The Noise
Your Pain Explained- So a friend came up to me the other day complaining of a god-awful noise his car was making..."It won't stop making this tap-tap-tapping noise somewhere in the engine area. I can't stand it..it's driving me crazy every time I'm in the car." I thought for a moment and the little light in my brain started flashing. I knew exactly what to do. "Wait right here...I'll be right back..."
I ran into my house and quickly came back with a pair of ear plugs. "Here, try these." My friend looked for a second or two and then put them in his ears, climbed in his car and started the engine. He sat there a few moments and then a big smile lit his face. "It's great!" he said, a little louder than normal, "I can't hear it at all." He gave me a thumbs up and drove away, quite pleased as you can imagine. I of course was happy too...I like to help people.
About two months later, he came back. "How's the car I asked?" "It was great for about a month and a half..." he said, "but now the noise is back and it's starting to get on my nerves again...I think it's getting worse." I didn't even have to think as the answer was lying right there on his passenger seat. "Here, use this." I said, as I handed him his iPod. He looked at me puzzled..."Put the headphones in and turn it on." Since the noise was getting louder to the point of starting to annoy me standing 'outside' his car, I suggested some AC/DC. He started nodding his head a little to the rhythm, gave me my well deserved thumbs-up again and drove off.
I saw him three weeks later in the parking lot at Wal-mart getting into a different car. I caught him before he could pull out and asked him how 'his' car was doing. "Oh..you'll never believe it..the engine blew up in it a week ago. I had to get a 'new' car." "Awww. That's too bad." I said.."How's your new car?" He said "Oh, it's great...it just pulls to the left a little when I drive down the road...what do you think I should do?" "Ehhh...I wouldn't do anything" I told him..."It'll be okay...probably work itself out...take it easy."
So what is the lesson here, besides the obvious, "don't ask your chiropractor to be your mechanic". Just like my friend who ignored what was causing the 'symptoms' in his car, people frequently choose to ignore what is causing the symptoms in their body by popping a pill to cover up the 'noise' of these symptoms, be it a pain in their back, numbness in their leg or indigestion in their stomach. This can have dire consequences for your health over time just like it did for my friend and his noisy car. The big question is..."when you blow up 'your engine' , where are you gonna get a new body?" I hope this helped you understand your pain and symptoms a little better and if you're just confused now...well...go take an ibuprofen or two and quit worrying about your aches and pains...they'll be okay...probably go away all on their own.