There are generally only two methods of impacting how someone thinks about chiropractic:
Personal Interaction – Spending time with potential patients helping them understand the role chiropractic plays in their health, and the value of consistent chiropractic care, is arguably the best way to reach people who may have never met a DC. You can answer the tough questions as you reshape their opinion about doctors of chiropractic.
Quality Media – A book, video or other form of media has the ability to educate the reader/viewer in an authoritative manner that can overwrite prejudices, particularly if the information is well-written or presented and consistently documented. Media can challenge misbeliefs in a way you might feel awkward to do one-on-one.
As you promote chiropractic and your practice, there are at least three audiences you should be thinking about. Fortunately, there are now three tools designed to speak to these three audiences.
1. For the Reluctant Potential Patient
Every one of your patients has friends and relatives that need chiropractic care, but are reluctant to make an appointment with you because they don’t understand how it fits into their health care regimen. For this you’ll want to buy at least three “lending copies” of Adjusted Reality: Supercharge Your Whole-Being for Optimal Living and Longevity, published by Forbes Books.
Dr. Sherry McAllister, president of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, does a great job explaining whole-being health and introducing chiropractic via an easy and fun read. You definitely won’t be embarrassed to lend this book to patients, as it has won numerous literary awards and appeared on both the Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists.
Adjusted Reality: Supercharge Your Whole-Being for Optimal Living and Longevity is available in hardcover, e-book, and digital format from most retailers and online stores.
2. For the Skeptical Medical Provider or Potential Patient
Uninformed prejudice is alive and well in the minds of most medical providers and some potential patients. While you may be able to explain chiropractic in a very articulate manner, this is a job for bigger guns. It requires the latest scientific evidence capable of overcoming unsupported biases.
That’s where Take Your Back Back, published by Simon and Schuster and authored by Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, vice chair of spine health innovations in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Duke University School of Medicine, comes in.
This book speaks to back-pain patients in a language medical providers will understand and respect. Dr. Goertz has been educating MDs about chiropractic for decades using language that speaks to their concerns. Her book is the one you give to your local MD or a “prove it” potential patient. You can also ask an existing patient to give it to their medical provider as a way of helping them understand where chiropractic fits in the healthcare model.
Take Your Back Back is available from Simon and Schuster and most other retailers.
3. For the Next Generation
ReferencePoint Press recently released the first career counselor guidebook that includes chiropractic. For most middle-school and high-school students, Exploring Careers in Health Care will be their first introduction to chiropractic. While many won’t ultimately choose a career as a DC, Dr. McAllister’s contribution to the section provides students with a clear understanding of what chiropractic is and its importance to health.
It will also inspire numerous conversations with parents and siblings who know very little if anything about chiropractic care. Raising their understanding will translate to more people in your community seeking chiropractic care.
Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/3fz8a3kz.
The Holiday Gifts That Keep Giving
A quote by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones still rings true today: “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
You have the tools at your disposal to educate and inform people and other health care providers about chiropractic. Think of these books as a way to give a holiday gift to your community and your practice, setting you up for a more prosperous 2027 and beyond.
