This was an advert from the latest Australian Reader’s Digest (click to enlarge) which made me think of the ads that used to come out of the 1950s. The similarity made me laugh, wryly, of course, but there’s no joke about the fact that if I had a dollar for every time I heard a client say, “My doctor said I shouldn’t see a chiropractor,” I’d have at least a hundy by now. Which proves to me every time this happens that trying to find a truly open-minded medical professional is like hunting a four-leaf clover.
Times haven’t changed, actually.
The advert claims “your doctor still knows best” when it comes to alternative therapies, which implies that medical practitioners share a common level of expertise about chiropractic. At what point in their training did this happen, how many hours did they spend gaining such expertise, and who was it taught to them by?
“Some alternative practitioners are licensed, others are not.” The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about, and this is probably why to this day GPs are still recommending you not see a chiropractor. Maybe because they think it’s a weekend diploma, or perhaps because in society today the gold standard of education and all-knowingness is still “The Doctor”. I’m afraid, that was the 50s. There are many well versed practitioners out there whom do not hold the title of M.D.
“The placebo effect works, but only for a little while!” How interesting that I had just written about that in the previous post – that if your health care provider is not using it, understanding it, embracing it… they’re behind the 8-ball. It’s called healing, doctor. Of course we wouldn’t want the body to heal and function on its own indefinitely, that’s what drugs are for.
The reality is that people vote with their feet and see chiropractors in spite of what their doctor tells them. And, at least in Spinewave, they have an enjoyable experience and oftentimes get the results they desire in a timely manner. My advice to clients is to always engage your practitioner with a questioning mind and look for the partnership experience.