“Dr. Cerami, why do I need to see you twice per week?!”

By Dr. Michael Cerami

The average patient comes into my office assuming we will provide medical care to fix their problem in basically the same way as their previous physicians have. It’s normal for all physicians to take a history, do some tests, come up with a diagnosis and then treat based on these findings. Where we get into trouble is mostly in the treatment side of this recipe.

Over the last 30 years traditional medical treatment has changed dramatically. I see a direct comparison to the way our culture eats today. We want it fast and cheap. 50% of all meals are eaten outside the home today with 1 in 5 breakfasts eaten at Macdonald’s.  As long as we have that “full” feeling, it doesn’t seem to matter to many Americans what they put in their stomach. The same holds true for pain relief. It doesn’t seem to matter what drug prescription was provided, as long as it provides relief.

Drug taking like food consumption is a personal choice. Do what you need to but don‘t assume that feeling full or being out of pain by taking medication are long term strategies for a healthy life. You can’t put a square peg in a round hole.

When I set out to correct a patient’s problem, I’m trying to find the cause or source of the symptom. This differs greatly from “treating the symptom”. Over the first 3-6 visits we expect to fix each of the below 5 “upstream” causes that contribute to the athlete’s pain and poor performance.

• ·         Bio-mechanical misalignments
• ·         Pronation
• ·         Weak muscles
• ·         Neuro-spinal distortion
• ·         Inflammation

If we skip steps, we won’t solve the problem and the body will eventually crash again. As hard as I’ve tried over the past 27 years, I can’t get all of these things fixed in one or two visits. The good news is that I’ve reduced the time needed for initial correction by about 60% since I began practicing.

So, please be a little patient and give us a few weeks of 2 visits per week so we can “stack” the improvement and get a sustainable result. This way we can get to the core of your problem and have a better chance of not only permanently correcting some long standing distortions, but also keep you happy and healthy throughout the year.

As always I look forward to your comments.

Dr. Michael Cerami is a local Utah sports chiropractor who has been treating patients for over 25 years. He writes a weekly patient blog and monthly athlete article for community education on a wide variety of topics including treating sports injuries, nutrition, exercise, motivation and wellness.