Remember the Titanic? The largest and grand ship in the world (at the time) that couldn’t sink… Until the iceberg appeared on a very dark, cold still night. You know the rest of the story…
How does this link to chiropractic? It is an excellent analogy for health. Chiropractic care does not just look at the tip of the iceberg, it addresses what lies below the surface - what is even more important.
The tip of the iceberg is symbolic of symptoms. These can include, but certainly not limited to:
- Back pain
- Sciatica
- Colic
- Pain syndromes
- Hip pain
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Shoulder pain
The symptoms usually cause discomfort, pain and the person tend to feel ‘unwell’ and ‘unhealthy’. As they become either more frequent, appear to be getting worse or lasting longer, then the person takes more notice. The danger here is symptoms can come and go depending on different stresses, strains and lifestyle choices that are put on the body. So the symptoms may be minimised and even ignored or covered up with different medications – over the counter or prescribed.
The most important part of this analogy is not the tip of the iceberg, not the symptoms. It is the bottom of the iceberg that is unseen. That can be where the true cause lies. It wasn’t the tip of the iceberg that sunk the Titanic, it was what was lurking underneath the water that caused that disaster.
Symptoms may have brought you into our office in the first place. By addressing the cause and not just the symptoms, you have a much better chance of actually restoring your health properly, not just covering up the back pain, neck pain, headaches, etc.
The majority of the iceberg can’t be seen from the surface, which is reflective of our health. The unseen and unfelt is all the dysfunction going on inside the body that cause diseases and symptoms. The part that lies beneath the water surface is the bigger problem – the cause.
Underlying causes not limited to:
- Hormonal imbalances
- Inflammatory imbalances
- Detoxification imbalances
- Immune imbalances
- Toxic emotions: Anger, fear, resentment, etc
- Toxic chemical exposure
- Digestive, absorptive and microbiological imbalances
- Structural imbalances
These underlying causes can lead to diseases (other tips of the iceberg) such as:
- Arthritis
- Diabetes
- Heart disease
- Obesity
- Autoimmune diseases
- Cancer
- Fibromyalgia
Growing health problems like poorly functioning physiology and stressed nervous system contribute to making the iceberg bigger. Awareness is the key for recognising the beginning of the iceberg formations that we can see (symptoms). Once we see or feel a symptom, that is assigned that beneath the surface is bigger than what we actually may realise.
Preventative maintenance chiropractic care addresses what’s under the water, the part you can’t see. Why wait until symptoms reappear or come back worse? By sticking to your recommended chiropractic care plan, you have a much better chance of maintaining health and wellbeing, not just relieving your symptoms… the tip of the iceberg.
