Techniques that transform challenging treatments like fat freezing into positive experiences 

Most non-invasive body contouring treatments are fairly comfortable…or at least not terribly uncomfortable and certainly not painful.  There are exceptions.  We talked last time about cryolipolysis risks and side effects.  So you already know your patients can have some difficulty with a fat freezing treatment.  Discomfort.  Maybe even pain.  Our job as body contouring professionals is to convert those uncomfortable treatments into positive experiences.  But here’s the deal.  So many body contouring technicians lack the experience to turn a difficult treatment experience into a positive one because we rarely have to do it. That ‘s where today’s episode comes in.  After twenty years of caring for medspa patients, we’ve developed techniques and methods that work to do just that!  And in today’s episode, we’re outlining the steps we use and now you can use to turn an otherwise uncomfortable or even painful treatment into an enjoyable and positive treatment experience.  Stay tuned!

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You’re listening to The Body Contouring Academy’s Proven Profits Podcast 

where you’ll learn simple actionable strategies from real world successful body contouring professionals to help you generate more revenue, realize the profits you want and create the life you desire. 

Hi I’m Shannon and I’m Kay and we’re your hosts of The Proven Profits Podcast

Hi there healthcare professionals, business owners, body contouring technicians and beauty professionals!  Welcome everyone!   Kay here. Shannon and I want to thank you for being here too. 

Many patients describe the cryolipolysis (fat freezing) treatment experience as pretty uncomfortable, some going as far as to call it painful.  And the question is: is a cryolipolysis treatment unpleasant due to the nature of the treatment itself or is it due to insufficient support provided by the body contouring technician?  The answer is: it’s some of both.  Fat freezing treatments can be unpleasant.  But providers must take the steps to make every treatment experience positive.  This is especially true for the treatments that are inherently more difficult for patients (like cryolipolysis).  With the treatments that cause more discomfort than others, you may not be able to take all the discomfort away, but by taking the steps we’re gonna outline in this episode, you can turn an otherwise uncomfortable or painful treatment into an enjoyable and positive treatment experience.      

What we’re going to cover is a proven patient pain management methodology.

Developed over twenty years of delivering non-invasive body contouring treatments to thousands of patients.  

At the Body Contouring Academy, we believe that making patients comfortable and providing for a positive treatment experience is equally as important as delivering good results. Fortunately, managing a difficult treatment is a problem most providers never face since non-invasive body contouring treatments are, for the most part, not uncomfortable.  

But a few technologies, like cryolipolysis, are harder than others. So we’re sharing our steps to making a cryolipolysis (fat freezing) treatment experience a positive one.  

And the cool thing is…you can apply these same steps to any difficult treatment experience.   

A positive cryolipolysis (fat freezing) treatment experience starts well before the treatment, even before the patient arrives for her treatment.

Step 1 - now this is going to sound very common sense, but these are things we need to be very conscious about and consider how every detail appears to your patients.

We call Step 1 Preparation.

Image matters - how you appear can put your patient at ease…or can make her feel uneasy.  

 Your appearance  

Dress the part of a professional - a lab coat if medical, a uniform of some kind  

Convey authority and confidence - speak confidently and loudly enough 

Be courteous 

The setting (your facility and treatment room)

Clean and neat

Anticipate everything you might need in your treatment room and have it there for every treatment - you do not want to have to leave to fetch something.

Second part of Step 1.  A proven and consistent treatment protocol.

Establish and use a well planned, regimented and step-by-step cryolipolysis (fat freezing) treatment protocol that you use for every patient, every time.  

Are you doing fat freezing treatments?

Maybe you need a step-by-step cryolipolysis (fat freezing) protocol?  

We provide one in our top rated Cryolipolysis (Fat Freezing) Body Contouring Certification course

Get the course details!

Or if you don’t offer cryolipolysis but you’d like to consider it, take a look at the course details too.

There’s a link in today’s show notes that’ll take you straight to the course details.

Third part of Step 1.  Anticipate each patient’s needs for emotional support. 

You need a plan and specific methods to alleviate any discomfort and/or anxiety the patient may experience during treatment.  

⇨⇨ We’re giving you methods to use in Section III.  It’s coming up.  

Okay.  Let’s move on to  Section II, which is Prior to treatment

The patient has arrived and these steps take place prior to treatment. So we’re moving into the treatment room.  

Introduction and patient work up

Introduce yourself and tell her about your background, credentials and experience with cryolipolysis - this makes the patient feel like she’s in good hands and will reduce any anxiety or fear. 

Get basic patient assessment data: weight, height, BMI, and vital signs - which also shows your authority.

Then move on to verifying and marking the treatment area(s). 

Preparing the patient for treatment

Send the patient for a bathroom break prior to treatment, if needed.

Undressing: unclothe as little as possible to expose the treatment area.

Assist the patient to the treatment table with the marked treatment area exposed.

Take steps to ensure the patient is comfortable.

Adjust pillow

Cover with additional blankets if desired.

This shows your patient that you care about her and how she feels.

The next step, Step III takes place during the treatment and is all about reducing anxiety, lowering the level of discomfort and even using pain management methods to reduce pain or discomfort.

Step III is Managing the pain, anxiety and other discomfort during the treatment

When you’ve made it to this step, all that is left for a positive cryolipolysis (fat freezing) treatment experience is for you to apply your knowledge and utilize the techniques we’re going to cover.

3 ways to support your patient and provide an enjoyable cryolipolysis (fat freezing) treatment experience 

Methods of distraction

Actions/interventions to send confusing or conflicting signals to the brain

Emotional support

We’re going to break each of these apart.

Employ methods of distraction

Remember Lamaze breathing exercises for childbirth?  That’s the ultimate in distraction…keeping the brain busy.  

Distraction methods have long been demonstrated highly effective in reducing discomfort, pain and anxiety associated with medical procedures and other uncomfortable experiences.  

Here’s 4 distraction methods you can use.  You can use one, two, three or all of these methods depending on your patient’s personality and needs.

Rolling Stool - Sit on a rolling stool and stay close to the patient’s face during the treatment.  Not only can you use this to read her feelings, this provides a distraction for the brain.

Breathing - when a patient is struggling and starting to feel anxious or complaining of pain, use a breathing technique similar to Lamaze.  Instruct the patient to take a deep breath through her nose slowly to a count of 5, then hold for a count of 5, then exhale slowly through her mouth for a count of 5, then wait for a count of 5 and repeat.   

Conversation - Initiate conversations about the patient’s family, job and interests, something she enjoys talking about.  

Education - Talk to the patient about what she should expect post-treatment. You’re using this as a distraction rather than a real educational session.  

Now let’s talk about the second method of distraction

     2.  Creating confusing and conflicting messages to the brain

There’s a direct relationship between pain and the brain.   Signals go directly back and forth.  You can modify what signals your patient’s brain sends and receives with the use of confusing and conflicting stimuli.

2 ways to send confusing and conflicting messages to the brain:

Apply a heating pad to an area away from the treated area.  

↳ The patient’s body will send freezing cold signals to the brain (from the treated area) and conflicting hot sensation signals to the brain from the area with the heating pad. 

For treatments anywhere on the body except the legs, apply pressotherapy leg cuffs to the patient’s legs and run the pressotherapy treatment throughout the cryolipolysis treatment.  Note:  If treating the legs with cryolipolysis, apply a pressotherapy suit to the trunk and arms.  

↳ Your patient will derive dual benefits when you utilize this method.  

Pressotherapy stimulates lymphatic flow to assist in elimination of fats and debris from the treatment.  

The intermittent massaging action of pressotherapy confuses the brain by keeping it busy processing those signals.

This is great if you already offer Pressotherapy treatments, but if you don't and you 

Want to learn more about Pressotherapy

We offer an online certification course for Pressotherapy

If you want the course details, take a look for the link in our show notes.

https://bodycontouringacademy.com/pressotherapy-body-contouring-course/ 

And now for the 3rd method of distraction, and that is to 

  3.  Provide emotional support

✣ Emotions are integral to a patient’s perception of pain.  

✣ Pain can be made better or worse by biopsychosocial factors like emotional support.  

✣ Emotional support makes everyone, including our patients, feel better.    

4 ways we can provide emotional support to alleviate anxiety, pain and discomfort.

As with the other techniques, use any one or combination of these to help your patient.  Once again, you need to be in tune with your patient’s personality and needs.

Let’s discuss that rolling stool again.  Get close to the patient and read the feelings in her face.  Support her. You’re showing empathy and the patient realizes it. 

 Hand holding, stroking - Hold the patient’s hand upon request.  You can also stroke the patient to comfort and support her.   

Coaching - Acknowledge and validate your patient’s feelings and provide coaching to help her through the discomfort.  Cheer her on.

Conversation - Ask about the patient’s family, her job, her pets, etc. to show you care about her.  Keep the patient focused on you and away from the treatment.

Our proven methods to minimize discomfort and maximize satisfaction are key to making any treatment experience a pleasant one.  

At the BCA, we understand the importance of patient discomfort and offer our comprehensive online fat freezing body contouring certification course specifically tailored to mastering the cryolipolysis treatment.

In the fat freezing course…well really all of our courses…you’ll learn effective strategies to prepare your facility, anticipate patient needs, and manage discomfort during treatment.  And by doing so, you’ll elevate your practice and ensure every patient leaves with not just exceptional results, but a positive and enjoyable treatment experience.  

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode learning how to transform challenging treatments into rewarding moments of client satisfaction with our expert guidance!  Now put these steps into practice.

That’s it for today. Beautiful Wishes

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And, if you’d like to learn more about our courses and resources, you can get ALL the scoop by visiting our website,  bodycontouringacademy.com, that’s bodycontouringacademy.com.  

Thank you so much for listening.  As always, have a great rest of your day!  And until next time, Beautiful wishes!