1. Allowing their insurance to dictate their choice. If you allow your insurance to limit your healthcare decisions, your health may be limited as a result. Instead, choose a chiropractor whose care has clear outcomes that enhance your life, and is both affordable and worth the investment - and who is responsible to YOU, rather than to an insurance company who knows little of your health goals and needs.
2. Believing that all chiropractors are the same. This could not be further from the truth! Chiropractors adjust the spine to enhance the function and resilience of the nervous system and of the whole body. That said, we are like cooks - everybody has their own unique way of delivering adjustments. Some chiropractors deliver adjustments by hand only, some use gentle adjusting instruments, some use specially designed tables to assist in delivering a comfortable adjustment. The style of adjustment can vary from a light touch, to a “click” that feels like a sharp tap, to moving the whole body. Find a chiropractor whose style resonates with you and is right for your comfort level.
3. Undergoing care without any type of assessment. This is a BIG mistake - a responsible chiropractor will do a thorough assessment to determine whether it is safe and appropriate to adjust your spine, to identify which approaches are best for you, and to clearly pinpoint your unique set of problems. You can’t correct a problem if you haven’t correctly identified and measured it! Make sure your chiropractor takes the time to carefully determine what’s best for YOU.
4. Choosing a chiropractor based on location and convenience. While you often will be best served to work with an office who is close/convenient enough so that care can fit into your busy life, don’t just pick the one closest. Have a conversation with several chiropractic offices, visit a few offices, meet a few chiropractors in person. You’ll get the most out of your care if you are comfortable with the environment, the practitioner, AND the convenience.
5. Choosing a chiropractor based on his/her age. This is a tough one; any practitioner with years of experience has a lot to offer you. That said, newer doctors may also bring fresh perspectives and different techniques!
Choosing the right chiropractor is similar to choosing the right veterinarian, dentist, massage therapist, or personal trainer - the best choice is the one you can communicate easily with and connect with, who is focused on delivering measurable results to correct your unique problem, and whose goal is to restore your body’s function and to assist you in returning to the things you love doing!
The RIGHT way to find a chiropractor is to have a conversation about goals, needs, and expectations. By avoiding the mistakes listed above, you’ll be able to open the door to a kind of care that can not only ease your pain, but also enhance your life and health - and that is our wish for you.
“While other professions are concerned with changing the environment to suit the weakened body, chiropractic is concerned with strengthening the body to suit the environment.” B.J. Palmer, DC, Developer of Chiropractic