How to Use Instagram Stories as a Chiropractor

Here is a quick tip on how you can use Instagram stories to market your chiropractic practice. 

Instagram stories allow you to showcase your practice, reduce fear, and inspire action!. Let's face it. Going to a new doctor is nerve-racking. Not knowing the doctors, the staff, the diagnosis or treatment is scary.  And that fear can cause in-action. Thankfully, Instagram stories are the perfect tool to reduce this fear.  

Walking through the front door of a new doctors office is intimidating. So showing off what's behind your front door is a great way that you can reduce fears and increase the likelihood that somebody will call you when they are in need.  A great way to do that is with Instagram stories- you can simply go to Instagram, and at the top, you will see "stories." The first icon in the row will be you, and there will be a little plus there. You simply click that, and it brings you to a beautiful screen where you can take a picture, or even shoot a short video.

You can do all of that with Instagram stories. If you're shy about being on camera or you're a little unsure of yourself, don't hesitate to point the camera away and give a first-person point of view tour of your office.  You could tour a treatment room or interview a front desk staff member to get people engaged and exposed to what goes on behind the scenes of your office. Make them feel more comfortable, and they are much more likely to ask you to be their chiropractor! 

Finding Relief from Spinal Stenosis Without Surgery!

Have you been told that you have spinal stenosis? 

If so, you're not alone. Millions of people suffer from spinal stenosis each day, and it's the number one reason why people over 65 years old have spine surgery. But, drugs and surgery and NOT the only way to find relief. 

Spinal stenosis is merely a compression of the spinal cord or the thecal sac. Stenosis is narrowing, pinching, or compression. Spinal refers to your spinal cord. So spinal stenosis simply is pinching or compressions that occur in the spinal canal on the spinal cord.

For many people, the most significant challenge associated with spinal stenosis is the decreased ability to get up and move! The hallmark of spinal stenosis is pain in the low back, a bent forward posture, and legs that always feel tired. If you've suffered from spinal stenosis, you probably are always looking for that grocery cart to lean on as you go throughout the store. And if you don't one close by, you're probably looking for a chair to sit down. Sitting down is the easiest thing you can do to relieve the symptoms and pain temporarily. But as soon as you get up and walking the symptoms again will return as gravity takes over and starts compressing the spinal cord again. 

One of the best ways you can relieve the symptoms associated with spinal stenosis is to open up the spinal canal and take the pressure off of the nerves and spinal cord. Many chiropractic techniques focus on increasing the size of that canal by going into a flexed position, or a forward position, which is naturally comfortable and allows relief of the symptoms associated with spinal stenosis. 

After chiropractic care, many patients report having a decrease in their symptoms, the ability to walk further without pain, and an improvement in their quality of life. 

So if you have been slowing down if your quality of life has been impacted due to compression on your spinal cord do not hesitate to see a chiropractor and ask if chiropractic care may be right for you. 

Instagram for Chiropractors: A Quick Tip to Get Started

How's it going? I wanted to give you a quick two-minute tip on how you can use Instagram to start new conversations with people in your community other businesses as well. 

Are you using Instagram yet? If not, you should be. Instagram has hundreds of millions of users, and many fall into the exact demographic that utilizes chiropractic care. It is great because you can search people close by (to your location) and start conversations with them. So here's a quick way to do that. 

First, open up Instagram, and you will see a magnifying glass at the bottom. Click on that. It brings up a screen that says "search." You click search. Guess what it now says at the top? It says "near a current location." Click that near a current location tab, and it is going to bring up a variety of locations and businesses. Hopefully, your practice is right there or perhaps its the place you are grabbing lunch. Well, here comes the magic.

Click on the location where you are at, and lo and behold what happens? Instagram gives you a map of top posts and most recent posts directly arranged as a perfectly curated feed. 

It's called geotargeting when you find people based on their location. And it's an absolute gold mine of people in your community. If you're searching the right places (the gym, a healthy local restaurant) and finding a feed of people who are posting pictures at that exact location. Now it's time to simply comment and engage with them. You will notice that your followers start to go up as you engage- which gives you a greater ability to tell your chiropractic story. Showcasing the healthy lifestyle that you advocate for your community and inspiring people to take action with their health and wellness. 

So there it is- a quick, practical tip to use Instagram to get more eyes on your practice so you can tell your story with more impact. 

Before You Reach for That Bottle of Pills, Reach for New Research from The Lancet

If you have back pain, you may not want to reach for that bottle of pills. Brand new research from one of the oldest and most respected medical journals, the Lancet, has showcased that mediations, injections, and surgery should be your last options when dealing with back pain. 

They also discussed that a collaborative approach to care, between medical doctors and chiropractors, just might be the future of back pain relief. 

The Lancet showcased that collaborative care model is best when dealing with back pain. Back pain is one of the most significant burdens on people worldwide with over half a billion people suffering at any given time. But here is the really interesting part of their research0 they point out that many of the common practices like medications, injections, and even surgery should not be your first option when dealing with back pain. As a matter of fact, they go on to say that there has historically been a massive gap between what the evidence shows to be effective care and the actual care given in many medical doctors offices today.

Conservative collaborative care, including the care given by chiropractors, is the best place to start. 

Chiropractors were also involved in the publication and the research behind these groundbreaking papers. So, it is a fantastic day when collaborative conservative care comes to the forefront and medications, injections, and surgery go to only those who need it (which thankfully is only a tiny percentage of the people).

So if you know someone who has suffered from back pain, please keep in mind that a collaborative approach to care is best. Staying conservative with exercise, perhaps seeing a chiropractor, staying as active as possible, and maintaining a positive outlook is crucial to recovering and thriving after a bout of low back pain. 

Learn more about this exciting research on The Evidence Based Chiropractor Podcast. 

A Powerfully Simple Tip to Improve Your Chiropractic Website Today

A powerfully simple tip to improve your chiropractic website today! And it is much more simple and easier than you think. Drum roll please....now look at your headline. I've been diving into a ton of chiropractic websites and it looks like they are writing for themselves, not their community and not their prospective patients. 

When you have at the top of your website a statement like "wellness awaits you," who does that speak to? YOU know what that means. But I will nearly guarantee that almost nobody in your community understands your CTA (call to action).

And this applies to every chiropractor regardless of what type of practice you have. If you want to provide pain relief, make sure that you craft a headline that speaks to that person in pain looking for relief. If you're about sports performance, then talk about that in your headline and get prospective patients interested in your service. If you are about more family care, then speak to that. But one thing I've noticed is a plethora of super generic headlines that speak to no one. 

Please keep that in mind, if your headline doesn't engage a visitor immediately, they will bounce off of your website to another chiropractor down the road. I'd encourage you to take a look at your website today and see what is in the title, see what's at the top. 

A couple of words can make a huge difference, and do not underestimate the volume of people looking at your chiropractic website. You have to speak to them. You have to make sure that they believe you are the right place for them. A well-written headline will inspire them to pick up the phone and start that conversation. Then that gives you the ability to see if you can help them reach their health goals and improve their life with chiropractic!