The health industry is a quagmire of options. There is a litany of choices and it can be very difficult to filter out the legitimate from the shady. This post will hopefully shed some light on questions to ask and things to look out for.
There are so many myths and false claims. It is worth the time and effort to find someone who you can trust to have your best interests at heart, and has the skills to back up what they say.
It goes without saying that not all body workers are the same, both in terms of style of practice and objectives. When forming an opinion about certain profession, know that there are those who practice with clinical excellence and those who are a bit slap dash. For instance, if you went to a dentist who did a poor job, you probably wouldn't write off dentistry as a whole and say good dental care isn't for you. There are good dentists and bad dentists, good acupuncturists and bad ones, and this of course extends to every industry.
A good place to start is based on personal recommendations as there are some pretty questionable theories and approaches to the body out there, so just use common sense and some discretion and you will find the right practitioner for you.
Things to watch out for:
Bargains and special offers - If anyone has to use basement prices to lure you in then they may either be desperate, could have hidden prices, or could be using a bright shiny bait to sell you on over the top care packages that won't result in a better outcome
Not conducting a thorough history and examination and not explaining findings or future care plans - I recently had a client who went to see a chiropractor who simply asked where they hurt, put them on a bench and started cracking bones with no explanation. Understandably they were not impressed.
Making unsubstantiated claims - this can either be in terms of symptoms/diseases that can be treated, time frames or 'miracle cures'. Of course absence of proof does not mean proof of absence, but just be wary about signing up out of desperation. I do believe that there can be a lot of value in the fringe therapies, and so it is just about finding a good balance between being open-minded to different approaches, and thinking critically.
Over promising and under-delivering - Some will sell you the world and give you peanuts.
Not helping you feel any better - The vast majority of people should notice changes in symptoms within 3-6 weeks, most will do significantly faster than that. When I say changes, know that it can come in various forms: it can be the symptoms you came in with, it could be breathing, posture or improvements in other symptoms. It could be better sleep, more energy or greater flexibility. Of course it goes without saying that the primary symptom that you started care for is the thing that your practitioner should be aiming to help you with the soonest, but sometimes as the body heals, it will let go of and deal with other issues in a hierarchy before it gets to the major pain. This is because that in many cases, where you feel pain is a compensation site rather than the primary problem. The other key things to consider are that the longer you have had a problem, the longer it will take to fix, and that progress will happen at different speeds for different people.
Scaring you into care - there is a difference between being upfront and honest about where your body is and what it will take to get your body healthy and functioning properly, versus using fear tactics to guilt or worry you into treatment. Even if you have tried various avenues to fix your problems, remember that you have options. Even if you feel desperate, try as hard as you can to maintain your belief in yourself and know that you are the one in control.
Not treating you as a person #1 - the white coat or the the saviour complex should set off alarm bells. Two people may have the same symptoms but with very different causes, and so an ethical practitioner will treat you as an individual. They will look into your history, your current lifestyle and your objectives for the future.
"My way is the only way" - If all you have is a hammer, everything will be a nail. Look out for the healthcare worker who says that their way is the only way. Of course most practitioners will have their techniques that they have chosen to use, and there are better and worse methods, but there is more than one way to skin a cat.
There will probably be other things to watch out for but hopefully this has given you some food for thought and as always, please let me know if you have any thoughts.
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