Naturally, the question is, why not go to the therapy clinic that actually solves your problem in the first place? Yes it’s hard to know which one of the 200 you should go to, but most people just trust their doctor when they recommend someone, and rightly so. They probably do know more about health and wellness than the average joe (but I’d argue that sometimes too..) However, this is where medical ethics comes into play. More and more corporations and hospitals have in-house services, meaning the medical industry is pretty much becoming a system analogous to walmart – it’s a one-stop shop. You can get all that you need in one place. It’s efficient, inexpensive, and of “good enough quality to pass”. The latter element is where this ideology doesn’t really work with healthcare. Sure, if you get an T-shirt that may get holes in it after 1 month of wear, that’s not a big deal, but our bodies can’t be dealt with the same way.
If a clinic KNOWS they will get referrals because they are in “the system”, and the general doctor will recommend patients to the clinic regardless of the high quality expertise or exceptional success rate, then by nature, their motivation to offer the best quality over other clinics will plummet – it’s human nature! You could almost say it’s like in communism there is no motivation to plow one’s own field because they’d have to give it up to “common good” anyways.
Unfortunately this is where we are heading in the USA.. and I’ve been lucky enough to find an independent small business that will refuse to “attach” themselves to a bigger master of medicine system. They will not throw away the ethics of medical practice. But sadly, many small businesses have to face the choice to join or to go under. The only thing that keeps them going is the high quality of service and results for which patients refer others to the clinic.
The bottom line: chances are if a doctor refers you to a therapist, they probably are not the best one you can go to. Honest customer reviews are the best way to know what clinic actually attains results and provide the highest quality service.
In my case, I only found them because trying 3-4 other places, nothing seemed to hit the root cause of my back pain.. and thus it is “the last resort” clinic, and so far it has been anything but a waste of time. In just 6 treatments and a home program of 3 stretches to do 5 times a day, my pain has decreased and I’m on my way to getting this pesky back ache out the door.