“The preservation of health is easier than the cure of disease.”
B.J. PALMER. D.C.
Let me start with a simple question:
How do you know if you’re healthy?
Most people answer that question the same way. “I feel fine.” “Nothing hurts.” “I haven’t been diagnosed with anything.”
But we all know people who thought they were healthy, until they weren’t.
They felt fine. They were living their lives. And all the while, cancer, heart disease, or some other serious condition was quietly developing in their bodies. No warning signs. No pain. Nothing they could feel. Feeling okay is not the same thing as being healthy.
Most People Have Never Defined Health
For years, I’ve asked patients why their health is important to them. At first, the response is usually the same, a deer in headlights.
So I help them along. “Why do you want to be healthy?”
And then the answers start coming:
- So I can play with my grandkids
- So I can golf or ski
- So I can stay independent
- So I don’t become a burden on my family
These are great answers. Honest answers. Human answers. But they don’t actually define health. They describe what health allows you to do, not what health is.
Pain matters. But pain is a terrible measuring stick for health.
- You can be pain-free and dysfunctional
- You can be pain-free and deconditioned
- You can be pain-free and quietly compensating
Pain is often the last thing to show up, not the first.
Definitions of Health
Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines health as:
“A state of optimal physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
The World Health Organization defines health as:
“A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
Different sources. Same message. Health is not defined by what’s missing — it’s defined by what’s present.
Why Optimal Matters
Most people aim for acceptable health. Some settle for manageable health. Very few ever think about optimizing their health.
My goal with patients has never been simply to get them out of pain. Pain matters — but pain is not the goal.
My goal has always been to optimize functional health:
- How well your body moves
- How well it adapts to stress
- How efficiently it recovers
- How well it supports the life you want to live
Why I Started Chiropractic Care Early
I didn’t start chiropractic care because I was in pain.
I started chiropractic care at a young age because my parents wanted to make sure I didn’t develop the same problems they had.
They only discovered chiropractic care later in life, after years of stiffness, limitation, and adaptation. They didn’t want me repeating that pattern.
Because my body was moving well and functioning optimally, I was able to recover quickly from multiple sports injuries. Trauma applied to a flexible, functional body is very different than trauma applied to a rigid one.
When a body moves well, forces are absorbed and distributed. When a body is stiff, forces concentrate and damage is greater. Function protects.
Why Waiting Is the Wrong Strategy
By the time pain shows up, dysfunction has often been present for years — sometimes decades.
I often tell patients, “I wish you had come in years ago.”
I can also tell them, with confidence, that if they follow my recommendations, they won’t just be glad they did in a few months or next year — they’ll be glad they did decades from now.
What You Can Control — And What You Can’t
There are things we can’t control:
- Genetics
- Past injuries
- Congenital conditions
- Certain diseases
But there are also things we absolutely can control:
- How well your spine moves
- How well your joints function
- How efficiently your nervous system coordinates movement
- How much adaptability your body has left in reserve
Even with arthritis, scoliosis, or old injuries, the goal isn’t perfection. The goal is to optimize what you’ve got.
Health Is Not a Feeling — It’s a Capacity
Health isn’t just how you feel today. Health is capacity:
- The capacity to move without restriction
- The capacity to adapt to stress
- The capacity to recover efficiently
- The capacity to stay engaged in life
To summarize, health is not the absence of pain or disease.
Health is a state of optimal physical, mental, and social well-being.
Pain is often the last sign that something is wrong. Loss of function usually comes first.
Optimizing and maintaining your musculoskeletal system is one of the most powerful health decisions you can make, and one of the few aspects of your health you truly control.
If you want to know how healthy you really are, a thorough functional examination can provide answers long before pain becomes the signal.
To schedule an examination please call Performance Health Center at 508-655-9008.
If you have any questions email me at drbradweiss@performancehealthcenter.com