Jeff Langmaid (YouTube) discusses the typical patient journey after successful chiropractic care, explaining that pain often recurs due to lifestyle factors and unrealistic expectations. He warns that patients may later seek medical injections and conclude chiropractic “didn't work,” and emphasizes the importance of communication to set expectations and prevent that outcome. The clip introduces a forthcoming list of the "top three reasons" this happens.
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And I've seen this happen before, and I've seen it happen many times is a patient comes in, they get great results with the care that you deliver. They move along with their life. The pain comes back because something else occurred. And then they go to a medical doctor, a pain management doctor, a physiatrist, and start getting injections. Chances are, if you ask them, they won't give you this answer. But if they ask their friends, they'll tell their friends, chiropractic didn't work. The pain came back. Now, let's lo and behold, they went back to the same lifestyle, the same negative thoughts, the same lack of movement and exercise. This is just real life. But many times these people, I wouldn't say hold what we do accountable, but they have unrealistic expectations. And then they go another direction. You want to try to thwart that as much as you can before it gets to that point through great communication, kind of a conversation for a different day. But this sets the stage for why understanding these top three reasons is so important for all of us as chiropractors.
