Not to start with a horrible scenario but imagine that you had a fire in your house?
The heat, the devastation and the overall destruction a fire can cause is a crisis to say the least.
Problems with our health and how we deal with them is very much like recovering your home after a fire.
Whether a herniated spinal disc pressing on nerves, a heart attack or stroke, a dislocated shoulder or a spinal fracture, these are health crises that need emergency attention.
Now in the aftermath of a fire, after the emergency is over and the fire brigade have used their hoses, ladders and axes to bring the fire under control and put it out.
There is a home that needs to be repaired, restructured and refurbished.
Who do we call to do this?
The fire brigade again? Surely not? And why not?
Well there is no doubt that they are very capable and heroes of our society in what they do.
But their tools and skill set are not fit for purpose. Hoses, axes and ladders are not going to help redecorate your house.
Yet this is how modern medicine for the large part approaches health.
Medicine in its current form are the fire brigade of human health: Emergency care.
If we are in a health crisis we want the people with the skill set and tools to keep us alive and minimise damage to our bodies.
Swap fire hoses, ladders and axes for medications, surgery and pain killing injections.
These tools are not bad or evil they are incredibly important and essential for helping humans live longer.
However using these tools to help human beings thrive and live a better quality of life is where our health system becomes unstuck.
The majority of the demand on the health care system is down to chronic lifestyle induced diseases.
Obesity rates in our country are the second worst on the planet.
The average 50 year old is on an average of 6-8 medications that they will never come off.
We have children as young as 10 being diagnosed as type 2 diabetic.
It is forecast that spending on diabetes management alone will bankrupt the NHS by 2035.
The fire brigade approach is not working.
We need a system that will help and work along side emergency care and be able to restructure and rebuild.
A form of healthcare that takes into account the bodies in built ability to heal and recuperate under the right circumstances.
One that analyses function of the most important system we have, that helps regulate and govern our bodies inner and outer workings.
The nervous system.
If you want to see how we help people reach their potential get in touch.
As always take care
Dr Gareth Ward DC MChiro (Chiropractor)
