by Admin | Jun 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
Do you feel good? Do you look good? If you are one or both of these, does that make you healthy? Truthfully, answering “yes” to both questions matters very little when it comes to your body’s health. The only way to really know how healthy you are is through function. In other words, how are bodies are working and performing. How do you measure something like this? Well, many chiropractors utilize equipment like HRV, Static Electromyography, or Thermography to see how well you adapt to stress, or how well your muscles, circulation, and nervous system are working. Radiographs are another great tool to measure function. How could that be? Because structure determines function. What that means is a spine that is in-line and has great curves will be able to move and function much better than a spine with lots of degeneration and shifting of vertebrae. If you’re a basketball fan take LeBron James for example…the greatest player in the NBA. He’s 6’8, 260 pounds of muscle. His body is the perfect blend of size, speed, and leaping ability. In other words, his structure allows him to function as the best player in basketball. Compare LeBron with Stephen Curry. Also one of the greatest players, but Steph has a much different body type, or structure. He’s smaller, about 6’3, and not as heavy as LeBron, weighing around 210 lbs. When you compare the games of these great players you immediately notice the differences. LeBron excels at all things requiring athleticism, because the structure of his body allows for him to function at such a high level physically. Steph relies...
by Admin | Jun 2, 2017 | Uncategorized
For hundreds of years there has been a big rift between chiropractic and medicine. It seems as though both professions can’t co-exist. This is definitely not the case, however, the dispute seems to still continue in a few circles. Now, to be fair, in the present day, chiropractic and medicine seem to have much more mutual respect for each other than in previous decades. We firmly believe that medicine is needed to ensure a civilization that continues to thrive and grow. However, medicine shouldn’t be something that we rely on to be healthy. The reason we say that is because being healthy using medication is an oxymoron. The actual need for medication or something synthetic outside of ourselves to keep us alive, shows that we are not “healthy”. If we were truly healthy, we would not need any medication because our bodies would be perfectly capable of dealing with everything life throws at us. Medication and surgery are the tools the medical world utilizes to perform its work. There is nothing wrong with these tools when they’re used in the proper situation. Such as, an emergency: heart attack, punctured lung, cancer, etc. However, in the vast amount of problems that are not emergencies such as high blood pressure, headaches, digestive upset, etc., medication and surgery should be the final resort. They should be used only once all the other options are exhausted. Chiropractic is best when used to promote a healthier lifestyle. Can it help in emergency situations? Sure. But it’s not nearly as effective or consistent as medicine. When it comes to helping people live a healthier, more...
by Admin | Jun 1, 2017 | Uncategorized
There’s no shortage of medications or healing modalities in the world. Depending on your problem or ailment, you can have tens if not hundreds of ways to approach it. Part of the reason we feel chiropractic care is the best healthcare option around is it’s natural and an un-intrusive application. It’s hard to find many other healing alternatives that offer such a benefit without serious side-effects. Take this story for example… A friend of ours recently lost his mother-in-law. The way she passed was the horrific part. His mother-in-law was overweight and had Type II Diabetes for 20 plus years. Recently, her doctor told her she needed to lose weight. So, to make it “easy” for her, he prescribed her a medication that would allow her to lose weight and not have to change how she ate or exercised. The weight would just “fall off”. Sounds too good to be true? Just wait… Well, she went home and began using the medication. In a few days she noticed a significant decrease in weight. Fat was literally being shed off her arms and legs, BUT there was a large bulge developing in her stomach. So, she went back in to see her doctor. The doc took a look at the swelling and said he thought it was just water retention from the medication and prescribed her a diuretic to help get rid of some of the fluid. Fast forward a few more days…her stomach was increasing in size and beginning to be very painful. So, she went back once more… This time the doctor looked at her and panicked. He...
by Admin | May 19, 2017 | Uncategorized
Do you know how the chiropractic profession began? Do you wonder what made people start getting their spines adjusted in the first place? Most people believe chiropractic is about neck and back pain, that it started out as a treatment for the discomfort. Truthfully, chiropractic was not intended to be used as a treatment for any kind of pain. This is because the first chiropractic patient, a man named Harvey Lillard, had loss of hearing. Lillard was working as a janitor when he first got adjusted by D.D. Palmer. D.D. was the very first chiropractor and went on to start Palmer College of Chiropractic and educate thousands of chiropractors. After the first adjustment, most of the hearing Harvey Lillard had lost, returned. D.D. Palmer later revealed he simply adjusted his neck and that shortly after Lillard regained his sense of hearing. Initially, the thought was that chiropractic was a cure for hearing loss. Over time, the thinking changed. Now we know that chiropractic isn’t so much a treatment for hearing loss. Instead, it’s important to the overall function of the nervous system. Harvey Lillard’s story is not an isolated incident. There have been hundreds, if not thousands of stories similar to this one over the past one-hundred years. However, the majority of the public still believe chiropractic is focused primarily around neck and back pain. Now, that’s not to say the average person won’t notice improvement in discomfort of either their back or neck. BUT… Chiropractors work with the nervous system which runs and coordinates everything in the body. Making sure it’s functioning at a high level helps create...
by Admin | May 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
In last week’s post we discussed stress and the role it plays in our health. We also talked about how stress is cumulative and builds on itself over time. Therefore, if we’re not doing anything to eliminate or reduce the stress, it will continue to worsen over time. This is the process that leads to Sympathetic Dominance. Many symptoms can be caused by an overload of stress. Most people wouldn’t even consider them to be related, however, the truth is these symptoms have a lot more in common than we would initially believe. For example, symptoms like constipation, diarrhea, ADHD, eczema, hypothyroid, etc., can often times be related, and traced back to stress. How do we get rid of the excess stress? First, we need to take note of the environment we’re living in. Is it allowing us freedom, creativity, balance? Or, is it toxic? Are we eating junk two out of three meals? Are we missing out on exercise routinely? Is our home life relaxed or are we on edge? Nutrition is vital in cases of sympathetic dominance because usually, cholesterol in the body is very low. Cholesterol is an important nutrient the body uses to make a large number of critical hormones. If the cholesterol is low, our bodies can suffer from sympathetic dominance. If we’re missing exercise routinely, we increase stress in our bodies. Eighty percent of the brain’s energy goes toward toning down the rest of the nervous system. However, when we’re not exercising, the brain doesn’t have the available resources to do that, so, it becomes wound-up leading to breakdown in other areas of...
by Admin | May 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
What comes to mind when you think of stress? If you’re like most people, your mind goes to feelings of overwhelm, frustration, anger, etc. You wouldn’t be wrong if you attributed those emotions to stress. Those are all major components when it comes to emotional/mental stress. However, there are two other types of stress you might not be thinking about. The other two stresses are chemical stress, like the food and drink we have, air we breathe, etc. And the final type is called physical stress, or, bad posture, sitting for hours everyday, car accidents, sports, etc. Stress is cumulative. Meaning, each stressful situation builds on the previous one if nothing is done to alleviate the wind-up. And that’s exactly what happens to your body when you stress. It begins to get wound-up. Until, finally, it reaches a point called sympathetic dominance. At this point, there’s very little you can do to stop the pain and suffering being caused by the stress. Many people don’t attribute the symptoms to stress, but that would be a mistake. Some typical symptoms that people suffer when they’re dealing with sympathetic dominance are: sensitivity to light or sound, headaches, fatigue, irritability, difficulty sleeping, loss of hair, brittle nails, weight gain, painful periods, indigestion, etc. These symptoms don’t seem to have anything in common at first glance. However, knowing what we know now about the body, there is a perfectly good explanation for why each symptom happens. This is a topic that demands a lot of attention and more information to really get to the core problem going on. Therefore, we will be continuing...
by Admin | Apr 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
Even if you’re a casual fan of basketball or sports, you probably have heard the news about Golden State Head Coach Steve Kerr being sidelined for the playoffs. He’s out indefinitely due to complications after he had back surgery a few years ago. This isn’t the first time he’s had problems. In fact, early last year he was out for almost 30 games with debilitating migraines due to the back surgery. This time it’s new complications from the same back surgery. The other day Steve Kerr came out and said, “If you’re listening out there, if you have a back problem, stay away from surgery. Rehab, rehab, rehab.” Thankfully, someone in a position such as Kerr is in is starting to speak out about the problems with such an invasive treatment as back surgery. The stats are not in favor of the patient when it comes to success rates of low back surgeries. In fact, there are some sources that state low back surgery has an 18% success rate. Meaning the rest of the time people are stuck getting more and more surgeries, or are simply in as much or more pain than they were before. The percentage of people who visit a surgeon first for their low back pain and wind- up getting back surgery is near 40%. Compare that with only 1% of people who visited a chiropractor first end up getting the surgery. Those stats are eye opening and should be considered by everyone thinking about getting help for their back pain. Steve Kerr’s story is a tragic one. He’s a bright, young, and talented coach,...
by Admin | Apr 23, 2017 | Uncategorized
Interesting title, huh? Who would ever think that a wind farm and chiropractic would be used in the same sentence or same blog post. Truthfully, chiropractic has a lot in common with wind farms. The wind turbines found on these farms are used to generate electricity for the grid. They’re not capable of being used for all our electrical needs, however, they do contribute to a portion of our electricity. When it comes to our bodies, most people understand that the brain controls and runs the show. However, have you ever stopped and wondered how or where the brain gets all its energy from? Don’t worry…I’ll wait… The brain does get some of its energy from food, however, the majority of it’s fuel comes from a different source. That source is actually our spine. Yup, that’s right. About eighty percent of the energy needed to power our brains comes directly from motion in the spinal bones. Without that motion, our brains can’t function at their optimal levels and the rest of the body suffers. What does that look like? Well, when the brain doesn’t have enough energy to run properly it affects all areas of the body. Some people may experience anxiety, or depression. Others could experience digestive trouble, headaches, or pain somewhere in the body. The symptoms vary depending on the person. So, how does chiropractic fit into this story? Getting adjusted by a chiropractor helps put motion into spinal segments that were otherwise not moving as well as they should. This lack of motion, called a subluxation, causes the brain and the rest of the body to...
by Admin | Apr 14, 2017 | Uncategorized
Do you suffer with shoulder pain? What do you think is causing it? Could it be muscle, soft tissue, arthritis, or dislocation? Does it affect the way you go about your daily routine? Does it make it difficult for you to lift your arm up to grab things from the cupboard? Are you able to play basketball or lift weights like you used to? The shoulder complex is exactly that…very complex! There’s a lot going on in the shoulder, and a lot of variables that could be contributing to the pain and discomfort. However, we find there’s one variable that is often overlooked when it comes to causing shoulder pain. The most commonly overlooked issue is a subluxation in the cervical spine, or neck. The reason a subluxation in the neck could cause pain or discomfort in the shoulder is because of how connected both areas of the body are. In order to move your shoulder, you must contract muscle that is attached not only to your shoulder but also to your neck. Therefore, if there’s a problem in your neck, then that problem will typically affect your shoulder and vice versa. When someone first sees a chiropractor, it’s important to check the alignment of the neck in order to assess whether that could be causing problems in the neck or in another area, such as the shoulder complex. Chiropractic is full of case studies that have shown and documented improvement in shoulder issues after having the cervical spine adjusted and cared for properly. This purpose of this post is not to say that all shoulder problems are due...
by Admin | Apr 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
Most people are aware of cavities. They’ve been hammered over the head with the importance of making sure to brush their teeth and floss everyday. However, most people have never heard of a subluxation. They don’t understand why they need to be checked for them, or the devastation one can cause if left untouched. A subluxation is interference in the nervous system. The nervous system controls every function in our bodies. Without it working properly, problems will inevitably arise. A subluxation can be caused by three main factors: negative thinking, bad food/drink, and physical stress/trauma. Since, most people encounter one or more of these stresses on a daily basis, it’s critical to continually have their nervous system checked and cleared of any subluxations. Eighty percent of the energy for the brain to work is created by motion of the spine. Subluxations can often cause limited motion of the spinal bones. When there isn’t enough movement, the brain can’t possibly function as well as it should. This leads to countless problems, including, difficulty sleeping, low energy, pain/discomfort, allergies, decreased immune function, etc. People who are checked regularly for subluxations and adjusted if necessary, generally report a better quality of life because their nervous system is functioning at a much higher level. It’s amazing that a health issue, so important to the body’s overall health has not gained more ground in the public’s eye. Checking and adjusting the spine and nervous system is just as important as cleaning our teeth and gums. Unfortunately, most people only do the latter. With regular chiropractic care, we have the ability to express our highest...
