When I was in chiropractic school I was very fortunate to learn from some very good doctors.
They always had great stories to tell of how patients got hurt, but they were able to get them back on track when nobody else could.
I was always fascinated.
Still am.
And now I get to do it. I get to experience these stories first-hand.
One of the stories I remember hearing about was how 2 different people responded completely different to a car accident.
Two separate car accidents.
Two different people.
“Why is it that somebody can get rear-ended by a car going 55 mph, and walk away virtually unharmed, when somebody else gets rear-ended by a car going only 20 mph and has all sorts of problems?”
This was the question the doctor posed to the group.
And he knew the answer because he knew both of the patients.
One listened to him before the accident…
and the other didn’t.
I think you can figure out which one listened!
And the answer to his question was their physical robustness.
And robustness is the ability of withstand external forces.
It doesn’t matter if it’s…
- Physical
- Mental
- Chemical
- Electromagnetic
All forces in excess act to degrade the body. They weaken it so it can no longer keep strong.
I talk a lot about chemical stresses in these emails because it is such a huge problem in our world, but what I want to concentrate on now is the physical stress.
The ability of our body to withstand physical forces is dependent on our nervous system and specifically, our reflexes.
We use strength when we are in control of the movement, like going to the gym and doing a bench press.
But it’s the reflexes that are the most important.
The reflexes of the body handle unusual or unregulated stresses.
And these are the ones that usually cause us injury.
And the good news is that we CAN measure and treat robustness.
When a new patient comes in they are usually amazed at the kind of testing we do.
They are used to going to a chiropractor that takes x-rays, looks at their posture, etc.
But these aren’t really measuring how your body is responding to it’s environment.
We need to stress your body and put it under pressure to see where it fails….
…because the body works as an integrated unit, and it’s only as good as it’s weakest link.
Once we know where the weaknesses are, we can design a program to eliminate them.
These can include:
- Spinal adjustments.
- Cranial adjustments (a big one that most chiropractors miss).
- Releasing scar tissue.
- Fixing ligaments that have been stretched.
- Making sure organs have the proper motion to them.
And this is why the person who was hit by the car traveling 55 mph was uninjured.
The doctor had a chance to help him correct his weaknesses so that his body was robust.
His body was working correctly.
But the other person chose not to correct his weaknesses.
He left his faulty reflexes uncorrected.
Sure, he could live this way if nothing unexpected happens, but as soon as something happens that is out of the ordinary, the body breaks down at the weakest link.
It could be a car accident.
It could be a slip on the ice.
It could be making an impulsive move to grab a glass jar rolling off the countertop.
In short, life is full of the unexpected.
And this patient paid the price for not correcting his weaknesses with neck pain, headaches, digestive problems, and more.
Make sure to take steps every day to improve your weaknesses. You never know when that time will come that you were glad you did.
If you want an exam to uncover your physical weaknesses, make sure to give our office a call at 651-982-1804.
Best,
Dr. Brant
P.S. Remember that these types of weaknesses have nothing to do with how strong you are. We are talking about your nervous system’s ability to adapt.
You could be an 80 year old woman and have strong reflexes, but be a 22 year old male with bulging muscles, yet be incredibly vulnerable to injury.