The news is loaded with stories addressing the cost of health care and its increasing burden on government, business and individuals.  Numerous solutions have been suggested but none seem to have the answer.  Either they are too costly or they appear to result in less than adequate care, especially for the elderly and the chronically ill.  It has been suggested that in some cases the care will have to be rationed.  One thing is for sure, we cannot continue along our present course.  If we do, only the very wealthy will be able to afford the care that every person wants or believes they deserve.   Each year the cost of health care increases and requires a greater percentage of our gross national product.  The problem is that we do not have a health care system but a disease care system, and as long as our objective is to fight disease, we are going to have greater and greater costs.  

Diagnostic tools used to identify diseases become more costly all the time. Therapeutic procedures and the research necessary to come up with these procedures are becoming more and more costly.  Even a simple pill can very expensive.  Sadly, few if any of these procedures offer a cure for people’s lack of health.  They are usually just keeping the person alive, or at best temporarily alleviating the symptoms.  Unfortunately, we not only have a disease care system, but despite the effort by some, the system does not seem to be changing.

I would suggest that the answer is a chiropractic lifestyle.  I am not saying chiropractic is the answer or that if everyone were under chiropractic care we would all be healthy (although I believe we would all be healthier!)  The fact is most people, even those using chiropractic, do not have a chiropractic lifestyle.  They have a therapeutic lifestyle, one that treats conditions until the condition or symptom is better, and then it is discontinued.  Sometimes they use chiropractic, sometimes they use drugs and sometimes they use surgery. That is a therapeutic lifestyle, not a true chiropractic one. 

However, chiropractic and other health promoting behaviours is really not intended to be another treatment modality.  Chiropractic is not about your back, or your neck or anything else, it’s about your life.  A chiropractic lifestyle is one in which you avail yourself of chiropractic care regularly simply because it’s good for your health.  It’s not a matter of having a backache, not getting headaches or even feeling good all the time.  It’s a matter of doing something that raises and/or maintains your health on a regular consistent basis regardless of anything else.  Whether you feel good or lousy, have aches or pains or don’t, you get your spine checked on a regular basis.  Getting adjusted for the right reason helps people to develop a lifestyle.  It promotes the idea that you should do what is right for your body regardless of anything else.  Very few chiropractic practice members realise this concept.  Those who do will just naturally carry it into every aspect of their lifestyle.  They will exercise not just to lose weight but because it’s good for their health.  They will eat good food not just occasionally but on a regular basis.   Doing everything you can for your health and doing it consistently is the key to being and staying your best.  If everyone was doing that, we could very well change the mindset of health care and drastically reduce the need for expensive disease care.

If you know of any friends that can benefit from these ideas, please share with them by email or Facebook.

Have a fantastic day!

Ryno􀀀

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