Salutogenesis and New Year’s Resolutions.
With the new year gone if you’re like most, you are probably starting to think about new year’s resolutions. It’s always a good idea to look at the past year, see what worked and what didn’t, and things you would like to improve to make your life better, more enjoyable, easier, healthier, exc. One of the biggest new year’s resolutions that we often see usually revolves around health. Honestly, this makes since as your health is one of the biggest factors that can bring joy or hardship to your life. Bad health can be a huge obstacle in enjoying your hobbies, trying new things, feeling confident, keeping up with your kids or grand kids, and can even be a financial burden (its actually the biggest!) https://news.gallup.com/poll/257906/healthcare-costs-top-financial-problem-families.aspx. But having good health makes sure that you can tackle the things that bring you joy! No sick doctor visits, going on date nights, feeling confident that could lead to job promotions or finding a spouse, having energy to say yes to your kids… you get the idea! As chiropractors in Colorado Springs, CO, it’s our job to help kids, moms, and dads achieve great health and stay healthy so they can thrive together and tackle what is called onto their hearts. How do we do this? Well, it starts with what kind of question you ask when approaching someone’s or your health.
I find it funny that when people make new year’s resolutions about health, it usually sounds like “I’m going to loose weight!” or “I’m going to get out of pain and get fit” or I’m going to eat better” or “I’m going to do things that help me get healthy”. However, when they go to their doctor for help (usually a Western Medicine Doctor) the doctors ask questions like: “Is there any signs of dysfunction?” or “What disease is this person struggling with that is making them unhealthy?” or “What diagnosis fits this patient?”. It is subtle but do you notice a difference in tone between what we want and what a medical doctor is asking themselves?
This is because medical doctors work in the realm of pathogenesis. Pathogenesis definition is, “the origination and development of a disease” - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pathogenesis. What this means is that a medical doctor is looking at their patient and trying to find out what is wrong. This outlook can be extremely valuable and probably why western medicine has come up with some amazing procedures and pharmaceuticals to help save lives! But, what happens if they are faced with a patient that wants to live a healthier life but their lab values are okay, x-ray’s are clear, no real complaints, just would like to know if they are healthy or not. The doctor would say, well this person is healthy! But the patient (you) might disagree. This is the biggest paradigm shift you can make for yourself that will CHANGE your life!!
Being healthy is not merely achieved from the absence of disease. Even the WHO states that here: https://www.who.int/about/governance/constitution#:~:text=Health%20is%20a%20state%20of,belief%2C%20economic%20or%20social%20condition. Even if they don’t always act like it. 😉
Let me introduce to you the concept of Salutogenesis and why it is a better way to look at your health. Merriam Webster stats that Salutogenesis is an approach to human health that examines the factors contributing to the promotion and maintenance of physical and mental well-being rather than disease with particular emphasis on the coping mechanisms of individuals which help preserve health despite stressful conditions. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salutogenesis) This is literally the study of what makes you healthy!! You have a desire to make a New Year’s resolution of getting healthy, fit, happier, more joyful, achieve the best possible you; you need to ask yourself and maybe get a doctor that is salutogenic that asks questions, “So this is your current health state, what do we need to do help get things working better?!”
This is sometimes the most liberating thing that some of you need to hear. You do not NEED a diagnosis to get healthy! You need to ask the right questions. What is it that makes a person healthy? Then, do those things! It is always important to have one foot in with your western medicine doctor to make sure you detect any disease early as that’s just a good idea. No one thinks that it is a good idea to abolish the fire department. But the biggest tragedy to health care and public health (the thing that tells you what is healthy) is that fire fighters are running the show. What we need are carpenters (chiropractors, nutritionists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, pastors and health couches) to take the lead and show people how to build a healthy body, mind, and spirit.
Before we end our first blog I want to provide you the biggest help in shifting into a salutogenic mindset and activities to engage in to dramatically change your health!
1. Chiropractic
Why is chiropractic first in this list? Kind of odd as you think nutrition would be the foundation to health. You could make a good argument for that. However, let me present you the nervous system! Your nervous system is the master system that dictates the function of EVERY SINGLE CELL in your body!!! This isn’t just indirectly (however, there are ways it does that through the neuro-endocrine system – that’s hormones) but also directly! Your nervous system knows what is going on in your body better than any doctor does, or fitness influencer, or even a chiropractor does. Your nervous system is taking in trillions of bits of information from your environment and body every second and then controlling EVERYTHING based on that! Your nervous system is super smart and will even adapt to stress so it doesn’t harm you in the future. However, this is why chiropractic is needed if you want to be truly healthy. What if your nervous system adapts so well against stress that it is changing your body to always be in high alert? This is called dysautonomia. Dysautonomia is why some can eat whatever they want and seem to stay thin, and others look at a fry and gain weight (stress = cortisol). This is why some people seem to never be sick and others have crazy symptoms to every bug imaginable (specific immune system response vs. over reactive and systemic response). This is why some children are supper calm and can eat that piece of birthday cake with no problem and others will be super moody and dysregulated with the slightest molecule of gluten. Chiropractic looks at finding areas in the nervous system that have adapted to stay in a state of stress and relieve these areas. This promotes better brain-body communication and a state of ease. Check this study out that shows that quality of life (meaning everything is more awesome) improved with chiropractic care. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965229919308398
2. Exercise/play/movement
Alright, where the heck is nutrition! Don’t worry, it’s coming. But, did you know that sitting is considered the new smoking? (Sorry no reference for this, but I’ve heard it on the news before). Movement/play/exercise not only helps you burn energy, create better metabolism by making your cells participate in building energy stores and then also using energy stores, but it also stimulates your brain! You know that as a chiropractor, anything that helps nervous system function is going to be the most impactful! 😊 Movement stimulates the brain and increases communication between the body and brain. This then stimulates the rest, digest, immune system, social and emotional part of your nervous system to help you recover from said movement. Increasing this system will increase Vagus Nerve activity. Vagus nerve activity helps improve the health of your heart, lungs, upper digestion, colon, and endocrine organs. Sounds pretty good right? (Also, chiropractic plug: chiropractic helps increase vagus nerve activity. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16690380/)
3. Nutrition
Here you go!! Yes, nutrition is extremely important. All for the reasons you think it would be for cellular metabolism and prevention of excess fat stores, decreasing inflammation, and that we literally are what we eat! But also! A poor diet can introduce a toxicity into our system and it will stimulate THE CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM into a stressful state. This stress response will introduce mechanisms that are great for fighting a tiger or making a deadline but not good for digesting the cheeseburger that you’re eating. Also, an important factor to know is that your attitude around food matters. If your stressed out about eating something because you think its bad for you that will also create a stress response and alter physiological functions that will not be so good for your health. So yes, make better eating decisions, but if you happen to eat something that isn’t on the Mediterranean Diet magazine, don’t sweat it! Enjoy that cheese burger and just make a better decision on your next meal.
4. Get the horse in front of the cart
This is where a salutogenic doctor or health worker can be extremely valuable. I do not have a green thumb but let me put you through a scenario for a minute. Let’s say I have a plant that I want to thrive. I put it in some dirt, I water it once a day and give direct sunlight. Additionally, I give this plant a bunch of supplements, make sure that it listens to classical music, and say sweet nothings to it twice a day. I checked all the growing plants boxes and even more but my plant is still wilting! I go see a plant expert and it turns out that the plant needs indirect light, watered only once a week, and the type of soil I’m using isn’t the best for this species. I did all the things for the plant: water, sun, dirt, even music, emotional support, and over supplementation; but the basics weren’t applied correctly, or maybe something I was doing would be more impactful than doing something else.
As a salutogenic chiropractor, we look at our patients’ histories, measure their neurological function with heart rate variability, electromyography, and thermography, address some nutritional habits, introduce supplements if needed that will help improve function, and look at other life style habits like exercise, movement, and emotional well-being. We are also a great gateway to put the nervous system in the forefront to make sure your body has the ability to work/heal/adapt at its best and direct our patients to other practitioners that are also salutogenic to help fill the gaps and truly change the health of families!
If you have ever thought of chiropractic, or you just really want something new, specific, and salutogenic, give us a call! Stop being frustrated with doctors telling you that where you are is “good enough” when you feel like it isn’t. Get someone in your corner that will always have something small that you can do that will move you more towards health so you can do the things you enjoy, save money, watch your kids bloom, allow your kids to bloom! Call CJ Chiropractic in Colorado Springs today and give us a chance to be a part of your health journey.
