The Health Care Model that Works

So much depends on how we look at health and disease. By its very nature, health is positive and is a rich experience that includes a sense of well-being. Disease, on the other hand, is generally riddled with fear, pain, loss of control, and is dis-empowering. These may be obvious statements, but there are huge implications in a culture that is focused on disease rather than health.

In the U.S., we are fortunate to have a Disease Care System that is one of the best for the treatment of Acute and Infectious Disease. Western technology is nothing short of phenomenal for accidents, injuries, severely ill people, and life-saving situations. However that same technology is highly ineffective when it comes to Chronic Disease, which is where over 75% of our health care dollars go. The "silver bullet" model, that Western Medicine has evolved from, simply doesn't work for Chronic Disease.

Chronic Disease happens when the body malfunctions.....It is an absence of normal function of the body. Doesn't it then make sense to use a health care model that maintains normal function and works to restore normal function when it is out of balance?

The first 30 pages of "Your Inner Pharmacy" explains this in depth. It is absolutely true that the Healthcare Landscape has changed and requires a new model to be effective. The best that Western technology has done for chronic disease is to manage it, which has itself become an over "Two Trillion dollar a year industry." One of the most unfortunate side-effects of using an obsolete model for a new problem is the destructive and costly "Opioid Epidemic".

The new model is centered around Health, on restoring and maintaining health. While this may sound like the same thing as treating disease, it is very different. The fact that most people don't recognize the immediate difference is a result of how deeply indoctrinated we are about disease. We see disease constantly in the media and on TV. The standard American diet and lifestyle create disease. 

I'll be writing more articles about the new model and the focus on health. For now, if you have ongoing pain or a chronic disease, don't just look for whatever pharmaceutical agent or pills that are being advertised to help with your symptoms. Consider seeing a doctor that will first ask the question of what is malfunctioning in your body that is producing your symptoms, and second, what can be done to return that malfunction to normal.

Our Denver practice is a prime example of doctors who work with patients to restore and maintain their health. You can read more about us on this site.

Chronic Disease is a Process

Seventy-five percent of United States Health Care expense is for Chronic Disease, and mainstream medicine is using the wrong model. My book, "Your Inner Pharmacy", explains how the "silver bullet" medical model that works for acute and infectious disease is not the correct match for chronic disease. This mismatch underlies the greatest ineffectiveness of our health care system, and supports the two trillion dollar a year "Disease Management Industry" that is doing little to restore people's health and is enormously raising health care costs while people get sicker.  

"Your Inner Pharmacy" proposes a much more effective and sensible way to approach the growing problem of chronic disease that accompanies the aging process. This book, published in 2006, is said to have come out ten years ahead of its time. It's message is even more relevant today in 2016.

Very simply, chronic disease is normal physiology that has gone wrong. It is not a disease that you "catch" or get infected with; it is what happens when the body's normal function breaks down. Mainstream medicine attempts to manage chronic diseases by using medications to control the symptoms.

A much more effective approach is one that restores and maintains the normal function of the body, so chronic diseases don't develop or are minimized. This is precisely the approach I have used for the past forty years, with a unique blend of applied kinesiology, functional medicine, chiropractic, and acupuncture procedures, all of which are aimed at maintaining normal function and biomechanics of the body throughout all phases of life. 

It is time to change how we look at health and disease. There is so much to gain by working with doctors like us, whose focus is to improve your health, not just treat your disease. "Taking Back Our Wellness", the subtitle of my book, can bring you many more years of health and quality of life. 

The Best Pain Control

Is the one that improves the normal function of the area creating the pain.

Because people don’t normally use this “common-sense” approach to controlling pain, our country is facing an epidemic of drug overdose from prescription painkiller use. So many people are now using opioid medications to treat their pain, it is now common to see television ads for medications to counteract some of the digestive side-effects.

Besides the tragic effects on the lives of people who use powerful, addictive pain medications, the even greater concern is that these medications do nothing to restore the normal function of the body. Rather than a person’s health actually improving, these medications usually contribute to a downward spiral of side-effects including depression and inactivity.

I fully understand there are situations in which the use of powerful pain medications is not only indicated but is a godsend. The problem, however, is that these medications are being extremely overused on millions of people who would benefit much more from treatment that would reduce their pain by correcting the malfunction in the body that is producing the pain.

If you know someone who is considering taking strong, addictive pain medication for a problem that is potentially fixable, please encourage them to contact us for a consultation and examination to see if there may be a better way to reduce their pain.

Each of our doctors has a unique expertise in controlling pain by restoring normal function to the body. We all use state-of-the-art Applied Kinesiology, Functional Nutrition, and Chiropractic procedures. In addition, I (Dr. Blaich) have an extensive background in controlling pain, including a Diplomate degree from the the American Academy of Pain Management.  Dr. Sean Miller also uses cold laser and dry needling techniques which are extremely effective. Dr. Shane Wells is on the forefront of new neurologic techniques that “re-set” the nervous system in powerful ways that normalize function and reduce pain.

Since it is unlikely that your friends and family will be referred to us by those who are prescribing the pain medications, please let people know there are may be much better options for controlling their pain in ways that could improve their health. We are here to help you and your loved ones.

Aging is Not a Disease

Aging is a result of the deterioration or breakdown of the normal function of the body. This being the case, Healthy Aging focuses on keeping all your parts working as well as possible for as long as possible. As simple as this may sound, the "diseases of aging" get more attention than "staying healthy throughout life".

Here is a prime example of a common attitude toward aging, as describe in "Your Inner Pharmacy".....
"Typically, when someone experiences a painful joint, the first response might be, “Well, I guess I’m getting older.” If the joint pain continues and expands to other joints, the common response is, “I must have arthritis; therefore, I need a medication.” The questions then become, “Which medication should I take?” and “Who is going to pay for it?” This is the typical old “treat the disease” approach that many of us attempt to apply to chronic disease because it worked so well for acute and infectious diseases.

We are all subject to those attitudes. Yet in creating and implementing your health plan, not only do you disconnect yourself from some of the old attitudes about disease, but you help to reinforce new attitudes about health. Let’s take that same joint pain and ask a different set of questions from a perspective of health. The first questions to ask are, “Is something malfunctioning in my body? If so, what is it and what can be done to correct it?” The next questions are, “What is triggering my problem? Is it something I am doing or possibly something I am not doing?” Another question is, “Who can help me to answer these questions, to improve the function of my body, and to guide me to do whatever it takes to correct the problem?”

Can you see the difference? Still, every day, children and adults who watch television receive thousands of messages programming them to think a certain way about their need for one medication after another. In the future, each time you are exposed to advertising for medications, simply change your response. Instead of immediately thinking, “Do I need that medication?” ask yourself if there is a way you may be able to get your Inner Pharmacy to produce more of the good chemicals and less of the bad chemicals in order to help your body regulate the symptoms in question."