Chiropractic patients: 4 in 5 consumers now using essential daily supplements

Chiropractic professionals can set themselves apart by offering essential daily supplements to the entire local community

In 2020, 73% of consumers reported taking essential daily supplements. One year later, this number has jumped to 80% according to the Council for Responsible Nutrition’s 2021 Consumer Survey on Dietary Supplements.

Additional findings of this newly released survey include:

• 50% of consumers have changed their supplement practices since COVID-19, with 55% adding at least one new supplement to their current routine
• Consumer usage of vitamin D, vitamin C, and zinc has increased significantly over the past year, growing by 10%, 7%, and 15% respectively
• 79% of consumers state that they have trust in the dietary supplement industry

What does all of this mean for chiropractic practices? You have the opportunity to help a large majority of the population, both patients and non-patients alike.

Offering essential daily supplements for patients

Current patients already trust you as their health care provider. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t keep coming back for treatment. This puts you in the position to help guide these individuals in the purchase and use of essential daily supplements so they develop safe and effective practices.

During your interactions with patients, open the door by asking about their current supplement use. Do they take any dietary supplements regularly? If so, which ones and in what amounts? More importantly, why are they taking those specific supplements? What effects are they hoping that the product provides?

Asking these types of questions can help practitioners gain a better understanding of which health issues or concerns are most important to their patients, as well as provide insight into whether patients are following a safe or effective supplement practice. Their answers will guide your response, whether this involves educating patients about how certain supplements may or may not provide the effects desired or offering advice as to how to use these products more effectively.

DCs offering supplements increasing

In addition to giving advice, chiropractic providers can also provide patients access to actual supplement products. Some already do, with Chiropractic Economics’ 2021 Salary & Expense Survey revealing that 47% of providers currently provide patients nutritional advice and roughly 7% of the average provider’s income comes from the sale of retail products.

Selling supplements in your practice gives patients access to products that have already passed your test for safety and effectiveness. It also makes you a one-stop provider, giving the people you serve even more ways to improve their health, in addition to regular chiropractic.

Expanding services to the local community

In the perfect world, everyone would develop a consistent chiropractic routine. Yet, one review of the literature found that the chiropractic usage rate is somewhere around 9.1% globally. One way for practitioners to help a larger majority of the population is by expanding and promoting their supplement-based services.

While it may be easier to reach current patients with your supplement offerings, such as through in-office advertising and promotional emails, reaching out to non-patients can also serve a valuable purpose within the community. For example, a survey conducted on behalf of the American Osteopathic Association found that only 24% of supplement users have a deficiency in the essential daily supplement that they are taking.

Not only can taking a supplement that you don’t need be a waste of money, exceeding one’s dietary needs of certain vitamins and minerals can create unnecessary and potentially dangerous health issues. Taking too much vitamin E, for instance, can increase one’s risk of internal bleeding. Vitamin A toxicity can lead to skin irritation, including reddening of the skin (erythema) and peeling.

Offer clarity, quality to patients

Chiropractic professionals can set themselves apart by offering essential daily supplements to the entire local community. This could include holding informational seminars or webinars to discuss research-proven benefits of certain nutrients, ways to create a safe supplement practice, and the consequences of taking supplements they don’t need or taking them in excessive amounts.

Practitioners can also offer advice about how to select a high-quality dietary supplement. Use the supplements you sell in your practice as examples. This helps consumers make more educated buying decisions while also promoting the products that pass your test for both safety and efficacy purposes