What is Optimal Health?

 

The definition of health, contrary to popular belief, is NOT the absence of symptoms.  People all across the world go in to their doctors and find out that they have cancer, or diabetes, or high blood pressure, even though they may be feeling fine.  Just because you feel fine does not mean you are healthy.  This is the major concept that people all across the world need to rethink.  

For years we have been assaulted with television advertising that says, "Headache, take this," or "Back pain, take this," or some other slogan.  But true health just doesn't work that way.  The reason I don't have a headache at this moment is not because I have sufficient levels of aspirin in my system...  It is because my body is functioning in such a manner that a headache at this time is not necessary.  Symptoms, (headaches, backaches, chest pain, difficulty in breathing, etc.) are a warning system that you body uses to tell us that something is wrong.  Ignoring these signals is like turning off your smoke alarm during a fire in your home and going back to sleep.  In some cases it is fatal.

But the most insidious of them all, is NO SYMPTOMS.  You have heard it happen all the time...  Someone, perhaps in your family...  A heart attack, with no warning, maybe a stroke, or perhaps cancer.  Were they healthy the day before, the moment before the condition struck??  No.  They were not healthy for years, they just didn't have any symptoms. So for the best interest of us all, let's rethink this concept.  

Most doctors treat only symptoms.  I do NOT.  Even though the symptoms may be the reason you came to see me today, I am trying to find the CAUSE of your health problems and remove it.  Then the warning system of the body will turn off by itself.  Because I am so committed to your best health interest, I might recommend not accepting you as a patient in our office if you are looking ONLY for pain relief.  I know this will not help you in the long run, and you will continue to have problems until they are of such magnitude that I can no longer help you.

Why do I do this.  Two reasons...  One, I want to sleep at night.  As a doctor who knows without a doubt that your health can be restored if my recommendations are followed, I am committed to giving you the best care I possibly can.  I care about my patients, and when someone stops care prematurely because they "feel well," it makes me feel that I did not do a proper job informing the patient, or that the patient did not quite understand how chiropractic works, or that the patient has selected something else as a higher priority than their health. When I took my Oath as a chiropractor, I swore to do what was moral and right.  Is it moral or right to let someone stop treatment prematurely, or to prescribe something that covers up the problem and doesn't fix it. 

Second, I really want my patients to obtain optimal health, to live long, healthy, and productive lives.  Spinal or disc degeneration is a progressive problem, and without proper care or treatment can degenerate into problems that cannot be repaired.  Could you sleep at night knowing that a patient will be coming back only when symptoms return, and that it will be even harder or even impossible to help them next time?

Once my patients reach optimal health, I will suggest a preventive care plan, so they can maintain optimal health.  Would you want your doctor to just say, "Good-bye, come back when you are sick"?  I feel that a doctor should be concerned with health first, then the treatment of sickness or disease.  It's a new concept, but again, one that needs to thought about.  If you had a choice between going to a doctor a couple times a year to stay healthy, or having problems that could take months to fix, which would you choose?

I am available for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  I have been known to make an old fashioned "house call," in case of emergency.  If you want to achieve and maintain Optimal Health, then I am here for you.

I welcome any questions you might have, but if you need an appointment for an exam to determine if chiropractic is likely to help you, do not hesitate to call this office at 03 2094-1335.  If this is an emergency, let us know and I will do my best to see you immediately.

Send mail to Dr. Glendon with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: May 11, 2001, Friday.