How To Be An Active Participant in Your Health Journey
As much as it might be nice to press a button, pull a lever, wave a magic wand or expect a single appointment to fix our health situation, that just isn’t our reality.
Understanding the human body and our individual needs requires time, effort and a curiosity to learn and apply those learnings.
In order to grasp how we got to this point of relying on quick-fixes and fast-tracking, we have to consider where we came from and the systemic issues that desperately need to be optimized. For one, math, languages and history are all very important subjects to learn in school, but arguably more-so are human biomechanics, home economics, shop class and nutrition and there is currently room for improvement on emphasizing the latter three in elementary and high schools. I certainly wish I had had the opportunity to work on skills in the areas of basic carpentry and home economics like cooking, child development, ethics and community awareness, home management and design, sewing and textiles, budgeting, and health. I believe that the education piece cannot be overlooked and I certainly think that a more educated society has a better chance of being a healthier society. Then, we’d at least be more capable of knowing what to ask the health experts that help the general public and be less swayed by marketing tactics and false-advertising for products that claim to provide us with those “quick-fixes”. It would also help the reduce the pressure on the overloaded medical system which is heavily relied upon today.
Sadly, after high school Phys. Ed./Health class, the extent of our required learning about our very own human body drops off significantly. There is no guaranteed continuing education into our adult years, unless we pursue a degree in anatomy, physiology, biology or biomechanics etc. Those who pursue other fields of interest in post-secondary education may have a basic knowledge of how the body works, but unless it’s a side-interest, we tend to be more reactive with our health than proactive since our focus lies elsewhere. As an adult, the responsibility for ensuring one’s own health and longevity is ones’ own. Although the education system in our formative years could be greatly improved, there are plenty of opportunities to become more proactive with our health. We can gain an understanding of how our bodies function before something preventable goes awry and we’re left wondering why did this happen or what do I do now?
Taking advantage of time spent with the dentist, the massage therapist, the doctor, the chiropractor, the coach, the surgeon, or the many other health practitioners you may consult with is key. More often than not, the practitioner sees a plethora of people. They focus most on getting you to a better state, and less time on how you might’ve gotten to that state in the first place. They hone their craft and hopefully strive to do a good job, but that does not necessarily mean they are passionate educators. The passion to teach and impart useful wisdom unto others is not a prerequisite for becoming an expert in their respective health fields. It’s usually an added bonus depending on who you see.
Since the majority of people seek services when a health issue arises, the treatment protocol is often reactive and less time is spent teaching people how to be more proactive. The practitioner usually has limited time with each patient so they need to allocate and prioritize the time they have as they see fit. What this means is the onus is placed more on the patient to get the detailed information required to make proactive, informed decisions for the future. So, the next time you have an appointment, write down a list of questions for the practitioner and be sure to write down the answers during the session. This is important since there may be technical terms you will undoubtedly forget as soon as you leave the consultation. Putting even a little bit of thought into what you want to get out of your appointment will make a big difference and save you frustration, head-scratching or incessant Googling later on.
In adulthood it becomes increasingly difficult to find free time to pursue proactive health education after all the other life to-dos (working, child-rearing, meal-prepping, time with friends and family, exercising, Netflix & chilling etc), so the above step is an easy way to further your knowledge and take full advantage of the expertise of the practitioners you may consult on a semi-regular basis. But there is one more crucial step in the information-gathering process. That is, taking into account the bias of each practitioner you speak with, and critically thinking about how or if you should apply the information you’ve gathered practically into your life.
Too often we take the first opinion as the only opinion, forgetting the bias from which the information came from. Generally-speaking, surgeons like to open up the body and fix parts like a mechanic fixes a car; bodybuilders like to focus on growing each muscle independent from each other; chiropractors focus on the articulation of joints with a particular interest in the spine; dentists focus on oral hygiene; exercise coaches like to focus on movement patterns the body undergoes and strength discrepancies; massage therapists take a hands on approach to working with your soft tissues…and the biases go on and on. It’s important to get the full holistic picture and context of what is going on for you, consider all your options and do what makes most sense to you. Try not to rely solely on one opinion or modality to be the cure-all. Striving to be an active participant in your health is a pursuit that will help to stave off some preventable problems.