Health Care vs Sick Care
Let’s begin this article with a few easy questions:
#1 – Do you get the oil changed in your vehicle on a regular basis, or do you wait until your engine seizes and major repairs are needed?
#2 – Do you brush your teeth everyday and see your dentist for regular cleanings, or do you leave it until cavities and gum disease develop before seeking treatment?
#3 – Do you study for important exams, or wait until the paper is in front of you before worrying about it?
See the trend here? Your answers may seem obvious, but that is only because you have an ingrained philosophy on these topics which guides your decisions.
So this ultimately begs the most important question – what is your healthcare philosophy? More specifically, do you believe there is a difference between health care and sick care? If you ask me, or almost everyone else in the complimentary and alternative health care system, there is a difference. A big difference.
In my point of view, the absence of disease does not mean you are necessarily healthy. Similarly, good physical health is only part of the issue, even though it is the aspect of health in which I specialize. In reality, good health encompasses mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health. Improve one, and you have a better chance at improving the others.
So why all the philosophy stuff? Here’s why: Because your philosophy determines the actions you take. As a chiropractor and co-director of a multi-disciplinary health care facility, I strive to stay on top of the latest research, implement the newest forms of health care technology, and improve my treatment techniques. However none of these efforts will make a difference if the philosophies of my patients do not match with my own. If a patient is expecting sick care, and I deliver health care, they will without a doubt be disappointed.
In my perspective, the fundamental difference between health care and sick care is the willingness to engage in preventative maintenance. In the questions above, you most likely chose the preventative maintenance options because you are educated on these topics, and have developed a philosophy based on the facts and opinions you’ve heard. In fact, you’d probably call me crazy if I suggested that you stop changing your oil or brushing your teeth. Yet in my experience this preventative attitude has only partially made its way into physical medicine, which deals with every muscle, joint, nerve and bone in your body (and accounts for the majority of visits to healthcare practitioners).
Too often I hear the question, “Doc, can you fix me?” I usually reply with an appropriate, “yes I can help, but you’re not broken”. For most injuries / conditions that present to my office, the body is doing what it is meant to be doing – defending itself. If you just arose from seven straight hours of tedious computer work and you neck feels sore, you are not broken. Your body is not a lemon and most importantly, you are not sick! However too often these everyday aches and pains are treated with sick care. Patients have been trained to believe that something is wrong with them, and are looking for a “cure” for their “disease”. The truth is, you may just need to start changing your oil and stop waiting for the engine meltdown.
Sick care is meant to prevent you from dying – it saves your life. Health care is meant to improve your quality of life, and should be used much more often, to prevent you from having to use the sick care interventions. The patients I have which engage in regular chiropractic treatment on a maintenance basis begin to realize this fundamental difference. Combine these maintenance visits with an improved diet and regular exercise, and these patients start to become truly physically healthy.
My sick care patients complain that nobody has been able to help them. My health care patients feel in complete control and help themselves.
My sick care patients are looking for a “cure” without the willingness to work for it. My health care patients work hard for themselves, so they never are in need of a “cure”.
My sick care patients encounter significant obstacles on a daily basis. My health care patients don’t have a reason to slow down.
My sick care patients are in the shop with engine repairs, while my health care patients get their oil changed.
The decision seems simple, but in practice there are many perceived barriers. Time and money are two of the most common. The truth is, time and money are saved by practicing health care instead of sick care. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with regular care for your body is easy and relatively inexpensive, especially once you have developed healthy habits. Missing work for two weeks because you “threw your back out” is expensive and time consuming.
So the next time you are experiencing one of life’s little aches and pain, ask yourself this question: What is my healthcare philosophy? If your answer is anything but preventative maintenance, consider empowering yourself, pick up your phone, and make a change.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Chad Mykietiuk, DC