A patient of mine works at a local health food store and runs the nutrition section of same. She is extremely knowledgeable about health, and a great source of information for our community. We were talking yesterday about bowel function – I know, it’s such a sexy topic 😉 – and I taught her something new; that if a patient suffers from chronic constipation, they likely have mis-alignments (known in chiropractic as subluxations) in the lower back. When I showed her how the nerves from the low back go to the digestive system, she said “Wow, that makes so much sense.”
Her point, and this was the take away for me, was that many people suffer from GI problems and have been since they were kids. They’re looking for any solution, spending a TON of money, and no one has bothered to tell them that if the nerves to the gut don’t communicate properly, the gut doesn’t work properly.
Where is the sense in a chemical solution to a structural problem?
If you listen to your body, it tells you what it needs. Thirsty? You need water. Hungry? You need nutrition, from real food. Does your body function perfectly? If not, you need to be checked for subluxations by the only health care professional who handles them, a chiropractor. Are you stressed and running on fight or flight all the time? You need someone who can help you deal with your responses, like a clinical hypnotherapist. Tired? You need sleep, not caffeine.
If you don’t listen to those messages, your body will continue to run, it’s a remarkable machine. But you will be damaging it, and the price you’ll pay to recover from it may be more than you are willing to spend in terms of time off from work and lost money. I say that because I had a consultation with a woman yesterday who has been looking for answers to her pain for over A YEAR. And guess what? It’s so bad now, after a year, that she’s on disability for 6 weeks. That’s a pretty hefty price to pay, don’t you think?
Listen to your body. Take care of it. It’s the best investment you can make.
~Dr. M
It's A Pair-A-Docs 
This is so true! I had a stroke at age 45. The ’cause’ was ultimately determined as stress. I pushed myself non-stop for years with work, church, home, family. It took me 2 years of therapy and determination to get 90% of my function returned and I lost my job in the process.
You may be willing or feel the need to do so much for others but don’t forget to take care of yourself. Your first priority should be your health! Don’t take it for granted.
Thanks for commenting Lori. At age 45 you should be dancing with your kids, not recovering from a stroke. Good for you for being determined to recover as fully as possible.
I know a gentleman who has type 2 diabetes and was warned by his doctors that if he didn’t control his blood sugar, he would lose his sight. He thought, “It won’t happen to me” but it did. He wishes now he had listened and that his doctor had been stronger in his warnings about the consequences.
If more health care providers took a stand and got in people’s faces about their actions, we’d be healthier overall. You can run your body hard, but always understand what goes up MUST come down. Better to plan for the recovery than to be forced into it like you were.
We appreciate your input!
~Dr. M
You’re absolutely right, Lori! And if I know you (and I guess I have for most of my life, right?) You still find time to give love to those who are around you. Sometimes it is the part of us that feels the need to take care of others that overdoes it. But often it is also that part that picks us up and forces us to heal. Sounds like you did exactly what you needed to do to heal yourself. Many could learn a wonderful lesson from those few short lines you wrote. Take care of yourself, YOU are the most important person in your life today!- Dr. Vicky
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