I love a good sceptic, no, really, I do. Scepticism is about thinking about what you do and why you do it. I am my own biggest sceptic and critic. My wife occasionally says I am too much so. So much for the sympathy vote. Point is; I often get asked by patients “why didn’t my GP refer for this?” or “Why is this not available on the NHS?” or “What do you make of that article in the Daily Mail?”
The problem is that we, chiropractors, as a profession haven’t established base-line standards any further than they were a decade ago. We have been comfortable, working away making more people better than not and advancing the profession in this way. Over the last few years I have been working away at understanding what makes a good clinic and what makes a great clinic, and although the hallway still looks like a building site, the clinic is turning into a great one.
So here’s a quick one for the sceptics:
Of the last 100 patients who presented to the clinic:
the average duration of complaint was 7.2 years
93 were offered treatment
30% were required to wear orthotics
20% were required to use dental splints
the average cost of care was £288
out of 93, 93 have improved
I could go into the detail as to how that is possible, but for now suffice to say that the biggest mistake being made by professionals in the back pain field is to think that all back pain is caused by back problems which originate in the back .
A new blogpost soon to follow!
Take care
Stefaan Vossen
