I had a patient come in this week to get an adjustment so that she would be in great shape for her upcoming vacation. She said “I have no pain, I just want to make sure I’m good for my trip.” As we moved toward the table to do the adjustment, I said “Let’s get you fixed up.” I paused, thought about it for a second, then corrected myself. I told her we weren’t fixing her up, we were tuning her up.
Now, I know it could be simple semantics, but there is a huge difference between fixing something (or someone) up and tuning something (or someone up). It is always much easier to do a tune up rather than have to fix something up. A car is a simple example. We all understand that it is much easier, and far cheaper, to keep a car tuned up, instead of waiting until the car breaks down, and needs fixed up. And we know that a car that doesn’t get the maintenance it should (tune-ups), a breakdown is much more likely.
Things like oil changes, rotating the tires, and replacing air filters help to ensure that a vehicle lasts longer, performs better, and avoids expensive repairs. We invest in the maintenance and tune-ups because we know it will save us time and money in the long run.
Most people do very little to tune up their bodies. They push themselves for as long as they can, pollute their bodies with processed foods, remain very sedentary, and live in high-stress environments. The mental and physical wear down occurs slowly, usually unnoticeable for a long time. The body is so incredible that it lets you get away with quite a bit without you even noticing that it is wearing thin. Without the care it needs, eventually a crisis hits. It seems like it comes out of the blue, or that there is no real reason for the crisis. Most new patients in my office are in pain and say the same thing… “I didn’t even do anything.” As if their massive pain just showed up out of nowhere.
The truth is that you can be great one minute and devastated the next. A car accident can cause instantaneous and severe trauma or death. You can fall on the ice and have serious trauma. Any area of your life can be hit, out of the blue, and turn that area of your life upside down. You could be fully in love and giving your relationship everything you’ve got, yet your partner could up and leave with no good reason. You could have a thriving business, be financially secure, and doing all the right things, yet get wiped out due to an economic down turn or a pandemic that causes the rules to change. Sudden and significant injury or loss happens every day, but MOST problems stem from weeks, months, years, and even decades of neglect.
It is wise to take on the tune-up mentality in life. Do not wait for the crisis. It can, and often is, too late to recover fully once the crisis hits. It feels harder to tune-up on a regular basis because it is so constant, but that effort and attention is miniscule compared to what it will take to pull yourself out of a full-blown crisis. Fixing up is way harder than tuning up.
And be aware… when it come to your health, the current mainstream healthcare system is a fix up system. Very little attention or direction is given to maintaining health. Today’s medical doctor are in the fix up business. They do their work after the heart attack… after cancer is detected… and after the disease is already present. We need that care, but it cannot be the primary system you rely on if you want optimal health.
Eighty-five percent of the patients I see every day are there to get tuned up. Most walked through our doors in a crisis–they initially came to get fixed up. We fixed them up. And now we keep them well by tuning them up. It’s called maintenance care, preventative care, or wellness care. It’s much easier (for them and for me), it’s cheaper, and it makes more sense. Start thinking in terms of tuning up (all area of your life) instead of waiting for the bigger problems that will need fixing up.