New treatment products are coming to help you improve patient health and expand your practice
A discussion about treatment products is bound to be wide-ranging, because the term can mean any product used in treating the patient, such as back supports, orthotics, or therapeutic creams.
But when using any products in treating patients, you should have the most current information available. To find out the latest treatment product news, Chiropractic Products spoke to three representatives in the area of chiropractic treatment products. Donald Dodds is operations manager of Bodyline Comfort Systems. Kent Greenawalt is president and CEO of Foot Levelers. Jeff Baskett is marketing program manager for Sombra Professional Therapy Products.
What type of profit margin can a chiropractor expect to see from using the treatment products, and how long will it take to see a profit?
Dodds: Doctors can generally receive an 80% to 100% immediate profit margin from Bodyline's Back-Huggar®. The original Back-Huggar was made by Bodyline Comfort Systems and has been used by chiropractic doctors for 40 years to help hold the patient's adjustment between office visits. Chiropractors from around the world have actually provided their patients with over 2 million Back-Huggars over the years, making it the most popular lumbar support cushion design sold anywhere in the world.
Greenawalt: The profit opportunity with orthotics is expanding the quality of care by providing a higher level of service. Completing a foot-and-gait-analysis exam to determine the necessity of orthotics; adjusting the foot, ankle, and lower-extremity joints; and instructing the patient in strengthening and stretching exercises are all ways to enhance care. On ensuing visits, the doctor will fit the patient with custom orthotics, instruct the patient in proper use, recheck the adjustments in the spine and lower-extremity joints, and review home exercises. Often provided over three visits, the total profit margin for the product and the service provided by the doctor can actually be more than $500 for each pair of custom orthotics.
Baskett: From our suggested wholesale price to our suggested retail price, the profit margin would be 35%, and the chiropractor can see that margin almost immediately. We have found that a good number of chiropractors, though, will not mark up our Sombra natural pain-relieving gel very much, as they see it more as a value-added product that their clients can bring home with them.
Describe a success story where a patient's health improved after using the product.
Dodds: One example of a true success story is of a patient that went to his chiropractor with an excruciating backache. He was very worried about a cross-country road trip the next day, and with the back pain he was having, this trip would be absolutely impossible. The doctor adjusted his patient as best he could and told him to use the Back-Huggar in his car seat for support, and he possibly could make his Florida-to-California road trip without extreme pain and discomfort. The patient made the trip and enthusiastically called the doctor, stating that his back actually improved the longer he drove. He arrived without the extreme backache and found a new way to drive comfortably and without pain.
Greenawalt: Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers can be beneficial to patients of all ages due to the fact that foot imbalances affect the entire kinetic chain, including the pelvis and spine. It's just a matter of how the imbalances present themselves. Structural imbalances can lead to acute injuries or chronic microtrauma, causing degenerative changes. Whether it's the high school volleyball player that no longer sprained her ankles and went on to an injury-free college career or the 74-year-old grandmother that overcame back pain and difficulty walking through the grocery store, Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers optimize function and can improve activities of daily living.
Baskett: We at Sombra Professional Therapy Products receive countless numbers of unsolicited testimonials from patients who have tried the Sombra natural pain-relieving gel. Here's one example:
"To whom it may concern: I purchased your Sombra product from my chiropractor in Washington State. My aunt was here visiting from Somerset, Mass, and she tried a sample of it and would like to know who in her area carries it so that she can purchase a jar of it now that she is home. I have been using it for the arthritis in my knees instead of taking pills, and it works great! I have also used it on my lower back and shoulders after doing yard work, and what a difference the next morning is for me. It's nice to have a product you can put on your aches and still be able to leave the house and go because of the smell. Thank you for the information."
What is the latest breaking news you can tell us regarding upcoming improvements to the product, or regarding any new products in the pipeline?
Dodds: Bodyline now puts a personalized doctor label on each Back-Huggar sold to chiropractic doctors. The 1-inch-x-3-inch label goes on the back of each Back-Huggar and has the doctor's name, address, and telephone number. The patient will always be able to look on the back of the product and know where they got their original Back-Huggar, and so will their family and friends. In the pipeline, Bodyline has a new portable cervical decompression unit that reduces protruding disks of the cervical spine. The product will sell to the doctor for $47.50.
Greenawalt: Foot Levelers' Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers are created by using the highest level of technology, including an intricate digital scan of each patient's foot. The highly specific nature of the Stabilizer to each individual is what makes it work so well. Sixteen measurements are taken to ensure a perfect fit. Other important lifestyle considerations are also noted, such as height, weight, activity level, and age.
Upcoming products include the new Foot Levelers display for doctors to use in their practices. The display is all inclusive, explaining the unique features of our Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers in a compact and easy-to-understand format.
Baskett: Besides our recent release of the new "Cool Therapy" natural pain-relieving gel, we also released two new ultrasound products, which includes a Ultrasound Gel with Aloe and a Therapeutic Ultrasound Lotion with Menthol and Capsaicin.
What research is available showing the effectiveness of the product?
Dodds: Mixon and Burr wrote the first thesis about bulging protruding disks in 1931. Back-Huggar helps to support spinal disks from further bulging when you are driving a car. The Back-Huggar was invented in 1968 by John W. Fiore, DC, to hold his patients' adjustments when they left his office. Bodyline has since sold more than 2 million Back-Huggars, proving without a doubt that the product is not only very effective, but extremely popular as well.
Greenawalt: Foot Levelers has more than 30 peer-reviewed research studies, all showing the effectiveness of Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers in overall spinal function. Some of the research has given us results showing a 29% to 36% increase in pelvic rotation for patients using stabilizers and a 77% increase in balance. Pelvic or spinal tilt responds rapidly to the use of stabilizers as well. Stabilizers have also been shown to have a preventive function in regard to foot fatigue and excessive pronation and knee injuries.
How much work is required for the chiropractor to learn to use the product, and how much work is required for a chiropractor to teach a patient how to use the product?
Dodds: Absolutely no work or learning is required for the doctor and none for the patient as well. By using Bodyline's bumper sticker program, the doctor or CA never has to "sell" them. The CA only needs to point to the display, and the program demonstrates the need to the patient. That is to provide for back support as patients drive from the doctor's office after a corrective adjustment. The patient simply places the Back-Huggar onto his car seat or chair and sits against it. The "Back-Huggar" is designed to fit most any back and has an assortment of styles to fit almost any seat.
Greenawalt: We share our clinical research with the profession through multiple journals. Continuing-education courses and license renewal seminars are invaluable educational tools. The chiropractic profession has the opportunity to attend biomechanics-related programs throughout the year. Educating your patients can be as easy as a demonstration relating imbalances of the feet to other structural problems. For example, have a patient lightly touch his greater trochanters with the tops of his fingers while slowly rolling his feet into pronation and supination. Even the slightest movement in the feet will be felt at the level of the hip. Once patients know how their anatomical structure relates to their biomechanical function, they will gladly comply with the recommendation for stabilizers.
Baskett: The application for the Sombra Natural Pain Relieving gel is straightforward and needs no instruction. What the product does in terms of the effectiveness is what the chiropractor will want to learn, as well as the types of conditions or injuries that will benefit from the gel, which is primarily chronic conditions and basic aches and pains that just do not go away.
How does the product contribute toward improving overall spinal health?
Dodds: The Back-Huggar was designed to offer both lumbar and circumferential support. The lumbar support actually encourages the spine to assume its proper curve, while the circumferential support hugs the low back area to provide the maximum support for bulging or protruded spinal disks. This affords the patients with low back pain to have superior support, which then lessens the pain. The Back-Huggar allows the patient to sit comfortably, and helps to eliminate further damage that improper sitting can cause.
Greenawalt: The foot is constructed with three arches which, when properly aligned, give exceptional supportive strength. These three arches form a supporting vault that distributes the weight of the entire body. When any of these arches is compromised, biomechanical stresses accumulate in the other arches, and symptoms develop. Interestingly, the symptoms of a collapsed arch can be expressed anywhere in the musculoskeletal system—from the legs, to the pelvis, and even into the back and neck. Posture, balance, coordination, and efficient musculoskeletal function all depend on the smooth functioning of this complex arrangement between the feet and the spine.
Baskett: The Sombra Natural Pain Relieving Gel provides temporary relief of pain associated with spinal cord injuries. It will help with the patients' threshold to the pain they are dealing with as it will give temporary relief and is a natural alternative to pain medications.
What are some innovative display methods to help grab a patient's attention?
Dodds: Bodyline offers two (free for the asking) counter top displays to let your patients know you carry the Back-Huggar. Bodyline offers a bumper sticker display promoting chiropractic and the Back-Huggar. The patients can read the display header message letting them know the importance of low back support after they receive the corrective adjustment as they drive away from the doctor's office. The best news is that the Back-Huggar can actually sell itself with this display. Bodyline's other display offers a personalized one-unit counter top display holding one Back-Huggar to let the patients see the product firsthand. Both are free for the asking.
Greenawalt: A new display from Foot Levelers will soon be available for use in any practice. The display provides four stabilizer samples for patients to see and touch. Three of these samples are full length, and one is dress length. This will show the patient how stabilizers can be created to accommodate any style of shoe they choose to wear. All four are made of a different material, made to function in different ways—from moisture resistance to a luxury feel. The display also provides patient-education brochures and is easily mounted on walls or table tops. A hands-on approach to the display model is proven effective.
Baskett: Sombra Professional Therapy Products has two display methods used for a chiropractic office. We have a dispenser box that comes with 100 loose 5-gram packets, as well as a Sombra display unit that comes with an informational backing and empty jars that will show the sizes available.
A Conversation with Sense Technology
Chiropractic Products spoke to Charlton M. Evans, vice president of Sense Technology. The company produces and markets the PulStar™ for Multiple Impulse Therapy.
What makes the PulStar different from other adjusting instruments?
We provide an accurate, objective measure of spinal stiffness and a uniquely effective treatment modality. Our published research has demonstrated that we can provide information to assist the doctor in diagnosing musculoskeletal dysfunction that just can't be found with other methods like palpation, x-ray, EMG, etc. We do that with a repeatability factor that is, for lack of better terms, "off the scale."
What product advancements can we look for in the future?
We continue to innovate every day. Integration with billing and documentation software will continue. Other enhancements are in the works, but we want to maintain our competitive advantage in the technology end of the market, so those will remain undisclosed at this time.
How can chiropractors calm a patient's fears about being adjusted with the instrument?
A simple demonstration is all that is ever required. It is really a "no-brainer," even for people that are sensitive to any sort of therapy. Our settings go as low as 5 pounds for the adjustment, and we still get great results. Ask our DCs!
What are some specific examples of research showing the product's effectiveness?
We have nine peer-reviewed published studies, along with some that are unpublished. There are links on our Web site to the papers, and there are others in the works!
What can you tell us about the history of the company?
Sense Technology Inc has been developing instrumentation for musculoskeletal therapy for over 25 years (since 1981). The PulStar is our latest innovation in instrument design based on a research and development program that allows us to continuously improve the treatment. Sense Technology Inc has excelled at producing the very best instrumentation of any type. Call us to sign up for a seminar and get some hands-on time with the PulStar and get to know us.
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