What exactly does being healthy mean? We use this term all the time. “I went to the doctor and she said I was healthy” or “My grandma is very healthy and rarely has to visit the doctor” or “I wish I could get rid of these aches and pains so I could be healthy.”
Have you ever really considered what you mean when you say or think these things?
“Healthy” is one of those words that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In general, the idea of health between the medical model and the chiropractic model of care differs Significantly. Ask a medical doctor what health is and they will likely say, “A state free from disease.” This definition does not state what health is, but what it is not. It is not disease.
So,according to their definition, if you do not have a specific disease you are healthy.
But, what if you have:
• Headaches
• Stomach disturbances
• Body pain
• Fatigue
Unless there is a specific disease attached to these complaints, you are still considered healthy. In pain, yes. Healthy, yes. How can a person be healthy if they have health complaints?
On the other hand, sometimes a healthy body does have health complaints. It’s true! At least if you think of a body that is acting correctly as one that is healthy. For instance, if you have eaten food and now have what is known as food poisoning, your body will respond by vomiting and getting diarrhea. This means that your body is functioning in a healthy manner. Yes, you have symptoms. Yes, you feel terrible. But your body has recognized the “poison” and is working efficiently to rid the body of this poison.
Other signs that some say show lack of health that can actually mean your body is reacting in a healthy manner include:
• Vomiting
• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Fever
So, what is health if it isn’t about symptoms?
Chiropractic does not look at health in terms of what it is not, but in terms of what it is.
The World Health Organization defined health as “a state of optimal physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Chiropractors understand the intimate relationship of a healthy body to the nervous system, which of course includes the vertebral column. The nervous system controls everything in your body. All your cells, tissues, organs and systems get information from the nervous
system and learn what they are to do and not to do based on that communication.
Since this is true, real health is about how well your nervous system can communicate with the rest of your body. That is why subluxations cause such big problems. Subluxations cause a block of communication. This blockage causes a variety of disease and illness. It is amazing how many people come to a chiropractor with a spinal complaint, only to realize that chiropractic care has resolved not only their back pain but other issues as well. Reducing subluxations creates positive results through the entire body!
What Healthy Feels Like?
Most people have no idea what it feels like to be truly healthy. We may understand what it feels like to be free of illness or disease because most of us have experienced one or the other. The difference between having the flu and not having the flu is significant.
We can definitely define what it feels like to not have the flu! But what about true health? How does that feel? Did you know that it is not natural to get sick and take medications? Did you know that having any kind of pains, aches or other complaints is not normal? Did you know that all the symptoms associated with aging do not have to exist? It’s true!
A healthy person has no:
• Sleep issues
• Skin rashes
• Dandruff
• Depression
• Colds/flu
• Heartburn
• Aches and pains
• Immense stress
Instead, a healthy person is full of energy, motivation and vitality. For over 100 years chiropractors have understood that the body heals itself. By correcting subluxations, chiropractors can help the body heal itself and rid itself of illness and disease. Removing subluxations also allows you to feel more energetic, less stressful and more at peace.
Chiropractic allows true health to occur.
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