The Importance of Giving Back

The Importance of Giving Back

As most of my avid blog readers out there already know, I am a Baltimore Chiropractor whose clinic spends the majority of its time treating Baltimore car accident injury patients. Of course we see patients who have not been involved in Baltimore auto accident injuries, and we spend a fair amount of time treating headaches, neck pain, mid back pain, lower back pain, and sciatica as well.

I opened the clinic about 4 years ago. My goal was simple: to become the premier destination for chiropractic/rehab services for Baltimore City while catering to the Hispanic demographic located in Southeast Baltimore. We’ve seen approximately 2000 new patients in that time frame. A lot of my chiropractor friends ask how I got to see that many new patients so quickly. And the answer is “I give.” I wake up early to see the early risers, I work through lunch to see patients who only have a short period of time on their lunch breaks for care, and I stay late to see those working far away who only want to come here. I worked every Saturday for the first two years. I give and I give and then I give some more. There’s a saying in business networking that “giver’s gain.” Starting with one new patient, helping them to the best of my abilities, the referrals started to snowball. Online reviews grew and the practice grew. It continues to grow to the tune of 75-80 new patients a month. I am beyond pleased with the success of the practice and my ability to help the citizens of Baltimore live healthier, happier, pain-free lives. There have been bumps in the road as we have hired (and then fired) staff members whose commitment to patients was not in line with what I was looking for. But I suppose that is to be expected with any (relatively) new business.

Anyone who has ever started a business or ran a business knows that there is usually a cost to business and financial success. Typically that is decreased health (due to stress and meals on the go) and decreased “relationship” health, as more time and resources are diverted to the business side of life and less to the personal side of life. I missed countless family gatherings, weekends together with loved ones, and countless evenings with friends playing cards and hanging out so that I could work, solidify my brand, and continue to grow my business. Some people call this “sacrifice” but I don’t think its a sacrifice. I think its a necessary commitment early on to help the business and practice take off.

Recently my family suffered a tremendous loss as my mother lost her battle with lung cancer. I found (and find) myself less motivated to grow the business and more interested in investing in those parts of my life that I have been putting by the wayside. Having lost someone I cared about I find myself wondering if it matters if I can increase the number of patients we help or how much money we can collect, or when I can finish paying off my student loan debt. I find myself wanting to spend more time with my girlfriend, my friends, and my family. I think its a natural mental frame shift that probably occurs with most people when they suffer a tremendous loss. It puts our mortality into perspective, as well it should.

To help honor my mother’s memory I put together a youcaring campaign.  The campaign details a little history of her life and it shines a light on her true passion – animal rescue. I made it a commitment to raise $5,000 in her memory to donate to the cause that brought her such joy and meaning in her life. Since her passing we have raised over $3,300 for the cause. We are about two-thirds of the way there!

Having said that, I would like to compel my blog reads to like, share, and if possible, donate to the cause. As my team and I have given to help you over the past four years, please help give back to communities outside of work and healthcare that mean a lot to me. And more importantly, I’d like those blog readers (especially other business owners, entrepreneurs, and Chiropractors) to take an evening off and spend some time with those who care about you the most. You don’t know when you won’t have that opportunity.

Lost In Translation – He Said, She Said, and the Truth

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating patients injured in Baltimore auto accidents, I have learned over the years that communication is paramount. Whether that be communication with a patient, an insurance company, or even while communicating my thoughts into a daily SOAP note. In my practice we work closely along side internists and specialists such as pain management physicians and orthopedic surgeons. A lot of the “co-management” of these patients requires continued back and forth communication on behalf of these patients with these other providers. My staff and I do our best to succinctly record our findings and our opinions regarding the patients that we are co-treating. I even have the personal cell phone numbers of most of the providers we work with so that I can call ahead and leave detailed messages regarding patient care.

An interesting phenomenon occurs when I refer a patient to another practice for an evaluation and future treatment recommendations. When they come back to discuss the encounter and the plan moving forward, most of the time the patient has no idea what was said, what was done, or what the plan is moving forward! It’s as if they were not present for their own appointment.

I can certainly fill them in and get them up to speed when I receive a copy of the medical records several days later, but it delays my understanding in how to best help them moving forward in light of the new medical evaluation.

I recently had an epiphany. I realized that if patients outside of my office have no idea what their conditions are or what the next step towards recovery is, then it stands to reason that even in my office there is probably a breach of communication. As the old saying goes “there’s his side, her side, and the truth.” That is to say in our world, there’s what I say to my patients, what they hear, and the truth. Most of the time losing some pieces of information has no clinical importance. However, sometimes missing small details can lead to grave issues.

I have a patient that I am treating for a Baltimore auto accident right now. In her crash she suffered lower back pain that has, for the most part, failed to respond well to conservative chiropractic therapy. We recently referred her for a lower back MRI to determine if she had disc inflammation. I reviewed the radiological report and it detailed some disc protrusions and a torn ligament her spine. It also found a kidney finding that was unusual, and it told her to follow up with her primary care physician for further diagnostic evaluation.

I got the MRI report prior to her next office visit. When she got in she said “Her Dr. G, did you get my results? Someone called my house and said I need to have my liver looked at. Any idea whats going on?” In a classic game of telephone the message was distorted and permuted before reaching its intended target. In this particular case I had to explain to the patient that the abnormal findings were of her kidney and not her liver. I made her a copy of her MRI report and I encouraged her to see her PCP and bring a copy of these results with her so that her PCP can order the next set of tests in order to help her determine if there is a problem with her kidney.

In light of these miscommunications it got me thinking about the best ways for patients to better communicate with their providers and how to get the most out of each clinical encounter. In no particular order these are as follows:

• Be prepared for your visit and write a list of questions you intend to ask.
• Bring a copy of any examinations (x-rays, MRIs) with you for the provider to review on the initial visit. This will help “speed up” the process of waiting two more weeks to return for imaging interpretation.
• Bring a “helper” who can go with you. 4 ears are better than 2.
• Write salient information down during the visit
• Ask for copy of any blood work or examination findings after the visit. This can help you keep track of what testing was already done so you don’t have to waste time or money repeating exams unnecessarily.
• Ask providers if you can record the encounter with your smart phone or other device (they may or may not say yes)
• Keep a notebook with you to record what pain you have and when you have it. It’s hard to remember when you had pain once you are feeling well.
• Keep a calendar of your appointments so that you can coordinate with all providers.

No one said recovering from a Baltimore auto accident injury would be easy. There is a lot of medical terminology and there are many doctors appointments. In order to recover as quickly as possible and in order to avoid any bad outcomes, it is extremely important that patients understand what their providers are saying and how it impacts them. Without a fluid understanding of their injury and the process to recover, patients will be left in the dark in terms of how to best improve their conditions. Most providers have no issue in slowing down, re-explaining exam findings, and coordinating care with other providers.

If you, or someone you know, has been injured in a Baltimore auto accident please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

Will A Baltimore Chiropractor Accept My Insurance?

As a Baltimore chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating injured patients that have been involved in Baltimore car accidents, I often get asked if my office will accept private health insurances. That is, prospective patients want to know if this office is in credentialed as an in-network provider for the major health insurance companies in order to provide chiropractic services. The answer is yes.

Currently the list of health insurance carriers that we are considered in network with include: Blue Cross and Blue Shield (CareFirst), Cigna, Johns Hopkins EHP, and United Healthcare. That list is not entirely inclusive. There are literally hunderds of other subplans that we may be able to accept as an in-network provider that fall under these umbrella companies. We will not be able to list all of those smaller companies on the website. If someone were interested in determining whether or not they had chiropractic coverage the best way to handle that would be to email or call the office, and let us know your name, date of birth, insurance company, plan number, and member ID. Armed with that information my staff is trained to “pre-certify” chiropractic care for Baltimore area residents. By the time you arrive for your first visit you will know if we accept your insurance, how much your copay is (money due at time of service), how much of your deductible you have met for this calendar year, and how many visits your insurance company may limit you to.

One thing that I want to express is that in this office we are just healthcare providers. We do not write the language of the health insurance contract. That means that I can not control how much your copay costs you, how many visits your insurance will pay for, or whether or not you have already met your deductible for a given calendar year. Sometimes patients get upset with us to learn that they have a $40 copay and that since they have not yet met their deductible they will owe us another $25 per visit for all of the services that we render. They feel somehow “ripped off” or “misguided” because they pay for insurance and our office accepts it, but the costs are more expensive than if they simply paid our cash fee schedule. This is why all new patients are informed of their financial obligations as of their first office visit. While I certainly understand wanting to use health insurance if you pay for it and we accept it, sometimes it is less expensive to pay our cash rate than it is to involve insurance companies. As a provider of healthcare all we can do is inform prospective patients of their options and they can make whatever financial decision they want to, whether that means that we process it through their insurance, or whether they pay cash and are allowed a small time-of-service discount.

At Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic we are proud to be in network with leading providers in the Baltimore area and we gladly will accept assignment for insurance payments. We will also be happy to discuss with you what your financial obligations are up front so that there are no surprises. The only thing that we can not do is control how much of a copay, deductible, or out of pocket expenses you will incur for treating in this office. Just like with medical benefits when you travel to a primary care doctors office, urgent care, or hospital emergency department, all of those benefits are CONTRACTUALLY agreed upon prior to your arrival.

If you, or someone you know, has health insurance and is curious as to whether or not this office is in network, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to verify your benefits and help you if we can.

Dr. Gulitz

“Pokemon Go” Causing Baltimore Auto Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating Baltimore Auto Accident injuries, I thought that by 8 years of clinical practice and nearly four thousand patients, I had seen it all. I can now say that I am seeing things I never would have imagined: video game induced auto accident injuries in Baltimore.

By now we all know what it is. Pokemon, the digital monsters from my childhood, are back with a vengeance taking over our mobile phones and tablets. Seemingly everyone with a mobile internet connection is staring down at their devices as they pursue a digital scavenger hunt in an effort to “collect them all.” Although it sounds cute and innocent, it has been leading to some unforeseeable problems. Most notably, injuries to players are starting to pile up at an alarming rate as participants are so immersed in the virtual game that they become unaware of their surroundings and then either injure themselves or others while playing.

The game uses “augmented reality” to transpose images of these cartoon monsters into every day life. In fact, where I live in Baltimore is right next to a PokeStop so I find myself filling up on pokeballs periodically to help me in my pursuit to “catch them all.” The game is meant to be fun and as a way for casual users to get together, walk, exercise, and explore their surroundings. However, the more aggressive players are pulling out all the stops in an effort to collect elusive pokemon.

In Massachusetts, a man caused a major pile up (multiple car accidents) while attempting to throw PokeBalls to catch a pokemon. Several people had injuries as a result of the crash. The story can be read here.

There are other accounts of players using skateboards to “walk” around their communities faster in order to capture more digital monsters. This has lead to skateboard injuries such as scraped knees, twisted ankles, and even small bone breaks in feet.

To their credit, the makers of the game do warn players to be aware of their surroundings all the time and not to forget that they are, in fact, walking through the real world when they play. But that does not seem to be stopping players from putting themselves and others in harms way in an effort to catch the most digital monsters.

By no means am I suggesting that the game should be removed from the apple store or from Google play. I just think we all need to be more aware of our surroundings. My suspicion is that this will lead to an epidemic of Baltimore car accidents as people attempt to use their cars to travel greater distances in an attempt to catch pokemon.

While I am not suggesting that it is a smart idea to “pokemon and drive”, I do think it is a wise idea to designate a driver if you must play pokemon in a car. Similar to designating a driver for an evening out with alcohol, and similar to how teenagers should be designating a “texter” to communicate on behalf of a driver, I think it is time we consider having a designated “pokemon player” so that any given driver can keep their attention to the road while another car occupant can focus on “catching them all.”

If you, or someone you know, has suffered a Baltimore auto accident injury as a result of Pokemon Go, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

Free Consultations vs. New Patient Examinations – What’s The Difference?

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating patients involved in Baltimore auto accidents, I often get asked by prospective patients what the difference is between a free consultation and a new patient examination. That is, a prospective patient will walk through the door and they may not know whether the treatment we provide is right for them and for the injuries. My office is happy to allow for a free 10 minute no-cost, no obligation consultation for patients. The thinking behind this is quite simple – Both parties, the patient, and the provider, want to make sure that there is a condition or series of conditions that we can help prior to beginning the arduous task of contacting insurance companies and filling out boatloads of paperwork. If your tooth hurt, chances are pretty good you already know that you need to see a dentist. But sometimes when people in Baltimore have headaches, neck pain or back pain, they are unsure whether they need to see a Baltimore chiropractor, Baltimore physical therapist, or Baltimore orthopedic surgeon. My staff and I welcome these opportunities to meet prospective patients, offer them our best guess as to what may be going on, and to let the prospective patients know that we either think we can help them or we think that we can’t. These free no-obligation consultations are not high-pressure sales tactics. If we think we can help you because you appear to be presenting with “bread and butter” chiropractic injuries, then we are happy to tell you so, have our front desk staff confirm your chiropractic benefits, and then schedule an appointment for your evaluation and treatment. If, on the other hand, you have conditions that do not fit into our “sweet spot” or your past medical history indicates that chiropractic care may be contraindicated for your condition (if could make you worse, for instance) then we will tell you that as well. Believe me when I tell you that even if our office is not a good fit for you, we are happy to give our two cents about how to go about feeling better and where to turn next.

During a free consultation one of the chiropractors on staff will listen to your complaints and we will give our best estimations as to whether or not chiropractic care is an appropriate treatment option for the condition. Here is where the tricky part comes in. We can’t always say for sure whether or not a patient will be a good fit for the practice, because technically, we are still having a conversation with a “stranger” at this point, and we have not yet entered into a “doctor patient relationship” with a client. That is, during the consultation, we are not examining the client, we are not physically evaluating the client, nor are we x-raying the prospective patient. We are just answering some questions about their condition and trying to determine if it is in the best interest of both parties to move forward with becoming a patient. In the free consultation our “duty” as providers is minimal. We may shake your hand to introduce ourselves and greet a prospective patient, but we are not “yet” your providers. We do not owe you any duties that we might otherwise owe you as a patient, since you are not yet technically a patient. Since that is the case, it is hard to answer “specifics” about an injury since we are not technically evaluating it.

If a patient decides after a consultation that they do want to become a patient, then they return to the waiting room to fill out new patient paperwork, as they would have had they been any type of new patient to the practice. If the office has time on its schedule to see the patient right then and there, then we will see the patient right away. If, on the other hand, the schedule is booked and we do not have time to see the patient that day, they will be offered the option of waiting to be seen as a walk in (with no guarantee that we can see them) or the option of rescheduling for a subsequent day. The choice is theirs and theirs alone.

If a patient or provider decides that a prospective patients is not a good fit for chiropractic care, then they can go on their way. They do not owe us any money and they are under no obligation to return. That is, they just had a discussion with a professional who did not undertake a doctor-patient relationship. The providers do not have to produce any medical record of the encounter and the person can leave, never having become a patient of the practice.

Although there is a fine line between prospective patient (during a consultation) and a new patient (during an evaluation) the line is very important from the provider side. In the first example of a consultation, we do not owe the prospective patient any duties typically owed during a doctor patient relationship. We can’t fail to diagnose an injury or “miss” a diagnosis since technically that “stranger” is not a patient that we owe that duty to. Whereas, once a stranger elects to become a patient, we now have an obligation to provide care for them without falling below the standard, thereby exposing ourselves to malpractice.

Several times in the first four years of my practice I have had patients ask me what constitutes a free-consultation vs. a new patient evaluation. Some have even gone as far as filling out paperwork and asking me to evaluate them and then have been shocked when they are told that they owe us money for services rendered. I hope that this information clears up the difference.

If you are not sure that you would benefit from Chiropractic care in Baltimore and would like to schedule a free no cost no obligation consultation, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

Second Location Coming Soon!!

When I opened Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic four years ago in August of 2012 I sought to bring about a combination of the best quality care and most convenient hours for injured citizens of Baltimore City. I hoped that the community would recognize the value in the quality of care that I provided and would reward me with the opportunity to take care of more and more injured patients, whether they just woke up with a stiff neck or back, were injured in social sports, or whether they were injured in a Baltimore auto accident and had whiplash symptoms.

As the referrals grew, so did our staff. We took on more support staff, front desk receptionists, a chiropractic assistant and even a new chiropractor. We recently completed an office expansion to take on another first floor at 2005 Eastern Avenue for medical co-treatment and in-house billing.

At this point it became clear to me that my original mission- to treat and help as many patients as I could was not finished even though we were outgrowing our space. There was an entire market of the community that expressed interest in becoming patients but that could not physically get to our location in southeast Baltimore. After carefully monitoring where these phone calls were coming from for over a year, I decided to take action and bring our services closer to where they may be needed the most.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the location of our second location: Northwest Baltimore City at 6810 Park Heights Ave. #C4, Baltimore, MD 21215. The grand opening date has not yet been determined, as I have to take time to rehab the property in order to live up to my expectations and to that of our current and future patients. I am getting the keys today, and I expect a rehab to take approximately 8-12 weeks.

As for Southeast Baltimore and Fells Point, business will continue as usual. Drs. Erica Wise D.C. and Manpreet Keith D.C. will continue to provide excellent care for acute musculoskeletal conditions. Dr. Gulitz will be available for hands-on patient care on Fridays at that location moving forward.

With the deepest level of respect and appreciation we want to say thank you for supporting us and for allowing us to take care of the citizens of this great community. It has truly been an honor and a privilege. We look forward to helping more people moving forward.

Dr. Gulitz

Diminished Value Claims Following Baltimore Auto Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating patients injured in Baltimore auto accident injuries I have become an expert in not only treating injuries sustained in Baltimore auto accidents (headaches, neck pain, mid back pain, lower back pain, radiating neck pain, radiating leg pain, etc.) but also in understanding how to navigate the process of recovery from injury to settlement/judgement.

One of the least well understood or discussed areas following a Baltimore auto accident injury is the diminished value claim. An injured party whose motor vehicle was struck through no fault of their own can recover from the adverse insurance company the “diminished value” of their motor vehicle following the crash.

It’s actually pretty simple. Let’s say you are driving a car worth $15,000. After it gets rear ended the adverse insurance party has to pay to get it fixed. Let’s say it’s fixed and its physically indistinguishable from how it looked before the Baltimore auto accident. Even in these instances, it is worth less than it would have been had it never been involved in a crash to begin with. In these instances, the non-faulted party can demand from the at-fault insurance company enough money to “bridge the gap” between what it is now worth and what it would have been worth had it never been hit. Maybe the car is only worth $10,000 after it is fixed up. The non-faulted party can make a claim against the adverse insurance for $5,000 of diminished value. If they are successful in recovering the $5,000 in diminished value they can either keep the money if the car is already paid off and they want to continue to drive it, or they can use the money towards a down payment for their next vehicle if they do not want to continue to drive the car after the crash.

The reason why diminished value claims are not well understood is because it typically costs individuals more to bring the lawsuit/demand for the diminished value claim than it is worth. For instance, using the example above, the person making the diminished value claim would need to hire an expert to write a report detailing the diminished value for their vehicle. Between the cost of hiring an expert, demanding money from the adverse insurance company, and potentially suing in small claims court, even those who are aware that they can demand this money do not have the time, energy, or expertise to pursue it correctly.

Fortunately for Baltimore auto accident injury patients, Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic can act as a resource for those looking to make diminished value claims. We can refer you to professionals who can help you produce diminished value claims to present to the adverse insurance company. Typically the fees for our Baltimore auto accident injury patients are contingent – that is just like with a personal injury claim where no money has to be paid out upfront, diminished value claims are usually contingent as well. While diminished value claims have nothing to do with healing and recovery, they are nevertheless an important part of recovering and being made whole again following a Baltimore auto accident injury.

If you have been injured as a result of a Baltimore auto accident injury, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

New Baltimore Chiropractor To Join Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic

The team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic is pleased to announce the addition of a new provider in Fells Point. Dr. Manpreet Keith D.C. will be joining the team this week, alongside Dr. Marc Gulitz D.C. and Dr. Erica Wise D.C. She will help us in our quest to provide the best chiropractic care for those in Baltimore city that have suffered from auto accident injuries (headaches, neck pain, mid back pain, lower back pain) as well as the everyday aches and pains sustained by weekend warriors.

Dr. Keith is a graduate of VCU (Richmond, Virginia), where she received her bachelor of Science in Psychology with a concentration in pre-health sciences. She attended Life Chiropractic College West (Hayward, California) and graduated in December of 2013. Since graduating, Dr. Keith has spent time becoming duly licensed in Virginia and Maryland, and planning a wedding. She was recently married. She has also spent time working in other Chiropractic clinics in Baltimore City. Ultimately she admits that they were just not a good fit for her treatment style.

Dr. Keith will be seeing patients during Dr. Gulitz’s normally scheduled hours which are as follows:

Monday: 3p-7p

Tuesday: 9a-1p 3p-7p

Wednesday: 3p-7p

Thursday: 9a-1p 3p-7p

She will be working closely alongside Drs. Gulitz and Wise over the next few weeks as she gets up to speed on how we do things here. We feel that the addition of a new provider will help us to spend more time without patients, ultimately improving clinical outcomes and customer service. Feel free to come by and say hi when you are in the neighborhood and say hello to Dr. Keith!

Dr. Gulitz

Slip and Fall (Premises Liability) and No-Fault Medical Coverage

As my avid blog followers are already well aware, I am a Baltimore chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating personal injury clients that usually include motor vehicle collision injuries and worker’s compensation injuries. One form of personal injury that we see from time to time is a “slip and fall” injury, otherwise known as premises liability.

Stated basically, every commercial property must carry liability insurance to make sure to protect themselves against a loss that occurs on their property. They have to carry certain limits of liability (typically in excess of 1 million dollars) to make sure that if someone were to be injured on their property that they would not lose the business. With such large limits of liability it is not surprising that large retails are often the target of opportunistic criminals who want to take advantage of the insurance to file false claims.

One less known component of these liability insurances is known as Med Pay. It is a non-fault benefit available to non-employees that happen to be injured on another’s property. In fact, if you review your own home owner’s policy there is likely a small med pay provision on there, typically 5,000 or $10,000.

Here is why the Med Pay no-fault coverage is important. I had a patient about two weeks ago who was at Giant super market. She walked by the milk fridge and slipped and fell back backwards striking her head and lower back. As it turns out she slipped on some leaking refrigerant from the cooler. Unfortunately for this patient she did not have any health insurance coverage available to her. Luckily for her she had a good Baltimore personal injury attorney that understands premises liability. He contacted the grocery store and filed a claim. He was able to determine that Giant does, in fact, offer Med Pay benefits for people injured in their store, regardless of fault. The patient was relieved to find out that she has access to these funds to pay for chiropractic care, physical therapy, x-rays, and a hospital bill. Our office was able to treat this patient since Giant offered a Med Pay benefit as part of their commercial liability package.

There are many nuances to premises liability cases in Baltimore. I do not pretend to be an expert on them, as I spend the majority of my time treating auto accident patients in Baltimore. However, if you have been injured as a result of a slip and fall injury in Baltimore (Baltimore premises liability) you may have benefits available to treat your injuries. If you have questions or are not certain whether or not these benefits may be available to help cover the cost of healthcare associated with your injuries, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to offer you a free no-cost, no obligation consultation.

Dr. Gulitz

Why Did You Become A Baltimore Chiropractor?

I spent a great weekend at the Maryland Chiropractic Association’s Spring Convention over this past weekend. Along with approximately 80 other Maryland licensed Chiropractors I was able to collect about 12 continuing education credits while listening to some of the best speakers across the nation.

We had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Dr. Fabrizio Mancini, the president emeritus of Parker University in Texas. He has gone on to to become an international best seller, motivational speaker, and guest on “The Doctors”. He shared with us the story of how he became a Chiropractor and then offered each provider in the room an opportunity to share their story of why they became a chiropractor. He challenged us not to forget why we set out on this path to heal the sick and injured in spite of insurance hurdles and daily gripes that we face each day. Unfortunately I got back from the bathroom break too late to share my story, so I figured I would share it here for all those that are interested.

I was about 19 years old and was just getting into weight lifting with some friends. Like most amateurs I thought that if some weight was good on an exercise, that more would be better. I was naturally strong but I decided to “push it” one day. I was performing an inclined leg press with about 700 pounds on the rack. I had done about 2 or 3 repetitions and on the final one the weight fell back onto me, compressing me like an accordion. I did not take proper precautions and have a spotter to help me. I had to wiggle my way out from underneath the weights. Too embarassed to admit that I was over-doing it, I just took some weight off the machine and continued.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I had tremendous back pain and I started to feel some burning pain into my right hip. I was PANICKED! This was the time before we had internet access at my house (I know I am dating myself with that reference). I decided to do what most people do – I took about 3 weeks off from the gym and the pain worsened. Only now I started to feel some tingling down my leg. Again panicked, I spoke to my “expert” on all health matters, my father. I use the term expert in quotations because my father is not knowledgeable about health and he is not a doctor, he is just my father. He told me that I had to travel about 50 miles by train to get an appointment with an orthopedic specialist at NYU.

It took me another month to get the appointment. I met the provider for approximately four minutes and he did the most cursory exam before declaring that I can take some medications for the rest of my life to help with the pain or I can have surgery. I was dumb founded. I couldn’t believe that one dumb mistake for a minute could cause me to either take medications for the rest of my life or to have sugery. I was just a kid! I asked if there was anything else he could offer me. He recommended that I try 6 weeks of physical therapy (again, 50 miles from my house three times a week). I agreed to that since it seemed like a less invasive approach.

Like so many before me, I committed to everything that the PTs recommended and I did not improve. That’s not to say that I don’t like physical therapy but my condition did not improve with care. I went home distraught and spoke with my parents about it. I told them that according to my orthopedist, I now have to choose between taking pain medications or having surgery at only 19 years old!

Sheepishly my mother chimed in that I should see her chiropractor. I still remember this conversation to this day. My exact response was “I’m not going to see one of your crazy witch doctors!” and I dismissed it. I decided to start a course of pain medications daily. I lasted about three days before I had to stop due to side effects – it made me sweat profusely and gave me bowel problems that I care not to share.

At my whits and and with no else to turn, I decided to go with my mother to her chiropractor. I had exactly zero expectations to feel better but I figured I could not possibly feel any worse. The Chiropractor recommended that I present for treatment 3x/week for two weeks and that he would reassess me.

By the end of the third visit (first week) I was feeling 90 percent better. It was as if a lightbulb went off in my head. How was it possible that I was feeling this good and yet everyone was telling me to get surgery or take pills? Why did no one recommend that I try a Chiropractor?

I am an inquisitive person by nature. I went to my local library (remember those?) and read everything I could about Chiropractors and chiropractic care. I spent evenings and weekends palling around with my chiropractor and I was obsessed from the beginning.

From that moment forward I wanted to help others the way I had been helped. I wanted to make sure that people don’t needlessly take drugs or have surgery. It became my mission and it still is after approximately 8 years in clinical practice. I am able to see this lightbulb go off in some of my patients each day and it drives me to continue to help and tell the chiropractic story. Each day I want to know how many future chiropractors that I will be able to inspire.

If you, or someone else you know, has general questions about Chiropractic care, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz