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Chiropractic is a
holistic health care system. As such, it does not aim to treat pain, symptoms,
conditions or diseases. Instead, it is more interested in keeping your body
functioning as well as it can so that it can regulate and take care of itself as
it was intended to. Right now, there are thousands of chemical reactions taking
place in your body as well as the production of hormones like insulin,
adrenaline, melatonin and thyroid hormone. Your heart is beating, you are
breathing, muscles are keeping you sitting (or standing) up right. Your head is
being balanced, your eyes are sending signals to your brain which is
interpreting these words as something meaningful, your digestive system, immune
system and elimination system are all doing their job to keep you alive and
healthy. Things are going on automatically without you ever having to think
about them. It would boggle your mind to realize what has to take place to keep
you alive minute to minute. This, in scientific terms, is called homeostasis.
The miracle of it all is that we are born with an INNATE (inborn) ability
to tend to wellness and wholeness. Our programming wants us to be healthy and
in balance with our environments both external (stress, weather changes,
protection (fight or flight), Etc.) and internal (our internal temperature,
digestive acid pH, heart rate, breathing rate, hormone balance and so on). The
brain and brain stem (most important!!) controls all this and the software to
run these processes comes as part of the gift of LIFE. The signals from the
brain and brain stem have to physically travel through the body in the living
wires we call the spinal cord and nerves. When there is an interference to the
signals traveling through the wires (a subluxation), your body cannot express
itself as it was designed to. This causes improper function and eventually
disease and a break down of that delicate balance (called homeostasis) that
keeps us going in the direction of health. See the picture below to
understand the damaging effects of a spinal subluxation when it compresses a
nerve and decreases the nerve impulses traveling from the spinal cord to the
body.
When you are "SICK" and have a condition (like the flu), and you have symptoms
like a high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, chills and body aches; are you really
sick or is your body doing what it is supposed to do? A fever kills the germs,
the vomiting and diarrhea cleanse your system and saves energy that can be
directed to the immune system instead of eating, the chills and body aches slow
you down to further conserve energy. So actually, you are expressing a HEALTHY
response to an invading bug. Not having these responses is actually a sickness
because you will not be able to effectively fight off the germs as well. If you
were not functioning properly (sick) you may get a fever, but it may be erratic
or last for days on end.
Now lets take the opposite, lets say you feel great, but go for blood work and
are found to have a condition (cancer). You obviously are not healthy even
though you feel good and have no symptoms. The American Cancer Society
estimates that 84% of people that currently have cancer do not know it yet.
Another example is someone in prime physical shape that has a heart attack.
Obviously, their body was not functioning properly even though they felt great.
There are many examples of star athletes in the news that had this happen.
So as you can see, your health should NEVER be based on how you feel, but rather
how well your body is functioning. Chiropractic care is by definition a health
care system that does not treat your symptoms, but rather focuses on helping you
function to your very best by allowing the innate signals from your brain and
brain stem travel uninterrupted throughout your body. Don't focus on treating
your body when it is sick (has symptoms), but keep it healthy and well by doing
the things necessary for real vitality. It is easier to stay well than to only
address problems when you express the outward signs of an inner illness. Proper
Exercise, Rest, Nutrition, Attitude, Posture and a Properly Functioning Central
Nervous System are all necessary to keep your body optimally healthy.
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