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Botox, Nose Jobs and DCs
By Amy Selby
Do cosmetic procedures compromise your chiropractic lifestyle?
Since when do teenagers need nose jobs? It gets worse. Radio listeners started phoning in shocking stories of giving breast implants as high school graduation gifts. I promptly changed the station.
While I am disgusted by the thought of teenagers surgically altering their bodies in the pursuit of society-defined perfection, my own views toward various vanity procedures have changed a bit. Even in my soon-to-be-31-year-old body, I have become more comfortable with the idea of a little nip and tuck for my stubbornly pudgy hips and thighs. I certainly know that I’m not the only one more accepting of these “medical interventions” either. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, nearly 3.3 million Botox procedures and 1.5 million laser hair removals were performed in 2005.
So if I’m influenced by the mainstream acceptance of cosmetic procedures and surgeries, I began to wonder if my chiropractic readers felt any shifts in opinion. Through informal conversations with various DCs I learned that some opinions have changed. One of our editorial board members saw the benefits of gastric bypass surgery through a friend after denouncing it for years. It’s still not her favorite solution for weight loss, but it did change her friend’s life for the better.
Is there a place for cosmetic procedures within a chiropractic lifestyle? Do you think your bottom line would benefit from whiter teeth, a more youthful face, bigger breasts or a toned tummy?
I spoke with two chiropractors and TCL’s resident vitalist to learn their views concerning vanity procedures. I found out that even the purists have entertained thoughts of a nip here and a tuck there.
Dr. Kay Willis, Willis Chiropractic Center, Kennesaw, Ga.
Willis is the first female D.C. in Kennesaw, a northern suburb of Atlanta. She’s also a mother to three children. Willis is well aware of her own body and of the availability of cosmetic procedures in the area.
“I think once women reach the over 50 mark, we start to look at these vanity procedures differently. I had Lasik done last year and I’m currently considering a procedure called a lifestyle lift. It’s similar to a facelift, but not as invasive.”
Rebecca Koch, TCL’s Vitalism Signs columnist, Marietta, Ga.
Koch will be the first to tell you that her lifestyle choices are different from most women. She doesn’t fuss with wearing makeup or worry about dying her hair. “I can’t even justify wearing contacts because of the potential damage it can cause my eyes. My eyes are not evolved enough to have a lens on it. Glasses seem less invasive than contacts,” says Koch.
Yet even though her choices aren’t typical, Koch has considered cosmetic body sculpting. “I lost 40 pounds and I still had this pocket of fat by my knees. My gynecologist was getting out of the baby biz and moving on to lipo sculpture,” says Koch. “I almost asked, ‘Hey, what does that cost?’ But I didn’t. I realized that no matter how much fat my legs have, they are my 48-year-old legs and they aren’t going to get any better. They are doing their job, and an incredible job at that.”
Dr. Donald Epstein, developer of Network Spinal Analysis and Somato Respiratory Integration, Longmont, Colo.
Epstein likens cosmetic procedures to quick fixes that create a virtual reality. He believes outer beauty starts with an inner connection—to have that feeling of well-being, you need a good sense of self.
“Every line on your face, every curve of your spine, the shape of your body has been precisely sculpted by how a person experiences life,” says Epstein. “With this in mind, vanity procedure applications give you the appearance of being younger, happier and more vital.
“I don’t think these treatments overall will give people what they’re looking for. It’s a temporary appearance. It’s never enough—people will get older,” says Epstein. “Vanity is control over your life and body in a specific area. Living in your core nature—emotions, thoughts and spirituality—will satisfy you more than surgery.”
Epstein believes the chiropractor can give these patients the lift they’re looking for through chiropractic care. “The spine regulates the sense of self. The spine is the unconscious mind. It coordinates emotions, every dream, thoughts and conscious state,” says Epstein. “My suggestion is that the chiropractor view practice in terms of helping the spine to reorganize. The chiropractor can see subluxations as indicators of the life the person is living, who they believe they are and how the way they experience life is in conflict with their physiology. They can reorganize the spine and reorganize their life.”
©2006 Today's Chiropractic