I had a recent discussion with a new patient, let's call him John. I had told him that I was under Chiropractic care for the last 18 years and in those 18 years I was grateful that I have had only 7 over-the-counter pills and 2 antibiotics. Let me break that down. I have had 2 Tylenol pills ( one in 1994 and one pill in December 1996 and 5 Advil pills around 2003 for a toe surgery plus one set of antibiotics in 2006 and one set in 2000). Wow! This is from a guy that prior to becoming a "wellness" Chiropractic patient myself, spent 4 trips to Olin Health Center at MSU. The result? Four rounds of antibiotics.
Hard to believe yet it is very true. Chiropractic care allows the body to become healthier and when you are healthy, how many drugs do you need? Guess what, healthy people don't need any!
I asked John a similar question. "John, if you had no pain, how many drugs would you take?"..."none" he replied. "John, if you had no pain, how many drugs would you buy?"...again "none". Then John told me about his brother, who is the inspiration of why John came to see me in the first place.
"Doc, my brother had back surgery years ago and has never been the same."
I remembered looking up how much back surgery costs...the best estimate including hospital costs, anesthesiologists, rehab, etc around $85, 000. Then John told me something else.
"My brother can't work full time anymore because of pain"
Your Grand Rapids Chiropractic source!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Are you "Going Green" with Chiropractic?
As a practicing Chiropractor, I try to keep myself checked regularly at least once per week. Not because I have pain, but because I know when I need a checkup.
Probably sounds a little weird, but how do I know? Well something seems "out-of-place" - no pun intended. A little bit about how this happened...
Eighteen years ago I was in a lot of pain between my shoulders and lower right hip. I was 23 and I had gone on and off to Chiropractors since 14. Yep, I had a bad back at 23. Also, I had allergies and reoccurring sinus infections since age 12. Now that I think about it, I started sleeping on my stomach around age 12, wonder if there's a correlation?
I was probably becoming the "typical" American. What's the typical American? Well in 1993, the average number of drugs taken annually, was 7. In 2000 through the release of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, that number became 11. By 2004 it had grown to 12, a whopping 71% increase in eleven years. Instead I took a chance, a risk, and decided to stick with Chiropractic care.
Probably sounds a little weird, but how do I know? Well something seems "out-of-place" - no pun intended. A little bit about how this happened...
Eighteen years ago I was in a lot of pain between my shoulders and lower right hip. I was 23 and I had gone on and off to Chiropractors since 14. Yep, I had a bad back at 23. Also, I had allergies and reoccurring sinus infections since age 12. Now that I think about it, I started sleeping on my stomach around age 12, wonder if there's a correlation?
I was probably becoming the "typical" American. What's the typical American? Well in 1993, the average number of drugs taken annually, was 7. In 2000 through the release of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, that number became 11. By 2004 it had grown to 12, a whopping 71% increase in eleven years. Instead I took a chance, a risk, and decided to stick with Chiropractic care.
History Lesson 101...
With Memorial Day 2011 upon us I reflect upon the history of those that sacrificed so other could have.
How does this relate to Chiropractic? Well, it actually relates to healthcare and the acceptance of something new.
Not every important milestone in healthcare was generally accepted. Just like Chiropractic was not generally accepted until basically, we had to sue the American Medical Association. Even still, damage had been done, and will continue until we can rise above the egos, bigotry and ignorance and look at what's best for the patient, period.
I would have to say if I could choose one discovery that was the most important in medicine, it would not be the vaccine, it would be hand washing. Yes, hand washing. Something so obvious to us today, had to go through a rigorous attack before it was seen as acceptable.
How does this relate to Chiropractic? Well, it actually relates to healthcare and the acceptance of something new.
Not every important milestone in healthcare was generally accepted. Just like Chiropractic was not generally accepted until basically, we had to sue the American Medical Association. Even still, damage had been done, and will continue until we can rise above the egos, bigotry and ignorance and look at what's best for the patient, period.
I would have to say if I could choose one discovery that was the most important in medicine, it would not be the vaccine, it would be hand washing. Yes, hand washing. Something so obvious to us today, had to go through a rigorous attack before it was seen as acceptable.
How we can save 42% of healthcare costs...RIGHT NOW!
Well I had a break in-between patients today and figured I had not added anything new for my Facebook followers. So I looked at CNN money and saw a surprising article on how the average American family spends $19393 per year on healthcare.
How did we get to $19393? Well considering the average family size in America is 2.59, that translates into $7487 per person. I remember when we were at $4000 per person in 1999/2000. So with inflation, I figure not too bad.
Wait! That's real money. Not to mention almost twice as much per capita as other countries.
How did we get to $19393? Well considering the average family size in America is 2.59, that translates into $7487 per person. I remember when we were at $4000 per person in 1999/2000. So with inflation, I figure not too bad.
Wait! That's real money. Not to mention almost twice as much per capita as other countries.
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