One of the major flaws of our healthcare system is the lack of personalization that has sometimes been fatal or placed some patients in the hospital when their treatment turned out to be inappropriate for them. We are quite aware of one size not fitting all in the musculoskeletal system, however, with medication and medical care in general, the physiological differences at different ages can be deadly or have devastating consequences. One example of this is that for years, doctors were giving seniors of all ages blood pressure medication to keep their pressure in the "normal range." What a study that was featured on 60 minutes regarding older seniors found out is that many who were thought to have dementia from Alzheimer's disease actually were having mini-strokes in their brains because they required a higher blood pressure at their older ages to maintain proper blood flow to the brain. In the musculoskeletal system, more information is suggesting that back, neck, shoulder, and knee problems are movement problems and that rehabilitation to the part, rather than the way the system moves and function is ineffective and wasteful. The chiropractic profession has an edge because manipulation which improves motion is part of how to properly address impaired movement, along with myofascial release and exercises that are custom-tailored to the individual. One size fits all has created thousands of failed back surgery cases and chronic pain in different parts of the mechanical system because of a fundamental disconnect between how the body functions, our genetic uniqueness resulting in different body styles and how a healthcare provider needs to work with you to improve how you function. Protocol driven rehabilitation is wasteful and is just ineffective since people just do not move the way you want them to, they move the way their bodies do. There are of course many more examples of how we are failing our patients with an ideology that has healthcare practitioners trying to make patients fit their understanding of conditions, rather than the other way around, for the convenience of the system. Of course, now protocols have changed and doctors are aware of this so they do no harm. Recently, a doctor spoke out about this in the NY Times trying to raise awareness of how we need to treat different age groups differently. I am sure other healthcare providers feel the same and hopefully, more will find their voice. Clearly, one size fits all is a corporate mentality toward healthcare that needs some serious revision. Check his article out here Stop Treating 70- and 90-Year-Olds the Same By LOUISE ARONSON AUG. 11, 2017 Every summer around this time, pediatricians’ offices are flooded with children getting the vaccines they need to start another year of school. Doctors base their advice on which shots patients should get when on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine recommendations. The guidelines are presented in two schedules, one for children, the other for adults, both divided into subgroups based on developmental biology and social behaviors common at different ages. Unfortunately, there’s a major problem with the guidelines. And it’s representative of a larger failing in our health care system. There are 17 subgroupings for children from birth through age 18. That makes sense because, of course, a 6-month-old has had little time to develop immunity, weighs far less than an 8-year-old, and is exposed to fewer people than a teenager. There are five subgroups for adults. But all Americans 65 and older — including the two fastest-growing segments of our population, the 80- to 90-year-olds and those over 100 — are lumped in a single group, as if bodies and behaviors don’t change over the last half-century of life. Read more