What You Should Know Before You Hire a Chiropractor by Dr. Paul R. Piccione, D.C. www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com Woodside Wellness Center 959 Woodside Road Redwood City, Ca 94061 (650) 367-1948
Disclaimers / Legal Information All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of writing critical articles or reviews. Notice of Liability The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein. However, the information contained in this book is presented without warranty, either express or implied. Trademark Notice Rather than indicating every occurrence of a trademarked name as such, this book uses the names only in an editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Copyright Information 2011: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com 2 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
Table of Contents Introduction... Page 4 What is his/her work experience...... Page 5 What is the process of the chiropractic treatment?... Page 6 Side Effects or Complications? Page 7 How Long Are the Treatments?. Page 8 What are the Costs?.... Page 9 About The Author.. Page 11 3 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
Introduction What You Should Know Before You Hire a Chiropractor Before you hire a chiropractor, it is very important that you gather a lot of information about the doctor, his/her practice, the type of treatment they offer, what kind of pricing you should expect, how long the treatment will be, etc. There really is a lot to learn about your chiropractor before you simply choose one and take your chances. There are many places that you can go to do research about your chiropractor. You can do some research on the internet to find out more about the doctor, you can ask friends and family members to help you make a decision by asking them their experiences with using chiropractic care, and many other ways to get a good idea whether or not a chiropractor is the right fit for you. I am going to cover in this report, 5 questions you should be willing to ask before you decide to hire a chiropractor. These questions are not critical, but I feel that if you come into my office in need of chiropractic care, you should get the right answers. I look forward to your feedback regarding this report and look forward to helping you with all your chiropractic health needs. Dr. Paul R. Piccione 4 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
What is his/her work experience? Since we are in the field of medicine, it would be very important to find out how long the chiropractor has been in business. Work experience can work in two ways, you can have an experienced chiropractor, who has been in business for over twenty years, but has been doing the same techniques wrong for those twenty years. Or, you can have a chiropractor who is six months out of chiropractic school and has learned all the latest techniques, has a strong know how of the latest technology, and is really enthusiastic about their work. Chiropractors get extensive training when attending chiropractic school. This type of training can last up to six years. You should always make sure that the chiropractor you are seeking has a valid license to practice chiropractic care in your state. There are many holistic doctors that are trying to practice medicine although they are not licensed to do so. You might want to check out this website, the Chiropractic License Lookup to make sure you can find your chiropractor and make sure they are licensed to practice in your state. If you are looking for a chiropractor who specialized in certain areas, you might want to see if their license states that as well. You might want a chiropractor who specializes in pediatrics. Or maybe the problems that need to be addressed are severe symptoms of Fibromyalgia? Each chiropractor gets schooled in a specialization of their choice, you might want to find out which is right for you and which will be able to suit your needs the best. Work experience is a really big question to ask, but it should not be the only determining factor when deciding to choose a chiropractor. What might be more important is how the treatment that they perform is applied. 5 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
What is the process of the chiropractic treatment? It really depends on what type of treatment you are going to need as to whether we decide how long the treatment will last, or how many visits it will take in order for you to see results. If your body has been mistreated for a very long time, then you should not expect miracles to happen right away. It might take time for your body to start to unravel the old ways, and start putting itself back together the right way. If you have a neck injury, it might take you a series of treatments to get the problem under control. The neck and back are very delicate parts of the body and each chiropractor knows to treat them as such. The Nervous system is what truly helps correct any problems in your body, if you are able to be patient and believe in the process, then you will be able to have a better chance of getting your problem taken care of. Keep in mind that a chiropractor is different than a regular medical doctor. Chiropractic care is more preventive care, and better living, while a medical doctor is more of an emergency care doctor. Chiropractors do not believe in giving out drugs to handle the problems, the drugs you need are already in your body, we just need some time to get them working properly. Overall, it will really depend on your personal condition as to what treatment and how long your treatment will take. Asking this question is a great one, because you need to know how much time and money you are willing to invest in your body to get it healthy. With a proper screening, you should be able to have the answers you need to be on your way to optimum health. 6 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
What are the side effects and complications of the process if there are any? This is a very fair question to ask. I was always taught that for every action there is an equal or opposite reaction. Well, when we complete our screening of your body and diagnose what type of treatment we think will help you out, we are determined to get your body healthy and well. But, when the body has been mistreated for so long, and when it comes time to put things back together, it might be a little hard to recover from your treatments. You might experience some soreness in your body, wherever the treatment has been issues. You might not be able to lift heavy objects for a few days, or might have some side affects of fatigue or maybe loss of sleep. It is really hard for us to determine at this point what those complications or side affects might be, but there is a chance that you will start to feel different, and that is what we want to happen. If, for example, you are seeking chiropractic care for a back injury that occurred a few years ago, but now the pain is just so unbearable and you are tired of taking the pain medications that have been prescribed to you for over two years. Well, honestly, our chiropractic treatment will give you some complications. If you do not feel any side affects or complications, then you better ask for your money back. It will take some time to undue a two-year back injury, and the treatment will eventually get you in shape, but it won t work any miracles right away. 7 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
How long will the treatment last? Unfortunately there are some bad chiropractors out there that are hurting for money, and therefore tell their patients that they need more treatment than they actually need. There are scam artist in all businesses, but as long as you know up front about how many treatments you will need, then that should give you a good idea about how much money and time you are going to invest in your chiropractic health. The amount of treatment that you receive also depends on the type of treatment you are going to be getting. There are a number of treatment methods that are taught in chiropractic school. There is the Active Release Method, the Pettibon Technique, Spinal Manipulation, etc. You are going to want to know exactly what technique your chiropractor will be using. Some chiropractors do not adjust the neck at all, some do not adjust your back, it really depends on the chiropractor s philosophy and what they really feel will work to getting you healthy. If you see equipment in the office that you have never seen before, it would be a great idea to ask what exactly that equipment is used for and for what technique is it used for. You may not want a chiropractor that uses electric therapy on your back, maybe you only want them to work on your neck and spine. It really is up to you to feel comfortable with the style of technique and then see how long this type of treatment will last. Whatever your fears are might determine what type of chiropractor you visit. If you are not someone who is comfortable with someone forcefully jerking on your neck, then you need to ask up front of that is part of the treatment. Don t be shy when it comes to asking questions, this is the time to find the right chiropractor to get you healthy. 8 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
How much does the treatment or each session cost? Unfortunately, most insurance carriers do not allow too many visits to the chiropractor. Make sure your chiropractors office knows exactly what your insurance will cover before you start going to treatments that are out of your price range. You are going to want to find out what each visit will cost you, how many you should expect to pay for, how much xrays will cost, etc. In the beginning of your chiropractic care, you might find that it can be a little expensive. But, most chiropractors are well aware of the costs and are willing to work out monthly payment plans. Sometimes your chiropractor will have deals or packages that you can pay for up front that will lower the overall cost of your visits. We have been trained as a society to go to the doctor when we are sick, pay a co-payment, get a prescription, pay $20 to fill the prescription, etc. We are used to expecting that a doctor visit plus prescription will cost us about $50 if we have insurance. But, what we are not used to is paying hundreds of dollars for a preventative health cost. Who goes to the doctor when they are not sick? We just don t do it, but we should. Why do we take our car to get an oil change when the car is working perfectly fine? Because maintenance is important to our cars, and it should be important to our bodies. If we look at our chiropractic payments as maintenance that will prevent more expensive treatment down the road, then it is not so bad to invest in keeping your body healthy. 9 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
Where Do We Go From Here? If you'd like to find out if our chiropractic office is the right one for you, we would love to hear your questions and get you on the right track to excellent health. We'll do our best to understand your individual needs and develop a health plan that will fulfill your needs and will work for your lifestyle. Give us a call at: (650) 367-1948 or visit: http://www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com and complete our online form to request an appointment. We'll set an appointment at a time that's convenient for you (typically 30 minutes in length) to discuss your concerns and questions. 10 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com
About The Author Dr. Piccione is the founder of the Woodside Wellness Center in Redwood City, CA. Over the past decade, he has helped hundreds of people to get well and stay well, utilizing natural health care methods. The services offered here include Chiropractic Care, nutritional medicine, massage therapy, weight management programs, and a variety of other services designed with one goal in mind: Your health and well-being. When he is not helping patients, Dr. Piccione is an active member of the Rotary Club of Redwood City, having served on the Board of Directors for a number of years, and was the President in 2009-2010. He is also the head of the wellness committee at a local private school, and has facilitated many health initiatives. Dr. Piccione enjoys trail running, exercising, gourmet cooking, and spending time with his beautiful wife and 3 children. 11 by: Dr. Paul R. Piccione www.woodsidewellnesscenter.com