The new 406 article is out! You are in charge of your own health – Why people really visit the Chiropractor.
Click on the link to learn more about why people really visit the Chiropractor. Click Me.
Most of us in some place and some time have heard of this tag line before “It is doctor recommended”. Well, what is actually being recommended? In this day and age, the newest recommendations have no ethical standards of what is being recommended, YET! If you put the tagline “it is doctor recommended”, then automatically people think it is a good thing to do. Speaking as a doctor and from a doctor’s perspective, here are some thoughts to consider…
Buy this, use this, and double down on this? Doctors did not go to school to sell you things. There was no classroom that was solely and specially based on learning the art and craft of selling things to patients. Be weary when things are “suggested” or “recommended” in the doctor’s office. Why? That is not the doctor’s responsibility. As a doctor of chiropractic my job is to be a teacher and inform patients of what health is and what it is not; what your health needs and what it does not need and more importantly how and why it does what it does. Health does not come in form of lotions, potions, or ‘snake-oils’ that are constantly being invented as the newest and latest health craze.
Think for yourself and, as my mother always taught me, always consider your source. When considering your health and the doctor’s recommendation, consider this. Chiropractic is a philosophy, science and art of things NATURAL. Lines become often blurred when ethical boundaries are mixed with compensation and things that are not natural. Take for instance cigarettes. Google the wording ‘doctors and cigarettes’ and click on images and see what pops up; comical to say the least. You could say in that day and age they did not know any better. Which is a false statement. The recommendations have not changed. Instead of the wording ‘cigarettes’, we are substituting that for pills, diets, lotions, and potions that are “safe” because they are Doctor Recommended. Be a thinker when it comes to your health and avoid sales tactics.
Oh the power of words and what they actually mean. The most common phrase that I hear with new patients is typically, “My back’s out,” or, “Outta whack,” or something along those lines. Now, we could just let that slide by and everything would be okay, OR we could educate and tell you more. Before we begin, let’s clear the board and announce that in Chiropractic school, training, clinicals, national board exams, preceptorships, etc. etc., not once did we Chiropractors learn about the phrase, “My back’s out.”
Listen to the words we are saying, “My back’s out.” NO, the back cannot simply “go out”. The back doesn’t randomly decide to leave your body and go hang out at Costco without you. Too critical? Let’s use the word misaligned instead. A misalignment in the spine, otherwise called a subluxation, can and does happen. Once it occurs it will stay in that misalignment until forces (Chiropractic adjustments) begin to correct it. Still, you cannot simply just feel like “My back’s out” or even if you try and be witty you cannot just say “I just felt a subluxation occur in my back.”
Here’s another common phrase “Don’t kill the messenger!” When a subluxation occurs, it places undo stress upon the Central Nerve System (CNS) and can specifically irritate a spinal nerve. This spinal nerve made certain muscles and controls certain muscles. Therefore, when the nerve gets irritated, the muscles become irritated. The last messages to appear after a subluxation has been existent will be chronic muscle tension, knots, and irritation. A subluxation that goes on uncorrected and neglected for years is equivalent to your teeth not being cleaned. As time passes, your symptoms begin to appear, and eventually when your body is in a stressed state, the PAIN messages appear. Now your muscles, tendons, ligaments and tissue become inflamed…thus creating an episode of, “My back’s out.”
It’s simple. If you utilize your Chiropractor correctly, you will know him before you need him. Understand the reverse of this phrase as well. When you do decide to get adjusted, the bone does not just simply “go back”… It requires time and repetition for your CNS to allow your body to heal and ADAPT from the neurological strain that it was under for so long. Just get checked!
Fall in love with taking care of yourself. Focus on creating a lifestyle that supports your mind, body and your spirit. Don’t rely or turn to medicine and its probability. Seasonal allergies do not have to hold you back from the world you want to experience. This is not a gimmick, fad or a sale. Seasonal allergies become apparent when your body is failing to heal and adapt to the stress placed on it.
There are two obvious reasons. First, we begin to spend more time outside and begin to acclimate to the changes that are occurring. Secondly, your body is responding to the allergens that have technically always been here. When the irritant/allergen is inhaled, eaten or touched, the body produces specific antibodies called immunoglobulin, which triggers the release of histamines. Once released, histamines begin ravaging the body. Blood pressure drops, nearby blood vessels dilate, and the spaces between surrounding cells fill with fluid. This inflammatory response launches a cascade of miserable symptoms, from itching and sneezing to nausea and vomiting.
If two people are standing right next to each other, breathing the same air, why would Person A start producing mucus buildup and sneezing while Person B is completely fine? What is the difference? It’s the same air quality for both. There are MANY factors that are the same and MANY that are different. Ultimately, it depends on person A’s central nerve system (CNS) and how it responds and processes the air. Person A will begin to produce more histamines, but then will typically go to Walgreen’s and buy Anti-Histamines. Person A fails to realize that their body is still making histamines and their “cure” is a cover-up for a couple hours. They never truly address the cause.
Chiropractors are nerve system specialists. We focus on subluxations (misalignment’s in the spine) that irritate the CNS and cause damage to your tissues cells. Cells of the immune system and inflammatory cells receive orders and communicate in their response via the CNS. Stress can be defined as “a state of disharmony or threatened homeostasis provoked by psychological, environmental, and physiological stressors.” By removing subluxations, your body is able to adapt and heal from the so called “seasonal allergies”. Why deal with symptoms when you can go straight to the cause with chiropractic!
A good majority of people have probably experienced an episode of butterflies in their stomach. You may have felt this sensation before a public speaking event, asking a lady on a date or feeling embarrassed for some reason. Butterflies in your stomach is technically not a sensation, but more of a reaction. This reaction is brought on by your innate ability to protect yourself.
A branch of nerves called the sympathetic nerve system is also known as your fight or flight response. When your internal monologue enters into survival mode, you automatically trigger the fight or flight response. The Brain-Gut connection comes into fruition with this reaction to stressors. The brain has a tendency to “overreact” and send more electrical messages to the gut when our body is responding to stress. Basically, it’s the muscles in your stomach freaking out.
The central nerve system (CNS) goes to every organ, gland, tissue, muscle and cell of the body. Chiropractic’s focus is to allow the CNS to function without interference or to remove the subluxation. The subluxation is a “blown fuse” and your body reacts by expressing itself outwardly via symptoms. Chiropractic adjustments do not “cure” the butterflies in your stomach; instead they balance your stress response by releasing ‘feel good’ factors in the body. After an adjustment, your body becomes ENHANCED and begins adapting, particularity the pre-frontal cortex in the brain which controls your thoughts, emotions, and cognitive behavior.
What can we learn from this? As we teach patients about their health and well-being, we stress the importance of knowing us before you need us. The best time to get checked and adjusted is before your event. You want to make sure your body is firing on all cylinders and this begins with your CNS. Your brain controls every cell in your body, even the butterflies in your stomach. Keep your spine aligned and the connection flowing with chiropractic.
The My Special Pillow analogy has been around in our society for a period of time and will continue to stick around. Why is the pillow industry always trying to create the “latest and greatest”? Because they want you to buy it! Just like anything else, they will try to improve something that is pretty darn simple. Unfortunately, our society will get you to buy the coolest of the coolest pillow out there because some random sleep study confirmed people actually sleep “better” with it.
The “Doctor Recommended” special pillow…It is simply just another way for someone to make a kick-back and sell you something. As a Chiropractor, I never learned that the best way to promote my status as a Doctor was to sell “stuff” to the public. This can be said for any type of doctor profession out there. Remember: My Special Pillow is just an analogy for the health industry as a whole. This can be said for supplements, oils, laser-beams, exercises, special diets, lotions, etc. Just because a diet is “Doctor Recommended” does not mean anything at all. Literally.
Health is hard-work. My Special Pillow is trying to sell you the concept that health can be bought. Being healthy as we know it starts from the inside of your body. Why the inside? Remember the first “Thing” made in your body was the brain and then then spinal cord, thus forming the central nerve system (CNS). The CNS made everything else in your body…everything. What about the heart…made by the CNS. What about your left foot…made by the CNS. And so on and so on. Make sure that your CNS is free of stress by getting regular chiropractic check-ups. Two other factors to implement are eating right and exercising. That’s it. The My Special Pillow concept will try to lure you away with the latest and greatest. Just hold fast and stick to the things that survived the test of time. #getchecked
Your spine is prone to continual stress every single day. Your spine is specifically designed for two important functions. Its top priority is to protect the most important structure within your body… the central nerve system (brain and spinal cord). Secondly, the spine is designed to withstand stress, such as gravity, that is applied every single day. In this day and age the TOP stressor that plagues our body is “The Gadgets”. Cellphones, iPads, Kindle’s, etc. When we continuously look down at gadgets, our entire spinal structure is under constant stress.
Postural deviations that start in childhood and are left undetected and uncorrected will generally lead to bigger problems when those children become adults. The more children are looking down at gadgets from earlier ages, the greater significance of cervical curve changes. These changes are not for the better.
Having your head in a forward posture can add up to thirty pounds of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine. This can pull the entire spine out of alignment – Rene Cailliet, M.D. When we focus on the immediate we only focus on the cervical spine. When in reality the entire spine will have to work over time. This means that constant muscle tension, knots, and irritation will be existing all over the spine due to the imbalance in the neck area.
Constant forward head lean will put automatic stress on the central nerve system (CNS). When you begin to alter your spinal curvature due to repetitive stress, this will result in a variety of health problems. Why? Without proper spinal support, the spinal bones will create tension and stress on your CNS. Repetitive head lean is equivalent to adding an extra 60lbs of pressure on your spinal column…which means 60lbs of undo stress on your CNS.
Everyone has had poor posture at some point. It only becomes a problem if you decide not to do anything about it. Checking your posture and getting your spine checked for subluxations enables your body to adapt to the constant stress.
#getchecked
The newest 406 magazine is out. We are fortunate to provide material about general health and well-being. Our latest article is titled Sick & Tired Of Chronic Labels? Understanding Fibromyalgia. Click on the link to read the e-version. Check us out on page 112. Click Me.
In this day and age the status quo is living in the fast-food lane, meaning we want things to happen NOW. The age of patience is becoming a lost art. Industries will cater to this fast-food lane mentality and sell you products, trends, fads, and gimmicks, trying to convince you that something can happen in the NOW. The “sale” that strikes a nerve with chiropractic care is emergency or urgent care. Unfortunately my profession will sell you the quick “fix”. Chiropractic care is not an emergency room or urgent care. Chiropractic enables your body to adapt to the external stressors that plague it. Feeling good just comes with the territory. If you only come in to see the chiropractor when you’re in pain, then you should only eat healthy food when you get sick. It takes time for your body to heal and adapt. It takes patience.
Nobody is too busy to heal, it just comes down to your priorities and choices you make in life. Chiropractic care is not designed to make you instantly feel better. It is actually designed to instantaneously begin the healing process and allow your body to adapt to your stressors. Simple enough? Patience is fundamental with chiropractic because adapting to your stressors is a process, not an event.
“Healing is a matter of time, it is sometimes a matter of opportunity,” – Hippocrates. Think of it this way. If you work a 9-5 job Monday through Friday, and a good majority of that time you are sitting at a desk utilizing a computer, a substantial amount of physical and emotional stress is placed on your body. Chiropractic care enables your body to adapt to the external stressors in your life. If you have complete loss of patience you will just conform to the “status quo” and take medication. Your body will always go through stress, but it’s your innate responsibility to promote adapting. Adapting comes with understanding how patience is required in healing. If you get a cut, a scab will form and you will heal. If you break a bone, you will heal. The same can be said for just about ANYTHING in your body when you give it time. Chiropractic care paired with patience will promote adapting and healing within your body. #getchecked
When establishing health, always look towards the spine first. Why? The brain was the first “thing” that was made in utero. The brain then made the spinal cord and a protective coat of armor called the spine / spinal bones / vertebrae. By accessing the health of the spine, we are accessing the entire health of the body. The first trauma that your spine endures is the birth process. This is often neglected and forgotten about because of the euphoric feeling that happens after a new born is brought into the world. Early labor, active labor, delivery and the overall birth itself is stressful on a newborn. We cannot stress enough the importance of pediatric chiropractic following birth.
If you want the best for your child, get them checked immediately after the birth process and continue from there. A subluxation is an irritated nerve fiber that places undo stress upon the central nerve system. A subluxation can be created through the birth process. The only way to know is to get checked following birth. Your spine is literally the backbone of your body’s ability to function properly. The focus of chiropractic care is to remove any physiological blocks to the proper expression of the body’s innate wisdom. Pediatric chiropractic adjustments are gentle and noninvasive on your child.
Check out these statistics about the United States and the growing epidemics in our children. These numbers are silent in nature and only hit home when it is our child that is affected. Birth traumas that went uncorrected and neglected increased risk of autism five-fold.
We are not saying that birth trauma causes these numbers or does not cause these numbers. You have two choices…Stress Vulnerability or Stress Resiliency. In our office and the community we are reaching, we are committed to Stress Resiliency Care in our office. Pediatric chiropractic care is the foundation to health.
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