Many chiropractors have taken to using public records that the city of Pasco and Kennewick used to post online for free and cold calling these victims.
Beware Of Scammers
Some would use high pressure sales scare tactics to convince these people who, by no fault of their own, have found themselves in pain, confused, and unsure what they should do.
Several local clinics have started using a service called "accident angels" that they pay thousands of dollars to each month to direct them to their offices.
We have had patients under care personally called and misled. They were allowed or led to believe that they were talking to at-fault insurance company.
They were instructed that they needed to go to Dr. X’s office because they were paying for the treatment and he was an ‘auto accident specialist.’
First, there is no such credentialing or recognition in the field of chiropractic.
Second, an insurance company will never tell you WHERE you need to seek treatment—only that it is your right to do so. This doctor had only just recently graduated from chiropractic school two months prior.
What To Expect From Chiropractic Treatment
Once you have begun treatment, it is important that you treat consistently and follow the doctor’s recommendations…to a point.
Treatment should be helping. You should notice incremental improvement in function and pain levels. It is typical to start seeing improvement within the first two weeks as the tissues start to heal.
The recovery process is not linear. Every day is not better. I often explain to my patients that it is a roller coaster ride—some days are good, and some days are bad.
With that being said, you should start to have more good days than bad days, and those days when you flare up should not be as severe as when you were initially injured.
We Offer All Our New Chiropractic Patients A Free TENS Unit
A TENS Unit is a safe, noninvasive, drug-free method of pain management when used as directed.
Be aware of anyone who continues to do the same thing over and over without seeing objective (measurable) and subjective (reported) improvements.
A clinic close to our own treated one individual for three years and ran up a chiropractic bill of $42,000! There are individuals out there that believe that a car accident is a free license to treat and run up a bill.
Treatment should be reasonable both in time frame and frequency. Initially it is common practice to treat someone 3 times a week.
I often explain that we are working on aiding the muscles to relax and change from tight and ropey (injured consistency) to soft and pliable (healthy consistency).
Post-treatment soreness is normal. We prefer a day for the tissues to heal and then work on them again.
If you are not improving. your doctor should consider advanced imaging such as an MRI or, at a minimum, a consultation with an orthopedic specialist.
To do the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If you have questions about your care, we offer free consultations.
I have seen many patients who have already spent months at different chiropractors who have asked to consult with me.
Understanding that they have already had sufficient (even if it may have been poor) conservative care, I usually refer them out for imaging and right to a specialist.
Once again, I believe that if I take care of my patients' needs first, everything else will be taken care of.
