Chiropractic and Quality of Life

February 23, 2011 Reprint 07-16-2012

There have been some great studies over the years on Chiropractic and Quality of Life. I stumbled across this reference, and thought about the simple approach to health that we take in the chiropractic health model, and how that simple approach is still the absolute most effective. “A study published in The Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in August 2004 shows that a healthy spinal column can improve posture, reduce stress and increases range of motion when performing various exercises. People who undergo regular chiropractic treatment sessions may also take better care of themselves by exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and making healthy nutritional choices that also improve the quality of life (Source: ChiropracticResearch.org). Here’s a close look at some of the key benefits of regular chiropractic treatment: 1. Natural way to reduce stress. Chiropractic treatments can help to improve nervous system functioning which in turn helps minimize the effects of stress. When someone is suffering from poor nerve function, stress buildup can be significant enough to trigger migraines, headaches, joint pain and extreme anxiety. Sustained stress on the nervous system leads to hormonal dysregulation, immuno-compromise and secondary diseases such as cancer.

2. Improves posture. A better posture encourages better breathing patterns which helps keep the energy flowing throughout the body. Better posture also minimizes the risk of upper and lower back pain, joint problems and fatigue. In addition, there are numerous studies linking postural degeneration to heart disease, and degenerative conditions of the spinal cord. Together, these effects will improve quality of life.

3. Increased joint flexibility and mobility. Regular chiropractic treatments can improve range of motion and thereby encourage physical activity. This reduces the chances that someone will maintain a sedentary lifestyle, and regular exercise or physical activity can improve quality of life overall.

4. Promotes natural healing. One of the most significant outcomes of chiropractic treatment is that the body can begin to restore itself naturally. An impaired nervous system often leads to injury and damage to the tissues and joints. Any type of spinal misalignment can contribute to the deterioration of the body, so chiropractic adjustments reduce this risk and promote the natural healing process. This means that a patient may not need to resort to prescription drugs and medication just to feel better, thereby improving their quality of life.

5. Reduces blood pressure. Improved nervous system functioning can improve blood and energy flow throughout the body, which in turn can reduce blood pressure. High blood pressure can contribute to a number of health problems and diseases, and may be difficult to control as the patient ages. Regular chiropractic treatments can reduce blood pressure naturally, which means the patient may not need to resort to medication in order to improve their health. Simple and to the point, this is why chiropractic works” So as I said in the beginning, the simple approach is what makes sense. And we will continue to teach chiropractic for its life giving qualities, the improvement on healing and immune system capacity. If you have a child, spouse or parent living nearby who has not been checked, you owe it to yourself and them, to get them through the doors to have their spine checked. It is that important and silent subluxations do not sleep. Hope you enjoyed the reminder of why you come here!

Chiropractic Care and Type II Diabetes

by Craig Singleton – Intern

Researchers found that the reduction of upper-cervical subluxations resulted in a stabilization of plasma glucose levels during a three-hour fasting period.  Subluxations are what chiropractors correct, and here, what we focus on correcting for life long help.

In allopathic medicine, a subluxation is a partial dislocation. In chiropractic, a vertebral subluxation is described as a spinal vertebra has lost its correct juxtaposition with one or both of its adjacent vertebrae to a degree less than a luxation in such a way as to impinge upon nerves and get in the way of the proper transmission of impulses, upsetting general health and causing dis-ease.  Sounds simple?  The simplicity is that interfering with nerves, kills.

There are as many ways to correct subluxations as there are chiropractors. When you experience a structural insult, you usually have a bone that has been injured and forced from its normal position. The chiropractor hardly ever makes an adjustment that moves any bone back to an abnormal position.  Nor does any ONE adjustment return the bone completely to normal.  How could misalignment affect Diabetes?

The Centers for Disease Control quoted the following figures in its 2002 National Diabetes Fact Sheet: – Six percent of the population – seventeen million people – have diabetes – The total medical cost of diabetes in the United States is $132 billion – Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death on US death certificates in 1999 – Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, nervous system disease, dental disease, difficult pregnancies, and amputations are some of the complications of diabetes – More than 60 percent of non-traumatic lower-limb amputations were performed each year among people with diabetes

The most disturbing news about diabetes is that one major form of the disease, Type II diabetes, has reached epidemic proportions. The facts and figures relating to diabetes are alarming. Individuals living with diabetes can live longer, healthier lives and considerably decrease health issues connected to their ailment by using thorough diabetes self-management approaches that include following a program of exercise, healthy nutrition, medication and self-monitoring under the supervision of a health-care team.

Chiropractic care can provide an extremely important function for diabetics, and the outcome is nothing less than stellar! Spinal nerve interference has been acknowledged in scientific literature to be a contributing factor of endocrine and metabolic disorders including diabetes. Chiropractic care is founded on the principle that a good working nervous system is vital to the general well-being and function of the human body.

One of the most often named causes of diabetes is spinal injury. The nerve supply to the digestive organs gets compromised by stress on nerve centers in the thoracic area of the spine. Most often the problem is in the 5th – 10th thoracic vertebrae. Thus, spinal adjustment is a primary therapy for the treatment of diabetes.  As we report on a recent patient who has followed our protocols, being adjusted no less than weekly over the last fifteen months, changing diet, and maintaining his exercise routine, he is now medication free.  Would that have happened without adjustments, not likely as fast.  With adjustments but without diet change, again, possible, but likely to be a slower process.

Dr. Eric – I had a patient a few years back who came off of blood pressure meds, statin meds (her cholesterol dropped 120 points) and diabetes management.  Her husband was a pharmacist.  She never changed her diet or her exercise, all she did was get adjusted.  She stopped seeing me after her second year, and I remember thinking “how could she have stopped, it had been going so well”.  Then I ran into her at a weekend “farm outing” for my church.  She had volunteered to help because she knew the farm owners.  After the initial hello and pleasantries.  She came back to get me and talk some more, and she told me “I want you to know, you have impacted my life more than any one health practitioner ever has.  I continue to live medication free and I continue to ride my horse pain free, after thinking that I would never be able to ride again.  I thank you for your help”.

She might not be coming in right now, but I could guarantee after that comment, that if she ever “felt” her health slip, she would be back.  The best use for chiropractic, is to never let your health slip.

Thanks to Craig for the Daily Sprout, and Blessings to you and all of our interns in their chiropractic careers, soon to begin!  Be well – Dr. E

The Back Injury…

So, “bad backs” are very common.  They are probably 50% of the reason for new visits into chiropractic offices.  It is actually the reason why I am a chiropractor.  17 years old, back was going bad, hurting during hockey practice, and built up to a point when (three months post auto accident), I was put on the floor for about four days without moving besides crawling.  I saw a chiropractor shortly after that episode, and my life was changed.  I was 24 at the time.

I am now, acutely aware of what it takes to make a back strong, and keep it strong, though at times, simple rest is the answer.  Certain injuries require a time of rest, and that time of rest varies based on MANY factors.  But the thing that I want to write about (because I am sitting here in pain right now, more in a bit), is when the very thing that insures your backs future, ends up being the cause of short term pain.  What to do next?

So today I head off to the gym after church.  I had the girls with me all weekend, so the plan was get in quick, do a few heavy lifts (squat, shoulder press, dead-lift), and get out.  I went in and worked up with four warm-up lifts on the dead-lift.  The weight will seem heavy if you aren’t in this world, but the last succesful lift I did was 405#.  Then I jumped up to what would have been a 30# PR (personal record) and attempted 495#.  I missed the lift.  No back pain.  475#, near miss.  Waited and tried it again, missed it worse.  Then dropped back to a very safe and “easy” 455#.  On the pull my back said “NO”!

So I stopped there, abandoned all other lifts, and cleaned up.  Now the question, what do you do when you hurt your back doing something that strengthens the back?  My answer, is you do more.  But when, how, and how do you know to do more?  If you hurt your back doing abdominal crunches on a machine at the gym with a weight bar across your chest, I would tell you to stay away from that ridiculous machine for the rest of your life.  So it is obviously not going to be that easy at times.

Dead-lifts are good for marriages too.

The key to understanding this, is to understanding the goal.  Quick rewind, your spine is the vine.  Your brain reaches everything through it, so there is a relationship that is based on the ability of your spine to first carry messages to your muscles, and to organize their coordinated contraction, their tone, and their responsiveness to stress.  This is an amazing component of the healing process, intricate and beyond full understanding.  Many things have to come together to truly be OVER the problem of a bad back.

Currently I live episode free for about five years.  I have had bad pain, but nothing that was a true episodic acute meltdown (several days of non-functional living).  Even though the pain I feel right now is pretty significant, I know that I will be adjusting tomorrow without too much issue, and by Wednesday will feel comfortable going right back after that heavy lift.  Healing is a combination of strengthening the back, while insuring that it is in the right position (adjustments).  I have met many people with extremely strong backs, and really bad back pain (need adjusting).  And I have met people with really well adjusted spines, but little neuro-muscular connection (need strengthening).

My recommendation for all of you, is to consider starting a program that will strengthen your whole body functionally.  I hate machines, I think that moving within the confines of a machine make no sense.  It takes skewing reality to “buy into” the idea that isolation exercises somehow best builds strength for compound movements… when the compound movements are available for you to do!  So if you are a patient, try Max T3 in our office for $50 a month, it is well worth it.  Otherwise consider buying the DVD’s on the Maximized Living website or looking up our CrossFit gym.

Second, stay adjusted.  It only takes one poor movement on a subluxated spine to set you back a year or more.  We all want health, your spine is your health because of the nervous system; then it is a significant component of your health because it is the physical point of stress for all movement and muscular action.  It is HUGE.

So, go out and get it strong!  Be well, have a great week!  – Dr. E