All of us have had health-related issues at some time or other. Whether it's low back pain, headaches, asthma, gastritis, an ankle sprain, or a rotator cuff injury, we've all had a health problem that ultimately needed treatment. Chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and various types of cancer are especially difficult and usually require interacting with multiple specialists over many years. However, regardless of our health history, it's worthwhile for all of us to stop for a bit, sit down quietly, and take stock of our current health status.

As we carefully assess our current situation and where we'd like to be, telling the truth to ourselves is very important. Remarkably, engaging in the process of such an honest overview may create an opening for a new appreciation of the personal importance of health.

It's likely that we will notice some dissatisfaction with our current health circumstances and may experience a degree of frustration, remembering a time when we were perfectly healthy. We might recall a time when we were 30 pounds lighter or when we didn't have so many aches and pains, a time when we could sleep peacefully through the night and wake up actually refreshed and recharged.

It's okay to dwell for a little while in a state of remorse concerning what we think we may have lost, but acknowledging the good news will actually provide us with much more energy and purpose. That good news consists of the awareness that our attitudes toward our health are always in our hands.

In this respect, we are in control. We may not be able to wave a magic wand and instantly heal a chronic health problem. We may not be able to magically turn back the hands of time or instantaneously decrease the readout on the bathroom scale, but all of us can forge a new attitude concerning our health and well-being. We can declare that we're in charge of how we feel and that each day we're going to take steps toward improving our overall health.^1,2

This notion of ownership, of responsibility, for own health may appear variously as a little hard to achieve. But it's an everyday thing. All we need to do, is to take action today. Of course, over time these actions add up and in not too long a time we wake up to find that we really are recharged and refreshed, we really have lost some substantial weight, and/or we really have the experience that our muscles are lean, long, and well-toned. We find that we have become, thanks to our regular daily practice, a person who is healthy and well, even in the face of whatever chronic conditions may still persist.³

All personal wellness programs benefit from a holistic perspective. We don't only want to get stronger, build lean muscle mass, lose weight, or sleep better, we actually want to accomplish all of these things in a total framework of health and well-being. All these components are interrelated and work together to accomplish long-lasting wellness.

Regular chiropractic care provides the structural foundation to achieve these objectives in the areas of fitness and good health. By focusing on the nerve system, your body's master system, and detecting and correcting spinal misalignments, regular chiropractic care helps you get the most out of the time you spend in your wellness activities. By helping improve structural stability and improving nerve system function, regular chiropractic care helps us achieve our long-term health goals.

1. Dominguez LJ, et al: Association of a Dietary Score with Incident Type 2 Diabetes: The Dietary-Based Diabetes-Risk Score (DDS). PLoS One 2015 Nov 6;10(11):e0141760. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141760. eCollection 2015
2. Tremblay A, Lachance E: Tackling obesity at the community level by integrating healthy diet, movement and non-movement behaviours. Obes Rev 2017 Feb;18 Suppl 1:82-87. doi: 10.1111/obr.12504
3. Overdorf V, et al: The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms in Healthy Older Women. Gerontol Geriatr Med 2016 Feb 11;2:2333721415626859. doi: 10.1177/2333721415626859