Q & A with Dr. Okamoto
Q1. How did you become a chiropractic doctor?
A. While I was an active college student, I was playing basketball and injured my back. The pain was extremely sharp and debilitating, but an almost miraculous thing happened. I visited a local chiropractor several times, and I was cured. When I began seriously thinking about my career, I had a strong desire to bring the same benefit that I received from chiropractic to people. So, I went to Palmer College of Chiropractic, the fountainhead where chiropractic started.
Q2. What qualities do you want your patients to see in you as a Doctor of Chiropractic?
A. I want my patients to see my expertise and experience. On top of graduating from chiropractic school, I am a diplomate of chiropractic orthopedics, which means three more years of study and passing the board exam for the post-graduate program. Only a small percentage of chiropractors obtain a post-graduate diplomate status. Another post-graduate course that I completed was rehabilitation. After more than two decades of experience with these specialties, I have built up the confidence about my ability to make correct diagnoses and treat patients successfully.
Q3. What is the motto of your practice?
A. Many people think that chiropractic care takes a long, long time, that since chiropractic care is natural, it takes visits. Yes, it is different than swallowing pills or surgery, but my motto is, "Short term care, long-lasting results". Toward this end, I not only adjust misaligned bones, but I also address muscle problems. If we are truly looking for short term care and expect lasting results, then we must deal with muscle rehabilitation. That is why I often prescribe home exercise plans, advocate appropriate posture for certain activities, and use therapeutic modalities. It is very rare that a patient has to visit me for a whole year or more unless there are unsettled problems due to a patient's missing the window of time for optimum treatment. In the majority of cases, two or three months of treatment is sufficient.
Q4. Why do you think that your treatment success rate is so high?
A. I have found that patients with the same symptoms do not necessarily respond the same way. Thus, I always modify my techniques and therapy according what works best for individual patients. I do not try to fit patients into a routine procedure. However, if a patient has been treated successfully by another chiropractor in the past, then I will try to duplicate that success by utilizing those same techniques. If Treatment Plan A does not work, I try Plan B. I always try to be open to new techniques and search out the most effective treatments. Of course, prayer and my sincere passion for human wellness also help.
Q5. What are some strengths of your clinic?
A. I try to prepare many different types of equipment in the clinic so that we can treat a variety of conditions. With a limited number of tools, even a skilled carpenter may not be able to build properly. At the same time, we do not need to raise medical costs unnecessarily. If we look for cost-effective machines, like traction tables, and use them knowledgably, then we can bring the same results as a $100,000 machine, like lumbar decompression traction. At the same time, this does not mean that we only pursue inexpensive equipment. At the clinic, we have a treadmill / traction combination unit that is highly effective and costly. So, my belief is this - I should look for modalities in light of what is most efficient and incurs the least cost for the patient. I want my patients to receive the best, quickest, and most cost-effective care possible.
Q6. Can you tell us about your goal as a Doctor of Chiropractic?
A. First of all, I want people to experience the true benefit of chiropractic care. Chiropractic is corrective / preventative medicine that maximizes human body function. Let me talk about chiropractic as a corrective medicine. Just like a misaligned car does not function properly, the human body frame needs to be corrected as soon as possible when a problem arises. When you feel tingling, numbness, or pain, your body is giving you the message that it needs correction that will bring proper blood and nerve flow. About chiropractic as preventative medicine, a well-aligned body prevents possible deeper problems. Thus, it can retard or prevent degenerative changes and minimize body malfunction.
Secondly, my goal is to create chiropractic independency. If I have many repeat patients who come on a continuing basis for the same problem for years and years, that tells me that either the chiropractic method or my diagnoses and skills are not excellent. Additionally, I know then that I am only producing symptomatic relief. I desire that each individual obtain maximum benefit and then be released with self-care home instructions. I am a person who is sold out to my profession. I have told my wife that even if I could live my life all over again, I would still choose chiropractic.
Q7. Lastly, if anything were possible, what is you ultimate vision?
A. My long-time dream has been that someday I want to have a medical facility that addresses all three components of human beings - body, soul, and spirit. I have found that these three parts are very much correlated. Even religious hospitals do not deal with all three aspects - body aches, mind aches, and spirit aches. My strong desire to see complete wellness keeps me going every day. I feel that is my calling while I am living on this earth.