Resistance leads to forward progress.
Ever been to enchanted rock? I’ve visited a few times and I always think about how you can’t climb a smooth mountain. In other words, if a rock mountain is completely smooth and shiny, there are no handholds or footholds for you to grab and make upward progress. I think this is a great metaphor for our lives.
If Life Was Smooth, We Wouldn’t Make Progress.
You see, all those rough spots in your life and the resistance that you had to work through were actually opportunities for growth and upward advancement.
If our life was too smooth you might still move forward, but you wouldn’t make any upward progress. It’s like continually going around the base of the mountain, but never being able to move up. Well, this metaphor also applies to your chiropractic care.
The Early Phase of Chiropractic Care is About Unlocking Years of Stress.
Most people who begin chiropractic care have been living with structural imbalances for quite some time. They may not have been dealing with symptoms for very long, but subluxations, muscle imbalances, etc. can fester under the surface long before any symptoms finally arise.
In the early phases of care most of the work is dedicated to “unlocking” the spine and working to establish balance and stability. As you can imagine, when joints, muscles, and ligaments conform to a certain position they become very stubborn and resist change early on in care.
Therefore, as we work through a comprehensive program of chiropractic care, it is extremely common to initially experience an exacerbation of your current aches and pains, or to even temporarily develop symptoms that are completely new to you.
Like Exercise, Chiropractic is a process whereby results happen over time
When your pain does not change immediately, your first inclination might be to think that something is wrong and that your problem is actually getting worse.
But in most cases, these early flare-ups are like the handholds that propel you upward toward a healthier life. Before we can instill positive change, we first have to undo the initial damage and then move forward from there. It’s like building new muscle at the gym. In order for a muscle to grow you must break it down and then feed it what it needs to grow bigger and stronger.
Just like your adjustments, that familiar soreness you feel after starting an exercise program is evidence that you are making effective progress. If you are afraid of change or are satisfied with the unhealthy status quo, then by all means stay on the smooth path, but understand that you eventually risk the entire mountain coming down on top of you. If, however, you are ready to move upward, know that the path will not always be easy. But every rut you encounter serves a purpose and is an integral part of the road back to health.
Be Strong and Climb On!
