If you (or someone you care about) experiences stiffness, pain, muscle spasms, or trouble moving from one position to another, it often means that the muscles, bones and nerves are not working together as they should to provide smooth, comfortable movement and freedom from discomfort. In this situation, some chiropractic care may be in order, to reposition the bones that are out of alignment, and restore normal function to your nerve system, which then brings about normal control of the other body parts that need to heal.

In a more extreme situation, where the signals that come from the body are ignored or masked with medications, the body has to turn up the volume on such notifications, and more severe symptoms are the result. At this point, more radical intervention and treatment is often required, at greater suffering and greater expense.

Being aware of what’s going on with your body takes a little practice to know what to look for, but it can save you tremendous unnecessary suffering and considerable expense by paying attention to what your body is trying to tell you and taking action early. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure — that’s why smart health care consumers make sure that they and their families get periodic checkups to address any deviations from normal health before they get too unpleasant or destructive.

If you wear out your body, where will you live? Take care of yourself, it’s worth it.