Communication is tricky and multi-level. There are, however, 6,909 distinct languages in the world. You may have heard of Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages, that discusses the different ways people express and receive love. Your mom probably told you that she didn’t like your body language when you rolled your eyes.
On an even deeper level, our bodies are communicating with us, giving us all kinds of signals: our drooping eyelids telling us we need to rest or the pounding in our heads alerting us that we are upside down. The body also speaks through what we commonly call symptoms.
Decrypting what the body is really saying can be difficult, which is why it is important to research whose advice you are taking for healthcare. Did you know gallbladder troubles can make your shoulder hurt?! It’s why diagnosis is difficult and why Dr. Gregory House is a genius (maybe you haven’t seen the TV series?) It’s also why various doctors, all experienced and knowledgeable, can translate the body’s message differently. Because it turns out doctors speak their own “language” too (and I don’t just mean the fancy Latin names of anatomy!)
Doctors and healthcare professionals usually learn their language based on whichever school of thought they were trained in, though there are many individuals who practice with a combination of methodologies. We’ll just talk about mainstream doctors and chiropractors here.
Traditional medical doctors and their staff are highly trained with two main weapons: pharmacology and surgery. That’s the language they primarily speak. When sorting through what a patient’s body is telling them, they hear and reply with options for drugs or surgery. And when an appendix is about to burst, they are who you want to take care of you!
However, many of us are aware and concerned about the use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs, which chemically push and force reactions in the body. They may be effective at alleviating symptoms–but do you becoming healthier just because symptoms disappear? Is the source of that pain or discomfort healed? The same goes with surgical options that quickly make a difference, but disrupt the body and require intense healing for extended periods. Both drugs and surgery often have secondary effects–we’ve all seen prescription commercials with long lists of precautions. (Read to end and be rewarded with comedian Tim Hawkins’ take on that!)
On the side of prevention and becoming healthier, medical doctors speak comparatively little of the language of nutrition. A 2010 report says U.S. medical schools offer and average of 19.6 hours of nutrition training in four years of medical school. Exercise is a dialect that medical doctors appreciate as necessary, but it isn’t one in which they are fluent. Research from Oregon State University in 2013 suggests that less than have of physicians have had formal education in exercise.
There are so many more languages, dialects and options in healthcare! One of which is chiropractic, which finds subluxations, slight misalignments of the vertebrae, along the spinal chord. A subluxation prevents the flow of information from the brain to the nervous system and out to the body. A chiropractic adjustment moves the vertebrae back into place, so the body can better communicate to innately heal itself. Our organs, muscles and tissues are connected back to the brain via the nervous system and spine and with messages traveling freely down the spinal chord, the body better follows the brain’s guidance for good health.
Drs. Ryan and Denise Dopps love decrypting what the body is saying and speaking the body’s own language back to it to promote true health and healing. Call their Wichita office, Dopps Chiropractic NE, to set up an appointment (316) 636-5550. Chiropractic isn’t the only “language” for health that they speak. You can also keep up with (@ddopps) Dr. Denise on Instagram where she promotes health through nutrition and exercise. Her upcoming podcast at www.adjustyourvocabulary.com, encourages and stimulates mental health, using vocabulary to “elevate your voice.”
You can also find Dr. Ryan on Instagram (@drdopps) where he lives out a chiropractic lifestyle and @letschalkaboutchiropractic posts fun, humorous snippets of information with colorful illustrations.
And now here’s your reward…enjoy!
