Fundamentally fundamental

How do you define health?  Do you think you  can become well by going to a chiropractor and getting your back 'cracked' twice a week?  I hope not.  If you do go to a DC, why?  Is it for a problem you are trying to overcome or is it because your DC told you a straight spine will keep you from getting sick?  Hopefully, the answers to the above questions are based on logic and not another person's religious dogma.

My wife and I talked a bit about this very subject tonight.  I voiced my concern about the ever present religious dogma that plagues the 'profession' I am now representing.  It seems to me that some people lack the ability to see the world logically, as a scientist does, who call themselves physicians.  Since when did half-ass assessments of health become such a "need" in today's society?  If we were to put our scientific glasses on, we'd see that it isn't society who determines what they need, it is those who know how to sell an idea that need a paycheck who determine what society needs.  As new DC's we will be forced to decide whether to approach our role as a primary care physician this way.  We will struggle if we do it right and treat patients according to our objective findings and the actual needs they have.  Some of us will realize the small role we have in the health care market and we will try to 'stick it' to the 'man' by manipulating our patients in ways to grow our businesses, to go against mainstream medicine (rather than be true to our patients needs).  Some of us will get sued for doing this and some of us will realize our scope and follow the wellness "recipe" known by the academic world.  Some of us will push, forcefully, the kinesiological aspects of fitness and many of us will educate our patients about proper nutrition.  These folks are true, caring providers who go against self-centered desires.  In the long run, I truly believe that if you do everything possible to help your patient get better or live well, without selling them on a dogmatic principle you "believe in", your practice will thrive and people will love you immensely for all that you do.   

When we define what wellness is, is it a straight spine?  No.  It is a balance of social, physical, and mental health.  It is a proactive mindset.  Those who are well pursue life with vigor and always look for ways to improve their lifestyle for the betterment of their health and well being.  They look at the positive aspects of life and try to extract the goodness in each person they come across.  Some may think this is dorky or silly, but it is those who think this way that should be questioning what on Earth they are doing in a field dealing with others only real possession.  If a person is dorky, tall, thin, overweight, etc., etc., it shouldn't matter.  We must remember they are living a life different and unique from our own.  If we don't respect each individual's rare qualities, we do not deserve entitlement, we deserve nothing.

Practitioners who try to redefine wellness are doing so to make money.   From a scientific mindset, wellness has only one definition.

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