Straight Talk About Health Care

Lifestyle Enhancements

Chiropractic care provides the foundation for good health. In addition, we need to incorporate healthy behaviors in our daily lifestyle, including exercise and balanced nutrition. Everyone knows that exercise and nutrition are key to ongoing health, but very few people actually take action. Less than 20% of American adults do 30 minutes of exercise four or five times each week. An astounding 65% of Americans are overweight or obese. The results of these unhealthy behaviors are epidemics of diabetes and heart disease. The good news is people can begin a healthy lifestyle, right now, today, right where they are. But the choice has to come from within. No one is going to do anything because they're told to or because they think they "have to". Health is a choice. When a person chooses to be healthy, very good things begin to happen in all areas of her life.

In 2009 there's been lots of conversation about health care, both at the federal and state levels.^1-3 Not all the talk has been friendly. Those favoring broad reforms describe serious problems in the health care "system". Those opposing change have spread rumors about impending "socialized medicine". Whatever the outcome, chiropractic health care continues to address many of the real shortcomings of the current health care situation in the United States.

First and foremost, chiropractic care focuses on the patient. So much of health care is focused on the profit-taking bottom line. Necessary services are denied coverage and unnecessary services are prescribed, all to further some faceless organization's return on investment. Chiropractic care has one goal in mind - to help the patient be healthy and get well in the fastest amount of time possible. Other forms of health care talk but chiropractic walks the walk. Chiropractic health care is truly patient-centered.

Chiropractic care is personalized. A patient in a chiropractor's office feels like part of the family. Chiropractors make the time to talk with their patients, asking the right questions and addressing their concerns. Chiropractic patients don't feel rushed. They don't feel as if their doctor's main priority is getting through this patient visit and moving on to the next. Chiropractic patients have the experience their doctor is very interested in their well-being and has designed treatment that will specifically address their specific problems. Chiropractic care is not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to health care.

The majority of the health care system is notoriously fragmented. Patients are bounced from one specialist to another, as various doctors attempt to diagnose a small part of a complex problem. In contrast, chiropractic care is holistic, addressing many of the health requirements of the whole person. Chiropractic treatment restores balances to the nervous system and musculoskeletal system, addressing multiple problems at once. Also, many chiropractors design rehabilitative exercise protocols and nutritional programs for their patients, as well as provide postural recommendations and stress management techniques.

And, chiropractic care is available to the entire family - toddlers, young people, parents, and grandparents. Chiropractic treatment is safe and gentle, and highly effective for a broad range of conditions. Whether an 80-year-old grandmother has osteoporosis-related lower back pain or an 8-year-old softball player has an injured knee, chiropractic care has good solutions for both.

Chiropractic directly addresses many problems in today's health care system. Chiropractic is a results-driven, cost-effective method focused on holistic health care. Chiropractic care is an integrated system that effectively promotes a family's wellness and well-being.

¹Relman A: The Health Reform We Need and Are Not Getting. The New York Review of Books, July 2, 2009
²Stolberg SG: Obama to Forge a Greater Role on Health Care. The New York Times, June 6, 2009
³Porter ME: A Strategy for Health Care Reform. Toward a Value-Based System. N Engl J Med 360(24):2610, 2009