Belief Not Required

When I’m asked what I do for a living and tell people that I’m a chiropractor, there are a few responses that usually come standard:

“I love my chiropractor and can’t imagine how people live without one!”
“Oh, I hope to never need your services!”
“Chiropractic care has helped my headaches, lower back pain, etc. so much!”
“I don’t believe in chiropractic.”
The last one always gives me a little chuckle. It’s not like the chiropractic profession is the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy that requires a belief in something made up (sorry, kids!) Thankfully, chiropractic works whether a person ‘believes’ in it or not.

Chiropractors regularly adjust infants and children. They have no idea what we’re doing or how it’s supposed to help them — they just get better.

Animal chiropractors treat their furry patients without even explaining their chiropractic care program to them or the results they can expect — yet they still get better (just ask their owners!)

There’s a great quote from B.J. Palmer, the man considered to be the developer of Chiropractic: “Have you more faith in a spoonful of medicine than in the power that animates the living world?”

I’d be willing to make a friendly bet that most people have no clue how any of the medicines they take work as they interact with and change the complex biochemical processes that occur in their bodies. However, it is expected that they’ll work and that a simple pill or potion will take care of the undesired symptom.

Why then, can it be so easy to doubt your body’s ability to recover from health problems if the body is given the opportunity to do so without interference? That’s what a chiropractic adjustment is doing, after all — removing interference. We align the vertebrae with the goal of allowing your nervous system (the spine protects this master system which controls everything in your body) to work at its best.

Combine a chiropractic adjustment with drinking water, eating healthy food, getting enough sleep, and exercise…well, you’re setting yourself up to be pretty healthy.

Do you have to believe in any of these factors to make them work effectively? NOPE!

Do you have to do these things consistently for them to be effective in the long term? ABSOLUTELY.

You don’t have to have faith or belief in order for these things to work to make you a healthier person, but you do have to have the mindset that good things done consistently will make a major difference in your health and quality of life.

The good news: the body heals itself given the proper conditions every single time. You don’t need to have a belief in this process — it will happen regardless in due time if everything is functioning as it should be.

Have a great week,

Dr. Jane