What is the difference and connection between preventive care and physical examination?

Physical examination is a very core screening method in the preventive health care system, and preventive health care is a health maintenance action covering the entire life cycle. The two are complementary and supporting relationships, and are by no means equal or mutually exclusive.

Last week, I just received a 32-year-old old customer who works in Internet operations. When he came in, he complained that he had a physical examination with his employer every year, and all the indicators were within the normal range. Why had he been suffering from insomnia for half a month recently, his shoulders and neck were so stiff that he couldn't lift his arms, and his hair fell out in handfuls. The physical examination was a waste of money?

This is actually a misunderstanding that many people have, and they completely equate physical examination with preventive health care. To use a very popular analogy, a physical examination is equivalent to the online inspection you do for your car at home every six months to check whether there are any hidden faults in the engine, whether the brake sensitivity is sufficient, and whether the exhaust emissions meet the standards. It is only responsible for taking a high-definition snapshot of your current physical condition at a fixed time point. Once the report is issued, the task of this physical examination is completed. But preventive health care is different. It is more like the maintenance you do on your car after changing the oil, adjusting the tire pressure, or running a long distance. It is a continuous action that permeates your daily life - you sit for an hour every day, stand up and stretch for two minutes, take the initiative to make an appointment for a flu shot when the season changes, and check out After being positive for Helicobacter pylori, take the initiative to share meals with your family, and patients with small pulmonary nodules should set a follow-up rhythm every six months according to the doctor's instructions. These seemingly trivial actions are all within the scope of preventive health care. There is no clear "finishing node" and they follow the rhythm of your life.

I looked through this client's physical examination reports for the past three years. In fact, the report sheets every year included warnings that uric acid was critical and BMI was close to overweight. However, he had just stuffed the reports in his drawer and never took them seriously. To put it bluntly, the discomfort this time was an early warning caused by long-term high uric acid, staying up late, and sitting for long periods of time. I adjusted his diet based on his physical examination data and asked him to walk for half an hour two days a week. I also made an appointment for him to have a special uric acid review in three months. After just over two months, he told me that he was back to normal. You see, without the physical examination data of the past few years, I can only rely on guesswork to adjust his health care plan. On the other hand, if I only do physical examinations and do not make any follow-up adjustments after getting the report, then these health snapshots taken every year will end up being useless.

Nowadays, there are two quite extreme public perceptions. One is the theory that "physical examinations are useless". They feel that if there are people around you who have normal physical examinations every year but are diagnosed with serious diseases, it is better to soak their feet and exercise more.； The other is the "physical examination is all-purpose" theory, which believes that by spending thousands every year on a high-end full-body physical examination, you can continue to stay up late and drink without worrying about your daily habits. I have come across too many corresponding cases of these two views. People who hold the former view mostly ignore that many serious diseases can only be discovered in the early stage through special screening, and abnormalities cannot be detected by daily body sensation. ； People who hold the latter view often have problems caused by long-term bad habits before they wait for the next physical examination.

To put it bluntly, these two are good partners for us to maintain health. Physical examination can help you find out in advance whether there are any invisible pitfalls on the road ahead. Preventive health care is to help you avoid these pitfalls steadily and go smoother and farther. Without either one, it will not work.