The Battle Mechanism vs. Vitalism
"In the left corner of the ring we have Mechanism and in the right corner of the ring is the heavy weight champion Vitalism...let's get ready to rumble!"
Ok, so that may be a little bit of a stretch but in reality these are the two schools of thought when it comes to how people view "health". Each model sees you and your health challenge differently, so are you a mechanist or a vitalist? Let's find out!
The Mechanists:
The established "health" care model sees the body as a machine. With parts that wear out or need attention. It has spawned a variety of disciplines that look at your "parts." Examples include: Internists, Urologists, Cardiologists, Orthopedists etc.
Intervention often involves drugs to change the function of the body by artificially changing blood chemistry and or surgery to remove and or address what's "broken". It's an "outside in" approach.
The Vitalists:
Are holistic and recognize the interactivity of the mind, body and spirit. Because you are self-healing, vitalists see you as greater than the sum of your parts. Examples include: Chiropractors (of course), Acupuncturists, Homeopaths, Naturopaths etc. Care from these disciplines is designed to help restore your body's balance and integrity. It's an "inside out approach" all healing comes from the inside-out.
Chiropractors are "nervous system specialists" who remove subluxations (sub-la what?!) Subluxations are when 2 or more vertebrae (spinal bones) have lost their normal motion and/or position. This can interrupt normal nerve flow and that's a concern because your nervous system controls and coordinates every cell, tissue, and organ of your body...yeah, it's that important!
Nerve compression can exist without pain. Aches or pains are merely signs of some other underlying problem. Often by the time that pain symptoms start to appear the problem may have already been present for months or even years. Think about when a person has a heart attack or a stroke – they don’t actually feel their arteries blocking up and usually don’t know anything is wrong until it’s too late. Pain killer’s and anti-inflammatory’s (MECHANISTIC) can cover up the symptoms but don’t get to the core of the problem. (Drugs are just expensive and dangerous band-aids after all.) By masking the symptoms it allows the problem to continue to develop silently until there is a major health crisis. It's like shutting off an alarm system in your home when a burglar is in it.
The chiropractor’s job is to locate and correct spinal interference, subluxation, so your nervous system can perform at it’s own optimal level (VITALISM). Chiropractors assist in the innate/inborn healing process of the body by re-establishing the nerve flow back to it’s optimal level via the adjustment.
Remember this: "The power that made the body is the power that heals the body." -B.J. Palmer, D.C
Time to take the boxing gloves off for now.
Until next time,
Dr. Alissa
