Does Your Intention Affect Your Chiropractic and Healthcare Outcomes?
- Ed Petty
- Aug 5
- 6 min read
Does it affect your practice?
We all can get caught up in the mechanics of our work. We live in a material and physical world.
In the office, there are computers, electrical equipment, forms, schedules, and … insurance. Lots of lifeless objects.
But you are not a construction worker manipulating calcium (hydroxyapatite) sticks and blocks.
You are addressing and working with people. With LIFE.
People respond directly to the intention, thought, and compassion of a provider. (And their teams!)
In other words, your intention and attitude towards your patient have a direct effect on how well they improve. There are emerging studies that demonstrate this, and I have provided a few citations at the link below.
For example, a British study found a 61% improvement in patient outcomes when providers had a positive, optimistic attitude compared to those with a negative or pessimistic attitude. (Link below.)
Some chiropractic techniques incorporate the doctor's intention as an essential part of their protocol. (Go to the link.)
There are other healing professions that stress the importance of intention. One example is Reiki, developed by Mikao Usui, who began teaching it in 1922. Its success depends on the practitioner's intention.
A deep dive into this subject is fascinating, but I will leave that for you to dig into at another time. But I know you understand what I am talking about.
PRACTICAL STEPS TO USE INTENTION IN YOUR CHIROPRACTIC AND HEALTHCARE PRACTICE
Practically speaking, you can devise your own short exercises to help strengthen your intention. Here are a couple of examples I have seen:
Present Time Consciousness. Before seeing each patient, take a moment to make the intention that they will improve. One successful doctor I worked with years ago had a button that he would push when he entered the adjusting room that made a slight noise. It reminded him to "be here now" and focus health on the patient in front of him.
Complementing the adjustment. Another example I have seen from successful doctors is making a positive comment after the adjustment. You can say something like, "I am satisfied with that adjustment." Or, "That will make a difference," exuding confidence and complimenting how well the patient took the adjustment..
Lynn McTaggart has conducted extensive research on the power of intention. (One of her studies was done at Life Chiropractic University in 2015.) She has a number of best-selling books and offers courses for healthcare providers to enhance intention and healing. She has shown empirically that intention can have positive effects and has written about the science of how this occurs.
One of the factors she discovered is that the power of intention multiplies when more people are focusing their intention on the same target. The more people who focus their intention, the more powerful the effect.
At an office I once worked with, we had a particularly exciting lunchtime staff meeting. It was a three-doctor office, and the doctors and staff discussed helping more people. Goals were set, and a fun party was planned once they were achieved. Everyone was exuberant about helping more people and achieving Best Ever goals.
That afternoon, the office phones lit up with patients calling in to schedule. It was magic! It shocked and amazed both staff and doctors. And myself!
You can take advantage of this phenomenon by:
Partnership Intention. Getting your patients' agreement to partner with you in their improvement, even visualizing their improvements together.
Team Intention. You can have case management meetings with your team. Focus on individual patients coming in for that day, and on all of them, getting better.
Group intention. Monthly health classes, bringing patients to support each other and work towards their goals for better health.
Intend to make your goals, get others to agree, and let the magic happen.
Ed
References:
CHIROPRACTIC TECHNIQUES THAT EMPHASIZE INTENTION:
Concept Therapy. Developed by Dr. Thurman Fleet in 1931, Zone Therapy (later refined as Zone Technique by Dr. Peter Goldman in the 1990s) is a chiropractic healing method based on the concept that the body is governed by six zones: glandular, eliminative, nervous, digestive, muscular, and circulatory. Each zone is regulated by a specific brain center, and imbalances in these zones, caused by emotional, physical, or chemical stressors, lead to health issues. The provider’s positive intention is central to Zone Therapy, as practitioners focus on restoring balance with the deliberate aim of activating the body’s innate healing capabilities. This intention is amplified by the practitioner’s understanding of the metaphysical aspects of healing, such as accessing the subconscious mind to foster a “healing concept.”
Touch for Health, developed by Dr. John Thie in the 1970s, is a system of energy kinesiology that combines manual muscle testing, acupressure, and touch techniques to balance the body’s energy, posture, and vitality. Positive intention is integral to TFH, as practitioners focus on the goal of enhancing the client’s well-being, often incorporating goal-setting and creative visualization. (I visited Dr. Thie at his Malibu home in the 80s. A gracious and brilliant man.)
Sacro-Occipital Technique (SOT) Developed by Dr. Major Bertrand DeJarnette in the 1920s, SOT is a chiropractic method that balances the relationship between the sacrum and occiput, using gentle adjustments, pelvic blocking, and cranial techniques to optimize cerebrospinal fluid flow and nervous system function. SOT categorizes patients into three body types to guide treatment, addressing musculoskeletal and visceral issues. SOT practitioners use intention to guide precise, low-force adjustments, focusing on restoring harmony to the body’s structural and energetic systems.
Network Spinal Analysis (NSA) / Network Chiropractic Developed by Dr. Donald Epstein in the 1980s, Network Spinal Analysis (NSA), also known as Network Chiropractic, is a gentle, low-force chiropractic technique that uses light touches or “entrainments” along the spine to release tension, enhance nervous system communication, and promote self-healing. NSA heavily emphasizes the practitioner’s positive intention to facilitate the body’s innate healing capacity. Practitioners focus on creating a “healing wave” through precise, intentional contacts, directing energy to align the spine and nervous system.
STUDIES THAT DEOMONSTRATE THE POWER OF INTENTION
A 2022 study in The British Journal of General Practice found that physician empathy (which can be seen as a proxy for positive intention) improved patient satisfaction and adherence, with a 10-15% increase in positive outcomes for chronic conditions like diabetes.
Distant Healing. A pilot study by Marilyn Schlitz and colleagues, published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, explored the effects of distant healing intention on surgical wound healing. In this double-blind study, 24 patients undergoing reconstructive surgery were randomly assigned to a group receiving distant healing intention from trained healers or a control group. Healers focused intentional thoughts on the patients’ recovery for 30 minutes daily over five days post-surgery. The study found that patients in the intention group showed significantly faster wound healing rates (measured by collagen deposition and patient-reported pain) compared to controls. The effect size was moderate, suggesting a measurable impact of intention
Power of 8. Chiropractic College. McTaggart’s work with Life University in Georgia studied brainwave activity in participants of “Power of Eight” groups, where small groups (6-12 people) sent healing intentions to a member with a health challenge. EEG measurements showed that participants experienced decreased activity in their frontal and parietal lobes, resembling brainwave patterns of Sufi masters and Buddhist monks during ecstatic states, despite being novices.
This suggests that group intention creates a state of “oneness” that may enhance healing for both the recipient and the senders. McTaggart reports cases of remarkable outcomes, such as individuals overcoming paralysis, indicating that group intention amplifies therapeutic effects.
McTaggart references a British study (likely Di Blasi et al., 2001) showing a 61% improvement in patient outcomes when providers had a positive, optimistic attitude compared to negative or pessimistic ones. Positive provider intention was linked to better healing, while negative interactions delayed wound healing by up to 24 hours, highlighting the impact of a provider’s emotional state. Citation: Di Blasi, Z., et al. (2001). Influence of context effects on health outcomes: a systematic review. The Lancet, 357(9258), 757-762.
More studies at Lynn McTaggart’s web site. https://lynnemctaggart.com/
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