Time to get serious...

Well...  So I'm pretty serious already, except when I'm joking around.  

But I think it's time to get serious serious for real real.

My journey toward health and wellness started a long time ago, but as I mentioned before, events, even events that bring us more knowledge don't necessarily change us (click here to see that post).  

The change for me has been pretty gradual, and I think it really started about 10 years ago when I realized "I don't know everything."  Wow!  Big surprise right?  But if you are a guy in your mid-30's that has "seen a few things", then you'll probably agree that you pretty much "got a few things figured out".  Well, until you don't...  Even an event that acts as a wake up call, unfortunately, doesn't change us either.  At least not instantly, and at least not for me.  Knowing I didn't know was one thing, but in order to live it is another ball game entirely.

I don't mean walking around dazed and confused, not knowing, but I mean walking around curious, hungry to not only to learn but willing to experiment, to do things, try stuff, fail, hurt, get back up, maybe face a little embarrassment, stop talking, continue to learn, continue to grow.  That's what I mean about not just knowing I don't know but living a life that starts seeking the answers to all the fun and exciting things out there.

Of course, back to the real world I posted a picture of a tape measure with a string around it.  High Tech.  Super Expensive. 

The book below it (only about halfway through so far) mentioned a critical health marker being waist circumference (click here if you are curious how to measure it for yourself.  I used the string and then measured the string in case you were wondering).  Optimal for males is 35 in (normal is below 40 in) and for females 31.5 in (normal is below 35 in) but for more details click here.  "Optimal" is better than "Normal" and inches us (no pun intended) further from chronic disease.

I measured my waist and it is 37 in.  Uh Oh.  So now the real real reason it is time to get serious serious...

Not because I want to "look good for the summer".  Not at all.  But because it's a simple measure that could determine my risk for a ton of issues down the road (click here to read more).  

As a chiropractor I'm primarily interested in musculoskeletal issues, which means subluxations, muscle/tendon strains, joint sprains, and anything contributing to acute and chronic pain in the bones, joints, and muscles.

This might make you think, "so why do you care about waist circumference or other chronic diseases down the road"?

Glad you asked :)

Key words in the above sentence about my primary interest were:  "anything" and "chronic pain".

If our metabolism is messed up, then we can't properly fuel our bodies or properly eliminate toxins from our bodies.  This is an important part of healing chronic pain, and it now dumps metabolic issues into the anything bucket, and we have to address it if we are going to fix a lot of stuff causing us musculoskeletal pain...

I'll give you a very simple and PERSONAL example:  If I don't get a good night sleep for a couple of nights in a row, then it causes all kinds of metabolic issues with me.  It also causes my NECK to HURT.  It can be painful to lift my head, look down at my phone, and do a bunch of stuff that normally would not bother me.  It isn't bad sleep it is simply when my sleep window (the time I give myself to sleep at night) is cut to 5 and a half to 7 hours of sleep.  It happens more than I'd like to admit with work, young kids and me joking around too much, BUT it is a very clear pattern and very clearly identifiable.  Like the pattern is so clear I don't need research to tell me when my sleep is messed up I have neck pain.  That's for real, and I know most of us could benefit from a bit more sleep, but the point is waist circumference could be an indicator of poor sleep, poor food quality, poor exercise and activity habits and in turn be leading to more pain and more bad health to come down the road...

If you want to learn more, then I'm excited to chat about it with you.  I'm here in Rowlett TX, and my office is pretty easy to get to off 190/George Bush.  

Warmly, 

Dr Asa