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Get to Know Your Spinal Column

drawing of spinal column and nervesThe illustration might look like a strange collection of wires and body parts but it shows how your body communicates and connects so that all your parts work together to make you healthy and whole.

Your internal organs send messages to your brain and your brain sends messages back to your internal organs. This back and forth goes through a vast communications cable made up of hundreds of millions of nerves: your spinal cord. This is how your parts are connected.

The Information Highway: Your Spinal Column

This incredible “cable” of nerves or spinal cord goes down your back. You can’t see your spinal cord because it’s encased in a protective bony canal called the spinal column made up of 23 bones called vertebrae.

Your spinal column includes

  • 7 neck or cervical vertebrae
  • 12 mid-back or thoracic vertebrae
  • 5 low back or lumbar vertebrae

Under the lumbars is a fused triangular bone called the sacrum and below that is your tiny tail bone or coccyx.

Also let’s not forget that between your vertebrae are discs – little shock absorbers to prevent your bones from crashing into one another every time you walk.

Get Adjusted after any Accident

Watch out! Injuries, accidents and stress of all kinds can misalign your vertebrae so they won’t move properly. If that happens you might have nerve irritation that can interfere with the function of many nerves, glands, muscles and organs. The result is a subluxation causing lowered immunity and detoxification, pain, and less balance, strength and energy. With subluxations your body parts are less connected to each other.

Your chiropractor’s job is to make sure your vertebrae are in the right place and are moving properly so that there is no nerve stress.

Using various tools (and years of specialized training) doctors of chiropractic can locate spinal nerve stress or subluxations and, using their hands or various instruments, realign the vertebrae and reduce spinal nerve pressure. This is called an adjustment. The adjustment reconnects you to … you.

Reconnect with yourself

Millions of people are disconnected from themselves. They are carrying spinal nerve stress in their bodies and don’t even know it. Do you or your loved ones have this condition? Your chiropractor can find out with a simple analysis. It could make the difference between a life of health and vitality and one of dis-ease and weakness.

Stop by for a chiropractic connection adjustment. Make 2016 a more connected year.

Children Need to Practice Good Computer Ergonomics

At least 70 percent of America’s 30 million elementary school students use computers, according to a recent New York Times article. As a result of this increased usage, doctors of chiropractic are treating more young patients suffering from the effects of working at computer stations that are either designed for adults or poorly designed for children. Many children are already suffering from repetitive motion injuries (RMI) such as carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic pain in the hands, back, neck and shoulders.

A recently published study conducted by a team of researchers from Cornell University found that 40 percent of the elementary school children they studied used computer workstations that put them at postural risk. The remaining 60 percent scored in a range indicating “some concern.”

“Emphasis needs to be placed on teaching children how to properly use computer workstations,” stated Dr. Scott Bautch, past president of the American Chiropractic Association’s Council on Occupational Health. “Poor work habits and computer workstations that don’t fit a child’s body during the developing years can have harmful physical effects that can last a lifetime. Parents need to be just as concerned about their children’s interaction with their computer workstations as they are with any activities that may affect their children’s long-term health,” added Dr. Bautch.

What can you do?
To reduce the possibility of your child suffering painful and possibly disabling injuries, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and its Council on Occupational Health offer the following tips:

  • If children and adults in your home share the same computer workstation, make certain that the workstation can be modified for each child’s use.
  • Position the computer monitor so the top of the screen is at or below the child’s eye level. This can be accomplished by taking the computer off its base or stand, or having the child sit on firm pillows or phone books to reach the desired height.
  • Make sure the chair at the workstation fits the child correctly. An ergonomic back cushion, pillow or a rolled-up towel can be placed in the small of the child’s back for added back support. There should be two inches between the front edge of the seat and the back of the knees. The chair should have arm supports so that elbows are resting within a 70- to 135-degree angle to the computer keyboard.
  • Wrists should be held in a neutral position while typing – not angled up or down. The mousing surface should be close to the keyboard so your child doesn’t have to reach or hold the arm away from the body.
  • The child’s knees should be positioned at an approximate 90- to 120-degree angle. To accomplish this angle, feet can be placed on a foot rest, box, stool or similar object.
  • Reduce eyestrain by making sure there is adequate lighting and that there is no glare on the monitor screen. Use an antiglare screen if necessary.
  • Limit your child’s time at the computer and make sure he or she takes periodic stretch breaks during computing time. Stretches can include: clenching hands into fists and moving them in 10 circles inward and 10 circles outward; placing hands in a praying position and squeezing them together for 10 seconds and then pointing them downward and squeezing them together for 10 seconds; spreading fingers apart and then closing them one by one; standing and wrapping arms around the body and turning all the way to the left and then all the way to the right.
  • Your child’s muscles need adequate hydration to work properly and avoid injury. Encourage your child to drink four 8-ounce glasses of water a day. Carbonated beverages, juices and other sweet drinks are not a substitute.
  • Urge your child’s school or PTA officials to provide education on correct computer ergonomics and to install ergonomically correct workstations.

 Let us know of any questions and to book an appointment to have us assess the health of your child’s spine.

Original article from The American Chiropractic Association

Chiropractic Patients Less Likely to Undergo Lumbar Surgery

A study in the medical journal Spine found a strong association between chiropractic care and the avoidance of lumbar spine surgery. The American Chiropractic Association is encouraged by this and other recent research supporting chiropractic’s conservative, less costly approach to low-back pain.

Key findings of the Spine study show that:

  • Approximately 43 percent of patients who saw a surgeon first had surgery
  • Only 1.5 percent of those who saw a chiropractor first ended up having surgery

Two additional studies reinforce ACA’s longstanding position that health care providers should start with conservative approaches to treatment, such as the services provided by doctors of chiropractic, before guiding their patients to less conservative alternatives. Such an approach benefits patients and cuts health care spending—especially for a condition as common as low-back pain.

“As governments and health systems around the globe search for answers to complicated health challenges such as rising numbers of chronically ill and disabled patients and runaway costs, research is finally demonstrating what the chiropractic profession has promoted for years: that caring for patients with conservative treatments first, before moving on to less conservative options or unnecessary drugs and surgery, is a sensible and cost-effective strategy,” said ACA President Keith Overland, DC.

Original Article

How Can Chiropractic Help – from University of Minnesota

Several academic organizations and government organizations recognize and support Chiropractic.

University of Minnesota has a great page about Chiropractic.

Most often, people go to chiropractors the first time for relief from back pain. But chiropractors treat a broad range of complaints, from back and neck pain to headaches, arthritis and more. Moreover, people don’t need to have a specific complaint to benefit from a visit. Chiropractors also focus on on-going preventive and wellness care. Chiropractic care is effective for people of all ages, from infants to the elderly.

The article goes into depth about the benefits of Chiropractic and who can benefit from Chiropractic. Be sure to check it out and send it to those who have questions about Chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Relieves Severe Facial Pain

Trigeminal Neuralgia is a severe condition in which a large nerve in your head becomes irritated and can cause severe pain. It is a devastating problem, and fortunately Chiropractic adjustments to the neck have been shown to help.

A 58 year-old female who had been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia six years prior by a neurologist, sought Chiropractic care. She had been taking anticonvulsive medication to control the painful attacks which occurred above her right eye, but when they were no longer effective, she felt it was time to try something new.

She began a course of corrective Chiropractic care, and after nine weeks she reported improvement in symptomatic complaints and had not experienced an attack of trigeminal neuralgia.

Original Study

Sit Up Straight Now To Be A Healthy, Independent Senior

The shape of an older person’s spine may predict their future need for home assistance or admission to a nursing home, according to a new study.

The study included more than 800 people aged 65 and older in Japan, who had their spinal posture assessed. It was found that seniors with an increase in the curve in their thoracic spine (area between your shoulders), suffered from the greatest degree of disability.

Over four and a half years, about 16 percent of the participants became dependent on help for basic daily activities. Those with the greatest curve in the thoracic spine were about three and a half times more likely to become dependent on help for basic daily activities than those with the least spinal inclination.

Original Study

Chiropractic adjustments keep your spinal joints moving freely, allowing you to sit up properly and keep a flexible spine well into your senior years. Being adjusted is the perfect way to ensure spinal flexibility and vibrant senior years!

Chiropractic and Spinal Research

(from the archives)

Did you know there are thousands of papers describing the wonders of chiropractic and spinal care in health and disease? Remember: a person with any kind of health problem needs chiropractic. Being free from subluxations could make a big difference in any disease. Feel free to send these studies to anyone you know. By the way, is there any disease or condition you’d like to know about?

Bipolar disorder. A 52-year-old man diagnosed with bipolar disorder sought chiropractic care for lower back pain. The man had symptoms of depression, anxiety and jerky, uncontrolled movements on one side of his body. He was adjusted using Thompson Technique protocol and advised on the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. After 4 visits, the jerky movements associated with his anxiety attacks had subsided and his depressed state had improved.

Headache, neck pain, arm pain. An analysis of forty-seven random controlled trials reviewed chiropractic care for headaches, neck pain, cervico-brachial pain and/or upper back pain. It took a mean of 17 visits to resolve headaches, neck pain and upper back pain.

High blood pressure. Atlas vertebra subluxations were found associated with decreased blood to the brainstem and increased blood pressure. Fifty patients with Stage 1 hypertension received either an upper cervical adjustment or a sham procedure. Patients received no drugs during the 8-week study. At week 8, there were significant reductions in systolic and diastolic BP for the group receiving adjustments. The authors wrote “restoration of Atlas alignment is associated with marked and sustained reductions in BP similar to the use of two-drug combination therapy.”



Words of wisdom

What I want in my life is compassion, a flow between myself and others based on mutual giving from the heart.
– Marshall B. Rosenberg

Your Incredible Neck

Your neck is made up of seven bones, referred to as cervical vertebrae, with discs between them.

There are a lot of structures in your neck. Your bones are strapped together with ligaments; tendons attach your bones to muscles and your neck is full of muscles that attach from your head and vertebrae to your ribs, shoulder blade (scapula), collar bone (clavicle), breastbone (sternum) and other structures in your chest. You’ve also got millions of nerves, blood and lymphatic vessels all over the place. In addition, there’s a food tube (esophagus), an air tube (trachea), a voice box (larynx) and so many more things it would take many pages to discuss them all. Your neck is a very busy place.

Your neck vertebrae are numbered from top down, C-1, C-2, C-3 all the way to C-7. Two neck vertebrae have special names: C-1 is also called the atlas (because it holds the globe of the skull) and C-2 is referred to as the axis (because it is involved in the turning of your head).

Chiropractors pay particular attention to the neck because inside your neck, inside your vertebrae, is a special canal: the spinal canal. Your spinal cord passes through your spinal canal. If the neck vertebrae are not properly aligned, the billions of nerves making up your spinal cord may be affected.

The result? A misalignment (subluxation) of a cervical (neck) vertebra can cause almost any health problem. Your resistance to disease, your immune system, your brain, your internal organs – all can be adversely affected by an unhealthy neck.

We spend so much time on computers and in cars that are two of the major sources of stress and injury. Speak to your chiropractor about simple techniques that you can use to reduce stress and tension in the neck and shoulders.