Hello and welcome to my blog! Dr. Super’s House of Health was founded on the following ideas: to truly heal and feel comfortable in your body, you have to feel comfortable when receiving care, and you must understand your body’s healing process. When you are uncomfortable, stressed, scared, pessimistic, confused, or angry, your body releases cortisol. This powerful stress hormone disrupts normal hormone production, tenses muscles, triggers the sympathetic nervous system, and spreads inflammation. That’s a bunch of things getting in the way of your healing process!
When I am treating a patient, I strive to minimize the stress involved and make their treatment as comfortable as possible. This can prove challenging when one person may be stressed out by a certain task, while another person would be relieved by the same task. For example, one person might love the smell of lavender and find it relaxing, while another may have a migraine triggered by it! Maybe one person has light sensitive headaches while another has a hard time seeing and getting around with dim light. Another person might avoid the doctor for fear of discrimination, until they see a rainbow cat sticker on the front door. How do I accommodate so many stressors for so many people?
Well, for one, we have options. I love filling out paperwork in the office while I get my bearings. I have a lot of mistrust in the medical field and am not always comfortable in doctors offices. The extra twenty minutes I have to fill out paperwork and take in my surroundings is the time I need to relax and calm myself until the doctor is ready. However, my front desk person would love nothing more than to fill-out their paperwork ahead of time and not worry about being early to the appointment. At my office, we offer both options. Want to fill the paperwork out on a smartphone, tablet, or computer? Go ahead. If you’d rather fill it out at the office, come on in! Would you like coffee or tea while you wait, just ask? Being able to see multiple perspectives and account for multiple preferences helps us help you. It's the most basic form of empathy. I also offer a text line if you hate phone calls or don't like using the internet. You don’t have to stress yourself over calling to make an appointment. This has been helpful for hard of hearing patients, individuals with severe anxiety, and foreign language speakers. I never want someone to avoid the doctor because phone calls make them nervous. Other individuals may want to call and ask a series of questions to decide whether I can help them before agreeing to come in for a free consultation or a new patient appointment.
I also cater to each individual, not the masses. In the past, most doctors' offices were small, and served small communities with great care. We have all seen healthcare move towards the concept of reducing patients down to a number while throwing you on this conveyor belt of medicine that feeds off of your cycle of sickness (again, that's a whole separate blog post)! I am less concerned with seeing the masses and more concerned with treating my tribe. One of the reasons I started this blog was to reach the masses without having to treat the masses! I've been astounded at compliments from patients that say “Wow, you remembered my name!”. Well, duh!? You’re my patient, aren't you? How can I treat you if I don’t know who you are? How would you feel if your doctor's office remembered more than that? I remember your family members, your birthday, your work life, your health history, your current aches and pains, and those of the past. I remember that you like to sit near the door to feel safe and that I don’t adjust your neck with manual techniques because it scares you or gives you the heebie-jeebies. I remember that your kid plays soccer and varsity basketball, but your youngest hates sports and loves her dolphin encyclopedia more than anything. How would you feel if your doctor actually cared about you enough to remember those details? I hope you will at least feel relaxed at my office!
As a chiropractor I try to go a step farther. I built my exam around what's comfortable, efficient, and beneficial for the patient. I ask you to share as much as you are comfortable and nothing more. I explain all of my examination procedures, why I am doing them, and what the result is. I explain each adjustment and finding as I treat it to educate you on what is going on inside your body. I pick techniques that will be the most comfortable and most effective. I adjust with the purpose of balancing the autonomic nervous system to help regulate your stress and rest responses. I adjust the cranium, (the sphenoid is my favorite), to alleviate pressure and stress on the brain and surrounding structures to promote your overall well-being and health. I perform tissue work on areas of discomfort to alleviate muscle tension associated with receiving treatment or due to your condition. I make sure you learn about your body, how it works, and why you have pain. I don’t charge late cancellation fees because sometimes life isn’t conveniently happening 24 hours before your scheduled doctor's appointment. Stress less about a late cancellation fee and more about fixing that flat tire!
I am constantly checking in with my patients and asking how to make our office welcoming for everyone. Inclusive questions incorporated into our paperwork, allowing longer visits for people with movement issues (without charging more), and various hours to accommodate people with difficult schedules. Children’s books and toys litter the floor and office, grab bars in the bathroom for handicap patients, enlarging the print in our marketing material for those with poor vision. These were all suggestions given to us by patients to help us grow and support our community. If there are ways I can improve the patient experience at my office, I will find them; through sheer will to be the best, through the lens of empathy which connects us all, or through my patients who always tell me how they are feeling. I hope if I can’t be of service to you, that you find a physician who really cares, who knows your name, and who remembers that the word “doctor” means “teacher”. I hope you learn to live with less stress and gain more control over your body and health. I hope you get adjusted and feel well so you can do good!
ADIO
Dr. Tabetha Super
