A Brand New Resolution

Five years ago, I decided to make my New Year’s resolutions cumulative instead of coming up with a whole new list every year. I would add only one resolution to my list, unless I found I could not keep the previous resolution. For example, my first year I decided to drink 10 glasses of water per day. Since I kept forgetting to do so throughout the year, the next year, I kept the same resolution without adding another to my list.

The third year, I resolved to quit drinking coffee. I finally stopped completely in May of that year. But then I started again at the end of the year, so my fourth-year resolutions remained the same. The next year, I resolved to stop feeding my sweet tooth. I have had some success with that one.

So this year, while deciding what I can work on to improve my health and well-being, I tried to think of what I did not particularly enjoy doing but is good for me—cervical extension traction. For 3 months, I have been doing 5 pounds for 10 minutes with 50% improvement in my lordosis and atlas base angle. But now, my “hanging” time has been increased to 20 minutes. I find this extremely difficult to comply with, especially at home. I am sure none of this comes as a surprise to chiropractors who have had to deal with patient compliance issues.

At first, my improvement rate was a great motivator, but not enough to sustain me through 20 minutes of traction. I hope including this to my 2004 resolutions will help me.

Then I recalled reading this month’s Practice Profile feature story “All Systems Go” (pages 14–16), where two chiropractors find success with subluxation scans and graphical reports of findings. I have always wished for mini x-rays (business-card size) with an accordion fold of my initial and subsequent examinations to keep in my wallet so I can show my friends the benefits of chiropractic care. Perhaps this could also be used as a motivator for my daily exercises. Visual affirmation showing where I was and where I am now is encouraging, especially during the last 5 minutes.

The mini x-ray accordion could be combined as patient education and compliance as well as practice promotion. I do not know whether the costs would be prohibitive, but patients would appreciate this visual example in addition to their reports of findings.

Chiropractors can encourage their patients to include chiropractic care, home exercises, or other adjunct services in their New Year’s resolutions. What else could be better for your patients’ health?

My 2004 resolutions: 1) Drink 10 glasses of water per day; 2) Stop drinking coffee; 3) Stop eating excessive amounts of candy; and 4) Do 20 minutes of cervical extension traction every day. Here’s to hoping I can add another one next year. CP

Miwon Seo
mseo@medpubs.com