff to provide treatment to the athletes before, during, and after competition. Dr. Marcus A. McCray was selected by USA Track & Field to serve as its team chiropractor in Beijing. The roster of Olympic athletes who have benefited from chiropractic care is quite impressive. Great athletes such as Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Edwin Moses, Dara Torres, Derek Parra and numerous others have used chiropractic to keep themselves in top physical form.

There has been a growing trend among athletes for using chiropractic care. Approximately 31% of NFL teams have a chiropractor on staff and 39% of all Div. I athletes said they use chiropractic either to get into top shape or stay there. Many say chiropractic helps them to get into top physical shape without the use of drugs. Sports and Chiropractic are a very good match for each other. Athletes are always looking to get their muscles and joints performing at their best and chiropractic is a health care discipline that provides conservative care, rehabilitation, and performance optimization of the neuromusculoskeletal system.

For those chiropractors interested in learning more about caring for athletes, please visit www.chiropracticbookstore.com and check out the book Conservative Management of Sports Injuries.

Surgery Vs Chiropractic Care

These two topics have been debated between patients, medical doctors, and chiropractors for many years. There is a lot of studies on the efficacy of chiropractic and the efficacy of surgery, but no research studies pitting the 2 against each other, only debates between doctors.(FindArticles - A tale of two remedies - surgery or chiropractic treatment for an injured runner
American Fitness, Nov-Dec, 1994, by Shelly Downing)

Surgery is a more invasive treatment and can result in a long recovery process. There are many things to consider if you are considering surgery, (http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/backpain/BAK_shouldhave.html), including; Is the pain definitely caused by an abnormality seen on an imaging test?, have your symptoms been helped by a conservative therapy?, have you tried chiropractic yet?. A recent story on abcnews.com (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Story?id=2670812&page=1), , says that patients with low back pain get the same benefit in pain relief from non-surgical treatment as they do from back surgery.

Chiropractic is a non-invasive, conservative treatment, altmd.com/Articles/Chiropractic-Risks-and-Research, which includes manipulation and rehabilitation designed to relieve the pain, but also improve physical function. Chiropractic in the past has been thought to be unscientific because of its lack or research, but today more research for chiropractic treatment of specific conditions has been completed than for almost any other type of healthcare. A great resource to see many of the studies on the effectiveness of chiropractic is, www.chiro.org/research.

The good news is that both forms of treatment can be very effective and they are both being heavily researched. However, since the studies and research do not compare them directly against one another, the research is incomplete in this area and we definitively cannot answer the question. Everyone with back pain should do there homework and find someone who they believe is qualified and can help them the best. A conservative approach to start can be a good way to avoid surgery for those who don’t want to go under the knife. Here are a couple of good resources for finding a local chiropractor, www.chirodirectory.com, and www.chirohub.com.

Feel free to also look at www.chiropracticbookstore.com for books on chiropractic, nutrition, and health.

Everything Chiropractic Now Listed On Technorati

We are pleased to announce that we are now listed on Technorati. Technorati is the recognized authority on what’s happening on the World Live Web, right now. The Live Web is the dynamic and always-updating portion of the Web. They search, surface, and organize blogs and the other forms of independent, user-generated content (photos, videos, voting, etc.) increasingly referred to as “citizen media.”

But it all started with blogs. A blog, or weblog, is a regularly updated journal published on the web. Some blogs are intended for a small audience; others vie for readership with national newspapers. Blogs are influential, personal, or both, and they reflect as many topics and opinions as there are people writing them.

Technorati Profile

2008 Elections November 4th, Barack Obama vs John McCain: Do They Support Chiropractic

As we inch ever closer to November 4th and the 2008 Elections, it is time to start thinking about what is best for our country, ourselves, but also Chiropractic. Healthcare is a major issue in the elections this year, so it’s a good idea to know where each presidential candidate stands on health care, but also what they plan to do to help chiropractors and the chiropractic profession.

Barack Obama is the young up and comer with fresh ideas and his mind set on changing America for the better, while John McCain is the seasoned veteran who has had is hands in the trenches for years and has the experience to lead the country. Who will win is up for debate for the next few months, but a better question could be who should win? Which one is going to take this country where it needs to go to solve the economic problems, foreign policy issues and the issue of health care reform? Which one will help chiropractors most on issues such as Medicare Physician Reimbursement, commissioning of chiropractors into the armed forces, chiropractic coverage for veterans, medicines Non-MD provider bill, and many others.

John McCain plans to restore control of health care to the patients themselves, reform the tax code to allow more choices beyond employer-based health insurance, and encourage and expand the benefits of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for families, and many initiatives to lower health care costs. For more information on John McCain’s health care plan please visit www.johnmccain.com, and for the stance that the Republican Party takes on health care go to healthcare.gop.com.

Barack Obama plans to make available a new National Health plan to all Americans, create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan, increased employer contribution, increased competition in the insurance and drug markets, and many other initiatives as well. To see Barack Obama’s health care plan visit www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/, and for the Democratic Party’s health care stance please visit www.democrats.org. You can also see Mr. Obama’s Support Letter for Chiropractic at www.acatoday.org/.

The website commissionchiropractors.com also puts out a Presidential Candidate Comparison between Obama and McCain and the positions they take on Chiropractic, Chiropractic in the military, and healthcare. Please visit their site at commissionchiropractors.com/Elections.

For most people politics can be a hot button issue and can lead to a debate that most of us do not want to have, but we need to be diligent and find out which one of these two candidates can make the biggest difference for the chiropractic profession. This information is put together so we can all do our homework and make an informed decision. Please also visit the ACA at www.amerchiro.org/ and the ICA at www.chiropractic.org/, for their in-depth analysis of the two presidential candidates, but also to help support them in raising awareness of chiropractic, and helping to pass positive Chiropractic legislation.

www.chiropracticbookstore.com