Mary just saw her chiropractor for her regular maintenance visit and was having a lunch with her friend, Stella. She explained that she had been doing this for years following her initial course of spinal correction, going about 4 to 5 times a year some years and then 10 to 12 times other years, depending on how life goes. So her friend asked her: “Why do you undergo Chiropractic maintenance? Didn’t the doctor fix you the first time?”
A simple and fair question but it took Mary a little while to frame an answer she was comfortable with as they spoke. “You see when I initially saw the chiropractor my spinal problems had apparently been there silently for many years and even when I had some symptoms, they weren’t disturbing enough for me to feel I needed to see a doctor.” Her friend agreed, that makes sense. Continuing: “when I was well and completely out of pain there were still areas that had experienced some permanent damage, to a lesser or greater degree and these are the places time and stress will wear down.”
Going on Mary said: “As I go through everyday activities I am fine but every now and then I notice a weakness starts to come back and that’s when I know to see my chiropractor; and when I go I come out feeling truly energized Her friend works in the computer industry, so from her perspective she submitted: “Oh, then it’s like you are getting a re-boot or something?”
Stella may have understood more than she thinks, if that is her take on it. As much as the driving force that brings people into chiropractors’ offices is regarding their pain, stiffness or disability, the real benefits extend much further into a person’s entire well being. So that would feel like a re-boot, when your cellphone or computer stops working properly, a simple solution is to just turn it off and turn it back on, so it can re-boot. A chiropractic spinal adjustment in many ways has a similar effect in reactivating the suppressed function of affected nerves.
I am 30+ year experienced chiropractor and the reasons people tend to elect to undergo maintenance care vary with the person’s individual priorities. Some are very active in physical activities and maintenance care keeps them at their peak performance. Others, more elderly, appreciate the ability to remain as fully active as their limitations allow; but without chiropractic maintenance they would be considerably more disabled.
Most everybody else falls somewhere in between these two extremes and it’s all about having a better life, about being able to work as hard or to play as hard as they want to. It’s about being able to play with their grandchildren or continue their favorite hobby; about working full time instead of limited to part time work. The list is as diverse as the individual but the common denominator is an empowered individual who gets to bring to the world their special talents and cares.
Sad to say, millions of people haven’t even undergone an initial chiropractic spinal correction. Hope they are lucky enough to find a caring friend who will encourage them to see their chiropractor and start on a new and revitalized future.
Yours in Health,
docMIKE
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