Breaking Bad

No I’m not writing a review of the critically acclaimed show on HBO. This week we’re discussing the issue of how to break a bad habit. Every year at this time we start thinking about who we want to be the next year and what we don’t want as a part of our lives anymore. In particular we look to break bad habits. From smoking, to soda pop consumption, to fast food and sweets all the way to working too much. But I want to address another bad habit not many of us every really consider…subluxation.

If you’re a frequenter of this office you have heard this word used many times. However, for those of you that have not heard the word before subluxation is the interference to your spine created through stress exposure. Subluxation is what chiropractors look for during your visits and it is what chiropractors adjust, allowing the innate healing, restorative and regulatory functions of your body to be expressed to their fullest. Subluxation results from the physical, chemical and emotional stressors we face on a daily basis. Subluxation much like the aforementioned habit of smoking is not good for your body…it’s a bad habit.

We all know smoking is bad for us. But even if you do not believe smoking is bad for you, your body does. That’s why the first few times people smoke they cough and hack and may even be sick to their stomachs. You see, our bodies do not make stupid decisions…we do! That is why continuing to smoke (even though smoking is bad for us,) eventually causes our body chemistry to alter (read my blog “addicted to stress” to learn more about this process). This causes our body to think smoking is needed for proper function and a bad habit is formed. The same happens with subluxation. In fact smoking causes subluxation! Knowing this, we have to take the approach to correcting subluxation as we would with smoking. That is, we have to retrain the body to crave normalcy rather than our addictions and bad habits.

The question now becomes, “how do we break bad habits? ” In order to break a bad habit we have to “re-teach” the body. Nobody stops craving cigarettes in one day. We can make the decision to quit in one day, but the process of breaking the habit takes a lifetime. This is also true of subluxation. If you have had subluxation for a long time it will be harder to break your body of that learned trait than it would if the subluxation just occurred. This is why it is so important for kids to be adjusted early on! Why let those bad habits fester in your body not only keeping you from being at your best, but making it harder to reverse those affects the longer they are present! Once the body can be corrected back to craving normalcy, regular maintenance of your spine will ensure those environmental stressors that cause subluxation will be put at bay. This means you have a healthier, stronger and more efficient body, which means a healthier, stronger and happier you! I’ve mentioned the idea of health over and over again and I will continue to do so because the message is important. Chiropractic helps you BE a healthier person, not to have health. Breaking bad habits and having good ones is a process and it requires a lifetime of effort (or as long as you want to be healthy).

Therefore, in preparation for this coming year break your bad habits the only way you can…by creating a lifestyle shift that offers you lifetime results! Chiropractic care is most beneficial to your body when used properly and those benefits are two fold: 1. Removal of your subluxations early in their presentation will ensure the effects and damage done to your body are limited, allowing your body to be at its best as often as possible and 2. If subluxation has been present for some time, regular care helps your body to retrain itself to crave proper function rather than adaptation to dysfunction. Make 2011 a different year! Be the healthiest person you know with regular chiropractic care, a positive mental attitude and a healthy lifestyle that includes regular healthy eating habits and exercise!