Today my blog will start with a little story. I always enjoy short stories because they usually have a point to them, and this short story will be no different. I hope you enjoy this one, and if you do please do me a favor and share the blog with your family and friends. If you don’t enjoy the story, please remember that this is my first attempt at anything like this. So, are you ready? Here we go.
This is the story of a little black bear cub named Teddy. Teddy loved being in his den with his Mama bear. She kept him warm and comfortable. He especially liked how after she fed him, Mama bear would lick his head and face clean, and he would fall asleep feeling so good all over.
A few weeks after Teddy was born Mama bear had him go with her on a walk. Mama bear called it foraging. Teddy walked along behind Mama bear, and she sniffed along the ground until she detected a smell that seemed interesting. She then clawed at an old log where it was rotting on the ground and exposed some grub worms. Mama took a lick at the grubs with her big pink tongue and munched on them as Teddy watched with wide eyed interest. Then Mama bear nudged Teddy toward the exposed grub pile. Teddy smelled things that smelled much different than anything he had ever smelled before. It was so different that he was afraid to put his little pink tongue in that smelly spot. Ever so gingerly and with a lot of coaxing from Mama bear, Teddy just touched his tongue on the smelly old spot.
As Teddy pulled his tongue back into his mouth he noticed there were a bunch of curled up greyish things on his tongue. When they were finally in his mouth he chewed on them and WOWZERS!! What a delicious taste treat! Teddy repeated licking the spot he had been afraid of just a few moments before and was rewarded each time with more of those great tasting grubs.
Mama bear grunted at Teddy and started to walk away. Teddy really did not want to leave because he was enjoying this new taste treat sensation, but Mama was far enough away at this point if he did not start after her he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to find her. So, with one last mouthful of grubs crunching between his teeth he loped off to follow Mama bear.
When he caught up to her she was on her hind legs looking up in a tree at a funny looking grey clump that was hanging from a tree branch. There was an annoying buzzing sound and some of the biggest fly like looking bugs zooming around the clump he had every seen. The clump was very frightening to Teddy. He backed up and hid behind mama bear’s ample backside. Now the buzzing sound was really loud and frightening.
At that exact moment Mama bear swiped one of her giant front paws at the clump and it crashed to the ground and broke open. The buzzing became super intense, and Teddy noticed the buzzing flies were bumping into him but other than a little bump on his thick fur he never felt a thing. Then the most amazing aroma filled his nostrils. He looked at Mama bear and she had a mouthful of clump and was licking her lips with abandon. Again, Teddy was afraid, but Mama bear nodded at the clump on the ground and Teddy stepped forward and took a bite. When the golden honey touched Teddy’s tongue, Teddy thought that this might be the most wonderful sensation on earth.
That night back in the den, as mama bear licked Teddy to sleep he realized as he blissfully drifted off that the most wonderful things can be found on the other side of the things that you fear the most.
You know my friends; the same lesson applies to us. So many times, we come up against something we don’t know everything about or something we have never done before, and we stop short of taking that step into the unknown. Because of our fear of the unknown we often miss out on the rewards that await us on the other side.
Chiropractic care can be unknown to us many times. We hear from friends, family, and neighbors their fears of chiropractic. They tell you that the chiropractor keeps you coming back for ever and for ever once you start treatment. They tell you that once the vertebra is “cracked in” your pain will go away, and you will be healed and not need any more treatment. They might even tell you not to see a chiropractor because they are quacks.
The amazing thing is just like in Teddy’s case there is a great reward on the other side of the fear. Most chiropractors today are evidence-based care providers. This means that the care they provide has been gleaned from hundreds of researched and peer reviewed scientific studies as to the most efficient and effective conservative care. This evidence-based care is even taken from medical journals. These journals report that in most cases 6 to 8 weeks of chiropractic care for musculoskeletal conditions should be tried even before prescriptions for medications are provided, let alone surgical intervention. The journals even report that there is a lower cost to the insurance company as well as to the patients when medical care is compared to a full course of chiropractic care in most cases.
This means that on the other side of your fear is a great reward. As an evidence-based chiropractor, I am concerned with repairing the tissues that are damaged and causing pain. I also want to take the care to another level by restoring any functional movements or activities that were lost due to the problem. This takes time, in fact the research tells us that tissue damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons can take up to 90 days to heal. The trade off here is no pain pills, no upset stomach due to medicine intake, no damage to other organs from medicine intake, faster full recovery, many times less cost, and much fewer recurrences.
Would you like to be like Teddy and step through your fear for a greater reward? I’m going to challenge you to be like Teddy. Pick up your phone and give me a call at 724-285-9093 and schedule your appointment today. (Or you can go to the homepage of my website www.kirkweberchiropractor.com and click on the calendar icon and schedule your own appointment!) I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.