11 Things To Ask Yourself Before You Buy a Chiropractic Table
Buying a new chiropractic table can be the biggest decision you make for your chiropractic practice with the exception of location. There are over 100 chiropractic table manufacturers and each may have 10 or more types of tables. It can be a daunting task. But if you can narrow the down the parameters of what kind of table you need for your practice, you will then be able to narrow the list of tables from the hundreds to just a few that fit and suite you.
1. What is my technique?
This one question will narrow the field of tables probably more than any other. Do you just do adjustments? Do you do therapies? Do you do ART? Do you practice Applied Kinesiology? Do you do a lot of muscle work and need the table higher or lower? Think about what you do most in your clinic right now and find a table that fit your techniques. Just because the chiropractor down the street had a decompression table or a traction table doesn't mean you have to match him or her if that is not your practice style. You don't want to waste money needlessly just to keep up.
2. What is the demographic of my patient base?
Are they older? Athletes? Kids? The type of table you need will vary greatly depending on the age and physical abilities of your patients. If you have all athletes you may not need much more than an adjusting bench. If you have an older patient base you may need a Hi/Lo table to help them get up and down. Take a good demographic look at your patient base before you buy a table.
3. How much am I going to use it?
Is this going to be your primary table, a second, or even third table? If it is a second table, will it be used in the same way as the first. If you are using it as a second table and it is mainly used for overflow or on really busy days, you may need need all the extras as the first table.
4. How much do I want to spend?
Or better yet, how much can you spend? One of the biggest mistakes young chiropractors make is overspending on office equipment before they have even seen a patient. Having a nice looking office is important, but you have to be able to pay the bills and stay open. Figure out the top amount you are willing to spend and stick with it.
5. What is the warranty?
A pretty obvious question to ask, but surprisingly overlooked by many buyers. Find out what the warranty is on every part of the table, and then ask what happens after the warranty ends. Do they fix it? Do they know a repair person in your area? Is the person in the area familiar with chiropractic tables and the tables of the manufacturer you are interested in. Make sure you know what will happen if the table breaks down after the warranty is up.
6. Would I use traction and/or decompression?
Traction and decompression tables are very helpful for patients with herniated discs and many other conditions, just make sure that you will use it in your practice and you know how to code and bill for it correctly. They can be more expensive, so it is a good idea to know how to bill and code correctly before you purchase.
7. Do I need Elevation?
Do you do ultrasound, ART, muscle work, or other types of manual therapy that could cause you to bend over the patient for long periods of time? We need to think about our backs when working with the patients, otherwise we will end up as the patient. The next time you are back at work, see how much time you end of bending and working on a patient. If you are bending quite a bit, you may want to consider an elevation chiropractic table to bring the patient up to you and allow you to work standing straight. Save your back!
8. Do I need drops?
Do you use drops now? Do you need drops? Would you use them? Consider if you would use drop pieces if you added them, but also look at your patient base. Do they need you to have drop pieces? Drop pieces are a wonderful addition to a table, but can add to the price quickly.
9. Is the manufacturer reputable?
How long have they been making chiropractic tables? Have you heard from any colleagues about their quality? The good news for chiropractors is that most chiropractic table manufacturers have been around a long time, make quality tables, and have good customer service.
10. Do I need manual or electric flexion/distraction?
Again, you need to look at your patient base and decide how much you would use the electric/automatic flexion. Maybe you only have a few patients you would use a flexion/distraction chiropractic table on and a manual table would work great. If you would use it more than a few times a month, maybe you want to consider the electric flexion tables. Or if you are older, or a smaller person and have larger patients. The electric flexion/distraction can save your back!
11. What color do I want?
This may seem trivial after asking some of the other questions, but aesthetics can make a huge difference for patients. They want your clinic to look clean, neat, up to date, and even color coordinate. The patient not only judges you on whether you get them better or not, but also on what your office looks like.
Do your homework when buying a chiropractic table and make sure you do not have buyer's remorse later.
If you are interested in more information on chiropractic tables, please check out ChiropracticOutfitters.com.
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