No one enjoys feeling poorly, or suffering and experiencing pain.

Symptoms are unpleasant, but are they bad for you or are they often just misunderstood?

We have been taught to view them as bad, and we seek ways to alleviate them as quickly as possible, but it is often without regard for our health, or without understanding the role of symptoms in our health and well-being.

It is important that we understand that pain and symptoms are not always bad. Our body was designed with an intricate warning system in order to make us aware of injury, harm and danger. Pain tells us to avoid hot stoves, remove the pebble in our shoe and in a hundred other ways, how to prevent injury and harm.

To cover up pain in these types of situations is not only unwise, it is dangerous and often invites further serious injury or ailment. It is like having an expensive fire alarm system in your home, and then disconnecting it before going to sleep, so that it does not awaken you in the middle of the night.

That is its job!

Furthermore, symptoms can possibly be an indication that the body is doing its job perfectly. Eating tainted food could precipitate a bout of vomiting and diarrhoea. While they are admittedly two of the most unpleasant symptoms, they could save your life as they rid your body of unwanted toxins. Trying to prevent these symptoms could be harmful to your body.

We also must understand that symptoms may be indicative of a serious medical problem, that requires immediate attention by a physician, or some other provider of therapeutic measures. To make this determination necessitates extensive years of study and training.

As a Chiropractor that focuses on Structural Correction, we acknowledge that pain and symptoms can often be collateral damage from an underlying shift in the structure of your body. Take the structure of a house for example, if the foundation sinks down a bit on one side it might not always be immediately obvious, but over time you might notice some cracks in the walls, the doors don’t close properly or the floorboards creak. A Structural Problem leading to collateral damage or symptoms.

Collateral damage or symptoms might take some time to develop. The moment there is a Structural Shift in your spine, the entire body is being deprived of its ability to function at its fullest potential. That is a serious matter. To wait until collateral damage or symptoms appear, as a result of perhaps months or years of improper function, is not the best approach to maintaining one’s health.

While what we do is not a treatment for symptoms, the person receiving Structural Corrective Care must have an understanding of the role of pain and symptoms, so that he or she can make intelligent decisions regarding matters of health.

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