Swatting Flies

Mrs. Swaim and I have very different philosophies, techniques really, when it comes to killing flies.

And since the season for flies is right around the corner, it started me thinking about what else?  Chiropractic! Of course. Don’t stop reading.

Let me connect some dots. But first a little background.

There have been days when I came home from work and Mrs. Swaim has spent a fair amount of her time killing these pesky critters, flies. She hates them. I mean really hates them and I think she takes it personally when they have somehow gained access to our home. Nobody seems to know how they got in. Did I mention she hates them?

No matter.

Mrs. Swaim has several fly swatters stashed around the place. Apparently she feels the need to be ready at all times. Sort of like a 1776 minutemen approach to pest control. Maybe she pretends they are British when she is smashing them. 

Here is the rub…

When she swats a fly, she doesn’t just kill it, she crushes it. I mean she absolutely leaves no doubt in the fly’s mind, or anyone else’s, what she intends and accomplishes. Smash! The part I don’t like is the fly residue that is usually left behind. Fly guts. Oh, she cleans them up for sure, but it seems pretty unnecessary to kill them that hard. “Just kill them", I say to her deaf ears, “you can’t make them more dead by applying more force.” Again crickets. She doesn’t care what I think and the smashing goes on. Heaven help us if she ever gets worked up and grabs a kettle bell instead of a fly swat.

Contrast her approach to my more subtle and nuanced one.

I use a technique that leaves no clean up necessary. It is a very focused pop, maybe just even stunning them, and then a quick pick up with a kleenex or toilet paper, and away it goes. No mess. No anger. Just get the job done.  

Same result, yes. Different methods, yes.

How does this relate to chiropractic?

Great question.

Because we use the activator method, which is subtle and nuanced, we can achieve terrific results with way less force, and no messy cleanup either! Why use more force than necessary to get the result we, you and I, are both after? Once we have achieved that, typically a down regulation in the tone of your nervous system, continuing to adjust you is a waste of time.  

But somewhere lurking in the mind of clients is the idea that if some force is good, more must be better. And more often. One click just doesn’t seem to be enough. Somehow more clicks makes the adjustment more effective. I understand, more is better. But really, more is just more. Using too much force, or too many activator clicks, can produce the opposite effect and slow progress.

Let me (re)introduce you to a concept in health, and fly swatting, known as the minimum effective dose. In other words, what does it take to get the job done?   

Many times in the office I hear from clients at the end of the adjustment something to the effect of ,“Is that it?” They seem disappointed that I didn’t click them in more places, or use a more forceful setting, or didn’t take more time. But I can assure you, you got what you needed on that day. I don’t stop until we regain some semblance of balance, symmetry, and tone.   

Yes, I can use more force, and I can click in more places, but I am looking for the minimum effective dose. How much does it take to get the job done? And nothing more. The reason you have hired me in the first place is to help you find that line, that dose, that will give you the result you are after. And nothing more. Because, again, more is NOT better. 

The right amount of force in the right direction, the minimum effective dose, is good medicine. 

Stay Simple!

Cheers,

ks

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay