Debunking Myths

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Debunking Myths!

“The truth is still truth, even if no one believes it. A lie is still a lie even if everyone believes it”. – unknown

What was your first thought when thinking of a chiropractor? It probably went one of two ways: Either you love chiropractors or dislike them immensely due to a poor experience. People have pre-conceived notions about everything new that enters their life. It’s okay to question things and their validity but sometimes “herd mentality” isn’t always the most effective method for legitimacy. We’re going to discuss a variety of myths associated with chiropractic that have had a hard time exiting the public mind.

The first myth we’ll cover is “self manipulation” . There is an epidemic of people who think “self-adjusting” is harmless and relieving, not realizing how detrimental it can be to their spine. That popping or cracking people hear or feel when they turn their neck or body a certain way is called a cavitation and what takes place is the release of nitrogen gas from the joint which provides temporary relief and sort of a euphoric feeling. The discomfort comes right back because the main cause of the issue is not corrected. When there is a subluxation or misalignment of the spine, that area is fixated decreasing the proper biomechanics. To compensate for that fixation, the body will make regions above or below that subluxation hypermobile to create more movement. When people “pop” or “self-manipulate”, they are not correcting the issue but instead are manipulating the compensation rather than the root of the cause. If that is continued and left unchecked, it can cause degeneration of the vertebral disc and arthritis in the joints involved. In other words, one is creating self-destruction without realizing it.

The next myth is “I’ll have to keep going forever”. Like all things, the body needs maintenance. We don’t stand a chance because we are constantly fighting the forces of gravity without realizing it. It does not take just a fall to become subluxated. We can acquire subluxations through the three T’s: Thoughts, Traumas, and Toxins. Thoughts are the emotional stress that most of us undergo daily whether it be financial stress or grieving the loss of a loved one. Traumas is the most obvious to the public because it is so sudden and easy to correlate where the issue initiated from. For instance, if you fall of a ladder and feel pain instantly or shortly afterwards, it’s a fair assumption the cause of pain was falling off the ladder. Toxins include medications we put in our body along with processed foods and preservatives we intake daily which are not meant to process and usually have difficulty processing.

Debunking myths will be continued! Be PROACTIVE, NOT REACTIVE! Get checked, stay healthy!

Chiropractic and Strokes

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Chiropractic and Strokes

Having a stroke can be devastating! Not just for the person who has the stroke, but also for their family, friends, and caregivers. They are one of the leading causes of death and disability in the world.1

In fact, about 17 million people around the world suffer from a significant stroke every year! And about 5 million of them experience long term disability.2

Over the past 20 years, scientists have been showing that chiropractic care can actually change the way your brain works and how it controls your body, including movement and strength.

A stroke is something that causes a problem with the blood supply to the brain. This could be because of a blockage in an artery in the brain or a bleed in the brain itself. We all know how important our brain is, and without blood, it just doesn’t work, which is why strokes can be fatal or result in significant long-term disability.2

One of the most common disabilities after a stroke is muscle weakness, often on one side of the body. This may mean that after a stroke, a person has trouble using their arm or hand, or they may struggle to stand or walk.3 Living with muscle weakness can be really hard and have a big impact on a person’s ability to look after themselves or work.

There are lots of rehabilitative approaches that may help people who have had a stroke from physiotherapy through to robot-assisted therapies.4-6 But doctors and scientists are constantly looking for new approaches to help stroke survivors.3

Over the past 20 years, scientists have been showing that chiropractic care can actually change the way your brain works and how it controls your body, including movement and strength.7-16 A number of recent studies have shown that a single session of chiropractic care can result in an immediate increase in strength.17-20

In one of these studies, the researchers found a 16% increase in strength of leg muscles in a group of students after a session of chiropractic care.17 Another study reported an 8% increase in strength in elite athletes after they were adjusted by a chiropractor,19 and one more study found an 11% increase in jaw strength in a group of healthy people after chiropractic adjustments.18

Chiropractic May Help

But could chiropractic care help someone who has muscle weakness because they’ve had a stroke? A new study says maybe it can!20 In this study that was published in the reputable journal Scientific Reports, researchers looked at changes in strength in weak leg muscles after chiropractic care in people who had suffered from a stroke.20

The team of scientists that did this study measured the strength of weak leg muscles in chronic stroke patients before and after a single session of chiropractic care or a sham control session. They also used electrical stimulations of nerves in their legs, which could help them to work out whether any changes in strength came from their brain or something that was happening in their spinal cord. 

When they analyzed the data from their study, the scientists found an average improvement in strength of almost 65% in the affected leg of these stroke patients. They were blown away by this finding because 65% is a huge difference! They also found that these strength changes were due to changes in the way their brain was communicating with these weak muscles, as opposed to changes in their spinal cord.

These results are really exciting, but you do need to remember that the scientists only looked at immediate changes after chiropractic care, so they don’t yet know how long the changes last for. That’s why they’re now doing another study to look at how longer-term chiropractic care impacts how stroke survivors can walk and move.

However, these initial ground-breaking findings are really important and may mean that chiropractic care can help people who have had a stroke to improve their strength and ability to walk and move. So, if someone you know has suffered from a stroke, let them know that chiropractic care may really help to improve their brain/body communication and to get them moving again!

References

  1. Sherzai AZ, Elkind MS. Advances in stroke prevention. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015;1338:1-15.
  2. Clarke DJ, Forster A. Improving post-stroke recovery: the role of the multidisciplinary health care team. J Multidiscip Healthc 2015;8:433-42.
  3. Chen JC, Shaw FZ. Progress in sensorimotor rehabilitative physical therapy programs for stroke patients. World J Clin Cases 2014;2(8):316-26.
  4. Veerbeek JM, Langbroek-Amersfoort AC, van Wegen EE, et al. Effects of Robot-Assisted Therapy for the Upper Limb After Stroke. Neurorehabilitation and neural repair 2017;31(2):107-21.
  5. Greisberger A, Aviv H, Garbade SF, et al. Clinical relevance of the effects of reach-to-grasp training using trunk restraint in individuals with hemiparesis poststroke: A systematic review. J Rehabil Med 2016;48(5):405-16.
  6. Wist S, Clivaz J, Sattelmayer M. Muscle strengthening for hemiparesis after stroke: A meta-analysis. Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine 2016;59(2):114-24.
  7. Haavik H, Murphy B. Subclinical neck pain and the effects of cervical manipulation on elbow joint position sense. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics 2011;34:88-97.
  8. Haavik H, Murphy B. The role of spinal manipulation in addressing disordered sensorimotor integration and altered motor control. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 2012;22(5):768-76.
  9. Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. Altered cortical integration of dual somatosensory input following the cessation of a 20 minute period of repetitive muscle activity. Exp Brain Res 2007;178(4):488-98.
  10. Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. Cervical spine manipulation alters sensorimotor integration: A somatosensory evoked potential study. Clin Neurophysiol 2007;118(2):391-402.
  11. Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. Transient modu-lation of intracortical inhibition following spinal manipulation. Chiropractic Journal of Australia 2007;37:106-16.
  12. Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. Altered sensorimotor integration with cervical spine manipulation. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2008;31(2):115-26.
  13. Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. Altered Central Integration of Dual Somatosensory Input Following Cervical Spine Manipulation. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33 (3):178-88.
  14. Haavik Taylor H, Murphy B. The effects of spinal manipulation on central integration of dual somatosensory input observed following motor training: A crossover study. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33 (4):261-72.
  15. Marshall P, Murphy B. The Effect of Sacroiliac Joint Manipulation on Feed-Forward Activation Times of the Deep Abdominal Musculature Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2006;29(3 ):196-202.
  16. Niazi I, Türker K, Flavel S, et al. Changes in H-reflex and V waves following spinal manipulation. Exp Brain Res 2015;233:1165-73.
  17. Niazi IK, Turker KS, Flavel S, et al. Changes in H-reflex and V-waves following spinal manipulation. Exp Brain Res 2015.
  18. Haavik H, Ozyurt MG, Niazi IK, et al. Chiropractic Manipulation Increases Maximal Bite Force in Healthy Individuals. Brain sciences 2018;8(5).
  19. Christiansen TL, Niazi IK, Holt K, et al. The effects of a single session of spinal manipulation on strength and cortical drive in athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol 2018;118(4):737-49.
  20. Holt K, Niazi IK, Nedergaard RW, et al. The effects of a single session of chiropractic care on strength, cortical drive, and spinal excitability in stroke patients. Scientific Reports 2019;9(1):2673.

Acknowledgments

  • Dr. Heidi Haavik – BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD
  • Dr. Kelly Holt – BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
  • Dr. Jenna Duehr – BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc

Understanding The Pain

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Blog brought to you by Dr. Heidi Haavik, Did you know that pain is created by your brain?4-9

The interesting thing is that you don’t actually have to have any actual tissue damage to feel pain.10 If your brain is not aware of tissue damage, you may not feel any pain at all, even if you’ve injured yourself.4,6

Experiencing pain is normal

Everyone experiences pain now and then.1 Pain is supposed to be protective to make you stop doing things that may be dangerous.2 Chronic pain that has persisted for more than 3 months is no longer protective, nor informative.3 So, what is chronic pain and what can you do about it if you suffer from it?

What does the research show?

More than one-third of people with chronic pain become disabled by their pain to some degree.12 13. The pain can be from headaches, joint pain, neck pain, back pain or pain from an injury. Other kinds of chronic pain include tendinitis, sinus pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and pain affecting specific parts of your body. The common thing with all these types of pain is that the actual feeling of pain is always, 100% of the time, created in your brain.5 8 14 15

This does not mean it’s not real – but understanding that the pain itself is created in your brain is really important for how you can get rid of it. And because pain depends so much on what you think and feel about the pain,2 it’s very important you understand pain properly. Your pain experience depends on why your brain has decided you need to be protected – why it’s creating the feeling of pain for you in the first place.5 We know that the brain can be retrained,16 so you need to use all the tools available to you to retrain your brain to be out of pain.16 Some of the keys to retraining your brain are staying active,17-19 staying positive,20 eating well,21 22 and sleeping well.23

One important way that you can help yourself if you are in chronic pain is to stay active.17-19 Your posture and how you move plays an important role in how you feel and how you experience pain.18 19 If there are movements you cannot do because of your pain you can still help by imagining these movements.24 We know from neuroscience research that imagining a movement influences the brain in a very similar way to actually doing the movement.24 25 This can help retrain your brain to understand that the movement is not dangerous – because imagining doing the movement will not hurt.

You can basically trick your brain into giving you back pain-free movement.24 The movement of your spine is also very important.26 Yoga or simple spinal exercises can be great for this and chiropractic care may be really important to help you move too.27-29 The main focus of chiropractic care is to improve the movement and function of your spine.30-32 This is so important because proper movement of your spine helps your brain know more accurately what is going on, not only just in your spine, but also elsewhere in your body.33 34

Research tells us that chiropractic care can help people who suffer from back pain,38 39 and headaches.40 This is most likely because chiropractic care helps your brain know more accurately what is going on in your spine and body33 41 and may help your brain to switch off feelings of pain, when they are no longer needed. So if you suffer from chronic pain do your best to stay positive,20 move often,18 19 eat well,21 22 sleep well,23 and go see your family chiropractor to help retrain your brain to be out of pain.38 39

Disclaimer and References This information is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be professional advice of any kind. Haavik Research Ltd encourages you to make your own health care decisions based on your own research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. chiroshub.com © Haavik Research 2021 1. Katz WA.1998;105(1, Supplement 2.:2S-7S. 2. Seymour B.2019;101(6):1029-41. 3. Holt K, Russell D, Cooperstein R, et al. Aust 2018;46(1):101-17. 4. Fenton BW, Shih E, Zolton J. 2015;5(4):297-317. 5. Koyama T, McHaffie JG, Laurienti PJ, et al. 2005;102(36):12950-55. 6. Mitsi V, Zachariou V. 2016;338:81-92. 7. Ploghaus A. 1999;284(5422):1979-81. 8. Wager TD. 2004;303(5661):1162-67. 9. Wiech K. 2016;354(6312):584-87. 10. Costigan M, Scholz J, Woolf CJ. 2009;32(1):1-32. 11. St Sauver JL, Warner DO, Yawn BP, et al. 2013;88(1):56-67. 12. Webb R, Brammah T, Lunt M, et al. 2003;28(11):1195-202. 13. Mallen C, Peat G, Thomas E, et al. 2005;6(1):42. 14. Apkarian AV, Hashmi JA, Baliki MN. 2011;152(3 Suppl):S49. 15. Atlas LY, Bolger N, Lindquist MA, et al. 2010;30(39):12964-77. 16. deCharms RC, Maeda F, Glover GH, et al. 2005;102(51):18626-31. 17. Geneen LJ, Moore RA, Clarke C, et al. 2017;4:Cd011279. 18. Booth J, Moseley GL, Schiltenwolf M, et al. 2017;15(4):413-21. 19. O’Connor SR, Tully MA, Ryan B, et al. 2015;96(4):724-34.e3. 20. Schutze R, Rees C, Slater H, et al. 2017;22(3):463-80. 21. Masino SA, Ruskin DN. 2013;28(8):993-1001. 22. Silva AR, Bernardo A, Costa J, et al. 2019:1-29. 23. Burgess HJ, Burns JW, Buvanendran A, et al. 2019. 24. Bowering KJ, O’Connell NE, Tabor A, et al. 2013;14(1):3-13. 25. Mulder T. 2007;114(10):1265-78. 26. Laird RA, Keating JL, Ussing K, et al. 2019;20(1):28. 27. Eliks M, Zgorzalewicz-Stachowiak M, Zenczak-Praga K. 2019;95(1119):41-45. 28. Li Y, Li S, Jiang J, et al. 2019;98(8):e14649. 29. Galindez-Ibarbengoetxea X, Setuain I, Andersen LL, et al. 2017;23(9):667-75. 30. Brown RA. 2016;23(1):22-28. 31. Hart J. 2016;23(1):46-52. 32. The Rubicon Group. 2017:4. 33. Haavik H, Murphy B. 2011;34(2):88-97. 34. Korakakis V, Giakas G, Sideris V, et al. 2017;31:9-20. 35. Gross A, Langevin P, Burnie SJ, et al. Syst Rev 2015(9):Cd004249. 36. Gross A, Miller J, D’Sylva J, et al. 2010;15(4):315-33. 37. Bryans R, Decina P, Descarreaux M, et al. 2014;37(1):42-63. 38. Goertz CM, Pohlman KA, V

• Dr. Heidi Haavik BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD • Dr. Kelly Holt BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD • Dr. Jenna Duehr BChiro, BHSc(Nursing), MHSc

Learning From The Leading Cause Of Death

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Learning From The Leading Cause Of Death

The number one leading cause of death in the U.S. is heart disease.  The western lifestyle and diet left unchecked encourages the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD).  In most cases, the first symptom of CVD that is physically very obvious is a heart attack. That is one heck of a first symptom!  When we hear the story about the “57 year old man who ‘never’ had a sick day in his life dies from a heart attack”, we wonder what happened!  In actuality, it takes YEARS to develop CVD before the first noticeable symptom appears.

What Should We Learn From CVD

When one’s health is being neglected, there are other subtle symptoms that occur prior to a heart attack that we normally don’t notice.   Learn to recognize these symptoms before the root cause begins to spiral out of control. Many symptoms are painful, but we think it is a normal part of our lives and try to just get by. A more practical approach would be to gain control of your health, improve on it daily, and not take it for granted.

Health Is Hard-Work

Taking care of your body begins with your spinal health. Regular check-up’s by your chiropractor will ensure that there is a proper connection between the brain and body.  Healthy spine = healthy body. How so? Your central nerve system created the spine to be an external protection . Keeping your spine aligned and happy keeps your central nerve system happy as well.  People assume that you should only see a chiropractor when you have back or neck pain. WRONG! That is equivalent to only eating healthy food when you are sick. Just like a heart attack being the last noticeable symptom of CVD, back or neck pain will sometimes be the last symptoms to appear when your spinal health has been neglected.

Basic Anatomy 101

When a nerve is irritated by a misaligned spine and has unnecessary stress, the nerve does not send proper signals to the cells, organs, and glands that it controls.  That is Basic Anatomy 101 in Chiropractic and Medical Studies. What does this mean? Imagine that the very nerve that made your heart, controls your heart and sends electrical impulses to make it beat is irritated.   In this case, the messages to the heart will be either HYPER or HYPO (aka High Blood Pressure or Low Blood Pressure). Look to the spine in order to get the messages clear. Be preventative and act now. #getchecked

 

My Back’s Out…And That Means What Exactly?

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My Back’s Out…And That Means What Exactly?

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.”

My Back’s Really Out…Right?

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.”

If My Back Is NOT Out, What IS Happening?

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.”

Just Get Checked

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!

 

Why Do You Have Butterflies In Your Stomach?

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Why do you Have Butterflies in Your Stomach?

Have You Swallowed Butterflies?

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.

Butterflies In Your Stomach Protect You!

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.

Balancing the Stressors

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.

Watch Out For Butterflies in Your Stomach

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.

 

 

 

 

How You “Think” Doesn’t Impact My Health…Think Again!

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Thinking Doesn’t Impact My Health…Think Again!

Think About What You Think About

Most people would suspect that physical trauma is the number one reason why people seek Chiropractic care.  But in actuality, the number one reason why people seek care is due to how they think, or emotional stress.  How you think directly impacts your health.  Early Chiropractic philosophy stated that “Auto-Suggestions” was one reason why people would seek care.  It was their inability to adapt to their own auto-suggestions.  Today we supplement the phrase auto-suggestions with stress.  Stress is what brings people into the office.  Our thinking process either creates positive affirmations or emotional stress.

The Chemical Break-Down of Thinking

When your body begins to become bombarded with obligations such as bills, taxes, and daily routines, internal changes occur that alter your thought process.  Chemically, your internal monolog will increase adrenalin, blood glucose, cortisol, and even cholesterol levels.  Serotonin will be the one chemical that actually decreases as a result of stress.  Serotonin, commonly known as the “happiness chemical”, is a huge factor in your mood and getting quality sleep to rest your body.

The Physiological Response to Thinking

The chemicals in the previous paragraph will begin to alter your brain activity and how your body responds.  So, how you think now will begin to impact your health in a way you can understand…in a way that you actually feel. Your quality of sleep is severely depleted, your immune system is compromised, heart rate will spike, and your blood pressure will begin to rise.  Along with these noticeable symptoms, you will also feel increased muscle tension and knots along the spine.  All of this as a result of your thinking!

Chiropractic Can Change How You Think

When the spine is properly aligned and free of interference, your thought process is limited in its negative abilities.  After receiving a specific chiropractic adjustment, there is a 99% correlation that your pre-frontal cortex becomes enhanced.  What does this mean?  The pre-frontal cortex of your brain controls planning, complex cognitive behavior, personality, expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior.  In simple terms, it controls how you think.  Specific chiropractic adjustments help the positive thought process.  Stay adjusted, stay positive!

#getchecked

 

 

Buy My Special Pillow…It Will Fix Everything Wrong With You

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Buy My Special Pillow…It Will Fix Everything!

The Analogy Of My Special Pillow

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.

My Special Pillow Is Doctor Recommended

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.

The Truth of My Special Pillow

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

3 Affects Occurring On Your Spine Due To The “I” Hunch

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3 Affects Occurring On Your Spine Due To The “I” Hunch

Your Spine Dislikes Gadgets

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.

#1 – The Reverse Neck Curve Begins

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.

#2 – Your Spine Is Working Overtime

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.

#3 -Your Spine Creates Unnecessary Stress

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