Do We NEED to Rely on Bodywork for Health?

I recently had a young new client come into the office. She had a few aches and pains that were the catalyst for her parents scheduling her an appointment. What I want to talk about today isn't her care or why she was in the office but one of the conversations I had with her mother.

Her Mom asked me, "Are we doing a disservice to our kids by having them rely on bodywork to keep them healthy?" It was such an interesting thing to me. She was worried that by reaching out to health care practitioners regarding her daughters health, she might be actually hurting her in the long run. Health is a dynamic state. You don't reach a certain healthy point and then say "I've done it!" and stop your healthy behaviors. It's something that you have to continually work on for your whole life. The more consistent you are, the better it is for your body. This is true for all facets of your health - movement, nutrition, mindset, and connection of the brain and body. Ideally, you are working on all facets at the same time for maximum benefit. 

The goal of Chiropractic is not to help you feel better (even though that usually happens) but to help you function better; adjustments do this through improving the connection of the brain and body. To allow your body to better adapt to daily stressors so you can go about your business. When the connection of the brain and body is working harmoniously, we know that your ability to heal, adapt and create resiliency improves. This allows you to carry on with your day knowing that you're more likely going to be able to deal with whatever life throws at you. But, when you see your Chiropractor only for pain, these benefits are muted because it takes time and repetition to improve the connection. Just like it takes time to improve your capacity in the gym or change your body composition through nutrition.

So, my young client is being given the best from her parents. We are now able to help her young body create ideal connections so that she can adapt and respond to her life free from interference between the brain and the body. As she gets older, this is going to hold her in good stead to not have to rely on bodywork - whether it be a Chiro, PT, surgeon, massage - to deal with the chronic pain issues that people are facing because they've allowed minor stressors (physical, chemical and emotional) to accumulate until the body can no longer compensate and something seriously goes wrong.

Peace, Love and Wellness,

​Dr. Liz

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