By Laurence J. Ecker, DO
The practice of wellness — once considered an ancillary addition to a chiropractic practice — is now becoming a necessity.
And that necessity is requiring chiropractic to adopt a paradigm of active care and provide a wellness program for all patients.
Today, healthcare costs are skyrocketing, and legislators and lobbyists are focusing on prevention and wellness as a method of decreasing these costs.
Massachusetts was the first state to implement universal health insurance for every citizen, but the costs to implement have doubled over the last year and the program will not be able to continue in its current form past 2010.
Officials in Massachusetts have said that in order to control the major costs generated from managing chronic diseases, the state must focus its resources on programs and providers that efficiently deliver prevention and wellness services.
Three-legged stool
This is where you come in. As chiropractors, you need to start thinking of your patients’ health and wellness. An effective way to do so is by using the analogy of a three-legged stool.
The first leg of the stool is chiropractic care, which maximizes the potential of the neuromusculoskeletal system. The second leg is active care, which empowers the patient and decreases their reliance on passive care. The third leg, which is most overlooked by most chiropractors, is weight loss.
When referring to a person’s wellness, the objective measurement most widely accepted and referenced is Body Mass Index (BMI).
Research shows that an individual with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and approximately 66 percent of Americans fall into this category — with many likely to suffer from diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood cholesterol, stroke, hypertension, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and some forms of cancer (breast, colorectal, endometrial, and kidney).
People with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. Today, nearly three out of 10 Americans are obese. To not measure and monitor this important index
of health is to bury your professional heads in the sand of healthcare reform.
Reducing the numbers
Without weight loss, there is no alternative to reducing a patient’s abnormal BMI. Therefore, as providers of health and wellness to your community, the concept of an in-office, weight-loss program can be essential to your practice and can open doors to treating the public at large.
Statistically, only 10 percent of the population takes advantage of chiropractic treatment on a regular basis. With the addition of wellness and weight loss, you have a chance to reach the remaining 90 percent.
So, how does one decide upon the proper program for their office? Focus on finding a program that provides the simplest and most-efficient way of integrating this wellness paradigm into your present system. It must be an easy, cost-efficient, turnkey program that provides the proper support and encouragement to your patients.
Group support classes must be a strong component of the program, as well. It has been found that patients will lose almost three times as much weight and more quickly when supported by co-dieters.
Behavior modification and lifestyle changes are extremely important in providing long-term weight loss and overall wellness.
Today, with the role of healthcare providers changing, prevention and wellness have become the cornerstone for all practices.
With the adoption of these concepts, you stand to make a significant impact on the health of your patients and the community at large.
The chiropractic profession can no longer solely focus on the musculoskeletal aspect of care.
Embracing whole person care — including all three legs of the stool— will give the profession a solid foundation and unique role in prevention and wellness.
Without these three important legs as support, the stool will come crashing down.
Laurence J. Ecker, DO, developer and owner of Doctor's Weight Loss Solution, has worked in the area of weight control and preventative medicine for more than 30 years. He can be reached at 800-224-2021 or through www.doctorsweightlosssolution.com.
Monitoring our weight is really very important especially now with the kind of foods that we are eating. Different weight loss program is available in the market. We only need to choose the best that suit us.
Wellness Practicehttp://www.chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/8372/1215/How-wellness-is-your-practice/
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