The Facts About TENS

When you're suffering from chronic pain it's hard to get anything done, and often current narcotics just don't do the trick-at least, they don't if you want to actually be coherent through the day! Many doctors and therapists are now looking to TENS as a viable alternative to a Tylenol overdose.

TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, and it's a pocket sized, portable, battery operated unit that's designed to block pain signals from being sent to the brain. You just attach it using two or more electrodes and turn it on. The very gentle electric current can help ease the pain and may raise the endorphin level in your brain, which is a huge improvement over spending your day on the couch in pain!

TENS units may or may not be a viable alternative to pain killers, but it's had good results in test studies when used as a supplement. The units start at around $100 apiece.

How a Coach Can Help You Get Funding for Your Practice

It's hard to justify the need for a coach in a chiropractic practice, since all you're going to be doing is catering to your patients' chiropractic needs-right? Wrong. Yes, you want to take care of patients, but in order to have patients to take care of you have to first let them know who you are, where you are and what you can do. For that, you can benefit from a coach's expertise.

Many lenders want to know you have a coach in your corner before they give you the funding for your practice. For them, it's something of a guarantee. Since coaches know how to build a chiropractic practice there's a very good chance you'll be able to lure in patients and actually make enough money to pay them back for their investment. And when you get right down to it, that's all a lender really wants-to know they're going to get back that little bit more than they put in.

Turn Your Living Room Into a Home Gym Without Spending a Fortune

Working out is one of my favorite ways to spend my time, but let's face it-gym memberships are expensive! Not to mention the amount of willpower it takes to actually get up and go to the gym in the first place. I shudder to think about getting up on cold mornings and going to the gym to work out before I open the doors to my practice. So that's why I recommend to anyone who likes their warm house much better than a cold car or a drafty gym that they turn their living room into a home gym.

You can spend thousands of dollars on gym equipment if you want, but you don't have to. A set of dumbbells, some hand weights, a jump rope and a couple of workout videos will do the job just fine. Try and go with a circuit workout, moving from one exercise to another without pausing in between. There are many trainers out there with this type of program-you might want to make them your first stop when you're shopping for exercise videos!

With a little practice (and a good eye for exactly where the light fixtures are) you can get the same workout in your living room that you can at the gym for a fraction of the price.

Networking for Your Chiropractic Practice

When it comes to the success of your chiropractic practice what you know counts…but who you know counts more. Most of your business is going to come from physician and patient referrals who think you're the best in the business, and they can't recommend you if they don't know who you are! That means getting out and rubbing elbows with the medical elite.

How are you at hoitying with the toity?

Seriously though, attending conferences and luncheons is a great way to promote your business. People get to know who you are, and they know that you care enough about staying on top of the chiropractic business to make it to events that you probably didn't want to go to too awful bad in the first place. That makes you a man (or a woman) worth recommending to patients seeking chiropractic care.

How to Choose Your Web Hosting Service

If you haven't launched a website for your business you're already falling behind your competition. Today's patients look to the Internet first for information about their medical care providers, and if you're not there it's entirely possible you're going to be left behind. It's not enough to just build a website though. It's not even enough to have a properly optimized website with cool features, vital information and attention getting applications.

Before you get any of that, you have to choose a good web hosting service.

Your website is completely useless if the server is constantly down for maintenance, so it's important to make sure you've got a web host with verifiable reliability. If they're down more than 2-3% of the time your patients are going to come looking for you and you're not going to be there. Accidents happen, server maintenance needs to be done, but a good web hosting service will have you online and going strong 98-99% of the time.

Be sure to ask about your ISP's (Internet Service Provider's) connection to the Internet. Ideally you're looking for a T3 connection, and you want to make sure you have plenty of space on the server. 5MB without mail is usually plenty; if your mail, system programs and log files are included in your space you should look for a host that offers a 15MB minimum. The last thing you want to do is miss an important email because you managed to completely fill your storage space with graphics.

You laugh, but it's been done.

Ask about domains and emails. Many ISP providers allow you to purchase a domain (i.e. http://www.yourbusiness.com/) with the email address to match .This is good if you want your customers to know who they're talking to and remember the name and URL of your company for repeat visits. It's much harder to remember http://lycos.com/amazon/79098789087CH than it is to just remember http://www.amazon.com/. (This isn't a valid URL, by the way, just an example I dreamed up.)

Most hosting services are going to have comparable pricing, so that shouldn't be a huge concern. The best way I've found to measure the success of a web hosting service is to speak with their current customers. If most of their clientele is happy with what they have to offer you're probably in pretty good hands. If they're not, you might want to start exploring other options-no matter how good a deal they're trying to push your way.

The Benefits of Coaching

Before you close this page, this is not a shameless SPAM for my coaching services. I just wanted to get that out of the way from the very beginning! A lot of the doctors, chiropractors and nurse practitioners I work with don't understand what working with a marketing coach is going to do for their practice, and I can't say I blame them. It didn't really click for me either until the first time I set what I'd learned in motion!

So this is a story from me, to you, about the benefits of coaching and how I wish I'd learned that a whole lot sooner.

First and foremost, let's talk patient volume. You can't run a successful practice if you don't have patients, but without effective marketing your patients are never going to know you're there. We all dream of becoming "that" doctor that patients are clamoring months in advance to see, but without working with "that" doctor how are you ever going to learn what it takes to get from here to there?

Secondly, what are you going to do when you retire? Are you going to sell your practice? Fade out of the picture? Work until you have a heart attack on the floor? No one wants to work for the rest of their lives. Coaching services can help you build up the value of your practice so you can retire in style and let some young whipper snapper fresh out of med school pick up the reins.

Finally, let's talk financing. It costs money to start a new practice, and banks like to know that they have a good chance of seeing a return on their investment-especially during these economic times, when new businesses (including practices) are going under as fast as they're popping up. Banks see an experienced coach as a guarantee of sorts, because they know you're working with someone who knows how to get the results they want to see.

Wherever you are, I've been there. Whether you're burnt out and exhausted from trying to build your practice up singlehandedly, watching it turn a small profit or even watching it grow at an amazing rate I'm telling you, I've been there. And wherever you are, a coaching service can help make it that much better.

Fun, Easy Exercises for You to Do This Weekend

I read a quote this morning from a well respected comedian that said a weekend wasn't worth anything unless you spent at least part of it doing nothing. As you've probably gathered from previous blog posts, I'm a big fan of taking it easy on the weekends! That doesn't mean I spend all of my days sitting around in front of the television though. My weekends are usually packed full of fun, fast physical fitness. Give some of my fun, easy exercise techniques a try and reap the benefits of improved physical fitness that didn't leave you tied for hours to the gym!

1) Mowing the lawn. I didn't realize until I bought my first house just how much of a workout mowing your lawn really was-especially if you happen to own a push mower! Spend this weekend enjoying some landscaping, working up a sweat and making your spouse very, very happy they don't have to do it!

2) Hiking. There's nothing like blending physical fitness with some quality time with Mother Nature! There are hundreds of places across the U.S. with great hiking trails, so take advantage of them and watch your muscle tone build and your waistline slim down while you enjoy a taste of Mother Nature.

3) Swimming. With summer coming to a close, I try to spend as much time in the pool as possible. Aside from the fact that it's fun (especially if you forget swimming laps and take the kids in for a little splash-along!) swimming is a great low-impact workout.

4) Running. Find a flat road and an iPod and you might be surprised to discover exactly how much fun a half an hour or so of pounding the pavement can be! I love to run on the weekends. Not only does it offer me a great workout, it also gives me some peace and quiet before I come home to the Saturday chaos that makes our weekends memorable.

5) Renovations. TV stereotypes aside, it's very rare to find someone working professionally in construction who's out of shape. Why? Because construction is hard work! If you're a dedicated do-it-yourselfer, spend your weekends getting around to all those home improvement projects you've been putting off for years. Your house will be transformed, you'll get back in shape and you'll have a great time doing it!

How to Strengthen Your Lower Back

When most of my patients first start coming to me, the last thing they want to do is exercise their back muscles! The spine doesn't just depend on the vertebrate and cartilage to keep your body moving. It has to know that the muscles are going to be there for it too! If your lower back muscles aren't up to snuff, you feel stiff after sitting, bending is uncomfortable or your lower back aches for no reason, give some of these chiropractor recommended exercises designed to help strengthen your lower back a try. You might be amazed at how much better you feel in a matter of weeks!

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/pain/treatment/117.html

Does Your Insurance Cover Chiropractic Care?

There are many things about being a chiropractor that I find aggravating at times, but nothing sets my teeth on edge like spending an hour arguing with a patient's health insurance company over whether or not they have the right (or the need) to receive chiropractic care. Sometimes I go home at the end of the day feeling like just because I don't hand out prescriptions for pain killers to every patient that walks through my doors, somehow in the eyes of the insurance industry I'm not a real health care provider.

You know and I know that sometimes chiropractic care is not only necessary, but the best course of treatment for one condition or another. If you could choose between spending the rest of your life as a slave to pain pills or receiving chiropractic care to reduce your pain, which would you choose? That's a choice many patients have to make.

The problem is, these patients aren't the ones making that choice. Their doctors aren't doing it either. Somehow along the way the system has managed to double back on itself, allowing insurance companies to dictate what treatments and procedures patients can and can't receive because many of these patients can't afford chiropractic care out of pocket and their insurance companies won't pay for what they consider to be "radical and unconventional" treatment for many conditions.

Does your insurance cover chiropractic care? If the answer is yes, you're lucky. If the answer is no, and you think you might need or want chiropractic services in the future, it might be a good idea to start hunting for another insurance provider. Otherwise, goodness only knows what treatment they might dream up next.

What Your Chiropractor Can Do For Your Migraines

Studies show that migraine headaches are more common in the United States than diabetes, asthma or heart disease. So why is it that we have yet to discover an effective treatment? Because nobody really knows the cause. Since doctors can't pinpoint what's causing the headache in the first place they can't effectively treat it. The best they can do is dole out narcotics and preventative advice and hope for the best. The good news is, if your doctor hasn't been able to do much your chiropractor might be able to help.

There's a theory floating around out there that some migraine headaches are the result of subluxations, a misalignment of the vertebrate that irritate the spinal nerves and send pain climbing into the cranium. If you're still suffering from migraines, give these simple chiropractic strategies a try:

1) Stretch the neck gently, without moving it around in circles.
2) Watch your posture. Is your back straight?
3) Sleep on your side or back rather than your stomach.
4) Use a firm pillow that supports your neck thoroughly.

A recent study published by the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics reported that one in five of the participating patients reported a 90% reduction in migraines and over half reduced severity following chiropractic care. Aren't those numbers worth looking into?

Dr. Simeon's hCG Diet

I know it's not normal for a physician to recommend a very low calorie diet, but sometimes you absolutely, positively have to jump start your weight loss. If your metabolism is dragging and you just can't kick the pounds you might have to look in another direction. Dr. Simeon's hCG diet (from his manuscript "Pounds and Inches") is a good start. We're going to spend some time this week studying Dr. Simeon's approach to treating obesity, but I figured starting this discussion with a quick look at his very low calorie diet would be a good way to get your attention!

Remember, before launching this diet you should take the time to read through "Pounds and Inches" and talk to your physician to make sure you're staying healthy while continuing to lose weight.

Breakfast:

Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only one tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours. Saccharin or Stevia may be used.

Lunch:

1. 100 grams of veal, beef, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab, or shrimp. All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw. It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat. Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed. The chicken breast must be removed from the bird.
2. One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.
3. One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.
4. An apple, orange, or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit.

Dinner :
The same four choices as lunch (above.)


(Excerpt found at http://hcgdietinfo.com/HCG-Diet-Protocol.htm).

What's On Your Plate This Weekend?

Have you seen the latest diet that's running around these days that completely frees you of responsibility for what you eat on the weekends? I wasn't sure whether to be amused or appalled. Personally, I know what I'd do with carte blanche all weekend long-and it wouldn't involve broccoli, carrots or the broiled chicken I've got lined up for dinner tomorrow night!

Rather than saving your treats up and binging on them in a two day binge-fest that's going to completely ruin everything you've worked for all week long, why not treat yourself a little every night? Dark chocolate is actually a respectably healthy snack in small portions, and it does a great job of helping to curb your cravings. Pair it up with some red wine and you've got a Mediterranean style luxury snack.

Can't say "no" to that key lime pie? The key is all in the serving size. A small piece of pie isn't going to kill your diet, but eating the entire thing could have some nasty side effects. So pay attention to what's on your plate this weekend, and don't forget to treat yourself-in moderation.

The Benefits of Detox

I was standing in the store the other day listening to the women behind debate the virtues of a new detox diet being advertised in one popular magazine or another and was horrified to hear one of them say that detoxing was a waste of time. Worse, she implied that a detox diet was just another way for popular magazines to make money by advertising the promise of a "quick fix" to a nation plagued by obesity. Now, I'll grant you, promising to help people lose weight fast is a great way to sell magazines, but if you're assuming that the only reason a detox diet exists is to help someone make money you're missing out on all of the benefits that detox has to offer.

Imagine what would happen if you only gave your home a perfunctory cleaning every week or two. Yes, what you can see would be clean, but what would the back of your cupboards look like? All of us know our houses need a good spring cleaning every now and again, but we neglect to give our bodies the same treatment. That's what a detox diet will do. Detoxing flushes the contaminants that build up over time in the liver, kidneys and other areas of the body that tend to collect waste, giving you the opportunity to start fresh.

Doesn't your body deserve that?

Have You Mastered the Fundamentals of Building a Website?

If you stop and pay me a visit at Catchfire Coaching you'll find that one of the things I stress over and over again for your business is the importance of having a functional website. Not just one designed for your already existing patients (who are probably scratching their heads and going, "They don't have a website yet?") but one that's also going to help you attract new patients who are doing what most of today's information savvy physician searchers do-launching their search for a new doctor over the web.

**Did you know that many patients will dismiss a doctor out of hand if they don't have a website? Incredible, isn't it?**

For your website to catch the eye of your new patients you need it to be search engine friendly, which means you need to concentrate on the following:

1) Keywords
2)Basic website building skills that allow you to add and edit content easily
3) Choosing a domain name that's going to be easy to remember and associate with your business

In today's digital age learning the fundamentals of building a website is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the continuity of your practice. Don't let another day go by without learning what you need to make your website work for you.

Do You Prefer Facebook or Twitter?

I had an interesting question posed to me this morning that I wanted to share with y'all. What would you say is your favorite social medium? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter? Each has their own advantages, and each plays its own role in personal and business marketing. As I was sitting there thinking about the question I realized that I had different preferences for different purposes. I like Facebook when I need to keep up with what's going on with my family, friends, patients and coworkers; on the other hand, I prefer Twitter to help me keep up with what's going on in my industry.

What would you say is your favorite, and why? And if you had to choose, what would you give up to be able to continue using your favorite social media?

Learning to Navigate the New Web 2.0

While I was prepping my new webinar and gearing up for a seminar in Houston about how medical and chiropractic practices and other small businesses can benefit from social media tools I started thinking. Yes, most of us know that social media is important, but do we really understand how they're paving the way into the new Web 2.0?

More importantly, do we really understand what it is that's separating this generation of patients and consumers from the ones we've been marketing to in the past?

I can give you the answer to that question in one word-the Internet. Today's patient is more informed than ever before. In fact, if you go straight to the bottom line you'll find that today's consumer is almost overinformed. Thanks to the Internet, they think they know more about what's ailing them than you do! That overload of information is what makes it vital for you to establish yourself as an expert from the very beginning.

Our very best patient referrals come from current patients. Why? Because patients trust other patients. That's where social media comes into play. Social media marketing might be written by doctors, but it's going to help your patients to see you as a) an authority in your field and b) a person that other patients respect.

And that respect is the key to building your practice using the Web 2.0.

Destress with Simple Meditation

It's Friday! Time to hop out of my thinking chair, take off my thinking hat and head out into the big, wide, wonderful world for a weekend of rest and relaxation. One of the most important things in my regular routine is taking time out from whatever's going to get in touch with myself, and I've found the easiest way to do that is with this simple meditation exercise.

Light a candle, preferably in a holder, and set it down on a linoleum floor. Sit down in front of it. (You can use a rug or a pillow if you like.) Close your eyes and breathe deeply, clearing your mind. Then open your eyes and focus on the flame. Don't think. If your mind starts to wander, let it go. Don't follow it. This is a time of peace, not worry. By focusing on the flame and its nuances you're depriving your other senses and forcing them to take a time out-a very big must for a busy and overtired brain.

Teamwork Building Exercises

In an incredibly ironic twist of fate, I was talking about teamwork yesterday and stumbled across some great team building sites this morning while browsing around. Take a look, see what they have to offer and consider implementing some of them in your office!

"It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn't matter who gets the credit."

http://wilderdom.com/games/InitiativeGames.html http://www.funteambuilding.com/links.php http://www.geocities.com/dr_adventure/activitypage.html http://www.thiagi.com/games.html

Never Underestimate the Power of Teamwork

Over the years I like to think I've had the chance to learn a few things about the business. Just a few, of course! J One of the things I've learned over the years is that you can never actually do it on your own. I don't care what all those marketing gurus say, without a good team standing behind you you can't do anything. You can't move your products, you can't sell your services. You can't keep track of all your appointments. You can't cash your checks.

In order for your business to move smoothly you need all of the parts to work the way they're supposed to. And that's impossible without teamwork.

Building a Blog for Your Business

I can't remember at the moment whether or not I touched on this in an earlier blog-I tend to get my blogs and my tweets all mixed up! Does anyone else ever have that problem? I wanted to take a second today to talk to you about building up a blog for your business. It can be hard for busy professionals to take the time to blog, especially doctors and chiropractors who don't have five minutes to eat in piece.

Building a blog is important though. Very important. Your blog, filled with your thoughts, is going to be your personal link with your patients. It's going to bridge the gap and, in the end, could be the deciding factor they use when they're choosing who their caregiver is going to be.

Why You Should Limit Your Exposure to Internet Marketing Gurus

As professionals we learn at a very early age that if we don't have the answers you should turn to the experts to find them. When you're dealing with other medical professionals it can be a slight sting to the pride to have to ask for help, but you get over that pretty quickly and enjoy the comradeship that builds in the medical community.

When you're studying the art of Internet marketing your first instinct is usually going to be to turn to the professionals for answers. Spending too much time reading the literature out there published by today's Internet marketing gurus can leave you feeling like a failure when your site doesn't immediately take off. I'm here to tell you a secret. None of these so-called gurus experienced a tremendous amount of success on their first try. They studied, they did their homework, then they reaped the benefits. So be prepared to work hard and run into failure along the way, and if you're finding you've had all the motivational speaking you can handle stop reading.

If you can do what works for you it won't be long before you're seeing tangible results too.