YOUR PERCEPTION OF HEALTH
Health perception (or perceived health status) is how you rate your level of health. Some people believe themselves to be healthy, despite suffering from one or more chronic diseases, while others perceive themselves as ill when no objective evidence of disease can be found.
Nearly all of us have heard news about a middle-aged man who dies of a heart attack event though he was considered “healthy” by all who knew him. In fact, many people are given a good bill of health from their primary care physicians and still end up dying from heart disease, stroke or cancer. I’m also pretty sure many of you have heard of someone in their thirties being diagnosed with stage-4 cancer without having any signs or symptoms of ill health months prior. While these events happen every day, most of still believe bad health involves pain or symptoms. Herein lies the problem.
HEALTH IS NOT ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL; BUT HOW YOU ARE FUNCTIONING
As a chiropractor, many people come to me only when they hurt. If they continue to do so; I have failed as their doctor because I have not taught them the truth of how our body works. This is why I try hard to help you understand that getting chiropractic adjustments when you hurt is like exercising only when you feel out of shape or unfit. Exercising every day is essential to a healthy body. The same is true for regular (weekly) chiropractic adjustments.
Science and research have now clarified exactly why the absence of symptoms are not very good indicators of health. A book titled “The Neurophysics of Human Behavior” written by Furman and Gallo in 2000 stated that “while the brain can process several trillion bits of information per second, it appears that we are perhaps only consciously aware of 50 bits of information per second at any given time.” This means that only 50 out of several trillion bits of information are felt or even known by a person every second. In other words, most of the things going on in your body right now will never be felt or known. This science is so profound for human beings and really teaches us why disease can go unfelt and undetected until its late stages. Determining health on the presence or absence of symptoms is very dangerous. Stop doing it!
HEALTH OCCURS WHEN THE BODY IS FUNCTIONING PROPERLY
Chiropractors recognize that health is about optimal function, NOT just pain or symptoms. Function of the body is controlled and coordinated by the Central Nervous System (Brain and Spinal Cord). Chiropractic adjustments play a significant role because the spine has been proven to directly influence the function of the nervous system, most times without causing pain. Unfortunately, over 80% of medical and pharmaceutical solutions still only focus primarily on alleviating symptoms. On the contrary, Chiropractors focus on improving function from the INSIDE-OUT by honoring and working with the INNATE intelligence of the body via stimulation of the spinal column. Perpetuating the idea that the presence or absence of symptoms is a good indicator of health will continue to lead to the demise of millions. Chiropractors have always practiced with a different philosophy which includes helping kids and families, with or without symptoms, to reach their God given health potential.
