Cornucopia Chiropractica

No way!

2008-03-04T22:53:00.001-08:00

I really thought I was coming right back to start posting again after that last post. But ooooh, where did the time go? I think I'm gonna ease back into blogging by posting shorter posts first. It's like running. Can't expect me to start going on 5 mile runs after taking a long time off. Let me get warmed up here, and lose that belly.

I'll be right back. I mean it this time.

The Return is Near...

2006-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't posted since July! It definitely didn't seem that long ago. Amazing how easy it is to breakaway, isn't it?

I plan on revamping my blogging practices. So I'm still working on that. But for sure I'll be returning very soon. I will probably start a different blog entirely. Decisions, decisions...

Stay Tune!

Causal vs. Correlation

2006-07-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

I began writing a post today that ended up quite lengthy. So I decided to split it up. I will begin today by differentiating two similar, yet significantly different key terms in scientific research: causal and correlation.

When research indicates two events have a causal relationship, it means that event A will directly lead to event B. This is fairly straight forward. It is called a cause and effect.

Now if event C and event D is found to be correlated, it does not imply that one causes the other. It simply means that there is a high incidence of the two events happening together. They share some commonalities, some indirect relationship, but one event does not necessarily lead to another. A classic example is that as ice cream consumption rises, so does the incidence of drowning. Of course you know that eating ice cream does not cause drownings. The relationship they share is that both are popular summer activities. When the weather becomes hot, people will play in the water more, hence, the increase in drownings. At the same time, people are consuming more ice cream due to the high temperatures. Now that you understand the difference, you realize the significance whether two events are classified as causal or correlated. After all, it would be unfair to all of us if ice cream was permanently banned in order to prevent future drownings. Does that last sentence sound eerily familiar? Yep, that's the argument tobacco companies took up for years, alleging that the relationship between smoking and cancer was merely correlational.

Back for more soon.

You Too Can Have These Super Powers

2006-07-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Superman returned this summer. The X-men saved us again. Spiderman will be protecting us next summer. I wish us lowly humans had some super powers to help ourselves. I live in the SF Bay Area. You know how expensive real estate here is. So Kyle MacDonald's super power of turning a red paper clip into a house sure can come in handy.

This must be the 22nd millionth blog entry written on this guy and his escapades within the last 3 days. He's all over the internet, if you don't know who he is, look him up, or grab a quick synopsis here.

The power of blogging, illustrated in all its glory.

Are you building up your powers?

Thanks again JO.

You Worry Too Much

2006-07-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

I think sometimes you worry about your health too much. The opposite argument "You don't worry/take care of your body enough" is definitely the more common phrase, by alot. While the more popular phrase certainly has its merits, let me take some time today to illuminate what I've noticed alot. That is, that worrying alot can also get you into trouble.

Example 1: Fear Leads To Inaction

Any health practictioner will tell you that patients presenting with new health symptoms will often breathe a sigh of relief after hearing its diagnosis and prognosis. You know what phrase I'm talking about: "Whew, is that it? I was really afraid to come here today cuz I was expecting worst." You've probably thought it and maybe even said it aloud. Because of this fear, many people choose to avoid seeking the necessary treatment. The condition starts out small and festers into something that may ultimately have a big detriment to your health and lifestyle. All because of the fear of the unknown, afraid to hear the bad news. When in fact at the outset, there is no bad news to hear. But your fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In my practice as a chiropractor, I've see it many times. A new patient will come in with a self-diagnosis of something they deem incurable. After the initial exam, I sit them down and explain to their surprise what they have is usually much more benign than they anticipate. For example, the patient assumes its a blown disc while it's really nothing more than a moderate low back strain. They often times still have their reservations. So I explain what can be done to improve the condition before beginning the first treatment. They're usually convinced after the first few treatments, that the stabbing pain "miraculously" vastly diminished. Sometimes, if we're lucky, great relief comes after the first treatment. I am not by any means propping myself up as a specially gifted chiropractor. I didn't do anything special. I treated what was a fairly simple low back problem that the patient assumed to be a great medical puzzle.

The lesson? Don't be afraid of what you think you have. Just go and get it checked out, it often times isn't what you fear. But you wait and it just may get worse.

Example 2: Driving Your Healthcare Bill Up

Another common occurrence that comes to mind is when patients are convinced that something is terribly wrong. They will not rest until tests and more tests are done. It takes quite a bit of time before they're comfortable with your diagnosis. Aside from increasing your own bill, what is the downside? My fear is that those patients end up looking for those ethically challenged doctors who have no problem performing more tests simply to drive up your bill. That is a dangerous road to travel. I've wondered many times whether a new patient thought I was lazy by not performing more tests. I doubt they would think that if they knew how little extra work it takes to order or perform more tests with relation to the extra income. So sometimes, you think you've found a good doctor because he'll indulge your worries, but maybe, you just found someone willing to send you in circles doing unnecessary tests.

NBA Draft Prediction

2006-06-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

Everybody has a prediction. Here's mine for first pick for tonight's NBA Draft.

Portland Trailblazers select Adam Morrison (via trade with Raptors).

Raptors will then take Bargnani with the 4th pick.

New Blog Research

2006-06-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

I'm currently suffering from some technical difficulties with my computer so I may not be posting much this week until it is resolved. So I'll leave you today with a new study on blogs published by UMass chancellor professor of marketing, Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes. It attempts to identify the necessary traits of a successful blog. How does a blog stand out from the rest?

You can also read Steve Rubel's synopsis here.

Shaq and Chiropractic Revisited

2006-06-27T00:55:00.000-07:00

I wrote a week ago regarding Shaq making a reference to chiropractic during his press conference. It always bothered me that I couldn't find an article quoting him. Alas, I came across a few articles, here's one that was printed in the Boston Globe. It's in the third paragraph.

I just wanted to share in the interest of better reporting.

Crossing Over

2006-06-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have been exchanging correspondence the last few days with Dr. Clark Bartram, a pediatrican blogger. And he is quite a prolific one. His blog, "Unintelligent Design" spends a great deal of space highlighting the shortcomings of chiropractic. If you read his latest post, you can see that what I just wrote is quite an understatement. Indeed, Dr. Bartram is very passionate about the subject. Before I go any further, I want to stress that our emails have been highly cordial, professional, and constructive. Thanks to our discussion, I have already learned to see some issues under a different light. There are new questions that I have never really thought of. And no, this post will not lead to a veiled attempt to critique and defame Dr. Bartram.

I suspect and hope that a fair number of people reading this post are readers of Dr. Bartram and have come to read my thoughts. First I want to isolate some differences between my blog and his. I would categorize his posts as highly editorial, dispersing his opinion on "the wrongs of the world". Like many of his readers, I appreciate the consistent candor and effort he puts in each of his posts. I, on the other hand do not consciously treat my blog as an editorial medium. It's more of a relay station. I find good stuff on the web, and I'll share it with you. Yes, I'm fully aware that deciding what is good and important does require some form of editorializing. Furthermore, while Unintelligent Design aspires to aid in the extinction of chiropractic as a profession, the main purpose of Cornucopia Chiropractica is not to defend the profession. Rather, a quick scan of my editorial entries will show that they have been critical of chiropractic. I am not the yin to Dr. Bartram's yang. What I hope to ultimately achieve is that readers (especially those of Unintelligent Design and similar sites) do not automatically equate chiropractors with ignorant quacks. There is a very real benefit that can be had at a chiropractic office. As Dr. Bartram writes in his latest post, he hopes that "physical therapists and medical doctors are able to utilize the aspects of chiropractic care that are useful."

It is that aspect of chiropractic that I hope to shine a light on while at the same time recognizing some of the shortcomings that bloggers such as Dr. Bartram write about. Stick around this blog. Over time, you will see that there are chiropractors with a sound body of knowledge. I value all comments, from either side of the fence. More to come later this week.

Google Trends Revisited

2006-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

I've discussed using Google Trends as a way to gauge public interest on health headlines that pop up in the news. I decided to put it to use today and see what happens. I plugged in "cervical cancer" and the most recent spike in search queries was on June 9th. It corresponds very nicely with the latest published articles on the new vaccine for cervical cancer. Coincidentally, on that very day, I also wrote on this topic.

On a side note, the first round of World Cup ended today. The Round of 16 starts tomorrow morning. The tournament really heats up tomorrow with the single elimination format.

Anti-Chiropractic Ads

2006-06-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

The latest edition of Dynamic Chiropractic (6/20) has an article on the anti-chiropractic ads displaying on buses in Conneticut. I first reported this back on May 15th. Pick up the latest issue of DC if you want further reading. You can also read it on their website.

Be a Health Expert

2006-06-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

Marketing efforts of your office will be exponentially more effective if you are viewed as an expert in your field. This is what a doctor hopes to establish when undertaking various marketing activities such as giving health lectures in the community and donating services to local schools.

Establishing yourself as an health expert in cyberspace is just as important. Internet usage is becoming ever more popular as Jeremiah Owyang reports. As more consumers continue to seek information online, more doctors are seeking to secure their visibility on the world wide web. Many choose to invest in programs such as Google AdWords or Yahoo Local Sponsored Search. Those programs will help you increase your visibility.

But what about your credibility?

You can be recognized as an expert in your field by imparting knowledge to your visitors. Providing pertinent up-to-date health information will differentiate your practice from other offices who merely advertise their services.

Likewise, health searchers are becoming ever more active online. They are asking ever more questions, looking for experts online to find their answers. In the article, Loren Baker also shares with us how he found a local chiropractor through the web. When you share health tips on your site, your content will help your web visibility. When visitors learn from your writings, your content will then help your web credibility.

As more and more doctors strive to gain visibility online, the consumer will rely on credibility to differentiate one office to another.

The Absolute Absolute Truth on Dieting

2006-06-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

The last post on abdominals got me thinking about dieting. As I noted, the two topics are perpetually linked, though often for the wrong reasons. In an ever waist-inflating society, people are always asking about the best way to diet. Too often, I hear the phrase "If I only knew how to diet, I'd drop all this extra weight." Or how about, "Let me finish reading this latest diet book, it's supposed to work really well." Or "I'm so confused, everybody says their method is the best."

I get very angry when I hear these proclamations, especially the last one. All these competing authors and companies in the ever lucrative dieting industry have done is confused the masses and hide the basic truth from you. Allow me to help you filter out all the conflicting garbage that's been heaped upon you the last 20 years and share with you this earth-shattering absolute truth on dieting. This basic fundamental truth can be best described in the following mathematical relationship:

(Calories In) < (Calories Out) = Weight Loss

It's that simple!

It doesn't matter how many grams of yogurt you eat every morning. You don't have to wait until Saturday for your ice cream. You don't have to measure out every meal. When thoughts of dieting gets you confused, just remember this simple formula above. It doesn't matter what you're eating or what you're doing. As long as you're burning more than you take in, your goal will be accomplished. So next time someone asks you how'd u lose 5 lbs, give them my answer, "I burned more calories than I took in".

Dieting is a very simple process.

Dieting doesn't seem so daunting now.

Your 6-Pack Abs

2006-06-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

I just want to share a potpourri of personal thoughts on abdominal muscles. This muscle group is a popular target in issues such as exercise programs and weight lost programs. At times, so much is written that I feel the message has become quite muddled. Other times, minute details are stressed that the main point is lost. Here are points that I have frequently shared in the past with my patients, colleagues, and fitness clients.

There are actually 4 separate muscles in the abdominals. The rectus abdominus (the 6-pack muscle) is only 1 of the 4. You don't see the other three in the mirror because they lay underneath the rectus muscles, and you're probably too fat.
A complete ab workout requires rotational exercise, not just the uniplanar motions done with flexing and extending your trunk. Ex: Traditional crunches do not include rotational movement.
Working out your abs DO NOT help you lose more weight anymore than exercising other similar sized muscle groups
However, working out your abs CAN decrease your waist size. This is especially true if you just started working on your abs.
Your waist size decreases not because you lose any actual weight, but because your abs have become stronger so your guts and intestines are literally not falling out your stomach cavity. Picture a rubber band, a corset, or a girdle wrapped around your stomach tightening, that's essentially what your improved-strength abs are doing. This work is done primarily by the transversus abdominus (1 of the other 3 ab muscles you don't hear much about).
Because of the preceding point, it is actually possible for you to slim down while gaining weight. (muscle weighs more than fat)
Likewise, don't be discouraged if you feel slimmer (feeling more room in the pants?) but you don't see a corresponding drop on the scale. It's not in your head, you probably really did slim down.
Conversely, your gut gets bigger not just because of increase fat storage, but because common sedentary activities like sitting allows the abs muscles to become weak over time.
Light cardio exercises such as walking or jogging require the abs to contract throughout the exercise, they help in maintaining muscle tone in the abs. (If you don't believe me, try jogging when your abs are sore, but please have someone take a picture of your face and send it to me afterwards.)
Unequivocally, the three best abs exercises are 1) Bicycle kick 2) Captain's Chair 3) Swiss Ball Crunch

So next time someone says you're fat, you can validly reply "No I'm not, my abs are just weak".

After reading this, I hope you will go for a walk or jog tonight with a loved one. Have a conversation and tighten up those abs.

I welcome any questions or contributions from you.

Shaq and Chiropractic

2006-06-18T00:55:00.000-07:00

If you read the postgame report after Game 4 of the NBA finals earlier this week, you might've read Shaq's response to a rough foul by Jerry Stackhouse.

"It actually felt pretty good to get hit like that. Thank you, Jerry, I appreciate it"

But if you watched or listened to Shaq's postgame interview in full, you would've heard him continue to say something along the lines of:

"He loosened me up pretty good. He saved me a trip to the chiropractor, saved me 50 bucks."

While he didn't say it specifically, it sounded pretty obvious that Shaq supports chiropractic and knows the benefit it brings. I can only guess that stems from some positive personal experience. I am not saying that Shaq's opinion on chiropractic should hold any extra weight since his expertise lies within basketball. However, I still want to thank the Diesel for giving a shout-out to chiropractic amidst all the media coverage during this year's championship series.

Bonds and His Chiropractor

2006-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

As I promised, here is a feature article in the San Francisco Chronicle last week on the Giants team chiropractor treating Bonds and the rest of the players on the team. A similar reference also appeared on the team website.

So maybe Steroids + Chiropractic = 700+ home runs. ;)

Identity Crisis - the sequel

2006-06-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

It took me all of five minutes after publishing the last post to realize I just like "Cornucopia Chiropractica" too much. The homage to Encyclopaedia Britannica was just too good to pass up. Besides, why worry about the unusual title, it's what blog branding is about, right? I think Seth Godin and Mario Sundar would agree.

Identity Crisis

2006-06-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Did you notice I've changed the title of the blog? I've been wanting to change the name of this blog for a long time. I just couldn't come up with one that felt quite right. The previous name "Confessions of a Chiropractor" was a result of the blog "Confessions of a Quackbuster". I mentioned it previously, and will continue to write about this blog in the near future.

Purely out of phonetic reasons, I would've preferred renaming this to "Cornucopia Chiropractica", but I just thought the Spanish may throw readers off. It reminds me of the term, "Encyclopaedia Britannica". As you can probably deduce now, I have a strong preference for alliterations in titles. I hope this new title is more applicable and as I've heard from a few readers, a little less "tacky". As always, your feedback is welcomed with open arms.

When Texting Goes Awry

2006-06-16T02:29:00.000-07:00

This should be filed under "Would You Believe". An 8yr old girl in England is being treated for repetitive strain (tendinitis) injuries on her hands. The culprit? Incessant texting on her cell phone. Isabelle, the 8 year old textaholic "vowed to continue texting her friends and says without it her social life would be hampered." Sounds like she needs to verbal text her messges. Oh to be eight again...

Isn't she sufficiently happy playing Donkey Kong like the rest of us? Maybe it's the frustration of the triple barrels.

Women and Chronic Back Pain

2006-06-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

A recent research article discussed how hormones in women may pre-determine chronic back pain.

Published in the June issue of Spine, a cross-sectional study consisted of surveying 11,000 Dutch women aged 20-59. The researchers wanted to find out if hormonal and reproductive factors in women are related to chronic low back pain and chronic upper extremity (shoulder/arm) pain.

The results of this investigation indicate that multiple sources specific to females may contribute to chronic back pain. Some intuitively logical causes such as past pregnancy were identified. But the researchers found other factors that are less obvious:

chronic low back:

past pregnancy
young maternal age at first birth
duration of oral contraceptive use
estrogen supplementation during menopause
irregular and prolonged menstruation
hysterectomy (surgical removal of uterus)

chronic upper extremity pain:

young age of menarche (first menstrual period)
irregular and prolonged menstruation
hysterectomy (surgical removal of uterus)

My personal thoughts: Surprising to me, no associations in this survey were found for current pregnancy and number of children. Although since chronic back pain is the research topic, it is not surprising after all to find current pregnancy omitted. Since current pregnancy usually involves pain primarily in the 3rd trimester, the back pain would be consider acute and would not fall under the category of "chronic low back pain".

The following is an abbreviated conclusion stated by the authors:

"In adult women, hormonal and reproductive factors are associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain in general. Factors related to increased estrogen levels may specifically increase the risk of chronic low back pain."

Source:

--Wijnhoven, HAH, et al. Spine. June 1, 2006; Vol. 31, Iss. 13, pp. 1496-1502

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Hobnobbing with Bloggers

2006-06-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

I joined in on all the fun last night at Hotel Utah where 50 or so other bloggers congregated. There was a mish mash of bloggers: different topics, different personal backgrounds, different blogging experiences. We all came together because of the blogosphere. You can see that we took over the bar on a Tuesday night. Had a lot of interesting conversations with people I would've otherwise never met.

Some of my highlights -

I showed up early before the mass of humanity arrived and got to meet Shel Israel, author of Naked Conversations - a book that Jeremiah Owyang champions regularly.
Learned about Greg Narain's company - Social Roots.
Thanks for the great marketing tips and advice I got from Mario Sundar.
Finally got to meet Chris Salazar who I heard on a podcast a few weeks back. He didn't deem me worthy enough to grab one of his business cards. Just kidding Chris. (Inside joke)
Met Olivia Trieu, who is planning to start blogging on health tips and astrology. We also found out we're fellow alums from the same high school. Hopefully Olivia and I can collaborate on future blogs, I think it's in the stars ;)
Shared some personal thoughts with Shirley about the wonders of the universe.
Oh yeah! I got interviewed by Jeremiah for a future podcast with The Podcast Roundtable.

To summarize: good beer, great people, great conversations, great drive home (no traffic since the Giants were on the road). But I did miss NBA Game 3. I hear it was a great 4th quarter. Obviously bloggers aren't necessarily big sports fans. What a pity!

Thanks for the invite again Jeremiah!

Confessions of a Quackbuster

2006-06-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

In a roundabout way, I believe this is a vital site to visit if you want to build and market a successful chiropractic practice. This will be especially helpful if you're a student or a recent graduate. Please browse through even if you find it repulsive. There's quite a bit of articles and links in here. Read it to arm yourself so you can be better prepared for possible future attacks. This is a great site. You probably disagree with the intent and the underlying message of the site, but it provides a great collection of anti-chiropractic thoughts. Visit this site from time to time and you'll read just about every argument anybody might ever throw at you about your profession.

As for my personal thoughts, I certainly don't agree with the approach the blogger employs. But I do agree with many of the points raised throughout the site. Dissecting this site is going to take sometime, we'll get started this week. In the long run, my hope is to open some dialogue between myself and "Confessions of a Quackbuster". My goal is not to change his point of view, but simply to get a better understanding of each other.

No Cervical Cancer for Your Daughter

2006-06-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Big big news (and controversy) these last few days with the news of a cervical cancer vaccine set to be released by early 2007. The vaccine, named Gardasil, is expecting a speedy FDA approval. It reportedly works remarkably well, 100% effective. Here's a brief overview on the topic.

Cervical Cancer

Affects 10,000 in US and 500,000 worldwide annually
Most commonly (70%) caused by HPV virus
Second-most common type of cancer in women world wide
Second-most common cause of cancer death in women world wide
Less common cause of death in US because of early detection
It's the major reason behind performing annual Pap smear tests

New Vaccine: Gardasil

Attacks the two most common strains of HPV that cause cervical cancer
Also attacks strains of HPV that cause genital warts
May also aid in preventing vaginal and vulvar cancer
Should be injected in girls before they become sexually active
Current estimated cost is $360 each

Big Controversy

Will it give teenage girls a false sense of security?
Are parents inadvertently promoting teenage sex?

Athletes and Chiropractic Merge

2006-06-08T22:58:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge sports nut. I know an insane amount of sports. You want go toe-to-toe in sports trivia? Bring it on. Through the years of reading various esoteric barely relevant sports articles, I've come across many articles that mentioned chiropractic treatment for some star athletes.

This comes to mind as the NBA Finals are just about to tip-off. Two weeks ago when Steve Nash was suffering from back spasms, it was reported live on TNT as they were warming up that Nash had received treatment from a chiropractor. The body responded and it never became much of an issue again. From time to time, these storylines will pop up, usually during some championship game. I remember just before the past Super Bowl, Jerome Bettis was quoted in an article how much chiropractic helped preserve his body.

The most memorable article I've come across in the past few years was an interview of Michael Strahan. He was complaining that there were still some teams in the NFL who don't provide a team chiropractor. He thought those teams were behind the times, and simply just didn't care that much for their players. I got a big kick out of that one. Strahan visits a chiropractor regularly as a result of the rigors of pro football.

Unfortunately, I can't find these articles online anymore. But from now on, I'll be sure to post them up here. These bodies that have tens of millions of dollars attached to it use chiropractic to treat and preserve their health. I think that's as good of reason as another other for the average joe to visit his neighborhood chiropractor.

Team Quack - Public Opinion of Chiropractic in the Blogosphere

2006-06-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

On a previous post, I shared with you how I discovered that a surprising majority of blogs gave positive reviews of chiropractic using Opinmind. Not everything is so rosy. Have you ever searched for "chiropractic" using Technorati?

Technorati is a real-time search engine that keeps track of what is going on in the blogosphere — the world of weblogs.

So if you just look at the search results, nothing peculiar jumps out. You'll find just what you expected, various postings ranging from individuals to small businesses to organizations. But do you know what other related terms Technorati offers to help refine your search?

One of them, right in the middle of the page, is "Quackery". Other related terms listed were "chiropractor" and "yoga". Now if I had just told you about these two terms, you'd probably think those are pretty logical sister terms. Well, despite your objections, a large number of consumers also feel that quackery should be grouped with chiropractic.

How do you feel about devoting your life to a profession where others call you a quack. You are an "untrained person who pretends to be a physician and dispenses medical advice and treatment." Twenty years ago, they would've said it to your face, now and in the future, they will only say it behind your back. To tell you the truth, I'd much rather have it said in front of me.

I bring this to your attention to illustrate a point. In our current age of communication explosion, more than ever before, it isn't nearly as important as what you think, but what the public hears and believes. So if you think that an L2 adjustment can fix renal disease, what does the public believe?

Blog Hunt #5

2006-06-06T17:18:00.000-07:00

I found a blog today that might be a good resource for chiropractic practice growth. My eyes literally bulged when I found another regularly updated chiropractic blog. It was just a matter of time before I found another blog focusing on chiropractic marketing and management. Go and look around the site maintained by Dr. Leslie Wise, professor at Sherman Chiropractic. I suspect this site is primarily written for students at Sherman Chiropractic. Most entries are short and serves primarily to shed light on an article. Unfortunately, almost all of the articles are exclusively referred from Chiropractic Economics. I have already included a permanent link to ChiroEco on my sidebar on the right side of the blog. The magazine offers the occasional insightful article, so I recommend checking in on them from time to time. Still, you can use Dr. Wise's blog as another source to point you to interesting articles, even if they're strictly from ChiroEco.

A great feature on this blog is the occasional podcast. If the articles don't interest you much, then give Dr. Wise's podcasts a try. Looks like it's all original material and you can just turn it on while you've got 10 minutes at the office.

Who's Talking About You?

2006-06-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

So how do you get your patients to market for you? Why will they refer new patients to you? How do you mobilize your word of mouth marketers? Is it as simple as taking care of your patients? Not only is a patient's reference more readily accepted, it leaves a deeper impression, meaning it will be remembered longer. What a concept, a highly effective marketing tool that costs you zero dollars. So is there a science to the seemingly chaotic and random process of word of mouth marketing?

There most certainly is a way to form a long-term word of mouth marketing plan and execute it. Not only is it possible, but you should definitely have a plan for it. Word of mouth marketing begins and ends with outstanding service and outstanding products. But in between, take advantage of available tools and ideas to streamline your word of mouth marketing. In the coming months, I will be diving into deeper details on the subject. For now, I suggest you sign up for a newsletter or at least pay a visit to WOMMA. Lots of good stuff there. Did I mention it's free? I just love that word.

Chiropractic Business Cards

2006-06-02T14:35:00.000-07:00

Ever noticed how many chiropractors carry around low quality business cards? The card is more than a resource for your contact information. If it was just for informational purposes, why don't we just print it on paper? Before patients ever step into your office, your business card is your store front. Aside from you, it's the only tangible impression they have of your practice. So after passing out some cards over a dinner party. Hopefully, you made a good impression and they kept your card. Two months have gone by and now they're searching for a chiropractor. The memory of their chance meeting with you two months ago have faded, but they're looking at your business card. Their impression of you has faded, so the only tangible impression of your practice is your card!

I see chiropractors skim on their card all the time. This is espcially evident among new chiropractors, but it permeates among established chiropractors as well. I'm not even surprised anymore when I come across one.

Common faux-pas's:
1.Printing free cards from sites such as vistaprint.
2.Using inappropriate generic stock designs.
3.Printing on thin paper
4.Cluttered with useless information

Free Cards
Companies such as VistaPrint produce great cards. I've used them myself and I recommend them. But I would steer you away from their popular free cards program. There's no strings attached, and as they promised, no hassles involved. However, the "cost" of the free cards is VistaPrint will print their own ad on the back of your card and lets the reader know that the card was printed free at VistaPrint. So what sort of impression are you making? If a doctor isn't willing to spend $100 on business cards, it raises questions.

Inappropriate Designs
Some cards are clearly printed with generic graphics chosen among several templates. I advise staying away from common generic graphics unless you're absolutely positive they're appropriate. Graphics involving the spine, human body, chiropractic logo are acceptable. But what does a tree have to do with chiropractic? (Explanations I've heard range from "I like the greenery" to "Tree is synonymous with life".)

Thin Paper
Nothing says low quality like flimsy business cards. Remember, this is your temporary store front.

Cluttered Cards
I've heard this rationale many times: "You're paying for the card, mind as well fill it up with as much info as possible." This isn't a buffet plate. Quantity does not equal value. Start looking at ads and billboards. When you clutter your forum, you confuse your audience and your message is lost. Go grab a corporate executive's business card. Study the minimalistic approach. Understand that information overload is easily reached on a 3x5 card.

Trend-Spotting

2006-06-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

I've been playing around with one of Google's new tools: Google Trends. It's one of their latest tools. You enter a term and it graphs how popular of a search term it has been for the last two years. You can easily see find the spikes in the graph indicating a jump in search. Correspondingly, you can click on a news article that was published around the time of the spike that might have contributed to the jump in interest.

You can use Google Trends if your patients inquire or comment on a condition or some recent health report. Use this tool to gauge public interest on the topic or simply find out what others are talking about. If there is indeed a surge in interest on a particular topic, then you'll know what topic to tackle on your next health-talk, newsletter, or any other promotional campaign.

On a side note, I changed the layout of the blog yesterday. I prefer the cleaner look that it has now. I actually spent too much time altering it by first "jazzing" it up with new graphics and color changes. I just kept playing around with the ideas of adding different things hoping to find the right combination, creating the right effect. Minutes turned into hours before I realized the best view is a plain one with a minimal of color. I settled on this current design hoping it's easier for the reader's eyes. As always, I welcome any feedback you may have, even your thoughts on my blog layout.

Blog Hunt #4

2006-05-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

I try not to devote too many entries to this topic. I plan on doing one highlight a week. But I ran into a chiropractic blog today that I felt I must share. I thought about putting it off for a week since my last blog highlight was so recent. But I know myself. I will forget. So please check out this blog by Jolibois Chiropractic. The blog features personal writings by the doctor. They allow him to educate the public and breathes life into his persona. He even included a photos section. What really caught my attention was that Dr. Jolibois continues to post reguarly despite a major setback at his office (Hint: read his blog if you're curious on the nature of the setback).

I think this blog doubles as a website. What a clever idea! Now he saves on web design costs and hosting fees. Ingenious! Most websites are static sites, they simply post relevent content up to be browsed by visitors. In the case of chiropractic websites, contents typically include office hours, doctor biography, office location, contact information, and health articles. As Dr. Jolibois clearly shows, all this information can easily be incorporated into a blog.

Chiro Blog Hunting #3

2006-05-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

I've decided to run a continuing series highlighting various chiropractic blogs. Hopefully this will further my goal of creating a great resource for chiropractic bloggers. You can see what others are blogging about and how they're doing it. I will put particularly outstanding blogs on my blogroll. Sort of a chiropractic blog wall of fame. I can't wait to find the first inductee.

Without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to Everett Chiropractic. The blog is maintained by Dr. Dennis Dilday of Everett, Washington. He updates it semi-regularly at a frequency of about once a week. His latest post is quite a good one regarding a particular back support that he carries at the clinic. I didn't find any pictures of the product and requested that he post some up. I browsed through the rest of the blog and Dr. Dilday is certainly practicing what I've been preaching. He's using the blog to introduce himself and his services and products. He uses it to update patient classes/seminars he's holding. He uses it to disseminate information.

I highly suggest that you add pictures whenever you discuss about a product in your office. It not only gives more information on the product, but it adds extra flavor to your post. There will definitely be a better chance of your reader remembering the product. It will also allow the reader to know instantly the topic of the post.

Dr. Dilday also links to his website which is a good looking site. Likewise, I see that he has a link to his blog on his website as well. I've always felt that if you place a link to your blog, it should be placed on a prominent page with the greatest web traffic. Where is the greatest web traffic? There are FREE online tools that will help you analyze your visitors' behaviors. But the simple answer of course is the FIRST PAGE!!

Attitude Change

2006-05-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Been having problems with my internet access the last few days, thus the semi-regular postings. I'll be posting this weekend to make up the slack.

Read an article today published in the latest issue of British Medical Journal. The article relates to the concept of social marketing. Social marketing applies commercial marketing concepts in order to change behaviors in a population. In our case, social marketing can be applied to changing the public's collective behavior towards visiting a chiropractor. Here are some parameters that has yet to be agreed upon within our own profession, let alone the general public.

Basic Issues to Unify:

1. When to visit a chiropractor?
2. Typical visit (service/time)?
3. Treatment frequency?
4. Length of treatment plan?

The answers to the above questions will not be settled by chiropractors alone. I think the profession itself has this illusion of power and control. We've already known that legislative changes can affect our profession quite swiftly. Despite the outcry within the profession, these limitations continue to threaten the business of chiropractic. Chiropractors must realize that these parameters will eventually be set, with or without aggressive involvement by the chiropractic community. Scientific findings and public opinion will have a bigger voice than the chiropractic community.

Agreeing on the above parameters will be a big step towards giving us the ability to affect the public's behavior regarding chiropractic care. Putting forth a clear and concise product will allow us to address the barriers to action within the population.

With more and more health insurance companies and governmental agencies allowing chiropractic visits, do you ever wonder why so few people seek chiropractic care?

It's not because only 10% of the population has access. It's not because the MD's hate us.

It is because of public opinion.

Public Trust

2006-05-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

Do chiropractors wonder about the level of trust the public has with our profession? Various organizing bodies in the profession have been very vocal about cultivating continued growth in this area. But does this concern enter into the typical practioner's mind? If so, how often? To what degree?

An individual chiropractor will probably argue that he is doing his part in nurturing this trust by helping his patients. I have no arguements with that. But let's take a step back from the trees and look at the forest as a whole. If only 10% of the population are seeking care in a chiropractic office, then are the sentiments of the other 90% being changed? Not every single patient is going to be happy with your care. So among the 10% who's seeking care, how many will actually sing praise for the profession? How many are so ecstatic about your care that they will serve as your chiropractic ambassador? How many will crucify after a bad experience?

Here's something else I noticed. There are patients who are very vocal with their chiropractic support. They support the profession across the board. Any chiropractor they meet will be held in high esteem. They will refer anyone to any chiropractor they know. Just the "DC" behind your name is sufficient information. But is that a typical sentiment found amongst pro-chiropractic individuals?

I would guess that those individuals are an extreme few. The more typical chiropractic supporter goes about fanning the chiropractic message with these thoughts in mind:

I have a very good chiropractor, my chiropractor stands out above the rest. I would refer others to my chiropractor.

The difference in sentiment is subtle, but profound. Any and all goodwill this individual is helping to spread carries a caveat. The caveat is that the message carried by your ambassador applies to only one specific chiropractor. If this message is received by others, then a very subtle yet dishearteningly message is also passed along. If your ambassadors say you can be trusted above all other chiropractors, then the reverse of that statement must be true: Other chiropractors can not be trusted.

So the cycle continues, multiplied by the millions that visit chiropractic offices annually. This thought that only some chiropractors can be trusted lays in the subconsicous of the public. So is the public's trust in chiropractic as a whole growing under this method of chiropractic conversion? (I will spare you the chiropractic pun, but I'm tempted.) Will chiropractic services always be tagged with "Buyer Beware"?

I recommend reading an article by William Morgan, D.C. in the May issue of ACA News for more on the subject.

Breath Alcohol Testing

2006-05-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

Are there any chiropractors out there currently performing breath alcohol testing? I worked at a bustling chiropractic office that performed such services throughout San Jose while I was attending chiropractic school. I don't know if it sounds complicated to implement such services into your office, but I can assure you that it is not. The most tedious portion of the implementation prcoess is going through the necessary training. It's only a few hours, we've all wasted more time in some seminar we just wanted to check out. There is very little hardware to obtain. It's similar to keeping an extra set of blood pressure cuffs in your office. No, "not having enough office space" is not an excuse. Typical visits were about 10 minutes and testing can be performed by your assistant as long as he is also certified. So it doesn't take very much of your business hours either. Performing breath alcohol testing provides four direct benefits to your office.

Benefits of Breath-Alcohol Testing in Your Office:

1. Provides supplementary income for your office.
2. Increase foot traffic into your office.
3. Your office will be seen in more listings.
4. Build relationships with other agencies and offices.

I can tell you that the office I worked at had regular chiropractic patients that first came to know the office through breath alcohol testing. It was mostly drivers who were required for tests, but others such as supervisors also came into contact with the office and eventually became patients.

As always, I welcome comments from anyone in the blogosphere. But I'd especially like to hear from anyone who's been performing this test.

More Musings on Blogs

2006-05-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

It's friday afternoon and I'm getting ready for a packed weekend. Lots of things are still up in the air, so who knows how they'll all eventually fit together. Hopefully I'll get a chance to join in on some of the Bay to Breakers festivities. As a follow-up to a prior post regarding the virtues of blogs, I found an article posted earlier this week by none other than the brilliant Mark Cuban. Read his thoughts on the advantages of starting your personal blog.

Here in the blogosphere is a FREE wide-reaching platform for chiropractors to discuss anything you want at any time. It allows you to speak to your audience personally. Find me another forum that offers the same possibilities. I will leave you with the famous quote from Field of Dreams, "If you build it, he will come."

Public Opinion of Chiropractic in the Blogosphere - Part 1

2006-05-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

I search through blogs on a daily basis to read what others are saying about chiropractic. I enjoy reading their opinions and stories-good and bad. It gives me a better pulse than talking to chiropractors. I know what most chiropractors are going to say, so I don't ask them. It's incredulously hard to find a chiropractor complain about chiropractic. Oh, they have their misgivings but rarely will you find it through public discourse. I'm not digging for feel good stories so I can sleep easier at night.

I was reading my buddy Jeremiah's blog today (as I do everyday) and he mentioned a website that I will now introduce to you. Opinmind allows you to punch in any topic and it instantly tells you what portion of recent blogs have written about the topic in a postive light and what portion in a negative light. It also separates the blogs into two separate columns under positive and negative. So you can quickly scan around and click on a blog to read more of someone's opinion on the matter. Without hesitation, I punched in "chiropractic" and got a surprising (to me) 81% positive review.

Blog Hunting

2006-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

I do daily searches in the blogosphere to see what others are blogging about chiropractic. Surprisingly, not too much is written. I'm still new at this, so maybe I'm just not finding them. I've been reading this blog from time to time. It's a personal blog written by a chiropractor. From what I can tell, it's mostly about his personal life and written for the enjoyment of his friends. But he does regularly share events around his life as a chiropractor. Check out his entries if you're interested in finding out what another chiropractor goes through. A blog is a great way to remind your friends and acquaintainces that they know a chiropractor they can refer others to. You'd be surprise how many people forget about you because your name don't pop out at the tip of their tongue. What other methods do you suggest of to passively remind others of your sevices? You can only do so much "in-your-face" marketing.

Why Chiropractors Should Blog

2006-05-16T18:22:00.000-07:00

Internet marketing is more than building a website. There is the matter of attracting site traffic. But website's are still fairly static. When a new patient walks in through your doors, he is not simply looking for quality chiropractic care, he has a bigger goal of starting a chiropractic relationship. You're not a garage door salesman. Your prospective patients want someone they can build a relationship with in the long haul. Selecting a doctor is much more complicated than selecting a plumber. Unlike other services, the prospective client not only relies on objective qualities, but also lean heavily on subjective cues and feelings. Does the prospective patient feel comfortable with you? Comfort, now can a person find comfort in you when they find your name off their health provider booklet? Why are the best new patients usually those that were referred to you from an existing patient? They've already found comfort, albeit transiently through someone they trust.

In all likelihood, your website is not doing that. It is not starting a relationship. It is a useful tool. A brochure to be scanned by anyone at anytime. But it creates the same level of bonding as a snazzy brochure. A blog on the other hand takes the first step in building a relationship. A blog is nothing more than a an open journal in cyberspace. There are far less restrictions in blogging than there are in almost all other forms of written communication. You're not restricted in using formal prose. In fact, I recommend using a more casual tone in your writings. Your whole purpose is to disseminate information and allow readers to get a sense of who you are as a doctor and as a person. Find the right balance to cement their confidence in your competence and simultaneously soothe any apprehensions with your approachability. Wipe away the mystique of just another stranger in a directory. Take the first step towards building a relationship and prospective patients will be more willing to meet you halfway.

I came across a blog today by Westside Chiropractic that aspires to do just this. It is a good clean site posted with useful health tidbits. It looks like they started this blog with a plan and purpose in mind. Building a steady blog readership requires perseverence. I will be checking in from time to time to see how they're doing. I wish them luck and hope they'll continue to post regularly. In the long run, both their business and patients will benefit from it.

Anti-Chiro Ad

2006-05-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

Read an interesting article today on some anti-chiro ads being displayed around towns in Connecticut. The World Chiropractic Alliance is doing something about it. How do you feel when you see ads like these being run? I don't feel anger. I don't feel a sense of unrightful persecution. I feel continual curiousity. I wonder why chiropractors have to constantly fight this uphill battle. I don't blame others for putting up such a campaign. I wonder how come I never see ads that say "Injured by an Orthodontist?" or "Injured by a Hairstylist?" It is dangerous and unproductive to just categorize those who run these ads to be simply naive. It will do the profession much good to first look within and see how these opinions of others can be corrected. Lawyers hired by the WCA are taking a stand, and they certainly play a vital role in this process, but ultimately, it will be scientists and researchers who will settle the matter once and for all.

Purpose of this Blog

2006-05-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons that blogging appeals to me is its inherent flexibility. So while I have an idea of what I want this blog to ultimately achieve, I suspect, its theme will change and be molded not just through future writings by me, but equally by those who will find interest in this blog. Unlike other forms of media, blogs are driven by the readers as much as the author. I hope this blog will serve as a convenient forum for chiropractors everywhere to discuss pertinent topics and receive useful information on all the non-clinical issues related to our industry. We all have to admit that most chiropractors inexplicably fall into a reclusive existence bounded by the walls of their office. How often do you meet and consult with another chiropractor outside your office? How many chiropractors within a mile radius of your office do you know?

You may not have clinical conundrums to dumbfound each other with, but that's not the point. There's more to discuss than the latest therapy or technique. I'm sure you will agree with me that clinical concerns are just one of multiple factors in building and maintaining a thriving practice. Perhaps by talking with your neighbor, you'll learn that a nearby company is looking for a chiropractor to serve as an ergonomic consultant. Perhaps he'll keep you up to date on the latest reimbursement or legislative changes. The possibilities of what you learn are endless. If you're not regularly talking to multiple chiropractors, you're missing out.

I hope that this blog can serve as another format for you to interact with other chiropractors. I don't mean myself specifically, but other readers who share the same concerns and interest as you. I will do what I can to facilitate continuing dialogues. As this blog builds momentum, I'm anxious to find out what I will learn myself.

Drowning in the Internet

2006-05-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

Since my company specializes in helping chiropractors discover new low-cost marketing methods, what a better first post than beginning a discussion about the internet. The word "internet" seems to jump out of everyone's mouth when the topic of new age marketing comes up. And by internet, people refer to building an informative website. Doctors struggle at building their own sites or hire one of the many companies out there offering their web design service. It's obvious to anyone interested in building a website that the content and layout is very important. But I've come to realize that most chiropractors never realize what is just as important is having some sort of plan to drive traffic to the site. Websites, among other uses, can be a useful tool in disseminating information about chiropractic in general and an individual office in particular. But why worry about the content and graphics if no one sees it? If an informative site goes online tomorrow but no one sees it, is it really online?

I came across Yaro Starak's article. It's a good primer for those interested in enhancing their traffic through search engines. I used to think that alot of rules and concerns about web traffic don't apply to chiropractors because the nature of our business serves a small local area. I've long since realized how wrong I was. If you still have your doubts, maybe this article by Will Swayne will steer your thinking.