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.