When I Read the Obituaries

 

(Image courtesy: Sweetzer and Orange Store / Amazon) From time to time I read obituaries of people I used to see in my office.  When I reflect on their passing, most of them are folks who "dropped out of care."  They may have come in only once or twice.  

In chiro-land we use the term "dropped out of care" because the service we provide is based on a wellness paradigm that professes the importance of following nurturing protocols for the rest of one's life. 

To us chiropractors, someone dropping out of care is a big failure.  We blame ourselves for not being good enough teachers.  We weren't effective at explaining the profound connection between the brain and body.  We aren't inspiring enough when we discuss how much impact the chiropractic adjustment has on the neuro-plasticity of the brain.  For example, chiropractic adjustments result in positive changes on a person's follow up EEG (recording brain activity).  That's pretty spectacular. The discussion can be done on a very personal and relevant level without using complicated terminology. 

Many years ago, when I first saw one person in my office, I had huge concerns that were bothering me more than the initial complaint of back pain. I voiced that concern with the spouse.  Did I explain it adequately?  I knew the back pain would not clear up in one or two visits because there were more "problems" blocking the healing process. The nervous system was bogged down.  I wanted to pursue a more involved plan of action.  

And, the insurance coverage was limited.  Most people will only go as far as the insurance pocketbook, which I find very misleading to the public. But I know dentistry deals with the same thing. 

The spouse had a medical background which I thought would help us talk it out.  But, no.  The response was: it could only be back pain.  It's as if the back is completely separate from the rest of the body.  

Dentists, deal with that as well.  It is believed your mouth has nothing to do with the rest of the body (unless you have a heart problem, then you need a ton of antibiotics).

Mental health has the same hiccup.  Mental challenges are assumed to need treatment separate from the rest of the body.  I chose chiropractic because there is the realization of the link between the mind and the body.  But, old thoughts hang on....

I never saw this person again after two visits.  I read the obituary about 2 years later and I was sad.  I was sad for the two years lost with this person.  

I have the wonderful opportunity to see my peeps weekly for decades and walk their journeys with them.  Yes, they have their family physicians who work with them for years and years, but chiropractic is different. 

When we look to enhance the brain's perception of the outer and inner environments of a person, it is also an opportunity for personal growth which also has a deep impact on a person's life.  When folks come in for weekly maintenance, the growth is exciting. It is shared among everyone else in the waiting room.  It is a time to celebrate the innate powers of the body.  It is a time to foster a positive outlook which is very important to longevity. 

However, it's a free country and people who aren't interested in what I offer can go in a different direction. 

I saw a recent obituary of someone who I haven't seen in about 2 years as well.  This person had many stumbling blocks that kept her out of the office. She enjoyed her visits.  I loved watching her progress. She was upbeat and very appreciative, but she missed appointments and eventually stopped coming.  (Could have moved away, or had new stresses...I don't know) So, there's another 2 years of lost interactions.  A lost relationship. 

Chiropractic is a connection.  The spine connects to the brain.  But we are connected to each other.  We're here to help each other and share the journey. 

I hung a poster on my office door that says:

Pain is an Uncomfortable Way to be Comfortably Distracted

This is a message to remind us that there is an underside to our pain and health problems.  We may be living a repetitive theme of personal loss, grief or anxiety of life events that take hold in our bodies as chronic pain.  So let's not overlook the other sources of our bodily pain. The nervous system doesn't lie, but we need to translate its language.  

Your closeness to your best friends and family plays a role in each others' health.  Be there for each other. 

I have the opportunity to do so with my long term practice members. 

--Dr. Lisa

Your Health Freedom Coach

Liberating Your Nervous System from Unacceptable Ideas (like aging)

Expand Your Talents Beyond Your Comfort Zone.

Arthritis is Boring

 

(image courtesy: novapublishers & book depository)
When folks come to me, I know they want to use the language they are used to.  So, I hear it.  The dreaded A word.  

Arthritis. 

Arthritis is one of those labels that are misused, much like cholesterol.  We can measure cholesterol with a blood test and think we can use it for diagnostic, disease prediction purposes.  Which time has told us is another  assumption gone bad, (yet is still a great way for pharma to profit).  

We use X-rays to diagnose arthritis.  Well, most of us in medicine and chiropractic do.  Now, I realize, if you don't have a broken bone, don't overthink it.  Typically when someone hears a doctor say arthritis, a wave of panic ensues.   But we know an X ray or MRI does not correlate with pain or future pain.

It reminds me of an interview I heard with Dr. Terry Wahls of the Wahls protocol.  She bounced back from a severe malfunction that left her in a horizontal wheel chair (for a while). 

After she regained her mobility and returned to work, she stated her brain scans looked exactly the same.  It had the same "plaquing" on her brain that endowed her with the label of multiple sclerosis.  It is her belief that different parts of her brain took over as she nourished her body with whole foods.  She has quite an interesting story that should help the public change their ideas of how the body works.  Save yourself from the dread and fear when people throw these labels back and forth. (Images courtesy: terrywahls.com)

A tight joint and a birthday milestone over age 50 gives you the wonderful title of arthritis. 

You know I don't buy it.  When I used to run 5K races, 80 and 90 year olds used to blow me away.  How can that be?

But in the last few years, people don't just have arthritis anymore.  They have lupus, Lymes, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid.  

People wear these titles as a badge of honor.  They'll take offense if you don't remember their special diagnosis.  People might be offended when they read my comments here, but I don't like the direction the medical system is going in.  We are amazed by these strange afflictions and don't seem to have protocols to reverse them.  Or do we?  

I had to learn a grocery list of arthritis types.  Apparently there are over 100 types, but my school had to narrow it down to about 20.  I'd still be in school today trying to memorize their similarities and differences.  And how does that help people get healthier? It doesn't.

Let's actually live in the real world.  We can remove the embellishments of labels, findings, symptoms, and just give the body what it is lacking.  

This lacking comes from an energy drain that is not properly replenished at reasonable intervals.  This is how I describe the stages of the nervous system so we can learn how to partner with our brain and body. 

Everything the brain does is appropriate for the situation.  It prioritizes its needs based on the level of stress it encounters, (real and perceived through brain memory).  Body responses don't happen to you. A disease doesn't happen.  It is intelligently chosen by your brain. 

When we are in the fight or flight-sympathetic state, we burn through our reserves.  When we are in the vagus-parasympathetic state it is our opportunity to rest, digest, rebuild.  Too much stress puts the rebuilding part on hold.  When that stage is suspended, we lose minerals, bone density, muscle strength, organ efficiency. 

Chiropractic helps you get back to an appropriate balance between these 2 states.  I call chiropractic a way to renovate patterns that are more draining rather than sustaining. 

When you are ready to do a pattern renovation of the brain/nervous system/body, let's get started.  

** I had a copy of that Spine Dictionary in my office.  I just tossed it in the trash can about a month ago.  I thought it would be cool to keep it on my shelf in the office for reference or teaching purposes.  I probably looked at it once when I first bought it.  It didn't serve me.  ***

--Dr. Lisa

Your Health Freedom Coach

Liberating Your Nervous System from Unacceptable Ideas (like aging)

Expand Your Talents Beyond Your Comfort Zone.