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What is sick?

I once had a patient enter my office, and proceed to tell me that he was the healthiest person he knew. The only reason he was here, in my office, was because his wife was determined to find something wrong!

Can you imagine? Never being sick, never a cold, a fever, a vomit, or diarrhea? Unbelievable, in my mind, however I was new in practice at the time, so I believed him…or at least the part about him being the healthiest person on the planet.

So I decided to put him through some simple chiropractic tests, to check the functioning of his nerve system. I was honestly expecting to see a perfect exam. I received nothing of the sort. After completing my tests, I showed him the results. He couldn’t believe that there was anything wrong…however agreed that his nerve system may need some “tuning”.

Here is where things got interesting. He said thanks, went home, and I didn’t hear from him for a week. One week later, I see him out in the community. He proceeds to explain to me what “being sick is all about”. You see, that first night after the adjustment, he had a fever for the first time in his life. The next day he had diarrhea, proceeded by vomiting and the cold sweats.

So, did my adjustment to his nerve system make him sick? Or did the adjustment allow his body to clean itself out in a way that it was never able to do so in the past?

It is absolutely normal to have symptoms of fever, vomiting, coughing, or diarrhea. Simply, this gets the junk out. So if this is the case, then being sick is not really a bad thing. Guess it just depends on what your definition of sick is. Here’s one to ponder:

sick: A state of health in which your body is not able to adapt in a reasonable manner.

A reasonable manner to me brings up the subject of timing. How long are you experiencing these symptoms? Our bodies should be able to “clean out the junk” within 72 hours. Of course every virus, or bacteria is different, and some needing a larger response by your body. However, from what I have seen by patients in my office, 72 hours is long enough for the intelligent processes of your self cleaning body.

Matthew M Mix, DC
adjustchiro.com