I recently have been reviewing and researching some topics in relation to nutrition that has brought to mind again the differences between the medical and chiropractic approaches. Now I am not going to tell you one is better because I honestly think each has its place, however I believe there is some confusion as to what each approach is. We commonly say we have a health-care system in our country, which is really, by far, the medical approach. Unfortunately calling what we have a health-care system is incorrect because what we really have is a sick-care or disease-care system. Now again, there is not really anything wrong with that if you understand what it is. I truly believe the problem comes when people think they have health-care when it is really sick-care.
Many people out there may think, well what’s the difference? While it may seem a subtle difference to some or even just a matter of semantics, I think the difference ends up making a huge difference when it comes to health. But before we go any further, I think we need to define what health is. Contrary to what many people may believe, health is not merely the absence of disease or symptoms. If it was, then a sick-care system might be able to be called health-care. So what is health then? Health is optimal physical, mental, and social well-being. This may still be a little difficult for some to understand the difference so let’s do a little example.
Let’s say John is a 35 year old father of 2 kids, who works long hours to support his family. He sits at his desk a lot of the day at work, is stressed out, and doesn’t eat the best because he grabs something quick at the drive-thru. But at his last yearly check-up nothing showed up ‘wrong’ – his blood pressure was okay, blood tests came back within normal limits, etc. He is a little overweight but that is about it. So what do you think his doctor would say about that physical? That he was healthy? Do you think John is healthy living that lifestyle, even if nothing is ‘wrong’ yet?
You see in a sick-care system you need a ‘sickness’ or ‘disease’ to treat. If John’s cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar was high then the doctor would have something to ‘treat’. And what would the treatment likely be? Honestly, it would probably be drugs to bring whatever lab values back into ‘normal’ range. Maybe the doctor would give some lip service to lifestyle changes with better diet and exercise, but to tell the truth that just isn’t the focus in the medical approach. Unfortunately, most medical doctors don’t have ‘time’ to talk about diet and exercise.
But again if absence of symptoms or disease was health, then using drugs to bring his lab values into ‘normal’ ranges could mean a return to health. Do you think that is health or perhaps is that just not being as sick as before? Perhaps the doctor would not even say he is healthy but his disease is being ‘well-managed’.
That in my mind is what a sick-care system does – it manages or cares for sickness or disease. Again at times that is what we need, but if you think that is going to give you health you would be mistaken.
So what would health-care look like? It is things that would allow you to actually be healthy. It would be a system that supports and helps people to eat better, reduce stress, exercise, etc. Things that can help your body to function at its best. This is what I believe is truly at the heart of chiropractic – helping the body to function at its best.
So going back to our example about John, while in a sick-care approach there would be little to offer him because there is no recognizable disease or sickness to treat, in a health-care approach there is a lot that could be done to help him. For example, learning some stress management techniques. Addressing his lack of exercise and poor eating habits so that he could then get the nutrients he needs to allow his body to function optimally. Regular exercise or movement is essential to a healthy body. We are designed to move and when we don’t bad things happen to our bodies. From a chiropractic perspective this especially applies to the bones of the spine. When the bones of the spine are not moving properly it affects the functioning of the nerve system, which in turn can affect the entire body. Chiropractic care helps to restore proper motion to the spine and allows your nerve system to function better and as a result you body can function more optimally.
I guess the point I want to make is this – that even if you don’t have anything ‘wrong’ with you, you can benefit from chiropractic care! Do you want to have absence of disease or optimal function?
