Cause or Effect

Many of us have been misled into thinking pain is a problem.
 
Headache? Numb your body’s ability to feel it. Gall bladder malfunctioning? Surgically remove it. Upset stomach? Artificially calm it. Sore throat? Chemically soothe it. High cholesterol? Take a drug to lower it.
 
Virtually all of these so-called “solutions” share one thing in common. They make the symptom the problem rather than attending to the underlying cause.
 
Imagine if you approached your car with the same attitude. Engine noise? Turn up the radio. Annoying vibrations at highway speeds? Drive slower. Engine temperature in the red zone? Turn off the air conditioner. Oil pressure dangerously low? Ignore the gauge. Squealing brakes? Turn the radio up even louder!
 
Ridiculous, right? Yet many of us employ this shortsighted attitude when it comes to how our body functions. We occupy this miraculous self-healing, self-regulating organism, and if we’ll listen, it warns us when things are amiss. First, with a little whisper. Then a serious warning. Or, ignore things long enough and our body will start SHOUTING!
 
Then we have a choice: address the underlying cause (fix) or merely quiet the warning sign (patch).
 
The beauty of chiropractic care is that it produces great results by attending to the cause, rather than merely suppressing the symptoms. Do you know a pill-popping symptom-treating friend who could benefit from chiropractic care? Encourage them to give us a call. Or bring them along with you on your next visit.

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Do You Yo-Yo?

I’m not talking about “Walking the Dog” or “Rocking the Baby,” two of the more popular yo-yo tricks. I mean, does your weight go up and down? Are you famous for exercising then stopping? Or maybe you only floss your teeth right before you see the dentist?

Somehow, we’ve been led to believe that maintaining our weight, maintaining our fitness and maintaining our spine is a once-in-a-while thing, rather than a lifestyle habit.

That’s one reason why diets are so disheartening. Regardless of which one you choose, most of them have a beginning, middle and end—usually when we tire of them! And then we resume our former way of eating and gain it all back.

I bring this up because some our patients take that approach with their chiropractic care, discontinuing as soon as they feel better. And since soft tissues and muscles never really strengthen (that happens with continued care after symptoms subside) they experience a relapse. Then we start over again with frequent visits.

Proper nutrition, rest and exercise, plenty of water, brushing your teeth and an interference-free nervous system, are lifestyle choices. True health is a journey, not a destination; a process, not an event; a habit, not a diet.