Patient Education

Sickness vs. Wellness

Sometimes people have a tough time understanding the concept of sickness vs. wellness. Most people are taught from a young age to associate sickness with symptoms and health with no symptoms. If this were the case then there would only be two categories above, sick and well. However, there’s a vast difference between not being sick and being well. Just as there’s a huge difference between not poor and rich, not sad and happy, not weak and strong.

The presence or absence of symptoms is a very poor gauge of our level of health. Symptoms can be present and the body could be functioning normally. If you eat food that’s gone bad and you expel it from your body, you may not feel very good, but your body is functioning normally. If your body is fighting a bacterial infection or even a virus, it may produce a fever or make certain chemicals which aid in the immune response. The fever is a good thing. We need it to get well. Pain in a joint is present to keep us from further using that joint and damaging it more.

Conversely, we can have no symptoms and be quite ill. The first symptom of a heart condition is often a heart attack. Cancer takes years and years to develop before it becomes detectable even longer before it becomes symptomatic to the point that it interferes with our life. How long does a cavity have to develop before it becomes a toothache? Vertebral subluxations (misalignments of the spine) often exist for years and years with no symptoms until spinal functioning becomes so abnormal that injury and pain may occur. The examples could go on and on.

Being well means expressing our full potential for life and health. It’s not a destination but a journey. Webster’s defines health as optimal physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. This is the goal we can strive for. How can we be our best? What can we do to express more of who we are?

Moving toward wellness requires effort on our part, but if we are not consistently putting effort into ourselves to become more well, we will naturally be moving down the scale in the opposite direction toward sickness. This means that even when we feel fine we can do things to enhance our level of well-being and avoid those things which are detrimental to our health. When we take steps to improve ourselves on any level, we’re increasing our well-being.

This is why regular chiropractic visits are so important. Chiropractic care may help people who are hurting by allowing the body to function more normally and promote healing. But beyond that, regular adjustments help us to integrate and adapt to the experience of our life in a more positive manner. They help us stay on the path toward wellness by allowing our body the greatest degree of function possible.

Make the decision that you won’t just rely on symptoms to tell you whether you’re healthy or not. Take action to increase your level of well-being so it continues to move in a positive direction. Getting your spine checked regularly for vertebral subluxations is one road you can take in your journey towards optimum health.

Lurking Dangers

People often walk around oblivious to the dangers looming over them. Sometimes this is a good thing, as it saves stress and worry. However most of the time, when we’re aware of things, which are potentially hazardous, we have the best opportunity to do something about them.

This applies greatly to Chiropractic and the need to care for your spine and nerve system. Unfortunately, most people have never been taught about the importance of the nerve system and its vital role in maintaining proper function. They go through their life unaware of the fact that they are functioning at less than optimal function. They may feel well, and on the surface, all may appear normal, but if they’re subluxated their brain is not properly communicating with their body. Subluxations lead to dis-ease, which is a lack of normal balance or harmony in the body. A body that’s out of balance is less able to adapt to the stresses it encounters. Rather than growing and thriving, it has to work harder just to live.

Like many other problems in the body, when subluxation is present, by the time symptoms become apparent, the problem has been causing silent damage for some time. How long does a cavity have to be present in order for it to cause a toothache? How long has breast cancer been growing before a lump is detectable? One third of al fatal heart attacks come as a surprise. The list could go on. Spinal malfunction and nerve interference are also “silent killers”.

We are only aware of 10% of our nerve system. The other 90% is operating at a level out side of our consciousness. In other words, we don’t know if it’s working properly or not until/unless something under the control of the nerve system breaks down. The same hold true for our spine. By the time spinal pain becomes apparent or limiting, there has usually been spinal malfunction and breakdown for years-often decades.

This is why it’s so important to tell others about the great effects of Chiropractic care. If they’re facing any deficiencies in well being, having their nerve system function better will help their body to deal more effectively with stress, and just may be what their body needs to resist it. If they’re not yet aware of any health problem, beginning Chiropractic care can help them prevent problems which whey might have faced.

Remember, you can make a tremendous difference in the lives of your family, friends, and acquaintances by teaching them about the great benefits of Chiropractic!!!!