Patients and Patience

The Honor Box eliminates, in principle, any financial obstacle from all my patients who desire and are willing to commit to their chiropractic care plan.  There is another obstacle out there, though, that stops a patient from getting the full benefits of chiropractic:

Lack of patience.

In this world of instant gratification and the "I want it NOW" attitude, many (not all, but many) patients expect that relief should happen right away following the chiropractic adjustment.  When expectations are not met right away, these folks will dismiss chiropractic as something that doesn't work or they will blame the doctor saying, "He just couldn't get my spine to crack the right way."

The solution to this is to explain very carefully to these people that healing takes time-- that getting adjusted is not like popping a painkiller, relief is not guaranteed to happen in seconds, minutes or even hours.

More like days, weeks and months, as the body heals from the effects of subluxation.

The catch-22, however, to this problem-- the conflicting practice of chiropractors that perpetuate this fallacy (and I am often guilty of this, too)-- is found in those special moments when we deliver that perfect adjustment with that certain, special something and the patient leaps off the table amazed that the pain that HAD been there for so long is instantly gone.  Instant relief!  Miracle!

And we as chiropractors humbly rejoice with our patients who are so thankful that the suffering has seemingly disappeared.  We act as if, yes, this is how the adjustment should be.  This is what the adjustment does.  Instant relief!  Miracle!

Like popping a painkller...

Mixed messages we send to our patients and also to ourselves.