132- Context for MD/DC Relationships

Welcome to the Evidence Based Chiropractor, providing you with elegant and efficient research based content to help your practice prosper and succeed. Now get ready for a variety of dynamic communication tools designed for immediate growth courtesy of your host, Dr. Jeff Langmaid.

Hello and welcome to the Evidence Based Chiropractor. I AM your host, Dr. Jeff Langmaid. This week we are going to talk about some foundational pieces of research that you can utilize to bridge the gap and build relationships with other healthcare providers in your community. I wanted to reset the foundation, talk a little bit about the research supporting what we do, but put it into a framework that's actually usable for you to take and run with this week in practice. So that's what we'll be talking about this week. And if you have any interest in bridging the gap and building relationships with other healthcare providers, MDs, DOs, PTs, anybody of the sort, then this is an episode for you. But before we get started, I'll say a few words about Roc Tape. Roc Tape is revolutionizing the soft tissue world again with the new Rock Blades Mohawk featuring three tools in one, a surgical stainless steel hand polish tool and two attachments silicon sleeve and an ABS comb. Rock Blades Mohawk and lock never before seen treatment protocols to reduce pain, improve mobility and address issues like nerve glide and neuropathy. They're 175 bucks and you can check out every everything regarding them@rocktape.com Mohawk so as I said at the top, there's been some really exciting research coming out lately and actually one piece that we're featuring this month for members of the Evidence Based Chiropractor that I wanted to touch on and sort of frame in the context of why chiropractic is so important in the current healthcare landscape. It always has been, but probably now. So more than ever. And really it comes down to a piece that we're fe featuring this month for members of the Evidence Based Chiropractor and we actually talked about a bit in detail a couple weeks ago on this podcast and it was by BMC. Musculoskeletal disorders came out in 2017 and the title of it was Restriction in Lateral Bending Range of Motion, Lumbar Lordosis and Hamstring Flexibility Predicts the Development of Low Back Pain. So basically what these researchers did, and again, I want to frame this very carefully for you because I want you to have the full context of things. These researchers examined a multitude of factors that could cause potentially cause low back pain, right? They looked at lumbar extension, range of motion, abdominal strength, but what they found were three specific pieces of the puzzle that led to a prediction of low back pain. Those three items, remember, were lateral flexion range of motion, lumbar hamstring flexibility, or lack thereof, and lumbar hypoloidosis. Now here's the interesting thing about those. You're probably thinking to yourself this, those three things sound pretty common. Yes, it is probably what you do when you're examining every single patient that comes in your office. Now let's give some context around that. The spine care industry and back pain is the number one cause of disability worldwide. We're talking hundreds of billions of dollars and probably not too many of those billions are falling into your bank account currently. So here is where this is important to open people's eyes to actually what we're doing. So there is research coming out right now. It came out last year citing three specific factors to predict low back pain. And guess what? Those three factors are probably items that you're already looking at on almost every new patient that comes into your practice. So being able to get out there with this information is exceptionally important. Now let's frame that one step farther. We can look back to that paper in 2011. Does maintain spinal manipulative therapy for chronic non specific low back pain result in better long term outcome? Wow, that was a mouthful. I'll have both of these papers linked in the show notes as well. That paper, if you remember correctly, came out with a statement basically showcasing that chiropractic care is an imperative part of potentially preventing future episodes. So remember, the researchers in that paper found, quote, as patients did benefit from the maintenance treatments, we believe that periodic patient visits permit proper evaluation, detection and early treatment of an emerging problem, thus preventing future episodes of low back pain. So you can start to see some of this context now. I hope there are papers that came out previously talking about, hey, well, we're not gonna say really how or why, but it certainly looks as though people that see a chiropractor for maintenance care, you know, there's the potential for those individuals to see proper evaluation, detection and early treatment of an emerging problem. So the thought process from there goes to, in my mind, it goes to, well, I wonder how that's occurring. Well, now I start to look at the latest literature talking about, hey, there's a couple predictive factors here for low back pain. They include lateral bending, range of motion, lumbar hypolordosis, a lack of hamstring flexibility. These things start to relate a pretty compelling case that they might be involved in how we can assess people early on in. And remember, let's take it one step farther. The literature out there talking about the relationship specifically between primary care doctors and chiropractors, and if you remember correctly, it was 90% of primary care doctors had been asked about chiropractic, 75% had, you know, kind of given a statement. They had said they didn't dissuade somebody from seeing a chiropractor. But only 11% had created a formal referral to a chiropractic colleague. 90% had been asked about chiropractic, 11% had made that referral. And that gap, you've heard me say it before and I'll say it again, that gap is the opportunity. If it was 90% being asked and 90% being referred, we've talked about it, you have to be cheaper or way better than the next guy that is fighting the margins, the bleeding edge there. But when we talk about 90% being asked and 11% making a referral, wow. Talk about the impact that opening their eyes to who you are and what your practice does, that can do wonders for the amount of referred patients coming into your practice. So as we start to piece these things together, we also can look one step farther. Right, we look at, okay, well what are some papers out there that showcase chiropractic versus NSAIDs? We've talked about those. And spinal manipulation hands down has won nearly every head to head competition that I've read. We talk about nerve root injections and that people who undergo nerve root injections, pain management, AKA epidural steroid injections, when they're chiropractic care, concurrent, they receive drastically better results. There's a common theme here, and that's chiropractic is making a big difference when it's used with other healthcare options or if it's put head to head. I have very rarely if ever seen chiropractic care fall flat or spinal manipulation, the hallmark of what we do. So all of these items, I think it's important to be aware how all of these items play together and then when you start putting it into action, right, as we coach on at the evidence based chiropractor, the three legs of those referral stools, the research is out there, we've already talked about that today. But we talk about then the three legs of those referral stools, case notes, making sure that you're showcasing you exist, the social proof that you're co managing patients and that people are getting well, that is what case newts do. They don't Flood your office with referrals, but they build the foundation and they also are uncontrollable and unpredictable. You can't control when you're gonna send out a case note. It's based upon who walks in your front door and how you go about taking care of those individuals. So it's not something you can rely on, but it's something that's foundational. Secondarily meeting other docs, building rapport. Absolutely. One of the core tenants. But you need to be able to go in with a plan, asking good questions, learning about their practice and seeing how you make things better and easier for again, exactly what we coach on at the evidence based chiropractor with all of our members. But please don't forget about the third leg of that stool and that is the research. Touching these docs consistently is absolutely crucial to getting the results you desire when you're reaching out. So make sure that you have a monthly touch point. And as I've said in the past, why research? Well, it doesn't work if you send them a 10% off coupon. It's very pragmatic reaching out to other healthcare professionals. Coupons don't work, deals don't work. Shine yourself in a professional light. Well, what does research when you can showcase, become the leader, become the educator. As far as conservative care in your area of expertise in your community, that goes a heck of a long way towards opening their eyes. But it also is about that consistency. You need those consistent touch points. Your meetings might happen once a year, once every 18 months. Your case notes are at the discretion of who walks in your front door, indirect, uncontrollable by you. But the part that you can control is the monthly touch points with the research. That's why we've seen such crazy success docs as, you know, some docs, two referrals per month, some docs 12 or more incoming referrals from other healthcare providers each and every month into their practice. Specifically because of the process that we go through at the evidence based chiropractor. So if that's something that you're interested in right now, I know we are having a little bit of a. For all of our listeners, I want to kind of get out there and make sure that I'm giving you every opportunity you can to get on board with what we're doing and build relationships with other healthcare providers in your community. So if you head over to the evidencebasedchiropractor.com right now and you use the code Smart S M A R T At checkout, if you become a member, you'll get 10% off. I wanna do that for you. I know 10,000 plus docs are listening in, including you, each and every month and each army weak for that matter. And I greatly appreciate it. It's absolutely humbled. I know that you want to get out there, bridge the gap and build those relationships. I want to take every piece that I can, every fear, every stumbling block out of the way. So you get 10% off. There's no risk, there's no obligation, there's no long term contract. You get all the materials as soon as you sign up. So hop on over the evansbase chiropractor.com if you're looking to bump up in a way that you can be proud of based upon research, based, based upon the best evidence, informed care. Hop over the emnospacechiropractor.com, become a member. Use the code Smart Smart at checkout, you'll get 10% off. I'll be on the phone with you within a week or two. We'll get you all up and running and make sure that you are doing everything you can to bridge the gap. And as I've said time and time again, I think about this from the patient perspective. If they don't come in to see you in your practice and right now utilization's at 10 to 15%, they're going the other way. They're gonna be taking the medications that probably aren't gonna work, they're gonna be getting the injections which may work for a short period of time. And there's no question that a lot of people are getting surgeries that they probably could have avoided if they had better options earlier on in care. And you can take the first step towards helping them by bridging the gap with other healthcare professionals. So head on over to the evansbacechiropractor.com right now. Use the Code Smart at checkout. When you become a member, you'll get 10% off. I look forward to seeing you in the members group online. A lot of great activity there. I really appreciate you listening. If you want to give any ratings or feedback, if the time's not right for you to become a member, well, give us ratings or feedback on this podcast on itunes that always helps us reach more and more docs. And that's about it. I hope you have a fantastic week in practice and I will talk to you soon.

We appreciate you joining us for this episode of the Evidence Based on Chiropractor. Learn more tips for explosive practice development at the evidence basedchiropractor.com youm can also join the Premier MD monthly membership, enabling you to use what you just heard to maximize results in your office. We look forward to providing you with more dynamic communication tools for immediate growth right here on the Evidence Based Chiropractor.

Sam.