It is quite common for patients to seek care from a chiropractor for pain or discomfort. It seems logical right? Patients come in thinking that as soon as the pain goes away, they’ll be better. The funny thing is that patients don’t really come in because of the pain. They seek attention because the pain prevents them from doing something they love to do. So they’re not necessarily motivated by pain, they’re motivated to get back to a certain quality of life. As the wellness revolution continues to expand, we are deepening our understanding of human potential and the expression of life. Studies of isolated populations have found members in those societies living between 120 and 150 years without evidence of disease.
Dr. Eric Plasker said it best: “Many people spend the first 50 years of their lives ignoring their health as they accumulate wealth, only to spend the next 50 years losing their wealth to regain their health. Knowing that their longevity potential is 100 years gives you the opportunity to put your health at the top of your value scale. Most people will spend more money on their “health” in the last two weeks of their life than in their entire lives!
The ship of drugs and surgery is sinking when it comes to pain control. As a society, we are fed up with the helplessness that is often associated with pain. The medical profession leaves us with the feeling that our hands are tied. His stance is either to live with the pain, take a pain-relieving medication, or roll the dice and have surgery. “Maybe” will help you feel better. They miss a great opportunity to educate the public. Perhaps the medical profession “misses the forest for the trees” sometimes. Make no mistake, this is not a medical attack article.
They do an amazing job! There are many heroes in medicine. This article discusses the philosophies of two models of health care. In particular, we discuss the first branch of philosophy known as metaphysics. Metaphysics means what is the nature of reality? The medical study of the nature of health separates the human body into organ systems, cells, tissues, biochemical pathways, and asks if there is too much or too little of something. His solution is usually medication. They ask what can we chemically put into this person’s body or surgically remove so that homeostasis can return.
The nature of the chiropractic model of health is that the body is a self-regulating and self-healing “organism.” We are much more than a simple collection of cells, organs and tissues. We are a dynamic, complex and dynamic living being. Our nature cannot be reduced to a double blind randomized control trial. We do not fit into this paradigm due to the complex nature of our existence. We belong to a holistic model and for good reason. The very nature of holism takes into consideration the whole being.
Holism analyzes the dynamic interaction of the body at the structural level (cells, muscles, organs, tissues, nervous system, etc.), biochemical (macro and micronutrients, enzymes, cofactors, air quality) and emotional (thoughts, life circumstances , also known as “stressors”, 2500 words per minute running through our brains telling us who we are and what our potential is). The health of the human body cannot be simply divided into systems. One system cannot be considered without taking the other into account. They are one in the same and each system is equally dependent on the health and function of the other to support human life. When each system is doing its job properly, would you say the organism is dying or thriving? Obviously driving!
What happens when one of the three branches of human health is stressed (structure, chemistry, or emotions)? Do you think it has a direct effect on another system? Absolutely! An EMPHATIC YES! Is it possible that emotional stress on the body can have a deleterious effect on the body and compromise the structure of the musculoskeletal system? Bet! Often this manifests as pain. The medical profession metaphorically puts a Band-Aid over pain. They cover such pain with anti-inflammatory pills, painkillers, and life-robbing numbing drugs. However, the root of the problem was emotional stress for this example!
The drugs take the batteries out of the smoke detector and make the patient believe that nothing is wrong! Meanwhile, the house is still burning! Any surprise why the bread keeps coming back? Diagnosis screwed up! Emotional stress was the real cause of the problem. Do emotions affect biochemistry in the body? Has someone ever made you so angry that you felt like your blood was boiling? Does this raise your blood pressure? SURE! If a person lives in a chronic state of emotional overdrive, is it likely that they have high blood pressure? YES!
Bread is NOT your problem! It is the title of this article and it is the fundamental response to the confusion and frustration in the face of the chronic pain pandemic in this country. Pain is NOT the problem. Pain is a symptom and an invaluable protection mechanism built into your body to prevent further damage from occurring. Pain makes up a small percentage of the nervous system, about 10%. The other functions of the nervous system work silently and fortunately. Pain is a warning to listen to because the health of the body is threatened. Due to the social demand for productivity, we are trained to ignore the pain or numb it so that we can move on. Our mothers, fathers, teachers, preachers, coaches, and the big drug store have always taught us to “shake it, don’t worry about it, walk, don’t rub it, be rough”, etc.
They lied to us! What if we were taught to be sensorily acute to every little ache and ache and wonder where it came from? Do aches and pains come out of the blue sky? No way! They just seem to be for an externally driven person. The externally driven person is always the victim. They blame circumstances, bad luck, bad germs, and bad genes for the state of their health. Aches and pains are an expression of what is going on inside the body. They are progressive sirens that get louder and louder the more you ignore the main cause of the alarm. If we were trained to appreciate and value pain from a young age, we would not reach the point of chronic pain. By living internally and self-motivating, we would now understand that everything we get in life is the result of our effort and investment. Good or bad!
If you’re someone who suffers from chronic, “unexplained” pain, I bet you’ve been miseducated regarding diet, proper exercise, and the impact emotional stress has on your body. It is almost certain that you have made a small investment and a small effort in accepting responsibility for your health. Most likely, you live externally and have never recognized the root of your problems because no one told you! I’m telling you to start challenging yourself. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and make drastic changes because you deserve to express life optimally just like your friends and family who don’t suffer like you.
Your pain is the wake-up call that demands that you change your life and take control. As you work to isolate the “why”, you will be forced to change your environment and your behavior. By doing so, your understanding of health will expand and can never shrink back to its original size. You can’t stop ringing a bell! You become a stronger and more internally driven person the more you choose to embrace the process. This creates knowledge. Knowledge plus experience equals personal power!
When you decide to invest in chiropractic care, this is a proactive and preventive action. You consciously choose to live within and free yourself from the belief system that you used to hold on to. When you pay for a gym membership, it doesn’t come with a guarantee that you’ll get leaner and stronger by joining. You know that you do not get a clean bill of health with the purchase of the membership card. You intuitively understand that you have to show up, sweat and participate! Like life! You are the “observed” or the “observer”. The “observed” live internally and consciously. 100% of my patients pay cash for their care for this very reason.
They value their life and choose to live optimally for as long as possible. Not unlike a gym membership, my educated patients appreciate that to get the most out of care; they must be committed to their health and to the path of well-being. Well-being does not have a pinnacle. It doesn’t make sense that you “made it”. The value and results last as long as you are on the journey. Only life has an absolute destiny. What we do before our imminent demise is human potential. Whether or not we choose to live within, and take responsibility for achieving that potential, is free will!