Perhaps we are at the point in the development of our model of chiropractic that we should drop the concept of levels of care and just have one level—chiropractic care. At this one and only level, we check the entire spine for vertebral subluxation and adjust if necessary wherever and whenever we find the need, recognizing that different people may need different adjustments and even the same person may need different adjustments from day to day. We could do away with different kinds of care from initial or intensive, or whatever we call it, to wellness or maintenance care. What is it that is different about our care in these situations anyway? Nothing! We always check for subluxations and adjust if necessary each time the practice member comes in. Which is more important, once a day or once a week? They are both equally important. If you are subluxated you need to be adjusted.
Perhaps, if we did away with these “levels” of care, we could get people to truly understand what we are doing. Maybe they would view us more like a gym or health club than a doctor treating them for a condition that they hope in time will be eliminated. (In our case the “condition” is vertebral subluxation). Typically, people don’t go to their health club on a temporary basis, until a condition (i.e., being out of shape or overweight) is alleviated. They go because they know it is something they should do for their health. They go because they feel healthier, have more energy, and/or are stronger when they go on a regular basis. Some may stop going after they lose the weight or get in shape (and many even before they do), but that is not because they think that they no longer need to go.
I think sometimes we are afraid to be up front with our practice members and tell them from the start what we are about. We are afraid to tell them what they can expect from us and what we expect from them. So, we explain what we are doing in terms they understand or what we think they will understand. People will decide when they no longer want or need chiropractic care. They are free to do that, but we should do everything we can to give them an accurate perception of the kind of care we offer. To do that we need to present chiropractic differently, even different than what every other chiropractor is presenting. They can use chiropractic however they want for as long as they want, but it is in both our and their best interest to know up front that chiropractic is not a treatment for a condition. It is for a better life expression for the duration of an individual’s existence.