What is the Secret to Wellness? (part 1)
How much would you pay to know the secret to health and wellness?
If you're like the average American in this country, you may be spending upwards of $10,000 per year on healthcare related goods and services, (See this report for more information). Of course, not every American spends that much. The sickest 5% of the American population spends over 50% of the money spent on health care per year.
What if I told you I had the two secrets, simple as they may seem, to keeping you out of that situation? Now, I understand some people are born differently abled than others and some people are born with chronic disease. However, if you are born healthy and with a strong immune system, there is almost no reason that you can't grow old while remaining healthy!
So what is this secret after all?
The first part of the secret is movement.
What? Movement?
Yes. Movement. Human bodies are incredible machines that are designed to move. Have you ever had an older car? Do you remember having to go crank the engine every once in a while to make sure that it would still crank when you wanted it to later? It's the same thing with our bodies. In fact, the more we move, the better our heart pumps, the better our lymphatic system drains, the better our GI tract digests. I could go on and on about the amazing benefits of movement to the body. It's even good chiro-practically speaking, (see what I did there?)! Your intervertebral discs even get rehydrated through walking and bending and stretching.
Okay, so what do I do about that?
If you have a job where you're not moving very much during the day, you need to start incorporating movement into your life regularly. One way that I liked to do that during chiropractic school is to use my breaks to take a nice walk outside. Literally, going out for fresh air. I know that might not always be practical, but try to find five minutes every hour to get up and walk around! Some health experts have even started saying that sitting is the new smoking!
Check out this fantastic infographic right here.
How can Chiropractic help?
Well, going back to our discussion of subluxation, you might remember that a subluxation is a misalignment of a vertebra. However, the important idea in relation to today's topic is that the bone is stuck out of place. Chiropractors are trained for nearly four years to gently put movement into a fixated or stuck vertebra. By restoring this motion, we allow the spine itself to go back to its proper movement. As outlined above, this allows the body to function optimally. It also allows the nervous system to communicate with the rest of the body without interference. This is why chiropractic care is so important. It keeps movement in your spine - even if you don't have any symptoms of misalignment like back pain or headaches. For wellness care, the average person should be adjusted once a month. Just think, only twelve adjustments a year to have a spine that moves properly, a nervous system that communicates efficiently, and a body that is functioning optimally. That's a pretty good deal. ;)
Even if you aren't seeing a chiropractor, and I would love to see you, I cannot emphasize enough how important movement is in your life.
Why not make a health goal to see if you can incorporate more movement into your life!
Yours in health,
Dr. William