I Can’t Be Adjusted Because . . .

I constantly have friends, relatives, casual acquaintances, person behind the counter, who tell me, “I can’t/won’t go to a chiropractor because . . .” and then proceed to give some creative excuse which, to someone familiar with chiropractic, is almost always meaningless. Aside from the few truthful ones who say they can’t afford it, and the ones who are afraid of being hurt (which has been addressed in a previous post), most people simply display their lack of knowledge on the subject of health and chiropractic care. Here are some of the justifications I have heard:

1. I am too fat/thin to be adjusted.  People often ask me, “How can you feel the spine of a fat person?” Interestingly, very seldom does body fat obscure the spine – usually the spine of an obese person is as palpable as that of someone of normal weight. I have had two patients who weighed 600+ pounds, and while my table struggled to raise them back up to a standing position, I had no difficulty in palpating or adjusting them. In 28 years I can’t recall more than a handful of patients whose spine was difficult to feel because of their padding. As far as being too thin to be treated:  I adjust children and painfully thin adults on a regular basis with no adverse effects – it all depends on the skill of the doctor.
2. I can manipulate myself. People regularly boast that all they have to do is lock their legs around a stationary object and twist their body by grabbing something behind them, or lay backward over a chair back, or grab their head with both hands and give a sharp jerk, or just give a big stretch, and everything all goes back into place and they feel fine. Vertebrae that need to be adjusted are locked up and not moving freely, and surrounding vertebrae become hypermobile in order to compensate for the limited movement. Someone manipulating themselves almost always moves only the hypermobile joints while having minimal effect on the fixated ones. Additionally, most people who are honestly paying attention admit that somewhere along the way this self-manipulation they are doing no longer gives any relief but has become merely a habit.
3. There’s nothing wrong with me. Spinal injuries almost never involve fractured bones. Instead the soft, supporting structures are damaged which causes the nearby nerves to be irritated. Since only around half of the nerves in the body transmit pain signals, it is quite common for spinal misalignments to exhibit minimal pain. Instead we may notice numbness and tingling, muscle weakness, loss of coordination, and various illnesses due to organ malfunctions. Injuries can be of the fall off the roof and land on your head variety, or of the very common repetitive stress type, which are very subtle. Anyone who claims to have never had any accidents or injuries in the first 25 years of their life is either lying, or, more likely, having difficulty recalling details. Therefore, almost everyone has a number of things wrong with them which would benefit from improved spinal health.

These are just some of the reasons people utilize to avoid feeling and functioning better, getting rid of pain, and living healthier, more productive lives. At Val Vista Chiropractic we help people to feel better and achieve more of their potential. What’s your excuse?

Getting rid of your pain,

Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor

Val Vista Chiropractic