Mack Chiropractic.....Putting Life in Motion

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!

A patient (let’s call him “Sal”) was referred into me a few weeks ago for some low back pain. Sal had said he had been to a few other health care providers and they had told him that he had tight hamstrings. After an examination and evaluation it was determined that the main problem was not that he had tight hamstrings, but that he had myofascial issues that had involved a nerve, which was causing the hamstrings to spasm and leading to some of his back pain.
After his first treatment he stood up and looked at me and almost accusingly said” well that’s the best my back has felt in a few years” (I love when people are told that I can help and then seem completely surprised when we do just that)
This patient had one other visit, stated he had relief after that visit as well. Initially I had spoken with the patient that he had been dealing with this issue for years and it may take a little time to resolve the issue completely, after all it didn’t happen overnight and the body works on its own time table. He contacted me a few days after the second visit and said he wasn’t seeing the lasting results he expected and was not going to continue care.
I must say I was confused by this, but in a world of fast food and instant messaging, maybe we have all become a little impatient. My concern is this, in several years of dealing with this issue, he had relief for the first time, would you not want to pursue that a little further or at least recognize that there is a solution… if you are willing to commit to the process?
This type of thinking is why so many gyms are packed on January 1st and empty on February 1st. When we don’t see lasting results overnight we get annoyed and begin to doubt whether it will work at all. We tell ourselves that “this is just how my genes are” and then use that to justify our lack of action.
As a Physician and a human I have learned 2 undeniable truths

1. Any lasting body change takes time and a process, you just have to know which actions will resolve it.
2. Health is no accident or coincidence of good genes!

Good health happens in understanding our genetic tendencies and acting accordingly, not accidentally tripping on a treadmill one day and all of a sudden you are ripped like the Werewolf from the twilight movies!
Maybe it was impatience that was the reason Sal didn’t want to continue, maybe it was that he was upset I had taken away his excuse for not helping around the house… either way, be honest with yourself and realize that health is, for the most part, a choice. Know yourself well enough to know the difference between something you can’t change and something you can but choose not to do what it takes.