Chiropractic Marketing With a Giant Spine Parade and Event Costume

Chiropractic marketing should be unique and dynamic. A giant spine parade and event costume creates excitement and attracts attention for a Chiropractor in their community.

Publicity is important for any business. The giant parade spine will attract tremendous attention because of its size and uniqueness. When used properly, the giant spine will be the hit of the parade and result in priceless advertising value. People will talk about it for a long time.

"If your business is not worth being advertised, then advertise it for sale." - BJ Palmer, developer of the chiropractic profession.

To make your own giant spine costume you will need one 50 inch by 73 inch sheet of 翻 inch closed cell white foam for each vertebra,10 feet of 2 inch wide Velcro for each vertebra, and sprayable contact adhesive. All the foam pieces for one vertebra can be cut from one 50 X 73 inch piece. Foam and Velcro are petroleum product so the price fluctuates just like gasoline. As of 4/12/2010 the price for one foam sheet was $65.00. The Velcro costs approximately $30.00 and the sprayable adhesive costs approximately $16.00. The 3 or so razor blade knives cost approximately $8.00. Total estimated material cost per vertebra is $119.00 plus shipping of these supplies (approx $30.00) plus tax.

For tools you will need several razor blade knives, scissors, a pen, a yard stick, and a wooden, flat cutting surface that is at least 6 foot by 3 foot (an old wooden door works best).

The vertebrae are best created in a well ventilated area because of the fumes from the adhesive.

It's best to make just one type of vertebrae for ease of production. Also, the public does not know or care about the specifics of spinal anatomy.

Call your material supplier and order the materials well in advance (at least 6 weeks) of the event you are targeting. Arrange a clear space in a well ventilated area with approximately 10 foot by 10 foot of working space. I placed my wooden cutting surface (an old door) on 2 construction horses to eliminate the bending over while working.

Start by laying the foam sheet flat, then trace the templates ( available below) of each piece as specified. Carefully cut the foam using a razor blade knife. The knife will dull quite easily and begin to tear the foam instead of cutting it, so watch for that and change blades/knives frequently. It's best to take your time and get a smooth, straight cut. But don't worry about imperfections because the spectators won't notice, and no vertebra is perfectly symmetrical or similar either.

With the pieces cut (4 transverse pieces, 2 spinous pieces, 2 fastener pieces, and the body), cut the Velcro with a scissor for each appropriate piece and trace the Velcro's outline on the foam so you'll know where to apply the glue. Even if the Velcro has adhesive already on it, you will still need to apply the glue to both pieces (the Velcro and the foam). You must let the glue become tacky before joining the Velcro to the foam, and then allow to dry for at least 48 hours. Apply the glue at the narrow ends of both the transverse and spinous pieces last (each transverse and spinous piece is made of 2 foam pieces glued at the ends about 4 inches wide).

You will need 16 total pieces of Velcro for each vertebra: 6 pieces on the outside of vertebral body, 4 on the connecting tabs on the inside of the vertebral body, 2 pieces on the inside of the spinous, 2 pieces on the inside of the transverses (4 total), and 2 pieces on each fastener tab. Velcro is two part, one part has hooks (male), the other part has loops (female). Make sure you place the correct part on the pieces you want to join.) Don't try to save money by skimping on the velco. Using shorter and narrower pieces is tempting, but in a wind the pieces will not hold together.

The giant spine can be used anywhere you wish to gain attention for your office. It works great as a parade float, but it can also be used (single vertebra) at a screening event, office promotion or a sporting event.

You will need one person for each vertebra, 2 people to carry the banner at the front of the giant spine, 1 person to drive the vehicle at the back of the giant spine, and at least 2 people on each side of the giant spine handing out candy/promo items (it's better if you have 4 on each side). This totals 19-23 people assuming you have 12 vertebrae as I always did. Organizing this many people for a summer holiday can be quite taxing. After the first year that I used the giant parade spine, I called my local high school and spoke to an administrator who directed me to one of the sports team coordinators. The team (tennis team) was happy to assist me especially when I told them I would like to make a donation to their team in gratitude for their help. The following year the football team helped me. Always arrange or ask for more help than you think you will need because it's likely a few will not show up. If you do use your staff or perhaps even some patients, reward them. When office staff and patients are used, it adds the benefits of teamwork, camaraderie, and unity of purpose.

- Ignore some peoples' initial comments of "Oh, look at the little airplanes or the little white sharks" - they will figure it out when they see your chiropractic signage.

-The landmark designation on the signs is important because people will remember that easier than an address (I used across from South Shore YMCA).

Consider adding music and have a "dancing spine".

-Give candy to the kids and the promo items to the adults. Give each person carrying a vertebra a small bottle of water to carry with them. Distributing coupons to the crowd for a complimentary exam is a great idea.

-Most people don't know how many vertebrae are in the human spine, nor do they know that each is shaped differently, that's why the number and imperfections do not matter.

-Expect to have some overspray/application of glue, and some scuff marks, and perhaps even some errors in your cutting of the foam. These flaws will not be noticed by the parade crowds, so don't worry about it. For dirt smudges like fingerprints, use a sprayable cleaner and towel.

-Store the collapsed and stacked spine in a flat dry space surrounded with plastic wrap.

-Palmer College rents out their giant parade spine but it is difficult to obtain on the holidays. Last time I checked the rent was $600/day. Also, their vertebrae do not dismantle and lay flat so you must rent a large truck to transport Palmer's spine, substantially adding to the cost.

-The vertebra are quite light (less than ten pounds), but most parades are slow and about 1-2 miles in length so make sure those you recruit/invite can walk that far.

-Extra attention can be gained by making a vertebra for a dog and walking it at the back of the giant spine - the tailbone!

Using the giant parade spine can be one of the best chiropractic marketing events for your practice if you use it correctly. The key is to let the crowds know who you are and where to find you. This is accomplished in two major ways: 1) have your name/address and a landmark close to your office clearly visible in the front of the spine (using a 3 foot by 6 foot(minimal) banner carried parallel to the roadway), and large banners (at least 6 foot by 6 foot) on both sides of the vehicle at the back of the giant spine. 2) hand out items with your office name/address/phone to the crowds as you pass by (I handed out coupons, bent pens, and jar openers). The crowds love to see the main doctor at the front of the display smiling and waving. This is your chance to ham it up, doc!

Top 4 Benefits Of Chiropractic Treatment

Chiropractic therapy has been able to reach many clients and change their life for the better. This alternative medicine gave hope to those who thought their condition is there for the rest of their lives. With this holistic approach in achieving optimum health, many have chosen chiropractic because it is a non-invasive. Other than that, a home health program is provided to allow the patient to follow a regimen for their betterment. Read on to know the top benefits of chiropractic treatment and you too could experience quality life.

The main benefit of seeing a chiropractor is getting relief from muscle and joint pains. A patient who has experienced chronic pain and had taken medication to get immediate relief realizes that the root cause of the ache is not targeted but only numbing it for a while. With chiropractic therapy, it is not only the pain that is eliminated but also understanding where it came from. Thus aside from getting relief from pain, it is also prevented from returning.

Another one of the top benefits of chiropractic treatment is increase in flexibility of the muscles and range of motion. It is no secret that as the person ages, the body tends to go slow in healing injuries and flexibility is decreased. With the chiropractic therapy, the chiropractor is able to help the patient with teaching exercises and lifestyle changes that can help strengthen the muscles. With the patient's determination, the injury or weak body will enjoy once more muscle flexibility and doing more activities.

As the body is a complex machine, each body system has its own function to make the whole body works well. However, one system works will affect other systems in their performance as well. But if all body systems are in-sync and the pain is eliminated, the body can be at its optimum capacity. Such condition allows the body to protect itself from diseases and illnesses common among people. With chiropractic therapy, the body's immune system is given the boost as other systems in the body are given treatment.

Many people having stressful lives lack sleep and easily get irritated. With chiropractic treatment, the body will feel energized and full of vigor to face the daily challenges head on. When body ache is relieved and the immune system is heightened, the person will feel less stressed and experience better sleep. This will give the person more energy to take on any trials without complain with little to no problem at all. Being able to feel fresh everyday when waking up is one of the top benefits of chiropractic treatment.

Many have attested to having undergone chiropractic therapy and felt the benefits of chiropractic treatment. With its hand techniques and tools used in a non-invasive way, patients prefer this alternative medicine. If you have any condition that has been coming back and not being cured, chiropractic may just be the right one for you. Do not delay as your health is on the line here and experience the best life you can possibly have after.

Chiropractic Marketing 101

What you most likely didn't learn about chiropractic marketing in chiropractic school: No matter the location or size of your clinic, or the relative success you've experienced to this point in your career, I would be willing to bet a pretty penny that you probably have at least some attention on the number of new patients in your practice. In my years of putting 100% of my attention into the area of chiropractic marketing and new patient acquisition, I have some gems to help you fast forward to a new level of patients that you serve in your practice.

Before I go too deep into the technology of chiropractic marketing, I want to first let you know why I have a fascination with chiropractic new patients procedures. In my practice, I have spent the last 6-7 years solely working 'on' my practice, rather than 'in' my practice. What I mean by that is that I have put in place specific executive tools that have enabled me to be anywhere I want, whether it be at home, on a vacation or in a coffee shop masterminding, and my practice will actually grow in my absence (currently statistics: averages 22 new patients per week and serves over 500 patients per week). This is certainly not to boast, but simply to show you what is possible in the owning and operating a chiropractic 'business' rather than just a 'clinic'. It is not magic, just simply application of some solid, proven business systems.

Anyway, my point being, I have had endless amount of time over the past 7 years fully committed to piloting and testing new chiropractic marketing methods, techniques and programs. In my journey and experimentation I came across some very specific points that I feel are extremely important and must be understood for a chiropractic marketing program to succeed for long-term growth of the office.

Here are some things you should know about chiropractic marketing and attracting new patients into your office:

• There is an exact technology on how to attract new patients into a chiropractic office.


• You just need to learn it and apply it. The better that you and your staff are trained on chiropractic marketing and new patient acquisition, the more control you will have over the number of new patients your practice gets.


• Every factor limiting the number of new patients you currently get is an internal factor-meaning it's not because of the economy, or your town, or anything else outside of your practice. This is good because it means you have control and can be 'at cause' over the expansion.


• Any chiropractor can learn how to get high numbers of new patients on a consistent basis. We have proven this at the Chiropractic Business Academy...even if you 'hate' doing the chiropractic marketing!


• If you feel your service is valuable, you should share it with more people! We need more chiropractors serving more people to help them heal and grow naturally with the chiropractic wellness lifestyle. I am sure you agree that our current national healthcare system is not healthcare at all.

Chiropractic Marketing Has a Recipe

Some doctors are surprised to learn that there are exact formulas and strategies that will literally guarantee you see more new patients. I teach these exact chiropractic marketing strategies to my clients through the Chiropractic Business Academy Marketing Courses, through the Academy Workshops and One on One Consulting. Although the exact marketing strategies are reserved for our clients, I can share with you some basics.

Your marketing success starts with your viewpoint on chiropractic marketing. To find out what your current viewpoint on chiropractic marketing is at this moment, try this simple exercise:

Write down in single words or short phrases how you feel about 'marketing' your practice. Successful chiropractic marketing is going to require application. So, you can start now by doing this exercise. Please take a minute and write down your feelings about marketing, before reading on.

Take a look at what you wrote. Do your responses indicate that you are excited about introducing chiropractic to new people? Can you see evidence in your responses of back-off to creating a strong marketing effort? If so, you'd really benefit from handling those points.

One of the most effective ways to change your viewpoint is to acquire correct data in that area. The more you know about chiropractic marketing for instance, the more logical your conclusions will be when making marketing decisions. And let's face it, if you know how to be successful at something, don't you feel better about it?

A rock-solid chiropractic marketing program has multiple sources, or we refer to them as Legos, of new patients coming into your office. For example, our Signature marketing courses and webinars cover over 40 ways to market a practice. Knowing and understanding multiple techniques makes it easy to attract 60, 80 or 100 new patients per month, or more.

Chiropractic Marketing Foundations

Here are some examples of a couple foundational approaches our clients use:

• A program or method to acquire as many names and phone numbers of local people as possible. To do this we teach our Public Gift Certificate program. This specific technique has 5 different approaches and gives our clients endless leads to contact for introductory services. What form of introductory service can you provide to the public? How can you make that introductory service known to the demographic that you want to attract to your office?


• Multiple strong Business to Business, or corporate programs. This is an alliance with a local business or major corporation which allows you to farm leads from their clientele or employees. We teach numerous ways to do this including Lunch Lectures, Corporate Massage programs, Wellness Events and other introductory programs. The key is to offer a truly valuable introductory service as businesses will literally be calling you to come over!


• An Internal Referral Program. This should be a truly engaging, active, strategic (and fun) activity. In communicating with each patient you must direct their attention in a very precise manner-for instance, using symptoms, conditions or circumstances. Each week or every other week providing a new viewpoint on a specific unwanted condition. Your goal is to get a name AND contact information of the referred person with that unwanted condition-so you can mail them more information about their symptom or condition, as well as invite the referral into your practice.

No matter the target audience or the strategy used, there are some key factors on which to build a consistent chiropractic marketing effort:

• Structure each chiropractic marketing activity so that it can be done by a non-doctor. This will allow you to pass the activity to another staff member and you can further your progress of becoming the CEO or executive director of your 'business' rather than running every single activity in a one-man/woman-show 'clinic' (we have all been there before!).


• The more you market, the more new patients you will have. There is actually a direct quantifiable relationship between the number of hours and attention allocated to chiropractic marketing and the number of new patients a practice sees.


• Whatever chiropractic marketing you do must communicate a concept which the consumer will understand and be interested in.

This last point is one of the most important but least understood aspects of chiropractic marketing. Additionally, to separate your identity from the other handful, dozens or even hundreds of chiropractors in your city, town or valley, you must clearly establish your uniqueness alongside with this concept.

As you become more established with your 'Legos' of chiropractic marketing you see this pay off for the long-term. What makes you different from the other chiropractors in your area?

In summary, I am happy that you are a chiropractor and are here to help a lot of people in your community. We definitely need to be helping more of the people in our towns find the best natural and holistic way to enhance their health: chiropractic! As a chiropractic coach, my goal in the chiropractic management game is to get you to the finish line first. I truly hope this article stimulates and inspires some of you into action with your chiropractic marketing so that you can reach, teach and touch more of these people!

Reasons Why Chiropractic Care May Fail To Relieve Your Back Pain

Even though chiropractic care has proven itself to the American Medical Association and is covered by health insurance companies, some still debate the legitimacy of this form of treatment. Chiropractors are still accused of being "quacks" despite the fact that many people find pain relief in their offices.

Patients who seek chiropractic care and don't feel results may blame the field for being ineffective, but there are several other reasons why it might fail in certain situations. The following may explain why chiropractic care, a legitimate medical treatment, is not working for you.

Tight Muscles

Chiropractors perform many duties and employ a variety of techniques, but their main focus is restoring alignment and range of motion to joints. Chiropractors do have a working knowledge of muscles, but they may not be able to detect subtle imbalances.

A muscle imbalance occurs when one muscle is overly-tight and short while another one, on the opposite side and performing the opposite function, is weak, overstretched and strained. This can occur anywhere in the body, but is most common in the thighs (quadriceps and hamstrings) and the core (abdominal, hip, buttocks and lower back muscles).

The imbalance of both strength and flexibility between opposing muscle groups causes structures in the body to be pulled out of alignment. The overly-tight muscles are shortened, and they exert a pull on surrounding bones and joints that is not countered by the pull of the opposite, weaker muscle.

If your sacroiliac or facet joints are out of alignment, a chiropractor can work to reset them. If you have an underlying muscle imbalance causing the misalignment, however, realignment won't be achieved until muscle balance is. This requires more than spinal manipulation and mobilization. A physical therapist well-versed in muscle imbalance can help identify which muscles are tight and which are weak. He or she can then help you obtain myofascial release to restore length and flexibility to rigid muscles, or you may pursue self-myofascial release. After flexibility is regained, targeted exercise can build weak muscles.

Weak Muscles

Aside form muscle imbalance, a generally poor level of physical fitness can cause chiropractic care to fail. Thorough chiropractors advise their patients to perform specific exercises; if yours did not, or if you stopped doing them, this could be to blame for a return or continuation of back pain.

If the ligaments and muscles that support your spine and hip joints are weak due to a sedentary lifestyle, you are at an increased risk of subluxation (vertebral misplacement). The cervical and lumbar spine segments are designed to be load-bearing and mobile, but without the support of strong tissues surrounding them, stress may cause disc degeneration and misalignment.

If you expect a chiropractor to solve all of your problems without you having to lift a finger, treatment is bound to fail. The chiropractor can treat the symptom, but the cause needs to be identified and resolved to prevent the same problem in the future.

Chiropractic care is a valid form of back pain treatment, but like any treatment, it doesn't stand alone. People seeing a chiropractor often benefit from seeking massage or physical therapy as well to address underlying causes of misalignment. Keeping yourself in good shape will increase the effectiveness of any back pain treatment plan.

Chiropractic for Constipation

People who experience constipation are ashamed to be seen by a doctor. They just depend on over-the-counter drugs to get relief; however, recurring symptoms of constipation must not be neglected. The best thing to do is to consult a physician to prevent serious health problems.

Constipation is referred to as irregular movement of bowel. The ideal is to move your bowel 3 times a day or once a day. Moving the bowel must not be difficult. If you are in pain and the bowel is dry and hard, then you are constipated. Individuals who are constipated feel full and experience distress. They feel strained or tense as they try to push their stool out of their system.

What causes constipation?

• Diet - lack of fiber, intake of refined foods and saturated fats, dairy products, sugar, caffeine and alcohol


• less water intake


• less exercise, and


• issues regarding the nervous system.

How to manage constipation

• A change in the diet and lifestyle can help a constipated person. His diet must include more fiber, reduce intake of dairy products, eliminate saturated fats and drink more water. He must likewise exercise more.


• He can take a laxative or a stool softener.


• He can also take some herbs to help his digestion. He can drink ginger, fennel seed, licorice root or dandelion root tea.


• He can also submit himself to a chiropractor

How chiropractic help constipation?

• Chiropractic can help in adjusting the areas that cause bowel movement issues.


• Inferior spine manipulation. By removing the pressure on the nerve roots that is coming from the spine, chronic constipation can be healed. To explain further, the nerve roots of our celiac ganglion are attached to the lower part of our spine. This area is the nerve core of our stomach, gallbladder, spleen, kidney, liver, small intestine and colon. Constipation results when the nerve roots are strained or stressed.


• Upper cervical manipulation. Chiropractor also performs manipulations on the upper cervical and cranial bones to deal with the issue of constipation.

Many researches and studies have proven the advantage of chiropractic adjustments to constipated patients. One such study was published in The Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics (Vol. 5, No. 1), where superior cervical manipulations healed an infant of his constipation, which was brought about by a broken left clavicle obtained during delivery. This is not the only study conducted. More constipated patients received chiropractic manipulations and were relieved of constipation.

All of these studies proved only one thing - chiropractic adjustments can help a constipated patient to have a normal bowel movement.

How Is Chiropractic Beneficial To The World Of Athletics?

I have seen tidbits here and there on the news or on the internet about professional athletes and olympic athletes being treated by chiropractors. What do they know that you may not know?

The first thing to know is that their being treated by chiropractors is far more common than you may imagine. Athletes have long known that regular chiropractic care is their key to enhancing their performance as well as quicker recovery from injuries.

Doctors don't usually carry on about all of the different cases and types of patients they treat. Just as patient's usually don't carry on about their healthcare. That is most likely why you may not be aware of the large numbers of athletes utilizing chiropractic care on a regular basis.

Consider for a moment a football player. A football player will experience smaller, but potentially explosive, collisions every couple of minutes. Every day. Also consider that your vertebrae can potentially "jam" from something as simple as bending over to pick up a penny. It is easy to see how a football player would most definitely be in need of a chiropractor. Now, consider a sport as seemingly benign as golf. You may wonder how a golfer can benefit from chiropractic. Think about the fact that they put their bodies in weirdly twisted positions. They generate a large amount of torque through their trunk. They are also in a bent over position 100 times or more over a period lasting hours. Why wouldn't a golfer benefit from chiropractic? We are able to get the vertebrae in the spine freed up and moving in a more efficient manner not to mention the therapy we perform on sore and achy joints and muscles. After chiropractors have introduced more range of motion, then they are able to maintain that movement and build upon it.

Also the use of a heel lift can be beneficial for sports requiring optimal balance for peak performance. Heel lifts can also be useful in preventing or alleviating nagging and chronic back pain that is exacerbated through playing sports. Although an x-ray would be needed to assess whether or not a heel lift (and how thick of a heel lift) would be beneficial.

My examples here are golf and football but that is in no way an all-inclusive list! I honestly cannot think of a sport that does not benefit from regular chiropractic care. Volleyball, basketball, baseball, track & field, softball, bowling, swimming, racing....you name it! Being located in the Southwest, we are familiar with the benefits to the rodeo circuit as well.

Hopefully, it can be clear to you now that chiropractic is definitely an option to be explored if you are an athlete looking to be at peak performance.

Get Rid of Car Accident Pain By Visiting A Chiropractor

Being involved in a car accident can be quite a traumatic experience, especially if injuries result from it. It can be hard to think clearly about whether or not to go to the emergency room. Often times injuries are not even felt until hours or even days after the incident occurs. In situations like this, the patients are often referred by regular physicians to chiropractors.

Unfortunately for the victim, this can lead to many patients going to chiropractors because there are more than 6 million car accidents a year in the United States. At least half of the people involved in wrecks are injured. Because the adrenaline levels are often high directly following a car wreck, the injuries can often be overlooked at first, but after a few days a car wreck victim can suddenly experience intense pain around the neck, shoulders, or spine due to the sudden jolt the collision causes. A jolt of that impact could potentially knock the spine all out of alignment, not to mention cause the muscles to tense up, which may cause further pain.

One of the most common injuries that chiropractors treat due to car accidents is whiplash. Symptoms of whiplash include lower back pain, jaw pain, neck pain and/or stiffness, shoulder pain, headaches, and even fatigue. By consulting a chiropractor for treatment the natural movement of the spine is regained, and subsequently muscle spasms and stiffness are also alleviated, allowing proper healing for any muscle soreness or minor tears that might have occurred.

One type of chiropractic treatment a person suffering from whiplash might expect to receive is electronic muscle stimulation, or "muscle stim" for shot. Muscle stim uses small electric current to penetrate deep beneath the skin into the muscles and joint tissue to help relax the muscles and decrease inflammation. It is a safe method approved by the Food and Drug administration and it is shown to be effective for increasing muscle range of motion and strength. Patients receiving this treatment should expect to visit the chiropractor two to three times per week for about a month to a month and a half.

For muscle tightness and spasms' massage therapy sessions might also be recommended by the chiropractor. In fact, some chiropractic offices offer that service in house because the two services compliment each other so well. Both work well together to ease muscle pain and stiffness and aid in proper realignment of the spine. Once the realignment is complete and the tightness is removed, the rest of the symptoms should subside as well.

There are many different symptoms that can occur from car accidents. Luckily Chiropractic care can help many of them. It is an all-natural way to help you get back to the life you had before the car accident.