Drive-Thru Chiropractic?

I cruise Facebook, a lot. I try to stay present online to be on the lookout for topics that are relevant and that people are curious about so I can spend more time making education available, interesting. Something I see pretty regularly is requests for recommendations of chiropractors. It never fails, there are several comments like:

"See so-and-so! They're the best!"
"Dr. X gets me in and out of the office in 10 minutes and I never have to schedule! Go see them!"
"Go see Dr. Tiffany at Liberation! She's so helpful and tries to get to the root of your problem"
The last one is my favorite lol

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And then I see it.... 
A recommendation that makes my skin crawl:
"Go see my chiropractor at xyz clinic! They only charge $20!!!!"


While I completely understand wanting to make the best choice possible, and finances absolutely are a factor you have to consider, I wanted to explain some of the pros and cons of choosing your chiropractor based on their fees alone. 

A really good example of what I call feel good chiropractic or drive-thru chiropractic is a chiropractic clinic that allows patients to schedule walk-in appointments whenever they like for the low, low price of $35 a month for a couple of adjustments, a full set of acrylic nails, a massage, a carwash, an energy cleansing, a bubble tea, a buddha bowl, doggy daycare, actual child daycare, and a facial… 

🤨

Okay, maybe just a handful of adjustments and a massage. But still. It hurts my heart.

That sounds awesome, right? And for some patients, it is. There are a select few reasons why I would say that that type of care (talking specifically about the adjustments here 😆) is actually good for the price and beneficial to the patient.

Before I jump into all of that let me tell you about why the prices are what they are for patients in my clinic. If we are talking about just walk-in cash adjustments patients pay $39 per adjustment. This is after they’ve paid for their new patient appointment, testings, chirohealthUSA membership (CHUSA), and x-rays. Read below for information about the discount program and insurance. In my office your care is an investment but this allows you to not only have the ease of mind that any red flags are noted and we are adjusting you based on objective results rather than chasing pain or other symptoms to know where to adjust. You also have 3 different types of testings to compare pre and post care. We offer different care plans, too, that offer different types of therapies, adjustment frequencies, and progress exams to ensure you’re progressing well in your care. The advanced format of care we provide also creates a rise in cost because we have to maintain the state of the art equipment that every patient uses in the office. We also spend time teaching our patients what to do while they’re at home to get the best progress possible.  

You just don’t get that with these walk-in-whenever-you-feel-like-it clinics. Does that mean that their adjustments aren’t as good? Probably not. Does it mean that you won’t feel better getting adjusted infrequently/irregularly than if you didn’t get adjusted at all? No, any adjustments are better than none.

But if you have a reversed curve and you go into those clinics and don’t even get x-rays you are possibly getting short term relief but not actually fixing a problem that can eventually lead to worse disease and dysfunction than you had in the first place.

In this situation you have to consider your health as an investment. In addition to that, those clinics have “therapeutic procedures” that do have a positive impact on the spine (if they do therapies at all) but they’re likely palliative in nature - only making you feel good on the outside rather than making corrective changes on the inside. Those include hot packs, roller beds, e-stim, etc. Not saying that can't help you at all, but it goes back to the issue of chasing symptoms. A bandage on the actual problem.

So earlier in this post I mentioned that only a certain type of patient will be able to benefit from drive-thru chiropractic. And that type of patient is someone whose spine is in tip top, 100% perfect shape. I’m talking full cervical and lumbar curves, no forward head posture, minimal progression of degeneration. How do you even know if that is you when a lot of other clinics don’t take x-rays? 🤔 

You just don't...

The good news is that we also have a plan for walk-in adjustments for patients so that they can come in whenever they want (preferably once their spine is corrected, but like I said anything is better than nothing) and they can rest easy in the knowledge that they’re truly maintaining a healthy spine. 

As for CHUSA, the membership fee is $49 and it is paid to them. It covers you and qualifying members of your household so that you can receive a 35% discount on our chiropractic services. 
We also accept all types of insurance, but are in network with BCBS. When new patients call to make an appointment, we will get your insurance information and verify your benefits so you'll know exactly what your coverage is since policies and coverage vary so widely.

So don't settle for the big mac of chiropractic when you can have the still affordable filet mignon. It ultimately saves you later, that's another blog post, though.

​Yours In Health,
​Dr. Tiffany Jones

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