Why Fix What Ain't Broken?
June 23, 2008
When it comes to our health, many of us take a reactive approach. When something hurts or feels wrong, we get it checked out. Sure, we sometimes get healthy checkups and teeth cleanings but mostly we wait until something is wrong to make healthy decisions. This happens in my office. Some people wait until something bad happens to crawl into the office for an adjustment. Why fix what ain't broken?
A recent study showed that people who visit their chiropractor on a regular basis show "decreases of 60.2% in-hospital admissions, 59.0% hospital days, 62.0% outpatient surgeries and procedures, and 85% pharmaceutical costs when compared with conventional medicine." What this says to me is if everyone was under regular chiropractic care, our national healthcare crisis could be eliminated.
Regular chiropractic care is a safe and cost effective way of taking care of yourself. What would you give to spend 59% less time in hospitals over the course of your lifetime? How about a few minutes per week?
Can Chiropractic Fix My _________?
June 11, 2008
As a chiropractor, I usually hear lots of interesting questions when meeting someone for the first time. They are almost always some variation of "I have back pain or headaches or asthma or a hang nail. Chiropractic can't help with that, can it?" The answer is a little complicated but is almost always the same.
Chiropractic does one thing and one thing only: remove interference from the nervous system so that your body will work better. Simply put, your body works better with a proper functioning nervous system. What happens from there is up to your body. Nothing can heal you other than your own body. Chiropractic removes interference from the healing process.
So the answer is "NO". Chiropractic cannot fix your whatever. What it can do is put your body in the best position to heal itself. Helping someone help themselves is much more fulfilling and long lasting than trying to fix someone.
Battle of the Healers: Me vs. Your Body
June 2, 2008
How do we heal? Does your chiropractor (or any other doctor for that matter) fix you? Look in any magazine or newspaper and you will find that therapy or medication X has been shown to be effective in curing ailment Y. Does medication, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, nutrition really cure anything? Unfortunately, the answer is NO.
There is one way, and only one way, to achieve true healing: Your body has to do the work. Your body has the answer for any and every problem you throw at it. Our bodies successfully fight off bacteria, viruses, and cancers every day without us having to worry about it. So it goes without saying, that the best health care routes are not those that override the immune system but rather those that enhance and remove interference from the immune system.
Chiropractic is a natural, safe and effective method of optimizing the expression of the body's internal intelligence. Does chiropractic cure headaches, ear infections, colds, sinus pain, ADHD, autism, infertility, and hang nails? NOPE. Chiropractic care removes interference from the nervous system, allowing the body to work better. Your body, the true healer, takes over from there and fixes whatever problems present themselves.
So, it seems that I have lost this round. Your body is a better healer than I am. I am more than happy, however, to have the job of keeping your body free of interference, allowing the magic to happen.
New York: The City That Never Relaxes
May 30, 2008
We all know that New York is a city on the move. Does anyone work from 9-5 anymore? Not likely. So, what is everyone doing for 10 or 12 hours a day? The majority of us are sitting at a desk working away at a computer, getting up for a break every few hours.
I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that the human body was not made for this kind of work. Everything in the complex design of the human frame is geared towards movement. I have run a marathon in each of the last 2 years and I usually hear the same type of thing from people. They usually say "My body can't handle that" or "Aren't you worried about the damage to your joints?" I thoroughly believe that we are better off running 4 hours at a time than sitting for 12.
So what's the good news? You can have your cake and eat it too. You can do your work and still be strong and healthy. How can we sit all day long at a computer without negative effects? This is the most common question asked in my office. You must ask yourself this question everyday: What can I do for myself today? EVERYDAY!!! There are plenty of answers: get a chiropractic adjustment (my favorite), get a massage, go to the gym, go for a run, meditate, walk through the park, etc. Pick something everyday. My job requires a lot of movement and minimal sitting but its rare that a day goes by that I do not work out, get adjusted, go for a long walk, or combine several healthy activities.
As for the daily grind at work: keep moving. Standing up every 2 hours for a break doesn't cut it. Get up every 15 or 20 minutes. Even if you stand in the middle of your office/cubicle and talk on the phone. Just get up!!
There are plenty of variables in this wonderful city we call home that are detrimental to our health. It comes with the territory. But we do not have to let it bog us down. Take care of your body and it will return the favor. "Health is not everything but without it we are nothing."