I would like to preface this article by emphatically stating that I am in NO way commenting on the quality of the other chiropractors in my community. In fact, I think Cornwall is lucky to have a nice complement of chiropractors who do good work. I frequently refer potential patients and practice members to other chiropractors if their goals do not match the objectives of my office. Okay, on with the story.
This past Friday I hurt my neck during an Olympic weightlifting training session. No big deal, but it left me with a stiff neck that I could not turn very well and moving a bit like the Frankenstein monster. I was running some errands yesterday and ran into an acquaintance who commented that I looked kind of stiff for a chiropractor and we joked that it would be difficult for me to adjust myself.
I realized in that moment that I had not even considered phoning another chiropractor in town to get care. It had not even crossed my mind. The reason that I am writing this article is that I think most people would find it very strange that a chiropractor wasn’t seeking chiropractic care for himself after injuring his spine. I will tell you why.
First of all, I do not use chiropractic care as a reactive tool. My sore, stiff neck does not mean that my body isn’t healing. I had 265 pounds of weight crash a little too hard onto the front of my shoulders – some pain is understandable. In fact, the pain and stiffness restricting my range of motion are probably exactly what my neck needs to heal quickly and fully. Why would I want to get rid of that?
Why am I so confident that my body is healing well, even while I am in pain? In addition to taking good care of my health, I see my chiropractor in Gatineau for 2 entrainments every week. I have been doing this for 11 years. Because of this, I heal better than last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.
So why do I take every Wednesday afternoon off from the office, get in my car, fill up with gas, sit in Ottawa (the most inefficient drivers in the world!) traffic, pay big city chiropractic prices and wait in a busy reception room? All of this when I could probably drop in to an office down the street, be out in 10 minutes and have it all done for free. As I mentioned earlier, it is not because the doctors in town aren’t good – they are.
The reason that I go to all of the hassle and expense for my care is that what I want from my care is NOT to react to health challenges. What I want is to develop ever evolving strategies to live a healthy, happy, adaptable, and a forever increasing quality of life. I want reorganization, NOT restoration. Network care is the only health care system I am aware of that has this as a direct objective. If I ever find anything better at creating this result I promise I will learn it and provide it.
As a side effect of this care, I do have fewer occurrences of pain and disease, and heal much faster when they do arise. Bonus!
It is my belief that most people hunger to reorganize, step up, and evolve yet settle for comfort because they don’t think the former is possible for them. People want a life that becomes richer, fuller, healthier and more vibrant with each passing year yet don’t take the steps to achieve it. You can.
In any endeavour in life, be sure your actions, effort and the people you work with support your highest vision for what is possible.
“People don’t know that pain can lead to something GREAT. If they did they would not try to kill it.” Donny Epstein