According to Brandon Gaille, 80% of people will suffer from back pain at least once in their lifetime. Lower back pain is actually the number one cause of disability. When you experience back or neck pain, you can either visit a traditional health facility where you may end up going under the knife or go the chiropractic way. For obvious reasons, more people are geared towards the latter in recent times. It is natural, holistic, and safe compared to surgery.
Over the last five years or so, the chiropractic industry has grown in leaps and bounds. The technologies keep changing to make them more holistic and modern. Throughout 2019, in particular, the industry has made great strides towards patient-centric access to personal and care information and better treatment technologies. There are advanced ways of marketing your chiropractic practice and patient data analyses as well.
As the year comes to a close, let’s go over some of the current trends in the chiropractic industry.
1. Use Of Medical Marijuana
Since the US government gave a go-ahead for medical practitioners to use medical marijuana for healing purposes, chiropractic care seems to have benefited as well. The plant has some real therapeutic benefits capable of reducing pain without psychological effects. As more states continue to legalize this form of treatment, it is becoming clearer that chiropractors have embraced medical marijuana. Those who aren’t keen on exploring marijuana have used its alternative, CBD, which delivers an equal result.
2. Outcome Assessment Tools
Outcome assessment tolls basically help chiropractors offer optimal patient care. They help measure patient improvements and pain by providing better diagnosis and monitoring patient progress, and exercise therapies, among others. The good thing with outcome assessment tools is that they are favored by insurance companies. This makes them easily accessible to most patients and chiropractors.
3. Switch To Health And Fitness Apps And Devices
Another fantastic trend that is gaining popularity in the chiropractic world is the use of wearable medical technology among many patients. Now, more than ever, people are concerned about their health and witness. They want to know if they are eating right and getting enough exercise. This prompts them to use sleep trackers, smartwatches, heart rate monitors, and more to track these things. Many patients also keep a close eye on their blood sugar level, blood pressure, and nutrition. As a chiropractor, you have to stay ahead of your patients and learn how these apps operate.
4. Expansion Beyond The Neck And Back
Although back and neck pain complaints account for two-thirds of chiropractic patients, there are other illnesses that fit the description of chiropractic care. The best Charlotte chiropractor is now treating other health issues apart from those of the spine. Some of them include insomnia, migraines, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, TMJ, ADHD, lowered immune systems, acid reflux, menopause, depression and PTSD, asthma, hypertension, cerebral palsy, menstrual symptoms, and anxiety/stress response.
5. Social Media Marketing
Even with the massive popularity surrounding the chiropractic industry, many people (especially young people) are yet to embrace this treatment option. This is why currently, most chiropractors have resorted to social media to help them reach these audiences. Social media marketing is affordable and very effective. It gives chiropractors a platform to advise their practice in a personalized manner through images and videos of staff, equipment, alerts, patient testimonials, and health articles.
6. Cloud-Based Recording Systems
In the past, chiropractic practices utilized online systems of recording patient information. Well, that has since changed. Currently, the new EHR systems that use advanced cloud software are becoming the norm. These use comprehensive ER algorithms focused on patient data and are generally easier to communicate with and operate.
7. Therapeutic Technologies
Finally, pain management services and therapeutic technologies have also increased in popularity among chiropractic practices. Such technologies including cold laser therapy, ultrasound therapy, electric muscle stimulation, and light therapy have tremendous benefits in reduced injured and inflamed areas. They also have benefits in increasing blood flow and regeneration of tissues around an injury. Other chiropractors also utilize neck traction pulleys, wobble chairs, and exercise backs to promote patient healing.
With all these amazing trends in the chiropractic industry, the future looks absolutely bright for many patients. Who knows, chiropractic care may soon replace surgery as a form of issues related to the spines and other conditions.
Photo by Jesper Aggergaard on Unsplash
