How Friday afternoon hockey helps strengthen a chiropractic practice.
When I was growing up, my goal was to become a medical doctor so that I could help people have better lives. That aspiration changed when I was injured during a very competitive adolescent hockey game. The memory of the incident is still vivid.
While forechecking another player and plunging into the opposition’s corner, I became aware that the one defenceman with whom I did not want to go there was coming up fast on my left side. Recognizing that impact would be inevitable, I tried to brace myself. This proved fruitless when I became airborne and then smashed badly into the boards.
As I picked myself up off the ice and headed to the bench, it became apparent that the sudden onset of neck and shoulder pain would end this particular game for me.
A trip to the emergency room that night and a prescription of NSAIDs from my family doctor the next day, followed by a few weeks of physiotherapy, afforded no relief. The pain not only cut into my sleep and appetite but also removed me from all sports activity for the next three weeks – an eternity for a 15-year-old.
The father of one of my teammates approached my dad and me at a game to ask why I wasn’t out there. When informed of my condition, he said, “Take him to my chiropractor. He will fix him.” My father and I looked at each other and, in one voice, asked, “What does a chiropractor do?”
A day later, I found myself being assessed in a chiropractor’s office. After taking a thorough history and performing an orthopedic and physical examination, the chiropractor said his treatments could definitely be of benefit. The first session eased some of the discomfort and kindled the hope that I wouldn’t have to live the rest of my life with this pain. Walking out of the clinic, I said to my father, “I want to be one of these guys instead of a medical doctor … because they were unable to help me when I needed it most.”
PRESENTING A TREATMENT OPTION
I attended the National College of Chiropractic (now the National University of Health Sciences) in Lombard, Illinois. After graduating in 1996, I knew that it would be crucial to build professional rapport with the doctors in Markham, Ontario, which was my chosen place of practice. As “the new kid on the block,” I would be presenting the medical community with another approach to the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal conditions. To me, it seemed possible that education could be provided to dispel any myths about chiropractic that were out there.
I began cold-calling general practitioners, setting up 15-minute appointments to meet with them and discuss chiropractic’s potential to address pain and muscle spasm without the use of medications. Most were accepting, but some were not. This approach worked well during my first few years of practice, and eventually I became acquainted with most of the local physicians.
Fast-forward 10 years to the present. It is satisfying to have built a positive relationship with colleagues. Medical referrals regularly come my way from approximately 20 practitioners, some of whom come to me for treatment of complaints that range from back pain to thoracic outlet syndrome. Via progress reports, I frequently update referring physicians on their patients’ current status. They are included on the mailing list for my quarterly FYI newsletter that contains clinic news and information on topics such as musculoskeletal research. The newsletter also acts as a constant referral reminder.
The medical establishment, in microcosm, was a bit of a tough nut to crack. However, perseverance has paid off through continually putting the word out about chiropractic’s neuromusculoskeletal effectiveness. Where I live, it now appears that I have been accepted as a significant member of the health-care team.
Many years ago, physicians from the hospital extended an invitation to join them at the arena on Friday afternoons during the winter. So, I strap on the blades for shinny, making a point of turning out to play and socialize. Apart from fun and exercise, it is all about building and maintaining relationships, and letting people get to know me as both a person and a chiropractor.
Professional networking, in my case, makes it easier to help more and more people every day. That is, after all, what I set out to achieve in my working life.
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