What If You Only Get One Car. This Is Your Body.

If you were lucky enough to get a new car when you turned 16, you probably loved that car. I bet you made some great memories with that car. You probably had some crazy adventures.

But I'd also bet that you no longer own that car. I wonder if that car even runs anymore.

Now imagine that when you got that car, you were told that this was going to be the only car you could ever have. You couldn't buy a new one. Ever. It's just you and that car for the rest of your life. Knowing this, would you have treated that car differently? What would you do when that check engine light went on? Would you ignore it and see if you could push it a little further? Or would you make sure it was always running smoothly?

Let's take this analogy even further, because I love analogies. You notice that your car's tires are wearing unevenly. You take it to your trusted mechanic, and he or she tells you that there is an easy fix: new tires! Just like that you are back on the road. Six months later you notice the same wear pattern is back. What do you do now? Remember, this is the only car you get. Do you just go put another new pair of tires on it? Or is something else going on. Turns out those tires are wearing unevenly because of your car's poor alignment. And not only is that bad alignment ruining your new tires, it is causing stress to other critical components in your car, which one day may lead to disaster, like not being able to suddenly maneuver or brake effectively during an emergency. So you need to ask yourself, is it time for another set of tires, or is it time to address the alignment?

Your body is an even more complicated machine than a car. Any misalignment from head to toe, front to back, or side to side affects the rest of your body. Your body is incredibly adept at compensation. If your head and shoulders are stuck forward then your back tightens up to try and support them. If an ankle has lost mobility due to an old sprain, your hips and knees might start to compensate and eventually hurt. If your pelvis is tilted forward or back from a lifestyle that is dominated by sitting, your neck, shoulders and lower back will try and counterbalance to keep you from falling over. Any of these means your complex machine can't function optimally, and can result in pain, aka, your body's check engine light turns on.

If my analogy of your first car and body makes sense to you, remember this about pain: pain is trying to help you! Your body is giving you the signal you need to avoid causing physical damage to yourself. This is also why car designers invented the check engine light: they wanted to warn you that your car needed help before you pushed it too far. You could just take a pill, buy a new chair, or wear an orthotic to try to mask the pain day after day, or instead you could try to find the root cause. This is what I do every day and I can help you. Think of me as your body's mechanic. Luckily, your body is so much more advanced than any car that if we put in the right position, if we give it the right encouragement, it will heal itself. I can get you in position to heal and even to function like you did when you were fresh off the assembly line. Remember, this is the only body you get, and you want to be ready for that next crazy adventure.