Learn to recommend differently to boost your practice

Every patient encounter gives you an opportunity to add value and benefit to your patients life.  There are three easy ways to talk nutrition with patients to help seize that opportunity.  The first way is relate function to structure.  The second way is ask questions about specific areas you notice they have issues with.  And finally, seize every opportunity to talk nutrition using a vicarious experience.

Relating structure to function comes natural to chiropractors.  We have been taught to think this way.  The next step is to think and talk about nutritional support.  The classic example is adrenal fatigue and low back pain.  Any patient that can’t hold my adjustment I start asking them about fatigue and adrenal issues.

The second way to talk nutrition is use clinical observations to ask about their nutrition.  If someone is overweight, I’ll ask them about their blood sugar or toxicity issues.  If their tired all the time, I’ll discuss their adrenal gland.  If you notice they retain fluid, have a conversation about their liver.  Relate their signs to their nutritional deficiencies. 

The final way to talk nutrition is to use vicarious experiences.  I use vicarious experience conversations with patients who aren’t very open to anything else.  A vicarious experience is a story you tell about another patient who is just like them that you have helped with the problem they are currently experiencing.

The story usually goes like this.  You’re talking to a forty year old female and you tell her about another similar woman you’re working with that has the same or similar problems. Then you tell her about the nutritional support you used and the results which came from using that support.

I start the story in a matter of fact way so it doesn’t look as if I’m beating them up.  I might start by talking about another case totally different from theirs, and then bring up the similar case. 

By doing this, you make them think, “That’s what’s happening to me”.  Most of the time they’ll become engaged and ask you questions.  Then you can make your recommendations.