Fitness professionals may be the best medical practitioners
in the world. We actually do something to deal with the underlying disease as
opposed to treat the symptoms. Doctors have been reduced to simply giving us
something that masks our symptoms. A friend once hypothetically compared
doctors to mechanics. Imagine bringing your car in for service because the
“check engine” light was on and getting handed some duct tape. The mechanic looks
you straight in the eye and says “put a piece over the light, you won’t see it
anymore”. You’d probably laugh and never go back to that mechanic, right?
Why don’t we laugh when the doctor gives us a statin, or
blood pressure medication, or Metformin? Does anyone think that statins
actually do anything to deal with why your cholesterol is high? If you do,
you’re crazy. They just change the test results. The reason you have high
cholesterol is still there? ( PS- lets not even get into the whole cholesterol
debate, just think symptom and treatment)
High blood pressure? Take this. It will lower your blood
pressure. Again, the drug will change the test result so that it appears more
favorable. Does the drug deal with why you have high blood pressure? No, the
drug just makes you “ignore the light” until something more serious happens.
To stay with our mechanic analogy, you now back a few weeks
later and say “my oil light is on now too”. The mechanic says “no problem, have
another piece of tape”. You just keep driving until the car stops working, with
all these pieces of tape covering your warning lights. What’s the life analogy
for that scenario? Not a pretty picture is it?
I’d love it if someday you went to the doctor to complain
and they said. “Here’s a prescription for exercise, take 5 intervals three
times a week for six weeks and come back. And also, lose a pound per week while
you’re at it. If you come back and you’re not down six pounds and have an
attendance note from your trainer I’m going to cancel your health insurance”.
Now that would be practicing medicine.
We can dream can’t we?
By Mike Boyle
No comments:
Post a Comment