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AS SEEN IN THE WINTER 2009 EDITION
A Human Body ManualPreventative
Health Care in Perspective
Ryan Diener, L.Ac., Dipl. CH, MSOM, Holistic Health Associates
Thoughtful
and educated drivers understand clearly that they need to attend to
routine maintenance of their car. We may not get that oil changed every
3,000 miles, but likely it sits there in the back of your mind until
you do when you’re extending that interval a little too long. Why?
Because we recognize that regular maintenance is far less expense and
inconvenience than buying a new engine. It’s a lot less pain and we get
that.
Why don’t we treat our bodies with the same understanding? Well, you didn’t come with an instruction manual and, save for some moms, you don’t get postcards in the mail telling when to do what. Perhaps we can give you an abridged version of the operating manual for the human body, otherwise known as an overview of preventative health care. Preventative health care has to do with taking a PROactive approach to your health rather than the more common REactive approach. Prevention has become somewhat of a catch phrase in today’s world of marketing madness describing everything from nutrition and exercise to cholesterol and blood pressure and everything in between. That basically leaves out surgery and medication for already contracted diseases, so we have quite a bit to deconstruct. Many of the pharmaceuticals on the market today are considered preventative, but are used to prevent one late stage disorder. Let’s use cholesterol medication as an example to illustrate this phenomenon. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 20% of all strokes and over 50% of all heart attacks can be linked to high cholesterol [1]. Statin drugs such as lipitor, zocor and crestor are currently the primary form of prevention for cardiovascular issues related to high cholesterol. 2 By this definition, statin drugs are most certainly preventative medications, but they are limited to preventing heart attacks and strokes, as a result of high cholesterol. What is misleading about the term preventative in this case is that the focus is in the wrong place. In this example, we are preventing heart attacks by reacting to high cholesterol. Waiting until cholesterol is high and then taking medicine to prevent a heart attack is like skipping those oil changes for your car, but getting a new engine every 30,000 miles to prevent your car from breaking down while driving! There is a better choice in both cases. In essence we are masking reactive health care by calling it preventative health care of the next stage, i.e. preventative of heart attacks and strokes but actually reacting to high cholesterol. Now, when I get my oil changed someone at the facility always reminds me when I should return, and even places a sticker on my windshield as a constant reminder of my car’s preventative health plan. Amazingly, we have come to accept the little sticker on our windshields, and are usually happy to take care of our car every 3,000 miles or 90 days because we know what the benefits are, but that sticker is a constant reminder. So when I see my doctor, he is sure to ask me about exercise, diet and stress, but where is the sticker? My doctor’s specialty is in the treatment of disease, not the prevention of disease. So who is going to help with prevention? A practitioner who focuses on preventative health must consider the overall picture with which a patient presents and be willing to work with them regularly. You can see this approach in some acupuncturists, chiropractors, and naturopaths, amongst others. It means getting to know a person on a deep health level through questioning, looking, palpating (pressing different areas of the body to determine sensitivity) and listening. These techniques help to determine physical concerns, relationship to stress and in some cases direction or even purpose in life. This process takes time, but benefits to the patient are well worth the investment. The goal of any practitioner focused on prevention should not be simply to avert or avoid disease, but to strengthen a patient at the core level. This means focusing on fundamental life choices and preventing high cholesterol so we do not have to prevent heart attacks through medication. We can achieve this through the development of what I call the 5 action categories.
From the perspective of a patient, true preventative health care requires a commitment to the development of these 5 action categories and a willingness to be held accountable by a practitioner. Placing daily attention on these 5 categories is essential for a patient to be living a preventative lifestyle. If taken seriously, this combination as part of a healthy lifestyle program will prevent a wide range of diseases and limitations in life, and while no strategy can prevent everything, a focus on development will ensure not just prevention of disease, but strengthening of the individual. So I, along with all health care practitioners, implore you to make a renewed commitment to your maintenance schedule. The alternative is some whopping bills and extensive time in the shop that can be a real pain. __ [1] High Cholesterol Risks: Top 2 Dangers, by R. Morgan Griffin, reviewed by Gary Vogin, MD,webmd.com; [2] Cholesterol Ok? Statins still help heart, by Salynn Boyles, reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas MD,webmd.com
Ryan
Diener is an acupuncturist and herbalist who became cofounder and
Director of Holistic Health Associates in downtown Frederick. Ryan
enjoys teaching, counseling and working with his patients to improve
their mental and physical wellbeing, and engaging them to live up to
their highest potentials. He may be contacted at Acupuncture
Frederick MD or (301) 6201414.
Reprinted
with Permission.
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