October - Rocktober in Chiropractic and Healthcare Practices!

A Rock and Roll Month

Our gang just returned from a power-packed chiropractic seminar here in Wisconsin, sponsored by the Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin.

Hundreds of doctors and staff attended, with a wide range of education sessions tailored to both groups.

I love these brief, high-intensity seminar events to meet new people and reconnect with old acquaintances. Chiropractic is a BIG family!

We had a booth there, and our own David Michel gave two presentations for staff. Our booth, by the way, won the Best Booth award! (Yay!) Thank you to Linda Skiles, our business manager, who designed it!

Here we are!

(Ed (me), Barbara, Linda, Lisa, and David)

I attended parts of many presentations and want to pass on a few of relevant observations.

Communication in Chiropractic and Healthcare Practice

David Michel discussed the importance of taking time to understand the patient. He reminded the audience about PTC – Present Time Consciousness, a term I first heard Dr. Jimmy Parker talk about at a Parker Seminar years ago. Sometimes our attention is on the future, the past, or somewhere else when it should be on the here and now to communicate fully with someone.

Life Energy

Dr. Peter Heffernan, a Chiropractic Society of Wisconsin Lifetime Achievement Award winner, talked about how chiropractic improves life energy and referenced David Hawkins M.D.'s book, Power vs. Force. Hawkins explores how a person's level of consciousness affects their health and influence on others. Your mood, therefore, may influence your patients' outcomes.

Using Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice

Dr. Jay Greenstein spent 4 hours teaching doctors and staff the ins and outs of AI. His presentation was very informative. I took notes, or tried to, as he covered many aspects of AI. I have a lot to say about AI, but my number one advice is never to put AI where a real person should be dealing with another person. Faked empathy is still…faked.

Neurology and Chiropractic

Dr. Michael Longyear gave a fascinating presentation for doctors. While most of it went over my head, I found some points very interesting. Chiropractic is not just for aches and pains. Research shows adjustments change how the brain processes signals from the body. When the spine's movement is restored, the brain gets cleaner input, and that shows up in things like balance, reaction time, sleep quality, and even mood.*

A few takeaways:

• Practice present-time consciousness with patients and each other.

• Chiropractic improves life energy.

• Use technology, but NEVER let it (or scripts) replace a real person with your patients.

• Educate your patients. They are bombarded with drug ads everywhere. Some of your patients would love to learn more about how adjustments positively affect the brain. Consider an occasional Patient Health Class.

And also, have a rocking good time with your team and a great Rocktober.

And stay Goal Driven,

Ed and all of us at PM&A

* Lelic et al., Neural Plasticity, 2016.

Haavik et al., Brain Sciences, 2024; 14(11):1124.