Health Care Vs. Sick Care
Our health care system focuses on treating disease, also known as “sick care”, which is one of the reasons why health insurance costs keep rising. Sick care only concentrates on treating illness, while true health care, also called “self-care”, focuses more on prevention. With the cost of treatment to cure illness not only being more costly but also adding suffering to the equation, wouldn’t a better method be to focus on the prevention of disease for health and wellness? Part of the problem is that health management is not taught in our schools to teach people how to take care of themselves and prevent disease.
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We barely even teach our kids how to have good posture that can prevent future chronic pain syndromes, which costs the healthcare industry billions every year, straining our already overburdened system. On top of that, most doctors receive very little training in nutrition, lifestyle management or postural correction as part of med school and instead focus on diagnosing and treating largely preventable diseases. So many diseases are preventable with a healthy lifestyle but leading a healthier lifestyle takes time and money.
Leading a healthier lifestyle through diet and exercise is true health care that focuses on the prevention of disease and includes things that we already know but may include ones that are traditionally considered luxuries. This includes routine massages to correct posture and prevent pain syndromes, buying organic fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and preparing your own healthy food, going to the gym, and/or hiring a personal trainer to help you reach your fullest potential and to help you slow down or even reverse the aging clock. For many, it’s hard to imagine shelling out hard earned dough for these seemingly luxury items when just making ends meet is hard enough. However, I ask you to consider the cost of not doing these things. Not getting those routine massages to unwind your pain issues or seeing a personal trainer to help get your health and body back on track. Choosing to not invest in yourself this way leads down the path of sick care.
Consider the cost of medication daily to control blood pressure, cholesterol and/or diabetes. Consider lost days of productivity from having musculoskeletal issues that could be treated with a good strengthening and/or massage program. Consider the emotional cost of what it feels like to not function well physically because your body isn’t it great shape. Consider the time and expense of going to different specialists to treat largely preventable diseases. When you look at the cost through the lens of a health care practitioner like me, it’s obvious that while self-care may seem expensive on the front end, sick care is far more expensive on the back end.
Consider this as you plan out your goals for this year. So many diseases are preventable. Get the help you need so you can prevent issues now and not just treat them. Take charge of your health care! Call or text: 831-236-6199 for a free consultation!
