Probing Patients for the Whole Story: Why Consults and Interviews are Paramount

There are a few simple ways to tell if you’re being taken for a ride when you visit a chiropractor. The first and easiest tip-off comes when your chiropractor fails to take time to interview you about your specific pain or discomfort. It’s a critical first step that, when overlooked, has the potential to invalidate any future adjustments. Skipping this dialogue and jumping right into corrections is a recipe for disaster and the mark of an unskilled practitioner.

Chiropractic consultations and interviews are a core part of Chiropractic BioPhysics (CBP) and other modalities for a reason. They yield insight into each unique patient, presenting symptoms, potential catalysts, and myriad other factors that determine everything from a diagnosis to the course of treatment.

Ideal Spine places the utmost emphasis on pre-adjustment patient interviews and consultations, both as critical starting places and crucial benchmarks in the CBP process. We leverage the insights a patient dialogue provides, to better serve their spine health and wellness.

Show us where it hurts

The first and simplest question a chiropractor asks a patient is also the most important: “where does it hurt?” Getting patients talking about their pain is a simple way to start identifying its markers and traits. Important information gleaned from this simple question can include:

• The location and span of the pain (from the low back to the heel);
• The sensation of the pain (burning, shooting, tingling, etc.);
• The frequency of the pain (consistently, occasionally, every night, etc.);
• Limits caused by pain (can’t bend, problems reaching, etc.).

Simply prompting patients to talk about their pain helps chiropractors begin to qualify it objectively. This can lead to more accurate diagnoses once all variables are discerned, as well as insight into specifics of a condition unique to that patient.

Going beyond the present

Patient consults and interviews also provide invaluable information that might not be listed in any chart or immediately present during palpitation. For example, a recent fall they had or an accident they were in weeks ago may be tied to presenting symptoms. Asking the right questions and listening to patient explanations produces context clues that are highly valuable. Some questions a chiropractor may consider include:

• Have you tripped, fallen, or injured yourself in any way recently?
• When did your pain begin and did anything happen around this time?
• Have you been treated for this pain or anything like it before?
• Have you experienced anything like this before?

Whether positive or negative, answers yield insight and provide the missing information needed to close gaps of uncertainty.

Tell us about yourself

Even a conversational, friendly dialogue is important. The more that’s known about the patient, the better. What do they do for a living? What are their hobbies? Did they do anything fun last weekend? Each piece of information tells you more about their lifestyle, which in turn contributes to our understanding of their situation and condition. A construction worker who plays softball on the weekends is likely going to have different physiological concerns than a computer programmer who spends her free time reading!

Getting off on the right foot

The information compiled from even a simple patient interview or consultation is a critical component to any good chiropractor’s treatment process. Chiropractors who skip this step are doing a disservice to their patients and to themselves, mitigating or delaying relief.

Ideal Spine promotes patient interviews before any corrections are made. By adhering to the CBP process for evaluation, our chiropractors establish a baseline for information before adjusting, ensuring tailored, targeted treatment.

Chiropractic BioPhysics® corrective care trained Chiropractors are located throughout the United States and in several international locations. CBP providers have helped thousands of people throughout the world realign their spine back to health, and eliminate a source of chronic back pain, chronic neck pain, chronic headaches and migraines, fibromyalgia, and a wide range of other health conditions. If you are serious about your health and the health of your loved ones, contact a CBP trained provider today to see if you qualify for care. The exam and consultation are often FREE. See www.CBPpatient.com for providers in your area.