Good Things Come To Those Who Wait
How long is it going to take?
Here is a question that I hear pretty much every day. Yes I am a parent, so the source of the question is often my kids.
“How long is it going to take? When are we going to get there?”
In my office it is a topic of concern, as well.
“How long is it going to take for me to get better? How many visits will it take? How often will I have to come in?”
For many who begin exercising, the question may be, “How long will it take for me to notice a difference?….to lose weight?…to put on muscle?”
I have met numerous patients in my office who have tried chiropractic care in the past, admitting that it had not worked for them, but wanted to try again. I will always ask these patients how many times they saw the chiropractor before they quit their care. Many times, I will hear the patient say they tried chiropractic once or twice and discontinued care because “it just didn’t help me” There are likely many of you out there who “tried exercise”, but quit because you were not seeing results after the first 3 weeks. Countless people have quit diets or quit taking supplements much too early just because “it just wasn’t working for me”. Part of my work involves filling out insurance forms for some of my patients. There are often questions on these forms asking how long or how many treatments it is expected to achieve recovery from their client’s particular injury. “Eight to 12 weeks”, “16 to 20 treatments”, every case is unique unto itself but the key word is “expectations”.
For a better outcome, it is important to give patients an idea of the proper expectations for improvement. What should the patient expect to feel after 1 week, 4 weeks or even 12 weeks of care, if necessary?
The same holds true for exercise programs and diets. What are the expectations going forward? When the expectations are made known from the beginning and they are realistic, there is a better chance for finishing programs or plans for care.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day” and “Quitters never prosper”.
Have patience, persevere and you will enjoy the fruits of your labour.