CONSIDERING DECOMPRESSION THERAPY?
Advice from practitioners
By Wendy Bautista

Whether you are adding decompression therapy to your current practice or opening a practice to feature it, the process can come with many questions.

Chiropractic Economics asked a number of practitioners who offer decompression therapy to provide their insights to starting and running an office with this treatment.

Our contributing chiropractors include:

• Amit Bhusri, DC, of Axial Spine & Chiropractic in Hicksville, N.Y., who has been in practice for three years and acquired a decompression table in March 2006. He and his associate use the table during the same hours as the clinic.

• Daniel Cammarano, DC, of Aurora Pain Relief Center in Aurora, Ill., who has been in practice for 16 years and acquired his two decompression tables a year ago. He uses his tables approximately 15 hours a week.

• Cory G. Crowley, DC, of Sumner Regional Chiropractic Clinic in Hendersonville, Tenn. He has been in practice for three years and bought his decompression table in March 2006. He uses his table approximately 12 to 15 hours a week.

• William Labonte, DC, of Labonte Family Chiropractic and Labonte Disc Institute in Ormond Beach, Fla. He has been in practice for six years and has two DCs in his practice. He acquired his first table in August 2005 and the second one in December 2005. He uses his tables about 45 hours per week, Monday through Thursday.

• Heather Rosenberg, DC, of Roseville Disc and Pain Center in Roseville, Calif. She has been in practice for one year and acquired a decompression table, which she uses about 12 to 15 hours a week, in April 2006.

• Thomas Tumbarello, DC, of Dr. Thomas Tumbarello Chiropractic in Atlanta, Ga., has been in practice for 25 years and has two DCs in his practice. He acquired a decompression table in June 2006.

• Jennifer Wise, DC, of Synergy Institute in Naperville, Ill., has two tables which she acquired at the end of 2002. She has been in practice for six years and has two DCs at her main office, plus one in a second location. She uses her tables between 45 and 50 hours a week.

LET’S TALK MONEY

The total investment to establish a decompression therapy practice depends upon your needs. Some doctors, such as Crowley, have invested as little as $12,000. But others, such as Wise, have spent from $350,000 to $400,000 over the past three and a half years.

Bhusri said, “The biggest cost was the table itself — costing approx $100,000. The increase in advertising cost was the other major investment. A smaller cost was to improve the décor of the room that the table would be put in, by raising the ceiling, installing mirrors and a flat screen TV, and a new coat of paint.”

Cammarano, who spent between $75,000 and $100,000, said, “The addition of decompression equipment immediately made a new office space a necessity, and that was not something we had considered. And although many of the charges of moving were small, when all added together, it quickly added up.”

His practice had to move to a larger office, which necessitated a build-out, new phone line charges, and reprinting cards, among other things. He said, “One thing about spinal decompression equipment is that it ties up one room of your clinic for extended lengths of time. I don’t think the size of the equipment is the issue; it’s the fact that one whole room of your clinic is now only useable for two patients per hour.”

WHO ARE YOUR PATIENTS?

For most of the DCs we polled, the patients who are using this therapy include existing chiropractic patients, as well as those who come in specifically for decompression. Wise found that some of her existing patients were able to get better results than they had in the past with chiropractic care alone.

She discovered that the threapy also attracted a different population of patients seeking a new, non-surgical treatment for disc problems. These patients were unlikely to walk into a chiropractor’s office for an adjustment.

Labonte learned that most of his patients came in specifically for the table he uses, whereas Bhusri’s and Rosenberg’s were mostly new patients looking for decompression.

GROWING ROOM

Interestingly, of the seven DCs we surveyed, all seven stated that their decompression table services and chiropractic practices are under the same roof. Bhusri currently has a total of three treatment rooms. The decompression table takes up one of the rooms. He said he can see the need for a bigger office as the practice grows.

With growth come additional demands on the practice, and those demands may include the need for more staff. Cammarano and Labonte have already added staff and Labonte even expanded office hours.

Initially, Wise didn’t add any staff. She cross-trained existing staff, but after a few months she was able to hire a full-time tech dedicated to the decompression machines. Rosenberg hasn’t added anyone yet, but will add one assistant soon.

IMPACTING THE PRACTICE

The impact this therapy brings to a practice varies from creating many referrals by satisfied patients as it did for Crowley to merely putting the practice more in the public eye, as it did for Trumbarello.

Sometimes, says Bhusri, the impact allows a chiropractor “to market the practice in a totally different way. It has given our office an identity — something to build around.”

Just about everyone who comes through the door at Labonte’s practice can feel the effect decompression has had. He says his practice was able to help those individuals with herniated disc problems who either had to choose from surgery or living with the pain. “They now have another option,” he says. “It has brought great joy to those who work in our office and those patients who choose to use [our table].”

Wise said, “Decompression has had a big impact on my practice over the past three years. It has allowed me to expand my services, have a significantly higher success rate with advanced disc problems, and provide me with an additional source of cash flow without having to personally do more adjustments or work harder.”

GETTING THE WORD OUT

Advertising, marketing, word of mouth — in a nutshell, getting the word out — are keys to the success of any product or service. If no one knows about it, how can they benefit?

Bhusri currently markets decompression in a variety of ways. His practice is part of a group that does radio advertising. The group has also designed flyers to distribute throughout the neighborhood, rented billboards close to the train station to attract commuters, purchased pens (with the practice’s phone number and Web address) to distribute around the community, and spent time showing the machine to existing patients and explained how it works and what conditions it helps.

He says, “We also sent letters to many physicians in the area to inform them about decompression and how it works, and how it can help their current patients.”

Cammarano, Crowley, and Trumbarello get their practices noticed mostly by patient referrals, while others such as Labonte and Rosenberg rely on the power of advertising in publications and on television. They also do public speaking, use brochures, and network in the community.

Wise gets quite a few patient referrals and also gets referrals from the distributor and manufacturer. She also does some print, radio, and Internet marketing to make the public aware of this technology. “Many of the patients in my existing database were also great candidates,” she says, “so we sent them information packets and offered them a free consultation to discuss the treatment.”

WORDS OF WISDOM

Don’t rush into buying a table. Do your research; look at your options; and then make a choice, say the practitioners. Bhusri feels that everyone considering decompression should spend enough time asking the right questions and feel comfortable before they make this big investment.

“I spent quite a long time researching decompression and the different tables available to perform the treatment. It definitely was not a quick decision,” said Bhusri. “I was able to spend time with the designer, as well as with other doctors that had purchased the machine to see the machine in action.”

After doing his research, Labonte was very comfortable with purchasing his equipment, but he wishes he had spent more time researching the financing options.

Searching out information about how to use the equipment properly, what the protocols are, etc. and calling other doctors to ask their advice was Cammarano’s approach to researching his equipment.

“I am very happy with my decisions, and the equipment I purchased,” said Wise. “Personally, I had a very good resource that helped me with effective marketing pieces. I think that this was because I did spend quite a bit of time researching the topic and had a plan of how to implement the technology before I purchased it.”

Trumbarello leaves this thought: “I feel the choice depends on your level of commitment or to what you are committed to.”

Wendy Bautista is an associate editor with Chiropractic Economics. She can be contacted at wbautista@chiroeco.com.