Can a Chiropractor Help With Headaches?

Headache Types: The Facts You Need to Know

Daily headaches aren't something you "have to live with."

Top research publications have found chiropractic care can provide 50% or more relief for headaches without the risky side effects typically associated with drugs and medications.

Almost everyone will experience a headache at some point in their life. Fortunately, headaches are rarely life-threatening. But, for people dealing with chronic headaches; they can dramatically impact your quality of life.

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The International Headache Society has classified over 150 different types of headaches. The most common are migraines, tension, and cluster headaches. Knowing what kind of headache you are dealing with is the first step towards finding the best plan of care to find relief.

• Migraine: sensitivity to light and sound is common during migraine headaches. Approximately 1/3rd of people will experience an aura before the onset of a migraine

• Tension: almost everyone will experience a tension headache during their life. Stress, anxiety, dehydration, and even posture can trigger a tension headache

• Cluster: affecting more men than women, cluster headaches causes severe pain behind or around your eye and last between 15 minutes and 3 hours

Now that you've identified your headache type- it's important why it's happened. Next, we'll cover the top 3 causes of headaches so you will be able to take your first steps towards prevention.

Often a few simple changes in your daily routine have the potential to reduce or eliminate chronic headaches for good.

The Top 3 Causes of Headaches

A variety of factors can cause primary headaches. The good news is that many of these lifestyle factors are habits and patterns that you can control. By understanding a few of the most common causes of headaches, you will have the information to make the changes needed to find lasting relief!

Ironically, one of the most common causes of headaches is the medication usually prescribed to treat headaches. Overuse of many of over the counter medications is a leading factor in a refractory or bounce-back headache, which is why pills may not be the best option for care. Many tension headaches get their start with repetitive motion and poor posture while sitting or standing at work.

Keeping your shoulders back and your spine in proper alignment throughout the day can help prevent future episodes. And finally- most of the good stuff like coffee, cheese, alcohol, and meats have substances that can cause headaches. You don't need to eliminate them, but we recommend having a watchful eye towards moderation.

• Medications: many commonly prescribed pain-relieving medications (including those prescribed for headache relief) list headaches as a top side effect

• Foods: coffee, cheese, alcohol, and many types of meat contain substances that can contribute to headaches

• Posture: forward head posture due to long hours sitting or standing at work is a primary factor in the development of tension and cervicogenic headaches

Do you see anything in the top 3 causes that may be contributing to your headaches? Taking a pro-active step of improving your posture and ergonomics at work, moderating the foods which cause headaches, or asking your medical doctor about the side effects of medications and potentially finding alternative treatment options may help you reduce the frequency, severity, and impact headaches are having in your life.

How to Find Natural Relief from Headaches

Finding natural relief for your headaches doesn't mean you need to join a food co-op and start eating granola with every meal. Natural, or organic, healthcare solutions are now being recommended by many leading healthcare organizations because of the reduction in dangerous side-effects, high patient satisfaction, and fantastic results of treatment.

Three of the most effective natural solutions for headaches include magnesium, chiropractic care, and b-vitamins. Low levels of magnesium have been linked to migraine headaches. Taking a magnesium supplement has the potential to reduce the occurrence of migraine headaches without any of the side-effects typically associated with painkillers.

B-vitamins are a powerful natural way to reduce stress and improve your mood. If stress is a significant factor in your headaches- B-vitamins may be a natural fit for relief. And finally, postural changes and muscle tensions are one of the leading causes of migraine headaches. Chiropractic care has been shown to help reduce the frequency, severity, and duration of headaches. That's what I call a winning trifecta!

• Magnesium: low levels of magnesium has been reported as a risk factor migraine headaches

• Chiropractic: researchers have discovered a reduction in the frequency, severity, and duration of headaches for individuals under chiropractic care

• B-Vitamins: these powerful vitamins have the potential to help reduce stress and improve mood which are essential factors when finding relief from headaches

As you can see, finding natural relief from headaches can be easy. What would your life look like if you could reduce, or eliminate chronic headaches?

Headaches Every Day? Keep reading…

Life can be busy and stressful. Sound familiar? If so, you may have an increased likelihood of developing headaches that start to become more frequent and severe. These chronic headaches are a good indication that your body needs attention. It could be related to a lack of quality sleep, nutritional challenges, or even postural issues that contribute to a vicious cycle of daily headaches.

Daily headaches are a signal from your body that something needs to change. While researchers have struggled to place an exact cause on every type of headache, they have discovered an array of risk factors that can lead to chronic headaches. Depending on the foods you eat, the stress in your life, and even how you move your body and spine can either increase or decrease the likelihood of experiencing headaches.

• Your brain doesn't have any nerve fibers that transmit pain signals. Headaches are felt by the tissues that support your brain, head, and neck

• Researchers have discovered a close link between what you eat, your stress and hormone levels, and how that can impact your chances of developing chronic headaches

• A balanced diet, consistent sleeping patterns, and chiropractic care have all been shown to decrease the likelihood of developing chronic headaches

To learn more, tune into our weekly video series, Research That Matters TV.

Click to Download a Free Research Brief

Science Sources:

Dose response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized controlled trial. SPINE 2010

Mayo Clinic. Headache. 2018

Why all migraine patients should be treated with magnesium. Journal of Neural Transmission. 2012

The effect of 90-day administration of a high dose vitamin B-complex on work stress. Human Psychopharmacology. 2011

Chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for cervicogenic headache: a single-blinded, placebo, randomized controlled trial. BMC Central. 2017

Medications and Substances Causing Headache. Medlink: Neurology. 2017

Getting Chiropractic Referrals from MD's with Research

“I am currently averaging 30 referrals a month from local providers. Thank you for your help in making this happen!” - Dr. C. Boyle

How to Market Your Chiropractic Practice to Generate Sustainable MD Referrals

Getting referrals from medical doctors with research is one of the most significant untapped chiropractic marketing strategies and opportunities.

What would your practice look like if you added on another 10, 20, or 30 new referred patients each month (without spending a dime on Facebook or Google Advertising)?

In this article I’ll show you the exact strategy to build referral relationships- and I’ll walk you through the proven process- step-by-step.

Let’s get started!

Building Your MD Referral Target List

The first step in getting referrals from other healthcare providers is to build your Target List. Your Target List will contain all of the doctors you are actively reaching out to and will help keep you organized.

If you're a chiropractor focused on pediatrics, you may want to focus your target list on OB-GYN's, midwives, doula's, and pediatricians. If you are more interested in taking care of the Crossfit community, you may choose to target gym owners, personal trainers, and sports medicine physicians.

Once you have created your Target List, then you begin your marketing and outreach.

The Three Steps of Getting MD Referrals

1. Sending Case Notes

2. Monthly Research Briefs

3. MD Meetings

With years of experience and thousands of referrals, we have discovered that a three-legged approach is the most effective when building referral relationships.

Get a FREE Case Notes Template

The first leg is to begin sending Case Notes to showcase the co-management and results you get with your patients. The second one is sending Research Brief's monthly which we're going to focus on here. The third is setting up and executing MD Meetings, where you have the opportunity to learn more about their practice and how you can help them and their clients achieve better health and wellness.

So Why Is Marketing Your Practice with Research So Important?

Research is your marketing. It's the only controllable aspect of your marketing, and it provides the consistency needed to get results.

By sending monthly Research Brief, you can guarantee top of mind awareness and positive branding, by positioning your practice. Consistency is the primary factor that drives the success of any marketing program. Monthly Research Briefs give you the chance to have consistency with your message.

Become a doc that is consistent and stays top of mind by sharing the latest research is a unique way to position your self in your local healthcare community. It doesn't require you to resort to cheesy tactics but instead allows you to market your practice in a way that you can be proud of.

Also, by "dripping" research each month, you can create far more impact than you could in a single meeting. As an example, if you meet with a doc, I would not recommend trying to tell them everything they never wanted to know about chiropractic. It's overwhelming and counterproductive.

Your monthly Research Updates drip the information to them every month. These monthly Research Briefs are the perfect tool to disperse an avalanche of pro-chiropractic information over a period of time. That process is way more impactful and effective at building referral relationships.

Research isn't the only way to do it, which is why we have Case Notes showcasing co-management and the great results you get in your practice as well meetings which build trust and rapport.

But remember, 95% of the "sale" in the follow-up. If you rely on only Case Notes and Meetings, you will be missing out on the consistency of your message. With Case Notes, you can't control who walks through your front door; so they ebb and flow with volume and are uncontrollable. Meetings are great, but clearly, you can't personally visit each doctor office on your target list each week.

Your Monthly Research Briefs Provide a Monthly Marketing Touchpoint, and a Controllable Marketing Asset.

Click to Get a FREE Research Brief

Researchers have produced an abundance of papers supporting chiropractic care as one of the most safe and effective treatment options available, yet we hover at less than 15% utilization because very few of us build a sustainable practice with consistent referrals coming in from other healthcare providers.

It's our job (you and me) to get this information out to the public on our social channels and to the other healthcare providers in our community.

If you'd like more information about how you can systematize and automate that process to get results faster, then become a member of The Evidence Based Chiropractor today.

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Ready to grow your referral base? Listen in to The EBC Podcast for weekly research updates and marketing strategies. If you’re ready to grow FASTER- become a member of The Evidence Based Chiropractor today.

10 Chiropractic Marketing Ideas to Increase Business and Sales

You studied hard, got your license, and gained invaluable experience. You believe in yourself and your chiropractic practice. So, why aren't new patients knocking down your door to find relief? 

Your chiropractic marketing may be to blame. And, needing a little help in this area is normal. 

You aren't a marketing expert. You're a chiropractor. You're also a business owner which comes with an abundance of responsibilities. 

But, you know that your business can't thrive unless you make a profit. And, the only way to do that is to bring in new customers and make them lifelong fans of your practice. 

Sinbad keeping it real.

You also are competing with other chiropractic offices. They may be targeting a similar audience or provide related services. How can you get the edge? 

Successful chiropractic marketing is the solution to these dilemmas. Chiropractic marketing can be a DIY pursuit, or you can outsource your marketing efforts to a digital marketing agency. What's best for your practice will depend on your availability, skills, and staff. 

So, if you're looking to implement new marketing ideas, then look no further. Read on to discover 10 marketing ideas to grow your business while increasing your revenue and new patients. 

Chiropractic Marketing: 10 Marketing Tips to Improve Your Business

Marketing is a vast field. It contains many different layers and elements that you can adjust and improve. Explore the following marketing ideas to learn how to bring in new patients and grow your sales. 

1. Utilize Social Media

As humans, we naturally love familiarity. Being on social media is more about brand awareness and recognition than producing sales. The more familiar patients are with your brand, the more trustworthy your practice will become. 

Create social media profiles based on which ones your target audience uses most. For example, if you're targeting professionals, use LinkedIn.

You can also purchase ads on social media platforms. Select which demographic data to target to reach your audience on these platforms accurately. 

Click to Get a FREE Pack of Social Media Graphics

2. Offer Supplemental Products and Services

While you're at it, use your social media profiles to show off the products and services your offer. It may be supplements, fitness equipment, or group coaching. Focus on the benefits your patients can expect by using the product or service.

This strategy successfully generates leads and can increase your sales.

Your practice website can (and should) have a shop or store to generate additional revenue channels.

3. Create Useful Content

People are smartening up to traditional sales tactics and pitches. They don't want to be pitched to or sold anything. Instead, they want to connect and learn. 

Adhere to your customers' needs by educating them through blog posts. You can also guest blog for another company to gain brand awareness and leads. 

Content will also help to improve your website traffic. And, as your traffic increases, your search engine ranking can also go up. You can reach a wide range of people who can then help you to improve your local rankings as well. 

Using video is one of the best ways to spread your unique healthcare vision.

4. Get Referrals

Develop a referral program for your customers and other medical professionals. For customers, offer a discount or reward for referring a friend or family member. Advertise the referral program on social media, via email marketing, and your website. 

For medical referrals, you'll need to build up a professional partnership. Explain the benefits of your services, automate your referral process, and educate yourself on how to market to other doctors.

5. Build Community Relationships

People love supporting companies that support a higher purpose. Getting involved in the community is a perfect way to show patients that you care. 

Create and build community partnerships.

Support other local businesses by highlighting your favorite healthy restaurants on social media.

Offer lunch and learns to community agencies and companies. Provide free advice and expert wellness tips. 

6. Email Marketing

Email marketing is cost-effective and promotes brand awareness and conversions. It also reminds patients that your practice is still thriving. 

Use email marketing to provide your patients with educational materials, promotions, and company updates. A monthly newsletter is also a beneficial way to engage with your patients.

Grow your email list by offering discounts on your physical products in exchange for their email address. 

Click to get a FREE Email Newsletter Template

7. Press Releases

Traditional marketing tools shouldn't be ignored. Word of mouth marketing, traditional ad space, and press releases can still help you to grow your chiropractic firm. Press releases will help you to reach your target audience and promote brand awareness.

Create press releases when something exciting or out-of-the-norm occurs at your practice. For example, if you win an award, complete a community project, or write a book. 

8. Develop a User-Friendly Website

Website design can influence your search engine ranking, your website traffic, and your conversion rates. Develop a user-friendly website by using a simple, fast-loading design. Your website's menu should also be easy to navigate and include only the necessary information.

Your website can also include videos, meaningful images, and testimonials. Having a "schedule an appointment" feature will also help to streamline the conversion process. The easier it is for customers to contact and schedule an appointment, the better it will be for business.

9. Set Yourself Apart

Your competition can be stiff (no pun intended). 

To truly succeed in your market, you'll need to set yourself apart. What makes your practice different? 

Is it your experience? Maybe you have a piece of equipment, testing tool, or service other chiropractors don't offer. Or, do you holistically approach chiropractic?

When creating your unique value proposition, always keep your target audience in mind.

10. Ask for Reviews

Patients and customers trust each other more than they believe in marketing tactics. Ask for reviews from all your patients. Encourage them to review your practice on social media, Google, and websites like Yelp. 

Asking for reviews is also essential for your reputation management. Many disgruntled customers express their frustrations by leaving negative reviews. Asking for positive reviews balances out these negative reviews.

Stay up to date about your online reviews. If you do receive a negative review, work to amend the patient's concern. Often, the patient will respond positively and be willing to find a resolution. 

Chiropractic Marketing a Pain in the Neck?: Gaining Support

These chiropractic marketing tips will help to put your practice on the map. They can also improve your reputation and increase your profit. 

But, your marketing efforts can be even more successful by hiring a digital marketing agency. Helpful guides and resources can also help to improve your marketing efforts. 

Want to become the chiropractor other doctors refer to? Sign-up for a monthly or yearly membership for a step-by-step guide to learn how to increase your medical referrals.

How to Get Referrals with Chiropractic Case Notes | FREE Template

Are you sending case notes?

If you're like most docs I speak with the answer is unfortunately "no." Maybe you think it takes too much time, perhaps you don't know what to send.

Either way, if you are not sending chiropractic case notes, then you are missing out on an enormous opportunity to showcase the co-management of patients, show off the fantastic results of your care, and begin the process of building referral relationships.

Sending chiropractic case notes is the foundation of building referral relationships with other healthcare providers in your community. If you think you are too busy, or that case notes are a waste of time- then keep reading. It's easier, faster, and more impactful than you think.

This article will show you the four key elements to have on every single case note that you send. Additionally, I'll show you the best time and cadence to send those notes (it's NOT on every visit). By the end of this short article, you'll have all the information you need to send out effective case notes quickly, start bridging the gap, and begin building referral relationships.

Get a FREE Case Notes Template!

Spoiler alert: Case notes alone have never flooded a chiropractic office with referrals. Sending notes is not a silver bullet to building a relationship. But, sending timely and well-crafted case notes is an essential foundational layer of our physician outreach.

Benefits of Sending Case Notes:

1- Showcase the Great Results You Get with Your Patients (B2B Testimonial)

2- Social Proof of Co-Management

3- Additional Marketing Touch Point

I like to think of case notes as patient-centric testimonials. Most practices are hyper-focused on getting Facebook ratings and Google reviews. These type of reviews are known as B2C marketing. They are business (B) to (2) consumer (C) outreach. Reaching out with B2C testimonials is great...but, what about the other half of the coin?

The other half is your B2B channels. These are your business to business testimonials- and there is no better B2B communication than a case note. Your case notes show the social proof that you are actively co-managing, as well as the fantastic results you get with your patients in your practice.

If I asked you the question of what percentage of your patients leave your office happier and healthier than when they first walked in, I bet your answer would be over 90%.

My next question is, how often have you taken the additional 2 minutes to create a case note that shows off those unbelievably fantastic results? Probably not as often as you could or should!

Not sending case notes showing off the results of your care and the improvement of your patients is a huge missed opportunity that you need to start taking advantage of immediately.

So how often should you send case notes?

We have seen the best results by sending case notes at initial evaluation, any re-evaluation, and discharge from active care.

Discharge from active care is defined as the last visit before a patient goes to as needed, PRN, maintenance, or wellness care. Anytime you are billing a 99201-99204 or 99212-99214, that is a good indication that you should be sending a case note.

What to include in your case notes:

The 4 Essential Components of a Case Note

1. Patient Name

2. Date of Service

3. Diagnosis

4. Treatment Plan

Your case notes should not be long and include every test under the sun. Powerful, effective case notes are typically concise (under 1 page) and contain four critical pieces of information.

Get a FREE Case Notes Template!

Just as a primary care doctor doesn't care about what size screw a surgeon uses during an operation, they don't care about every single orthopedic test you performed.

They do care about, who did you see (patient name), when did you see them (date of service), what did you find (diagnosis), and what are you going to do about it (treatment plan)? Keep it simple.

In an ideal world, your case note should be leaving your office as a one-page document. I say that for pragmatic reasons. When I was working in large scale orthopedic groups, we'd continuously get case notes from doctors in the community.

Unless they were relating to an emergency, the notes would be put into the patient chart by a medical assistant and not looked at until the patient came back into the office. The patients next appointment could have been two days, two weeks, or 2 months after the case note was sent.

Let's get real if the doctor is walking down the hall ready to see the patient, and they open the chart to find a 10-page case note from you...it's not getting read! But, what if they open the chart and see a one-page note which clearly and concisely shows your name, the patient diagnosis, the date of service, and the expected treatment? You now have a high likelihood of them opening the door and asking the patient how they are doing in your practice.

As we went through earlier- the odds are in your favor! Chiropractors typically have sky-high patient satisfaction and remarkable results. So there is an excellent chance that the patient will praise your care- which is precisely the "win" you are looking for.

Think about how many patients you see each month in your practice. Then, think about how many in-active patients have been in your practice since you opened your doors.

Now imagine you had sent case notes for every eval, re-eval, and discharge visit for these patients. You could have hundreds, thousands, or maybe even tens of thousands "touches" to other healthcare providers showcasing the great results that you achieve. I KNOW that would make a massive difference in how many referrals you get each month.

Before you send a case note, you need to know who you are sending it to. The easiest way to do this is to make sure you have a spot on your intake form for patients to enter their primary care doctor.

Typically, this will be filled out 50-60% of the time. When it's left blank, I recommend asking a simple question:

“Hey, John, I noticed you left this blank. We'd love to have that information to communicate and coordinate your care. Do you mind if we have your primary care doc name?"

By asking that question, you should be able to collect the primary care doctor information on 90% of the people who begin care in your practice.

Case notes are one leg of the referral relationship stool. The others are sending research updates (marketing) and taking meetings (trust and rapport). At The Evidence Based Chiropractor, we've had the honor of working with hundreds of chiropractic practices. Using our system, they have generated tens of thousands of referrals that have resulted in millions of dollars in additional revenue.

Think about the amount of time you spend with your patients during treatment. Think about the energy, effort, and expertise it takes to help them get well. To not take 5 minutes and show off your results with case notes is crazy!

If you want to start getting more referrals from other physicians in your community, then become a member of The Evidence Based Chiropractor. I'd love to work with you. You'll receive the entire process, tools, support, and systems needed to bridge the gap. Get out there showcase your practice and improve the health and well-being of the people in your community.

Get a FREE Case Notes Template!

Is Your Child's Backpack Causing Lifelong Health Problems?

How heavy is that backpack?

Even though an iPad can store an entire library worth of books, most kids still trudge to and from school each day carrying an oversized and overweight backpack filled with heavy textbooks.

While it may not seem like a big deal, recent studies have shown that carrying the weight of a typical backpack is one of the top reasons for kids to have back pain. 

Why it Matters:

A vast majority of kids wear backpacks every day that weigh 15 lbs or more. That’s a heavy backpack! Over time the stress of the load can result in back pain, a rounding of the shoulders, and postural changes.

The spinal compression caused by heavy backpacks often has kids leaning forward to compensate, which begins a vicious cycle of postural issues, compensation, and pain. 

- Up to 30% of kids may suffer from back pain due to carrying a heavy backpack

- Limiting the total weight of the backpack to less than 10% of your child’s body weight is recommended 

- Wear your backpack with both shoulder straps fit snugly, so the backpack isn’t carried below the waistline 

Next Steps: 

Kids typically choose their backpack based on what makes them look cool. We recommend taking a second look and making sure the straps are wide and padded, the size is appropriate (and not too big), and that it has compartments to help distribute the load.

If your child has pain, numbness, or tingling; give your chiropractor call- they will be happy to help get them back on track! 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A BACKPACK RESEARCH BRIEF!

Science Source: 

Backpack weight and back pain reduction: effect of an intervention in adolescents. Pediatric Research 2018