Commercial Drive - East Vancouver Chiropractor; Dr. Dominic Chan DC - " The Healing Power of Touch......From a Medical Perspective"

I came across this article today and it just underscores something I've seen in practice going on eight years now. Many patients, especially ones suffering from acute or chronic pain, are expressing their dissatisfaction to me regarding their medical care. Many patients are telling me that they felt very rushed, and didn't get a chance to raise their health concerns in depth. Many clinics have a standing policy of only one health concern/question per office visit. This is an obvious problem because most health issues don't occur in isolation. But the most distressing of these complaints is when a patient tells me that their doctor never even touched them! Especially for back complaints or musculoskeletal pain  many people, and rightly so, expect that a doctor will at least examine the area with their hands, if even for a moment. Unfortunately, I wish I could say this was a very rare occurrence, but the reality is different. 

This article written by Julie Chen, MD discusses the benefit of touch and how it can significantly improve a patient's health. She describes how massage and manual therapy, like Chiropractic, can help a patient's condition. Manual therapies have been shown to help reduce stress, improve circulation, relieve pain and speed recovery. All very important effects especially for a patient in pain. 

The following is a brief excerpt from her article; 

 "...Many of my patients express their frustration that massage therapy generally is not covered by their health insurance, yet the health benefits seem tremendous for them. I believe that the growing trend of discontent with lack of coverage for massage therapy is not just limited to patients, but from health practitioners as well. 

What is even more unfortunate is that sometimes health care practitioners rarely fully lay hands on patients even for office visits and evaluations anymore. As a part of most healing modalities in the past, the simple touch therapy of examining and treating the patient imparts a level of healing that is now becoming lost in modern day medicine. 

Many of my patients joke that doctors these days don't even put their hands on the patient anymore except for a cursory exam at the first visit or unless absolutely necessary. It is unfortunate that along with declining time allowed with each patient, even the simple but effective practice of laying of hands on patients is slowly becoming lost as well."

Dr. Chen later goes on to speak about the benefits of manual therapies for patient care.

"Even as recent as just a few decades ago, the laying of hands and massage therapy or manual therapy was considered a normal natural part of medicine. In more recent times, massage and manual therapy is seen as more of a luxury rather than a necessary part of healing and wellness."

"This is an unfortunate change in Western healing philosophy since studies show that massage and manual therapy are beneficial for many medical conditions and health concerns, which is likely the reason why manual therapy is still considered an important part of healing in most other parts of the world.

Based on numerous studies as listed below, massage and manual therapy is in my opinion an essential part of health and healing based on improvement of circulation, muscle function and stress reduction, just to name a few."

Now to be fair, I understand the pressures that many family doctors feel. In practice, it's required that a doctor see many patients in order to keep the practice afloat financially. With significant costs going towards overhead, staffing, and insurance, family doctors don't really have much choice but to spend only a few minutes with a patient before having to move on to the next one.

Many I'm sure would love to spend more time with each patient, if they could.

So the onus falls on the patient to try alternatives. As Dr. Chen states in her article, one the best options for patients to try is manual therapies like massage and Chiropractic! If you would like to read Dr. Chen's full article, just click HERE!!! 

If you're by the Commercial Drive neighborhood of East Vancouver, stop by my office or you can visit my website; COMMERCIAL DRIVE - EAST VANCOUVER CHIROPRACTOR; DR. DOMINIC CHAN !!!!