There are a range of factors that influence how we view the world and how we think about issues of importance such as health. Possible influences on our health beliefs include our family life, particularly the behaviour of our parents concerning health issues during our formative years, our education, our role models, and our own experiences regarding the ups and downs with our own health during our lifetime.

Chiropractic generally has different beliefs about health compared to conventional beliefs held by many members of the general public. Whereas the conventional belief is that the body is weak and defective and needs help from the outside to heal, chiropractic believes that the body is self-healing and self-regulating. In other words, a common belief is that health comes from the outside-in (for example, taking medication), whereas the chiropractic belief is that health comes from the inside-out (that is, creating a healthy environment within your body through healthy eating, adequate rest, physical activity, chiropractic adjustments etc. so that your body is more able to heal itself).

Conventionally, health is determined by how you feel and look, meaning that an absence of symptoms equals good health. In contrast, the chiropractic belief is that how you feel and look is not an accurate indication of how healthy you are in that you may have no symptoms but your body may not be functioning to its health potential.

Another difference concerns the causes of poor health. According to the conventional view, poor health is solely due to factors outside the person’s control such as exposure to germs, genes or even just bad luck. However, the chiropractic view is that the impacts of these factors are reduced if the person regularly engages in healthy lifestyle behaviours.

So if your beliefs about health are conventional, you may see a chiropractor if you have a bad back or neck pain. But you won’t visit a chiropractor if you feel fine or for health enhancement or maintenance. As your Canberra chiropractor, I think that is a pity.