Maintaining Your Bodies Healing Ability, Naturally

What is chiropractic? Chiropractic is the science, art, and philosophy of the effects of the vertebral subluxation complex on the health of the body. Chiropractic is based in physical science; there is an art to the actual delivery of the chiropractic treatment, called an adjustment; and there is an underlying philosophy about health that is unique to chiropractic.

As a chiropractor, I believe the body is a self-healing organism designed to be in a state of perfect homeostasis, or balance. I believe that when the body is in balance, all systems function at 100% of the system’s potential, and the body is healthy. When the body is not in balance, when systems function at less than 100% of their potential, then health is lost and disease takes over.

According to Gray’s Anatomy, the nervous system controls and coordinates all of the functions in the body. Chiropractic is based on this fact. We recognize that a nerve must transmit a message from the brain to the organ, tissue, or cell in the body so that the organ, tissue, or cell knows how to function in a healthy manner. If this transmission of messages is disrupted, health is disrupted.

Chiropractic recognizes the relationship between a healthy spine and a healthy nervous system. Because of the position of the peripheral nerves, which exit the spinal cord through openings between the spinal bones, the health of the spine can affect the health of the nervous system. In a spine that has the vertebral subluxation complex, there will be a lack of proper function, causing interference with the nerves that can and will affect the body’s ability to transmit messages through the nerves. When nerve transmission is disrupted or lost, organs malfunction, muscles weaken, symptoms of disease and decay occur.

As a chiropractor, my job is to make sure that your body is free of subluxations, and free of nervous-system malfunctions that can cause pain and disease.

Many people seek chiropractic care to be free from the pain of headaches, backaches, and other musculoskeletal problems without the use of drugs or surgery. Many patients, when freed from spinal subluxations, also report an increase in overall health and vitality, as well as a lessening of symptoms of conditions that are not musculoskeletal, such as asthma, allergies, and earaches.

Can you imagine what a change it would be to be without pain, without suffering, without drugs? Chiropractic care is suitable for anyone who has spinal subluxations and

would like to be free from them. Chiropractic is appropriate for anyone of any age, from the youngest baby to the most elderly person who wants to change their health. Chiropractic is very safe, very effective, and cost-effective.

How does one become subluxated? There are many ways, from birth trauma and falls as a child, to auto accidents, sports injuries, or accidents around the house. Subluxations can be caused by years of poor posture, or from stress. Think about it—do you remember any falls from your childhood? Most of us have at least one story of a childhood injury to relate. Maybe you fell down the stairs, off a bike, out of a tree, or off the monkey bars. Many patients I see recall injuries from high school sports.

Most of us have experienced a fender-bender or two, if not some more serious vehicle accident. (It’s hard to total a car without doing some kind of damage to your body. Just because nothing was broken doesn’t mean nothing was hurt.) Maybe you became subluxated when you moved or picked up something heavy, and now, every once in a while, your back “goes out on you.” A back that “goes out” now and then is almost a sure sign of subluxation.

If, years later, you can remember a fall, injury, or accident, it probably hurt, and it probably seriously jolted your body. You are probably subluxated. You may wonder why

you don’t feel subluxated. Here are some clues as to what being subluxated feels like: Are you stiff in the morning or after working? Do you notice a general lack of flexibility in your body? Rather than just easily turning your head, do you have to turn your shoulders to look behind you when you put the car in reverse? Do you have headaches? (Many patients who are subluxated report an initial symptom of headaches.)

Does your body feel as if it’s getting old? Do you have numbness or tingling in your hands or feet? Perhaps you thought it was a lack of blood flow, your hands or feet going to sleep. This can be a very common sign of spinal subluxations. Do you have leg pain that has been diagnosed as sciatica? Sciatica is another common sign of spinal subluxation.

These are some of the more common symptoms that can point to spinal subluxations. If you have one or more or all of these, then you may also have some other health problems. You probably aren’t as healthy as you’d like to be, and you probably don’t do all the things you’d like to do. Some patients attribute the above symptoms to “just getting older.” You don’t have to accept the outdated mode of thinking that says that you lose your health as you age. If your doctor has ever attributed your health problems to the fact that you’re getting older, I recommend that you change doctors.

So now you may have a better idea of what chiropractic is, and how you might feel if you’re subluxated. Now what do you do about it? First, call a chiropractor and make an appointment. Don’t worry, all chiropractors are very well educated and must pass rigorous national and state requirements to practice.

Licensing requirements weed out those that are truly not qualified to practice. The rest is up to you. Any time you choose a doctor, you should look at their ability to communicate with you as a priority, as well as their ability to listen. Ask questions and see how they respond. If the doctor’s office is professionally run and you’re comfortable with the doctor, then you’re probably in the right place. Most insurance covers some chiropractic, so check out the doctors on your plan. Remember, insurance policies cover a certain number of visits per year for each policyholder. But the number of visits you may require might differ from the number of visits your insurance company will cover. This is very common.

Most patients receive a complete examination, including x-rays. Chiropractors are well trained to palpate the body—that is, to make muscle and bone diagnoses by touching the body—but nothing gives the full picture like a picture. I know the cost of x-rays is a concern for many patients, but what is your health worth? Another common concern is x-ray exposure. I definitely think you should keep your x-ray exposure to a minimum.

Talk to your doctor about the minimum required to get the maximum information. A picture of your bones could save your life if you happen to have pain because of a serious disease process that has yet to be seen.

After the exam and the x-rays, the doctor will tell you what type of treatment is appropriate for your condition. When you get adjusted, you lie on a table fully clothed, and the doctor literally moves your bones by pushing them in specific directions with a specific amount of force. Don’t try this at home; adjustments are safe only when done by a well-trained, highly skilled professional. After the adjustment, which takes only a few minutes, you can get right up and go on about your life; in most cases, no recovery time is needed.

You’ve probably heard stories about people who went to a chiropractor and felt worse after the adjustment then they did before. That happened to me—after injuring my neck in an automobile accident, I found that, for a few weeks after the accident, my regular adjustment appointments left me sore. Had I not been a chiropractor and not understood why that was happening, I might not have gone back.

Yes, sometimes people do feel more sore after their first few adjustments. But notice that I say after their first few adjustments—not after every adjustment. In the beginning of the process, there is often a small inflammation reaction in the adjusted joints. That means they’re going to be sore. This doesn’t happen in every case—in fact, it doesn’t happen in most cases—but when it does, it’s just a part of the healing process. After a few adjustments, the discomfort should go away for the most part, and future treatments should be painless.

Usually, a series of spinal adjustments is needed to correct subluxations. Although a single adjustment might relieve the pain, it won’t permanently cure the problem—repeated adjustments are necessary to get rid of the subluxation. Each adjustment builds on the previous one retraining the muscles to support the vertebrae in their “new,” restored, healthy positions, which they may not have held in years. Most patients continue with some sort of preventive care, to maintain their health and to prevent subluxations from becoming reestablished in their spines.

Most people find that an adjustment once a month keeps them healthy, and counters the effects of the stressful, active lifestyles most of us live. If you want to be healthy throughout your lifetime, chiropractic adjustments are a necessity.

Further Reading

Healing Hands, by Joseph Maynard, D.C., Ph.C.

Chiropractic First, by Terry A. Rondberg, D.C.

Introduction to Chiropractic, by Louis Sportelli

The Chiropractic Way, by Michael Lenarz, D. C.

Chiropractic Compassion and Expectation, by Terry A. Rondberg, D.C. and Timothy J. Feuling

Make a Healthy Life a Priority

Most people who could take better care of their health but don’t tell me that two things stop them: lack of money and lack of time. Let’s start with money.

Many years ago, when I had just started my chiropractic practice, a couple come to my office seeking care. They both had back problems as well as other health problems, and both wanted the care I had to offer. When we discussed the amount of care needed and the cost, they lamented that they were on limited incomes, that the care was not covered by insurance, and that it would be a real hardship for them to stretch their budget any further.

I felt sorry for these two nice people, who obviously did not have the resources to obtain the care they needed, and accepted payment that was much lower than my standard fees. In other words, I gave them a great deal because they wanted to be healthy, I wanted them to be healthy, and apparently they couldn’t afford it.

A month or two later, they came into my office all excited and asked me to accompany them to the parking lot to see their newest acquisition. They had just bought a top-of-the-line automobile on a budget that could not cover the cost of the healthcare they needed. Their monthly payment for that car was well above the monthly payment for the care they could not afford.  That was an awakening for me. How could people who couldn’t afford healthcare afford a new car? It was a matter of priorities.

 

I can’t tell you the number of times people have said “I can’t afford to take vitamins,” when I know from their health history that they have a regular daily intake of alcohol or tobacco. I’ve heard people tell me they can’t afford a water filter for their home, and the next weekend they go to Las Vegas and lose hundreds gambling. People have told me they can’t afford to shop at the health-food store; meanwhile, they eat out five nights a week. Others have told me they can’t afford a good pair of shoes, and the very next week they’re showing me the jewelry they’ve just bought.

To these people, healthcare is not yet a priority. They’ll probably wait until they’re seriously ill before healthcare becomes important to them—at which point, of course, it will cost a lot more. If you see yourself here, don’t be embarrassed—just recognize that you have done or are doing the very same thing.

What is the cost of ill health? The average patient in my practice pays between $300 and $500 a year for preventive care. On the other hand, the person who’s been ignoring their symptoms and avoiding the cost of care will pay about five times that when they finally are in so much pain that they make healthcare a priority.

 

What is the cost of regularly missing work because you’re sick?

 

What is the cost for someone who ignores their health until they’re very sick, then must pay for doctors, hospitals, prescriptions, specialists, and possibly in-home care or assisted living? Not much, you say—their insurance will cover it. But what is the cost to them in terms of how it affects them, their family, and the rest of their life?

 

What is the cost to the person who can no longer garden or golf or exercise or sit comfortably or lift their children or make love to their partner? What is the real cost of not caring for the good health you have? Some people ignore small health problems until they become so serious that they’re disabled. What is the cost of being disabled for the rest of your life?

 

Insurance will usually cover any serious illness or injury care, but most insurance policies won’t pay for real preventive care ( I'm not talking about blood pressure screenings- which is what the insurance companies are currently calling preventative care).

 

  If you think you can’t afford preventive healthcare, think again. Yes, you may have to pay out-of-pocket for your vitamins, your pure water, and your exercise costs, be they for gym membership, league dues, or sports equipment for your home. You probably will also have to pay to see your homeopath, acupuncturist, chiropractor, or massage therapist. You definitely have to pay for your organic whole foods.

But make your healthcare a priority and you’ll be able to afford it. Paying for preventive care is not just an annual checkup with some healthcare provider to ascertain that you have no dreadful diseases. It’s a healthy way of living that you probably can afford if you decide you want it and budget for it—which is exactly how the people in my story could afford their new car.

I have a sign in my office that quotes prices for activities that many people do often: a round of golf, a day of skiing, movie tickets and popcorn for two, a month of cable TV, two packs of cigarettes a week for a month, dinner for two at a moderate chain restaurant, etc. The sign compares these activities to the cost of preventive health care so you can enjoy these activities. In most cases, the cost of care is the same as the cost of one of these activities.

 

Some people truly have a hard time affording healthcare. I have patients who are just scraping by—but bless their hearts, they’re so aware of the long-term importance of taking good care of their health that they put aside a little money each week so they can afford a chiropractic adjustment at the end of the month. They budget  their supplements into their monthly grocery bill. Their Christmas gift for the family is a water filter. They buy at least their produce at the health-food store. When it comes to their health, these people have real determination. They know that their health is their most valuable possession.

Most of us, fortunately, are not just scraping by, and can afford to make the same healthy choice that these people make. Does this mean you can’t have a new car or shouldn’t go out to eat? Of course not. But look at your priorities and decide where you can cut back a little, to increase your health. It really does make a difference.

Let’s talk about time. The average person spends 21.5 hours a week watching TV. Imagine how healthy you’d be if you spent just half that time exercising. In fact, you could spend a quarter of that time exercising and you’d be a lot healthier. How many hours a week do you spend at the computer? Make family time healthy time. Walk together, play a sport, or listen to relaxing music. You don’t have to take time from your family to be healthy.

If you give forty hours a week to your job, as most people do, why not give yourself just one hour a week for a massage, a meditation or yoga class, or some other healthy activity? It doesn’t take much time to pop your vitamins in the morning and drink eight glasses of water a day, but people have told me that they don’t have time to do even that. Maybe you’re one of those people who are so rushed during the day you don’t even have time to drink a glass of water. Imagine how rushing around like that is affecting your health. Imagine how stressful that is for your body, day after day. I suggest you talk to a counselor about getting more organized so you can have a little more time for you.

If you think you don’t have time to take care of your health, you haven’t made it a priority. How much time do you think it would take to recover from a serious health problem brought on by the effects of a too-hectic lifestyle? How much time do you think it would take to recover from a health problem that has been ignored for months? How much time do you lose when you’re really sick and have to lie down for a few days? If you take the time to take care of your health, you’ll be much less likely to find yourself losing time to one of these scenarios. Make healthcare a priority. You have the time.

Know Your Family Health History, and Put It To Good Use!

          

             One of the most important things you can do to ensure your continued good health is to be well-informed about any genetic predisposition your family might have to specific diseases. Once you know what diseases have been seen in your family in the past, you’ll be able to take steps to reduce your risk for these diseases.

It now seems that genetic factors play an important role in many of the most common diseases. Everything from heart disease and diabetes to multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s seem to have some genetic component. It also appears that the human body developed some genetic variations that today cause disease but that long ago were protective mechanisms—sickle-cell anemia, for example.

In sickle-cell anemia, the body manufactures abnormal red blood cells. Instead of being round, the cells are long and sickle-shaped. Red blood cells transport oxygen, but those of sickle shape rupture easily—the loss of too many red blood cells means not enough oxygen gets to the tissues of the body. But the same genetic variation that causes sickle-cell anemia also causes changes in the blood cells that help the body fight malaria. Sickle-cell genes are found primarily in people or descendents of people who live in areas of the world where malaria is a problem. If someone inherits the gene from one parent, they do not manifest sickle-cell anemia but are naturally more resistant to malaria. But

when someone inherits the gene from both parents, sickle-cell anemia is manifest as a disease process. In other words, a genetic predisposition to sickle-cell anemia is also a mechanism that protects the body from malaria.

As research progresses, we may find many more examples of genetic variations that help the body adapt to its environment but that also cause illness. It’s currently thought that people with multiple sclerosis have a genetic predisposition to react to some unknown environmental agent with an a destructive autoimmune response that we call multiple sclerosis. However, the mechanism behind this reaction is still not clear. (Perhaps the rise in cases of autoimmune diseases is a result of the body adapting genetically to an environment that is increasingly toxic.)

It’s important to start your family health history as early as possible, for two reasons. First, it will then be more likely that you’ll be able to speak to at least two or even three of the generations before you. Second, the sooner you begin preventive measures, the better off you’ll be.

Questioning your parents is a good place to start, but don’t stop there. Ask your grandparents and all your extended family members. Don’t forget to ask your siblings—they might have health concerns you’re not yet aware of. It often happens that one

member of the family has more knowledge of everyone’s health than anyone else. Maybe that person has a better memory, or paid more attention to such things, or is in the right age group. For instance, your mom might not be aware that your grandmother’s sister had arthritis, and she may never have met her great-uncle, who had ankylosing spondolytis. But your grandmother might remember both of these facts, if only because she was closer in age to the two people in question. Both conditions are arthritic and may be connected to autoimmune disorders.

Years ago, many of the diseases we know today were not yet named. A relative might remember that all the men in the family had back problems and became stooped as they aged. This is a significant pattern, although it may be that none of those men was ever diagnosed with anything. One person in the family with a back problem may not be significant; but several family members, all of the same sex and all with the same type of problem, becomes a family pattern. It’s important to ask more general questions and look for similarities, especially if you’re hearing that no one in your family ever had a disease.

Ask if anyone in the family was sick a lot, had physical problems, was diagnosed with a disease, or had allergies. Ask how old family members were when they died, and what was the cause of death. Ask if there were any children who did not survive birth or who died early. Find out as much as you can about where your family is from. As we saw with sickle-cell anemia, some genetic patterns originate in specific areas of the globe. While you’re involved in this process, ask about your family’s mental as well as physical health. Some mental-health problems are genetic; it would be good to have a heads-up about the possibility of biochemical brain malfunction.

Once you’ve compiled your family health history, you can start planning to prevent problems. The idea is to eliminate as many risk factors as possible as early in your life as possible. Don’t wait till you’re the third member of your family under 40 to have a heart attack before you change your diet and quit smoking.

Speaking of heart disease: If you have a family history of heart disease, you can start reducing your risk factors by not smoking, improving your cholesterol levels, controlling blood pressure, exercising, eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and carefully managing the stress in your life. Will taking some or even all of these preventive measures guarantee that you never have heart disease? No, but it will mean you’ll be much less likely to.

Diabetes is a very common disease. There are two types of diabetes, and each is thought to have a genetic component. Type 2 diabetes is the most common. Currently it’s thought that Type 2 diabetes could be avoided in many cases with early recognition of risk factors and changes in lifestyle. However, it’s now thought that lifestyle factors are not as important for Type 1 diabetes. Still, it won’t hurt to adopt healthier habits, regardless of which type your family seems to manifest. If you know that diabetes runs in your family, then managing your weight, choosing foods carefully, and exercising are all preventive measures that you can and should take.

Take the time to educate yourself about any diseases that may run in your family. Find out what the risk factors and first symptoms are, and eliminate as many risk factors from your life as you can. If at some point you start to manifest the symptoms, see your healthcare provider immediately. Early intervention and careful management of inherited diseases are very important in your plan for lifelong good health.

A Very Small Thing Can Make a Really Big Difference!

Homeopathy is a somewhat controversial science. Some would say that the evidence for its efficacy is not complete, that more studies are needed. Some would say that we don’t fully understand how homeopathy works. On that last point, I agree. We do, however, have evidence that homeopathy works, and that it is safe when compared to the pharmaceutical drugs that, when you’re looking for relief from illness, may be your only other option. My experience with homeopathy has been this: It works. I use it, and I often refer my patients to a Doctor of Homeopathy for treatment.

The science of homeopathy has been practiced for more than 200 years. In countries outside the US, homeopathic remedies are often used instead of pharmaceutical drugs to treat many common ailments. In the US, homeopathy was once a well-respected part of the physician’s repertoire. In the years since the advent of pharmaceutical science, homeopathy has become a well-kept secret, shunned by modern medicine.

I went to an online medical dictionary to look up the Greek roots of two words important to understanding homeopathy: homeopathy itself (from homo, or “same,” and pathos, or “suffering”), and allopathy (from allo, or “other,” and pathos, or “suffering”), used to describe the medical practice most common in the US today.

 According to the dictionary, allopathy is defined as “that system of  medical practice which aims to combat disease by the use of remedies which produce effects different from those produced by the special disease treated; a term invented by Hahnemann to designate the ordinary practice, as opposed to homeopathy.”

Homeopathy is defined as “the art of curing founded on resemblances; the theory that disease is cured by remedies which produce on a healthy person effects similar to the symptoms of the complaint under which the patient suffers, the remedies being usually administered in minute doses. This system was founded by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann and is opposed to allopathy”.

 As you can see, homeopathy and allopathy treat disease in exactly opposite ways.

Homeopathy is based on the principle that like may be cured by like. In other words, when the body exhibits a symptom and is not healing itself, introducing a substance that causes the same symptoms will initiate a healing reaction in the body. Here’s my favorite example: A person who has a skin disorder that causes a blistering effect can be treated homeopathically with a very dilute dose of poison ivy. In the wild, poison ivy causes those same types of skin blisters, but as a dilute homeopathic remedy, it can cause the body’s healing mechanisms to rid the body of the skin eruptions.

Many pharmaceutical drugs are based on stopping a chemical reaction that manifests as a symptom. A homeopathic remedy, on the other hand, starts a chemical reaction that manifests as healing—think of it as kick-starting your body’s natural healing ability. In homeopathy, it’s thought that the body has the ability to heal itself, but that sometimes it needs a catalyst to begin that healing process.

Your first visit to a homeopath will include an exam and an interview. The practitioner will ask questions about your symptoms, as well as about your personal preferences, habits, and interpersonal relationships. Do you like the beach or the mountains best? Do you prefer sweet or salty foods? Cold or hot weather? What time do you go to bed? How often do you feel hungry? What activities do you enjoy? Whom do you interact with, and how? What are your emotions in certain circumstances? The answers to these questions and many more will give the practitioner a picture of who you are and what constitution you have.

In homeopathy, your constitution is your classification according to your inherited and acquired physical, emotional, and mental makeup. Your constitution plus your symptoms identify which homeopathic remedy will most benefit you.

In many cases, only one dose of a remedy will be necessary. In some cases, more than one dose, or a combination of remedies, will be needed to facilitate full healing. If you’re used to allopathic medicine, then you’re accustomed to taking many doses of a medicine over the course of days, weeks, even months. In this approach, the drug is introduced over and over, continually causing a chemical reaction in your body to address a symptom. Being used to this approach, you may wonder how just one or two doses of a homeopathic remedy can cause your symptoms to abate over time. But in homeopathy, there is no need to constantly introduce more drugs into the system to create chemical reactions—once the body has been triggered or stimulated to create chemical reactions, it has the ability to keep doing so on its own, and thus heal itself.

Imagine the homeopathic healing process as a contraption built by a cartoon professor: A drop of water released at the top of the contraption causes a ball to roll, which hits a lever that causes a wheel to spin, which causes a pulley to lift a lever that tips a pail of marbles that scatter across a board, dropping through holes in the board to a surface below, where the marbles skitter down a slope into a drainpipe that tips from their weight, causing a rope to raise the door of a birdcage, releasing a bird, which takes flight. The drop of water is the remedy; the bird is the healing power of the body. The remedy is gone; its action was completed long before the body’s full healing power was activated.

It’s been my experience that when symptoms are acute, healing progresses quickly. When symptoms are chronic, healing seems to take longer because the problem is more deeply rooted. One thing that often concerns first-time homeopathic patients is the fact that they may see no immediate change in their condition. But remember—like most natural healing modalities, homeopathy works to heal the cause of the problem. That takes longer than any mere covering-up of symptoms. Most homeopaths will want you to come in for a follow-up visit a few weeks later to see how your body is progressing on the road to health.

Homeopathic remedies are sold over the counter in some states. In others, you must obtain them from a licensed doctor of homeopathy or other healthcare provider. I caution people about self-diagnosis and self-treatment with over-the-counter remedies of any kind—you could make your symptoms worse if you use the wrong remedy. To find a licensed doctor of homeopathy in your state, go to www.homeopathic.org.

I believe that using homeopathic rather than allopathic medicines (pharmaceutical drugs) is one of the most important habits you can develop to remain truly healthy. If you work with a homeopath and can avoid all or most medications, you can avoid the side effects of drugs that, over time, can cause even more health problems.