" In the Zulu language there is no way to say "A man got lost in the jungle" because Zulus do not get lost. Closest translation: He went crazy and is running through the jungle." Leon Russell

Language is the framework for our perception of the world. To their credit, chiropractors and other "non-traditional" health professionals have decried modern healthcare as being sickcare. Not surprisingly, as boomers are aging many traditional hospitals are repositioning toward "wellness".

Dentists traditionally sell tooth health, but now are positioning towards mouth and even airway health (creating some consternation in the ENT's who fix ENT problems but have not repositioned because asthma and allergies have kept them busy. (Today's irony:Two large studies showed farm children suffer less asthma. The reason: they are exposed to a wider variety of germs. It makes one wonder about modernity's obsession with cleanliness that began with Semmelweis' wisdom of delivery room cleanliness, and spread to antiseptic antibacterials in baby shampoo and soap.)

Cultural and individual thinking is shaped by words and language, which is one reason marketing professionals know to describe FEATURES but sell BENEFITS- because people buy the benefit. As a profession, chiropractors are known for spinal manipulation- a good thing, but a feature of treatment.  Looking at each side of the transaction:

• Patients are buying a benefit- pain relief, back pain relief, or wellness (and I say wellness knowing some vehemently do not describe the profession's role with that term- nonetheless, others do and so it is part of the public zeitgest).
• Depending on the practice, DCs sell the adjustment (a feature) or muscle and joint pain relief, non-surgical back health, or removing subluxation as a to wellness (and I say subluxation knowing many academics vehemently denounce that concept, nonetheless, it's use is part of the profession's zeitgest).

It's not surprise that describing a profession in terms of it's feature (spinal manipulation) and defining it with a negative (no pain-no subluxation) has created problems internally and externally. Which is one of many reasons I promote using language to position a brand identity towards strengthening posture.

• For DCs who unlock joint motion
• For massage and muscle therapists who relieve muscle tightness and restriction
• For trainers and therapists who train motion.

Greater Germ Exposure Cuts Asthma Risk, Wall Street Journal, 2/23/ 2011

Certified Posture Exercise Professional Training Course

Posture Degeneration vs Strengthening

Life is cyclic in most things, including our levels of activity. Winter keeps us indoors, followed by a burst of Spring fever and "get back in shape" activity, Summertime fun and then Fall's labors before settling into Holiday overconsumption and Wintertime blues. Many of us live in an annual cycle of activity- active to inactive- which contributes to the spiral of posture degeneration often seen as people age.

We instinctively use our stronger muscles to move, and avoid the weaker ones. This weak/strong imbalance creates patterns of motion (5th Posture Principle). Each time the whole system weakens and we work to "get back in shape",  our efforts are progressively more imbalanced, feeding the spiral of posture degeneration.

The solution:
Stay active, even in winter. Doing something physical is far, far better than doing nothing. Use and train your best posture posture every day- ESPECIALLY when exercising. And do your daily StrongPosture^TM exercises to strengthen YOUR best posture.

Stand Taller~Live Longer: An Anti- Aging Strategy

The Eyes- Head Connection

Attitude and emotional state are reflected in posture. The tough guy, the femme fatale, the champion of the downtrodden, and those desiring fame, wealth and power all strike a posture. And while posture assessment bio-mechanics work from the bottom up, the postural connection to emotion begins at the top-- specifically, with the eyes.

The eyes lead the body, and the head is 10% of your body weight, balanced on a slender, flexible stalk.  The head houses the twin vaults of the eyes, and it's often precarious balance is dependent on where we are looking.  Head position shifts unconsciously when we look at a computer, gaze into a lover's eyes or look away when nervous-- after all, it has to balance.  And so where we look affects our posture, causing problems like neck pain, headache and even the back pain of "computer vision syndrome".

The 5th Posture Principle is Adaptation- Changes in Posture and Changes in Motion cause the Body to Change. So-- Remember the eyes are a part of effective StrongPosture™exercise...as well as every other exercise, from rehab to walking down the street- keep a level head and stand taller.

A computer named Watson recently beat two Jeopardy champions, leading experts to project there will soon be no mental tasks a computer cannot perform.  Jeopardy is a game of clever puns and riddles, not just knowledge, and many bet against even a huge, state of the art machine ever being able to best a human. Now, it will take a decade of Moore's law multiplication for the computer power of Watson's 90 servers to fit on a desktop machine...but as this occurs more and more people will find their jobs go the way of the elevator operator.

The Wall Street Journal article noted jobs such as travel agents, phone operators and stock traders are nearly extinct, and that with diagnosis algorithms "doctors are under fire as well.  Computer Aided Diagnosis identifies patterns in X-rays and other diseases more cheaply and effectively than humans."
One BIG exception: Professionals who physically touch patients and clients.

Back pain is a growing problem in our sitting...and aging...society. It's bad, and getting worse. Just released 2008 numbers: 3.4 million visits to the emergency room and 663,000 inpatient stays (mostly for back surgery) visits. Nobody wants back surgery, and professionals who keep people moving well and managing pain without pills by physically working with their body will be busy.

Chiropractors, massage therapists, PTs, trainers, and other body therapists may face a bit of competition from massage chairs and exercise videos, but those of us who work with the individual---assessing their motion and posture to remove restriction and relieve pain as a part of a strategy to retrain posture and motion patterns will build relationships to consistently motivate and keep people moving well. And moving well is key to aging well...but that's a thought for a different day.

AHRQ News And Numbers: Aching Back Sends More Than 3 Million To Emergency Departments  Medical News Today, Feb, 2011