Q & A with Dr. Matt Russell
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Dr. Matt Russell, Russell Chiropractic Center, Olympia, WA has been in practice over 12 years; long enough to develop the attitude that he needs a number of tools to provide optimal care for his patients. “Even though I am focused on adjusting, my role is to recommend exercise, nutrition and other aids that saves the patient time and money.” Since the middle of January, Dr Russell has trained his entire staff to help him fit Posture Control Insoles™. |
All new patients are evaluated for Posture Control Insoles. So far we have introduced the PCIs to established patients by complaint or concern or if we see an obvious connection. I have set up a way so the front desk puts a reminder on the patient’s clipboard. I have always been focused on adjustments so I like the idea that I can delegate the process of fitting the PCIs. I have trained my staff to do as many elements of the procedure as possible. The whole process is simple and straightforward. The indicators are clear. It didn’t take very long to learn. See it; understand it; do it.
Whatever we recommend is designed to save the patient time, money, get them well faster. However nice we are here, they’d like to spend less time here.
They enjoy being more involved in the patient care. All the staff wears PCIs, and they like to talk about how they work and their own experience with them.
We are trying to make changes, changes that the patient can sustain. If it becomes obvious that they aren’t going to be able to sustain without stabilizing a foot problem, then we get firmer about requiring a foot foundation. With some patients if they don’t want to follow your recommendations, then the likelihood of being successful with the patient goes way down.
We are not selling anything. I have learned that if there is a need, you tell them. Our patients learn through the evaluation. They get to feel and see the difference. It becomes obvious to them. I have never had to tell anybody that they have to get PCIs. The patients see and feel it on their own, and the conclusion hits them.
I like that they are thinner. Other orthotics crowds the shoe and pushes you out of it. I had a tendency to brace on the outside of my foot. With PCIs I don’t brace like that.
“Is that it?” A lot of the patients are surprised about the simplicity. It is a question of educating them and explaining why it can be so simple. The patients like that it isn’t bulky.
A large percentage have worn or looked into it before. There are a lot of people wearing orthotics that are not doing them any good or even harming them. A lot of people have been surprised when I have tossed their orthotics in the garbage can. They tell me that they have paid $400 for them, and I say: ”Do you want to stay miserable because you paid $400, or do you want something that’s going to work for you?”
Very few: Four cases of sore feet. Three were break-in cases that resolved themselves, and one was a case of bad shoes.
We’re supposed to be about dynamic stability of the spine. You can’t protect your nerve tissues if you are struggling, straining, stressing and inflexible. Balancing the spine and keeping it flexible and happy is a means to an end. This fits our model very well. It’s a dynamic approach to things. If all patients stood still, we’d probably not need it.
Dr. Russell: As I use them and hear the response from the patients, I will gain more confidence. I have never been one to just jump into something and do it full bore just because it sounds like a good idea to me. Based on what I have experienced so far, I expect we will use PCIs for about 50% of our patients.
There are a lot of benefits. Saving time, money, getting well and stable faster. Immediate relief - Takes the bite out of low back or knee pain. Long-term stability - Helps the patient stay well with less personal effort.
We haven’t used them long enough to say for sure. With patients who complain of, for example, knee pain, and the problem goes away with PCIs, it will obviously get a 10, but we don’t have enough experience yet. I expect it will be a high number on the scale.
I asked for the research. I wanted to read the manual. It had to make sense to me intellectually first. I had to understand why it was supposed to work. It is straightforward, it makes sense and you can see it working. In 12 years of practice, 4 years of college, the whole concept of the forefoot had never been discussed; unless that was the day I played golf.
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