This week I’ve been thinking about something I heard from another chiropractor a few days ago at a networking meeting here in Chicago.
At the part of the meeting when each guest introduces themselves, this doctor told the group that his work “fixes” patients in 6-8 visits.
I certainly do not presume to know all about this doctor or his way of practicing, but as you might imagine, I have some opinions about this statement 
It’s not that I don’t think it’s possible to experience real, tangible change in a short amount of time.
As I tell clients to prep them for their first adjustment at New Day, although there is no such thing as a one adjustment “magic wand,” it is certainly possible, if not likely, to be aware of a change in the functioning of your nervous system after just one adjustment.
If you’ve ever heard me speak or describe my own first experience of Network Spinal, this won’t surprise you. Many of our clients report a significant change in their awareness of their symptom or complaint after one, or a small number of adjustments.
If you can get a change right away, why keep coming in for care? Aren’t you “fixed”?
It really depends on what you mean by “fixed.”
Let’s take, for example, the contestants on the show “The Biggest Loser.” Here are a bunch of very overweight people, now working out more than they’ve ever worked out in their lives, while making significant dietary changes as well. At the end of every week, the contestants have a weigh in.
Is the person “fixed” when they lose 5 pounds at the initial weigh in?
Of course not. Anyone would agree that they each have quite a bit of weight to lose to get into the neighborhood of healthy.
But what about when they lose 10 pounds? 20? It’s a really noticeable change! Depends on the person, you might say.
What about when they meet their goal? Surely at that point, the person is as close to “fixed as they’re going to get, right?
Not if they go back out into their normal lives thinking the same thoughts, experiencing the same emotions, and otherwise reacting to life in ways similar to what lead them into unhealthy habits in the first place.
The fact is, who we show up as today in our health and our lives is a function 1) of every day we’ve lived and choice we’ve made up until now and 2) how we live and make choices every day going forward. “Fixed” in the narrowest sense of the term is when we experience a change that makes up for all the weeks, months, and years in which we’ve been living in a compromised state of health. But even after that, you’re going out into life facing some of the same conditions that lead to the issues you were experiencing in the first place.
6-8 adjustments is as likely to fix you as 6-8 workouts, 6-8 healthy meals, or 6-8 prayers. As in it can certainly make a significant difference in your health and life compared to the past. But what happens after the 6-8 (or even 20-30) interventions that are needed to get your symptom to it’s “goal”? Now you need something to bring you into the future.
When the pounds have been lost, or the shoulder stops hurting, or the lower back pain stops, you are still a person with a brain connected to the body through nerves, regulated by the responses in your nervous systems, living in a world of physical, emotional, mental, and chemical stressors. Network Spinal has been shown in research to help people not just feel better, but help them make the changes in their lives and habits that lead to sustained improvement.
Has your idea of what “fixed” means changed while you’ve been in care? Please comment below!
