Chiropractic Care Can Change Opinions of the Healthcare System

It’s no surprise that the majority of people are unhappy with the current healthcare system, not only in the U.S. but also around the world. People want better care and better outcomes for a lower cost, and for many people that seems like an impossible goal. However, a study published in 2007 that compared different medical care options proved that this isn’t the case.

The study analyzed numbers and statistics between patients who used chiropractors as their general care provider (PCP) and those who used medical doctors as their PCP instead.[1] It found that people using chiropractors experienced:

• 60% Less Hospital Admissions
• 59% Less Days Spent in the Hospital
• 62% Less Outpatient Surgeries
• 85% Less Costs on Pharmaceutical Drugs[2]

It’s easy to see how people who experience these things would have an improved quality of life and a better overall view of the healthcare experience.

When all is said and done, one of the biggest differences between chiropractic care and traditional medical care is that chiropractic focuses on being proactive versus reactive. We work to restore and maintain your body’s natural healing processes and its ability to keep you vital and healthy. We don’t depend on prescriptions, surgery, or other temporary fixes that might leave you feeling better in the short-term but actually do very little to keep you healthy in the long run.

If you know anyone who’s upset with their current medical care, whether because of the high costs, the disappointing outcomes, or any other reason, I’d encourage you to tell them about chiropractic care and what it can do for them. Chiropractors and their patients should take pride in educating others about the benefits of chiropractic and how different it is from any other healthcare you may have had before.

Working to restore GOD’s perfect design in you!

---

[1] Corrective Chiropractic. June 5, 2017. <http://www.correctivechiropractic.net/saveonhealthcare/>

[2] Id.

Back Problems = Brain Problems

If asked, most people would say that they would prefer to have a back problem rather than a brain problem. The assumption is that back problems create fewer health risks overall, but what people fail to understand is that the back and the brain work together to optimize health.

The brain and the spine combine to create the nervous system, and the nervous system regulates the body as a whole. As we’ve covered in previous blog posts, the benefits to chiropractic care are numerous and can include everything from improved sleep, digestion, breathing, reproductive health, immunity, energy, and heart health.

In 1895, the first chiropractic adjustment took place and restored a man’s hearing.[1] Even Mahatma Gandhi saw his blood pressure issues subside after being treated with chiropractic care weekly for a few months.[2] These are just a couple of examples of the benefits achieved through chiropractic; science and research are being constantly updated to prove that chiropractic care is useful for so much more than just the relief of neck and back pain.

Working to restore GOD’s perfect design in you!

---

[1] Corrective Chiropractic. October 17, 2016. <http://www.correctivechiropractic.net/its-all-about-the-brain/?goal=0_35f4bfc1d7-3f273c36ba-119316205>

[2] Id.

Another Wellness Blog to Read

I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in chiropractic and general health-related topics to check out Dr. Mercola’s blog, which can be found at the following link:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/current.aspx

Dr. Mercola is an osteopathic physician who is also a New York Times best-selling author and was voted the top Ultimate Wellness Game Changer by the Huffington Post in 2009. His blog posts are enlightening and cover a wide range of topics.

Usain Bolt: The Fastest Man on Earth and a Chiropractic Patient

Usain Bolt is a household name today, with 9 Olympic gold medals and various other world championship wins. But this extremely talented athlete from the small island of Jamaica has faced severe physical challenges in his life. Although many people don’t know it, Bolt suffered from scoliosis as a young man.

He has said that when “[he] was younger, the scoliosis wasn’t really a problem. But you grow and it gets worse. My spine was really curved bad. The early part of my career, when we didn’t really know much about it, it really hampered me because I got injured every year.”[1] Rather than turning to surgery to fix it, Bolt instead sought chiropractic treatment. Now, he not only uses chiropractic to help heal injuries but also to enhance his performance when he’s healthy.

The Jamaican Olympic Team’s chiropractor, Dr. Michael Douglas, has worked with Usain Bolt and his teammates since 1996, combining traditional chiropractic techniques with sports injury rehabilitation.[2] And their team isn’t the only one benefiting from treatment: Sean Atkins, PhD Exercise Physiologist, has estimated that “at least 90% of world class athletes use Chiropractic on a regular basis to prevent injuries and to improve their performance.”[3] So, whether you’re aiming for an Olympic gold medal or just like to participate in sports activities for fun, chiropractic care can make you stronger, healthier, and can prevent and treat injuries. What are you waiting for?

Working to restore GOD’S perfect design in you!

---

[1] Dr. Aaron Martin. “How Chiropractic Care Has Helped Me: Introducing Usain Bolt.” November 4, 2013. <http://patch.com/iowa/ankeny/how-chiropractic-care-has-helped-me-introducing-usain-bolt>

[2] Id.

[3] Chirobeans. “The Fastest Men on Earth Receive Chiropractic Treatment.” <https://chirobeans.wordpress.com/2012/08/02/the-fastest-men-on-earth-receive-chiropractic-treatment/>

How Spinal Health Can Help with Fibromyalgia

Over 6 million people in the U.S. suffer from fibromyalgia, “a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.”[1]

As I’ve discussed in various blog posts, the brain and spinal cord are directly connected, and the health of one undoubtedly affects the functioning of the other. So, it makes sense that some of the symptoms of fibromyalgia (which starts in the brain) can be alleviated with chiropractic care.

In 2014, Rehab Research and Practice conducted a study on sufferers of fibromyalgia and ended up finding a “direct link between the severity of fibromyalgia and the health and function of the spine.”[2] It turned out that spinal adjustments improved the quality of life and severity of symptoms in the study participants, aiding their pain, sleep quality, mood, and depression, among other symptoms.

The study continued to provide chiropractic care to these patients once per week for 23 weeks in a row and found that it “decreased pain and positively influenced components relating to chronic illness and functional health capacity.”[3] This is yet another example of how interconnected all parts of the body are, from the brain and spine to overall health and wellness. Although fibromyalgia has no cure yet, chiropractic is a safe, beneficial alternative to many of the drugs that are prescribed to treat it currently.

It’s important to remember that the purpose of chiropractic is to remove interference between the brain and nervous system, not to treat specific symptoms or act as a “Band Aid” approach. It is the removal of this interference that leads to symptom and pain relief, as seen in the fibromyalgia study. Through regular maintenance of the spine, patients can experience health and wellness like no drug, surgery, or other healthcare can provide.

Working to restore GOD’S perfect design in you!

---

[1] Mayo Clinic Staff. “Definition: Fibromyalgia.” September 8, 2016. <http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/basics/definition/con-20019243>

[2] Connective Chiropractic. “Fibromyalgia & the Proven Role of Chiropractic Care.” September 6, 2016. <http://www.correctivechiropractic.net/fibromyalgia-relief-chiropractic/?goal=0_35f4bfc1d7-d644d01711-119316205>

[3] Id.

The True History of Genetically Modified Plants

Genetically engineered food is created when genes from one species has been combined with another, even when these combinations wouldn’t be possible in nature.[1] These genetically modified crops can either be herbicide-tolerant (they live even when sprayed with lots of heavy chemicals) or pesticide-producing (they have internal pesticides that kill bugs when they attempt to eat the crop).

A company called Novartis received approval to grow the first genetically engineered corn (Bt176) to be used for animal feed in the United States in 1995.[2]  Bt176 is an example of a pesticide-producing crop. Before introducing Bt176 to large numbers of animals, Novartis only conducted one feeding test on four cows for two weeks.[3]  One week into the test, one of the cows died due to electrolyte and mucosal issues. Because researchers weren’t able to find a scientific cause of death, the cow was simply removed from the study.

People should know that animal feeding trials such as this aren’t required prior to the release of a genetically modified organism. If they are done at all, they are often very small and conducted over a short period of time, like this one was.

Since 1995, farmers have fed Bt176 corn to their livestock for longer stretches of time with serious consequences, including fatigue, kidney and mucosal issues, inability to yield milk, irregular heart function, general abnormal behaviors, and even death.[4]

Genetically engineered plants such as Bt176 are created with properties that enable them to kill insects, so how can we expect that these properties can just be washed off before humans eat them? The simple answer is that they can’t be. When we eat Bt plants and genetically engineered foods, the pesticides and toxins are “not destroyed when passing through your digestive system, and…can bioaccumulate in your body.”[5]

With the current food labeling laws and requirements, it’s not always possible to know whether the food you’re ingesting is genetically modified or not. If you’d like to avoid these products and eat foods that are truly natural (not just marked “organic”), you can visit these websites for more information:

http://www.eatwellguide.org

https://www.farmmatch.com

http://www.localharvest.org/redlands-ca

http://www.westonaprice.org/get-involved/find-local-chapter/

Working to restore GOD’s perfect design in you!

---

[1] Dr. Mercola, “Investigation Reveals First Commercialized GMO Maize Was Toxic to Farm Animals.” February 9, 2016. <http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/09/gmo-maize-toxic-to-animals.aspx?e_cid=20160209Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20160209Z1&et_cid=DM97543&et_rid=1350229846>

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

Why Should Your Child Get Chiropractic Adjustments?

The main reason why you should bring your child into the office for an adjustment is because it helps their brain development. The brain and spinal cord work together as the master controller of the body, and “the majority of brain research now demonstrates that optimal movement and function of the spine is what keeps the brain healthy.”[1]

 

Brain activity is directly connected to the nerve sensors around our body, mainly those that are in the spine. That’s why we’re all constantly encouraged to have good posture, stretch, and stay hydrated: if you take care of your spine, you’re taking care of your brain simultaneously.

Communication errors between the brain and spine can lead to all kinds of problems, and this is true for infants and children as well. In children, communication errors can result in “colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed, poor sleep patterns, developmental delays, digestive problems, asthma, behavioral issues, low energy, lack of concentration, and a whole host of other problems – the list is endless.”[2]

For adults, spinal subluxations occur from various lifestyle stressors. But even before we’re born, nerve irritation can occur from awkward positioning in the uterus, restriction of movement, and exposure to toxins. In addition, long or very fast labors, the use of forceps or cesarean delivery, and even drugs during labor can create subluxations.

Rest assured, when adjusting children the chiropractic techniques are gentler and geared specifically towards them. Even babies soon after birth can be adjusted safely and effectively, as I did with my own children.

The following are just some of the important benefits to be gained by getting chiropractic care for your child:

·      To encourage good neural plasticity (brain and nerve development).

·      To support their child’s overall health and wellbeing.

·      To help strengthen their child’s immunity and potentially reduce the incidence     of colds, ear aches and general illness.

·      To assist with colic and Irritable Baby Syndrome.

·      To help with asthma, breathing difficulties and allergies.

·      To encourage good spinal posture.

·      To help improve their child’s ability to concentrate.

·      To assist with behavioral disorders.

·      To help alleviate digestive problems.

·      To assist with bed-wetting and sleep issues.

Working to restore GOD’S perfect design in you!

---

[1] Corrective Chiropractic. “10 Reasons Your Child Should Get Chiropractic Adjustments.” June 8, 2016. <http://www.correctivechiropractic.net/10-reasons-your-child-needs-chiropractic-adjustments/?goal=0_35f4bfc1d7-e1e97d7e4e-119316205>

[2] Id.