…and Why it is a Good Idea.

In my last article we looked at the pitfalls of focusing too heavily on treating secondary health conditions (or symptoms). This is the approach of most people, and while it can be very effective in the short term it inevitably leads to long term pain, suffering and frustration.

This article will focus on what happens when we address what is primary to the symptom and how this approach leads to sustainable, long term results and even provides a path to improvement and growth over time.

Imagine a teenage child is struggling in school. They are failing and it is painful to them and those who care about them. If things don’t change they are going to lose the credit and there will be real, undesirable consequences.

Let’s say this teenager is your child. What would you do?

You have some choices. You could go and speak to the teacher and if you were either charming or forceful enough you could have the grade changed to a pass. You could complete the rest of your child’s assignments to get them the credit. You could even turn a blind eye as they conspire to cheat on their next examination.

On the other hand, you could sit down with your child and recognize that whatever they have been doing (regardless of intent) just isn’t working. From that recognition you could strategize and come up with a new plan. Different study habits, getting more sleep, perhaps a tutor, a family field trip to understand the topic in a deeper way. The possibilities are endless.

Can you see how different choices in this case will lead down very different paths? Can you see how the first path leads down a very slippery slope that will likely result in some serious long term pain? The second path, while requiring a bit more work initially, has the potential to create long term success for that child actually as a RESULT of today’s challenge?

The first path is based on chasing secondary conditions or symptoms. The second, on addressing what is underlying the secondary pain.

Almost everyone recognizes the wisdom of this concept when it comes to school, finances and even relationships – if you don’t address the underlying cause you are setting yourself up for future pain.

Perhaps the most difficult area of our lives to apply this is in our health – yet it is likely the most important place to do so.

It seems so easy to just cover up our health challenges as the solutions are typically readily available to us and quite convenient. What we need to remember are the benefits we actually gain by taking the time and energy to address the primary condition behind our challenges.

When we address what is primary, some new results happen. First we get long-term sustainable results as opposed to the typical fleeting changes that frustrate people so much. Cheating on one test won’t help you on the next one.

In addition, when the underlying problem is addressed quite often we see that other secondary conditions either improve or go away all together. New study habits improve all subjects just like a normalized spine and nervous system improve a variety of functions.

Finally, taking care of the primary condition creates opportunities for the future. Never getting to the root of a problem means you will never develop past that problem. You are a slave to it. Taking care of business allows you to evolve to the next level, and the next and the next. Most people don’t even know that is possible. It is.

At Nexus Chiropractic we focus on addressing a primary condition called a Neurospinal Shift that often underlies secondary conditions such as back and neck pain, headaches, low energy, restlessness and a variety of others. Neurospinal Shift also stunts learning, growth and development.

‘Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.’

–       William Arthur Ward.

In the third article in this series we will focus on the fact that if you approach health challenges (or any challenge) by attacking the surface problem YOU WILL BE DOOMED!

I know that this sounds harsh and I choose my language to consciously grab your attention. The reality is that I have worked with thousands of people in my office over the past 13 years and one of the most heart breaking(for me) and frustrating(for the patient) things is this never ending cycle of treating secondary conditions that leaves them in the same place, only years older and more broken down.

So, while some of you may find this post ‘negative,’ we will focus on why YOU ARE DOOMED if you approach your life and health the way most of the population goes about it.

For the sake of simplicity I am going to refer all pain and symptoms as SECONDARY CONDITIONS. This term could also apply to problems we encounter in other areas of life such as the debt example we used in a past article.

This first reason we are doomed if we merely attack the secondary conditions is that they are SECONDARY. There is something more PRIMARY that is behind the secondary condition or pain. Most treatments only address the secondary issue, so that we are made more comfortable for the time being. Because the PRIMARY cause that lies deeper has not been handled, what do you think will happen? That’s right, very often our pain or challenge will come back – sometimes after a short time, sometimes after a longer period.

I know many people who have been through so many doctors and treatments, yet still deal with the same problems for years. Is this frustrating? You bet! Without a change in approach they are doomed to a lifetime of the same experience.

It is bad enough to revisit the same challenges again and again over the years (kinda like the movie Groundhog Day), but it gets WORSE. The reason it gets worse is that if a primary condition is not taken care of, what can you expect to happen over time? Yep, it will become more severe. A more severe primary condition will typically lead to more severe secondary conditions as well and people will wonder why after so many treatments things are getting worse. This is so common that we have a name for it. People call their worsening condition AGING, and actually come to expect it as inevitable.

I am going to get all of my negativity out in this article so I will share with you that it gets even worse. Not only will focusing on superficial secondary conditions such as back pain doom you to chronic and worsening problems over time, it will also lead to MORE different kinds of problems!

Because an underlying PRIMARY condition can result in a variety of SECONDARY conditions, it stands to reason that a persistent primary condition will eventually lead to other problems. This is why it is common for people who initially only have back pain will later develop headaches, extremity problems and even end up with trouble sleeping and low levels of energy. Again, we chalk this up to aging.

In our office we focus on detecting and addressing a primary condition known as Neural Resistance which can lead to a myriad of secondary conditions such as neck pain, back pain, anxiety and others.

In the next article, we will wrap up the series with a more ‘positive’ theme. I will share some steps to help you to ‘Go Deeper to Get Better,’ whether you have a health practitioner or not. After all, I don’t wish for any of you to be DOOMED.