Sunday, November 29, 2009

Consistent Chiropractic Care


When we speak of Chiropractic patients, we divide them into two categories. The first category that we mention is a group of patients who understand that Chiropractic can help facilitate health in an ailing body. These patients initially come into the office with some type of physical problem that has been affecting them for quite sometime. They know that the adjustment will remove any Vertebral Subluxation that may be causing impedance in the function of their bodies. These patients understand that we are not treating a specific symptom, but rather are affecting the overall expression of the nervous system. Often times, they come in to have their Vertebral Subluxations corrected and find that their body is healing and functioning at a higher level than when they initially came. Millions of people have become healthy through the drugless approach of Chiropractic. Unfortunately, there are a number of people who do not make the most of chiropractic care.

The other group understands that the same force that allowed the body to multiply and develop from a union of two cells did not leave the body to be defenseless against its environment. These patients do not seek chiropractic care as merely a means of recovering from a sickness or postural abnormalities, but more importantly as a health maintenance intervention. They understand that pain and symptoms are a process that develops over time and that regular adjustments regardless of how you physical feel is important. These patients pursue a higher level of fulfillment in health, because they understand that these regular adjustments can allow you to deal with stress better, have more energy, coordination, and flexibility. That raises the question, does all of this really happen from regular adjustments. Yes! Each thing mentioned above, every single part of our body (organ, tissue, and cell) is influenced and controlled by our nervous system. The biggest difference is that these patients understand the importance of chiropractic care while being healthy, as opposed to the former, waiting until an ailment has sat in.

As a health care facilitator, we would much rather see the second group of patients. Everyone needs chiropractic care and we clearly would not turn away someone with a medical need for the removal of a vertebral subluxation. My biggest desire is to see hundreds of individuals becoming actively involved in their own health and in addition encouraging family and friends to do the same.

Monday, November 16, 2009

The healthier approach


The prevention of disease seems to be of major concern to many people these days. The public is beginning to exercise to prevent heart problems and cut down on cholesterol to prevent cardiovascular disease. They are quitting their smoking habits to prevent cancer, and on and on. Prevention of disease, however, perpetuates a very serious misconception concerning disease, which is that it has a single cause. If a lack of vitamin C was the cause of the common cold, taking vitamin C would prevent it. While resistance is dependent upon vitamin C, it also depends upon a number of other factors. That is why three children in a family can all drink their orange juice and two will get a cold and one will not. Resistance depends upon how well the body is working, how well it can utilize vitamin C, the amount of rest a person gets and, of course, the frequency of coming in contact with the virus. There are probably a dozen other factors as well, many of which we do not even know and some, like genetics, we cannot control.


If exercise prevented heart attacks, well trained individuals such as Jim Fixx, the guru of running, would not have had a fatal heart attack on one of his daily runs. There are people who smoke two packs of cigarettes a day for thirty years and do not get lung cancer. Conversely, there are people who never smoke a cigarette and die of lung cancer.


The point is this. There is only one thing that is truly effective in preventing disease that is staying healthy! The more things you do to promote your good health, the greater the likelihood of not ending up with a disease. Exercise is important, but it is only one piece of the health picture. Vitamin C and all the other aspects of good nutrition are another piece. Avoiding poisons like cigarette smoke is another. The numbers of aspects in your health that you address are directly related to the probability of being healthy. Of course, maintaining the integrity of your nervous system is a vital part of health. That is where chiropractic comes in. You must correct vertebral subluxations because they interfere with the proper function of the nerve system. Besides directly improving the nerve supply, the removing of subluxations also indirectly affects the other aspects of good health. If there is interference in your nervous system, you may not be able to properly utilize good nutrition or get the maximum benefits from exercise and rest. Your body will be less resistant to the poisons you cannot help but be exposed to, like second-hand cigarette smoke. If you want to prevent disease, the proper attitude is not just doing certain things to prevent certain diseases. That is a futile approach. There are just too many diseases. The proper approach is to do those things necessary to be healthy. Perhaps if everybody was doing everything necessary to promote and maintain health, we would not have to worry about preventing disease. That seems to be the most intelligent idea.


Health is the outcome of making the decision to live a healthy life

Monday, November 9, 2009

The Price of Health


There is an old saying, “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die to get there.” A similar statement could be made concerning health. In almost any survey taken asking people what they wanted most out of life, good health is one of the top three things on the list. The only two things that ever top it are happiness and good family relationships. Yet how many of us allow other less important things to keep us from attaining maximum health. Like happiness, health does not come by luck. It is true that hereditary factors are important to good health but most people can be healthy in spite of hereditary weakness. Conversely, hereditary strengths will not overcome a failure to take care of you.


Most people who come into a chiropractic office indicate a desire to be healthy. Unfortunately, they often do not realize that it will take some effort on their part. The average person’s experience with medicine has led them to believe that they will be made healthy by what the doctor does to them or what he gives them. They can just sit back, do nothing or at most, remember to take their medication every four hours. While this approach may be relatively effective in the treatment of disease, it has virtually nothing to do with health. For the most part, disease treatment is a passive activity. Health maintenance or health restoration is largely an active endeavor. Therein lies the problem. Sitting back and doing nothing will not promote or maintain health. Simply hoping or wishing for health will not make you healthy. It must be actively pursued. A choice must be made. Good, nutritious, health-promoting food is available, but then so is junk food. You must make the decision as to what kind you are going to eat and then make the extra effort to get it. Exercise is not a passive activity. You cannot get it by just watching Jane Fonda videos.


Chiropractic is not a passive activity either. While it is true the patient lies on the table and relaxes, it is the body that makes the adjustment. The chiropractor introduces a force to the spine and the body’s muscles actively move the bone to exactly where it belongs. Further, the benefits of chiropractic care occur after the adjustment, like exercise and eating, they are far reaching and unlike treatments, they are not designed for short-term, immediate effects. It is true you may feel good after eating a good meal or after a good work out. You may also feel good right after a chiropractic adjustment, but the real benefits are the long-term ones. When the body is working better it can actively promote health and well being and add years to life. There is another aspect that makes chiropractic care an active approach. The patient must make the commitment to care. The chiropractor cannot give you a bottle of adjustments and say, “Take one every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for the next six weeks.”The patient must make the willful decision to come in, be regular and follow the program. The chiropractor cannot follow you around or take you by the hand.


Do you really want to be healthy? Sadly, too many people do not want to pay the price, which is time, money and effort. Happiness does not come by accident. Fame and fortune are not a matter of luck. Similarly, you cannot expect to have good health unless you do those things necessary to attain it. Every individual has to establish his or her priorities. Is watching television more important than exercising for your health? Is saving money by eating poor quality food more important to you than spending the few dollars for good food? Is doing whatever you do that interferes with regular adjustments more important than your health? Only you can answer these questions and how you decide on these and other relative questions could very well determine your health, your happiness and your life.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

How is stress affecting you?


Your boss is getting on your nerves; you have to get a project finished but the phone keeps ringing; you still have not met the right person to marry to have the children you want so badly or you have children that are so bad you hardly want them; your car breaks down; your bills are piling up; your in-laws are coming to dinner; your mother says she never sees you anymore; you are overwhelmed by your cholesterol count, your sodium intake, your sugar intake and your fat intake; you or someone you know has cancer or aids and YOU’VE GOT STRESS!!!

There is simply no escaping it. Our lives and the world we live in are loaded with stress. More than 66% of all visits to a primary-care physician are for stress-related disorders. Every week 112 million people take medication for stress-related disorders. Job stress costs American industry more than 150 billion dollars yearly in absenteeism, lost productivity, accidents and medical insurance. It is worth noting that some stress may be good. Many people are more alert, more productive and consequently happier and healthier with a certain amount of stress. Beyond that, however, it stops contributing to your ability to function and starts inhibiting it.

Stress is a double-edged sword. Things going wrong produce stress and it cause things to go wrong. Stress over an extended period of time can make you quit your job; can lead you to depression or to drugs and alcohol. All of these can and will certainly affect your ability to perform, your ability to earn money and your quality of life.
We all need to do more to combat stress; we have to learn to find a balance in our work and personal lives. Certainly there are some things that you simply can not do anything about, for example, the unexpected death of a loved one, natural disasters and accidents. However, everyone can and should carefully examine their lives and make an honest attempt to reduce the stress-producing circumstances that make unnecessary demands upon them. Determine which things you can do something about, concentrate your time and energy on them and try to avoid the obvious ones. We should emphasize wellness, focus on the positive and relaxation, whatever the circumstance.


Chiropractic should also play an important role in your stress management. When a stress-inducing event occurs, muscles contract, breathing becomes faster and deeper, heartbeat increases and digestion is halted. This all occurs as a response to a nervous impulse. Continually contracted muscles will cause subluxation and being subluxated will lower your ability to deal with stress. Of course, just as different situations produce varying amounts of stress for different people, different stress management techniques will have varying degrees of effectiveness. Some may benefit from exercise while others respond to meditation, deep breathing or spending time on an enjoyable hobby. Chiropractic, however, can work for everyone because it removes nerve interference and interrupts the contracted muscle/increased stress cycle.


Chiropractic care coupled with positive thinking and other stress management techniques can create a sense of well-being and a zest for life and lead to a longer, more productive, happier and healthier life.