Tag Archives: chiropractic care

Who Should Go to a Chiropractor?

Is Chiropractic Care for You?

A very simple yet profound question.

The answer is dependent upon one’s concept of the goal of chiropractic. If the goal of chiropractic is to get sick people well, then presumably sick people should go to a chiropractor. If the goal is prevention of sickness, presumably all patients should be on a maintenance program.

Everyone can benefit from Chiropractic Care at some point in their lifetime.

We would like to share the very unique goal of chiropractic as practiced in this office.

We would like to see ALL people, sick or well, young and old, getting their spines checked for vertebral subluxations on a regular basis to allow their bodies to better express all of their life potentials. This would in turn allow each person to get more out of life. In order to understand this concept, one must understand how vertebral subluxation affects the quality of one’s life.

Physiologically, it is known that virtually every expression of life is controlled, at least in part by body chemistry. It is changes in body chemistry that determine our energy level, our ability to resist and recover from disease, our ability to extract nutrients from food, our moods, attitudes, sense of humor, our manual dexterity, and virtually every other expression of life.

Therefore, if anything happens to alter body chemistry it can affect every aspect of one’s life. This is why the law does not allow people to drive after consuming too much alcohol. The alcohol can produce blurred vision, slowed reaction time, poor coordination, and make a generally good driver a menace to society.

Of course the individual reaction to alcohol varies from person to person. Some people become sad, some become happy, some become violent, some silly, and some just fall asleep. All however, seem to suffer from poor judgment and lack of coordination.

Medication is Not Always the Only Solution

Another example would be people who use medication to “treat” a variety of problems. Just look in the Physician Desk Reference (PDR) to see that for every drug listed; side effects which can change you mentally, physically and emotionally. It is easy to understand…

“Vertebral subluxations are, by definition, an interference with the innate control of the body. You cannot have body chemistry in balance when vertebral subluxations are present”

…how altering body chemistry from the outside-in can affect everything we are and everything we can accomplish. In short, it can negatively alter our potential in many different areas.

Imagine if more people knew about this!

What we really desire is to see hundreds of people who are concerned enough about their health to come in regularly with their families to receive adjustments to stay healthy and be the best they can be in life. Imagine if more people knew about this and were getting checked and adjusted. Wouldn’t that be the community you’d want to live in? We hope that it is your desire to be one of these type of people. If there is ever something about chiropractic health care that you do not understand, please ask us. It is our desire and pleasure to make you aware of all the benefits of being subluxation free.

While our potential, or performance levels, may be affected by drugs from the outside, they can also be affected by chemical changes that originate within. Our body is an incredible natural chemical factory. With a chemical reaction needed for virtually every aspect of life, there are countless numbers of chemical reactions occurring constantly. It is the wisdom of the body, innate intelligence, which uses the brain, spinal cord and nerve system as its medium of expression, to control and coordinate the chemical producing organs and glands of the body. Any alteration in the production of chemicals like thyroxin, insulin, adrenaline, cortisone, testosterone, estrogen, and dozens of others (known and unknown) in the body, will produce just as drastic a change as would chemicals administered from the outside-in.

What are Vertebral subluxations?

Vertebral subluxations are, by definition, an interference with the innate control of the body. You cannot have body chemistry in balance when vertebral subluxations are present. When you have an imbalance of body chemistry you are unable to fully express your potential in any number of areas.

It is not our goal to be a “sore back/neck doc”” dealing with neck aches and backaches and referring people out. Every man, woman, and child in our community deserves to know the truth. Chiropractic is not just for backaches, nor is it for cancer. It is not for any particular malady.

Chiropractic is for people! All people!

Chiropractic is for people! All people! There is not a person you will ever meet, who should not have his or her spine checked regularly. It is the goal of this office to share chiropractic with as many people as possible, to allow their bodies to function and perform at a higher level of efficiency. Thus enabling them to more fully express all of their potentials and abilities, and therefore, get more out of their lives.

Latest News From Charmaine: September Newsletter: Turning on Life!

Greetings all,

We are now in the final quarter of the year (YIKES!!) Summer and vacations are almost a distant memory and we now (mostly) slip into a routine based on school activities and classroom demands.

Children need adequate rest

As a parent or grandparent, make sure that your child is getting adequate rest, great nourishment and plenty of unstructured time (preferably away from any screen based “thingy” to allow for decompression and also to stimulate their creativity).

With the return to all the school sports, it becomes vital to make sure that your children are checked often for subluxations to ensure that they are given the best possible chance to be as good and healthy as possible.

Thank You, Sophia!

Sophia left us earlier this month, on to a new chapter in her life…along with many of your children and grandchildren entering college for the first time.

Chiropractic Care and College Students

Again Chiropractic care becomes important to them as well as they tend to burn the candle at both ends and in the middle…typical college kids and maybe their diet is not quite like at home as they now have the “freedom” to make their own choices. Hopefully they have also learned that they really need to make time for exercise in order to stay well. When they come home for the weekend…try and schedule an appointment for a check up!!!

Michigan Senior Olympics are done, State meet is next on the calendar (Nov 5th) and we will also be out of the office for a late summer/early fall break at the end of this month….9/22 (pm) thru’ 10/2 back in the office October 3rd.

Stay safe…see you on the table, under the barbells, on the yoga mat or around town!

Turning on Life!

Researching Chiropractic: Case Studies on Infertility, Constipation and Reduced Height

Each month we look at case studies where chiropractic care has helped people with different health related problems. Some of them may seem obvious, while others may surprise you. Please pass this along to anyone who may be suffering from any of the following:

Infertility
Constipation
Reduced Height

Infertility and Chiropractic

This is a case study of a 30-year-old woman diagnosed with:

polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
hypothyroidism
ulcerative colitis
an eight-year history of infertility

She initially sought chiropractic care for neck pain and ulcerative colitis. Her history revealed 3 prior motor vehicle accidents (MVA’s) – in childhood, while in high school and in 2006 to which she attributed her neck pain.

She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 2004 and with PCOS in 2005. Two years of medical fertility treatments consisting of metformin, spironolactone and clomifene failed to help. In 2008 she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis for which she was taking medications.

Spinal analysis consisting of spinal heat readings, palpation and leg checks located her subluxations which were corrected with periodic chiropractic adjustments.

After five months of care she was ovulating again for the first time in eight years. She got pregnant after eight months of care. As of this writing she is the mother of a healthy two-year-old boy and has recently given birth to a baby girl. In addition, the patient reports no more neck pain, improved sleep and improvement of colitis symptoms. (1)

Constipation and bed wetting in a 10-year-old

This is the case study of a 10-year-old girl who was brought to a chiropractic clinic for evaluation. The child had a history of four-day constipation and nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting).

Previous attempts to correct her constipation using probiotics, castor oil and flax seeds were unsuccessful.

Her parents brought her to their neighborhood chiropractor – improvement was seen within an hour of reducing cervical (neck) and ilium (hip) subluxations. On the third visit the mother revealed that a lifetime of bed wetting three to four times a week had ended after the first adjustment. (2)

Increase in height and chiropractic

A 59-year-old man began chiropractic care after suffering from 20 years of low back pain, low energy and poor immune function.

Chiropractic examination revealed long-standing subluxations and degenerative joint disease. This was probably caused or compounded by numerous injuries over his life including a concussion that left him with amnesia for one day. Only acupuncture gave him temporary relief from his back pain.

Various chiropractic techniques were used to correct his vertebral subluxations. The patient showed improvement in all subjective and objective findings – relief from low back pain, improved energy and improved immune function. In addition, due to the increase in disc height throughout his spine, his overall height increased. (3)

Sources:

1.Metzger DK. Resolution of infertility in a patient with polycystic ovarian syndrome, hypothyroidism, and ulcerative colitis. Following subluxation-based chiropractic care: a case report and selective review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2016;3:68-74.

2.Shtulman I, Cunningham, MA. Resolution of constipation and nocturnal enuresis in a 10-year-old female following adjustment of vertebral subluxations: a case study. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2016;2:61-67.

3.Syn G, Harper J, Fedorchuk C. Increase in disc height and autonomic functionin a 59-year-old male undergoing chiropractic care. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. April 13, 2015:34-38.

Question: What is Chiropractic Care For?

Answer: Ask different people what chiropractic care is for and you’ll hear:

Chiropractic Care is for menstrual problems
Chiropractic Care is for ear infections
Chiropractic Care is for a better golf swing
Chiropractic Care is for headaches
Chiropractic Care is for better concentration and higher grades
Chiropractic Care is for asthma
Chiropractic Care is for autism
Chiropractic Care is for low back pain
Chiropractic Care is for disk problems
Chiropractic is for neck pain
Chiropractic Care is for infertility …

Get the point?

The list can go on and on because people often think chiropractic is locating and correcting subluxations to help their condition or problem. But in reality….

The purpose of chiropractic is to make your body function closer to its full potential. Chiropractors do that by locating and correcting areas of spine and nerve stress called subluxations. Subluxations can weaken or damage every tissue, organ and gland in your body.

What do you use Chiropractic Care for?

Each one of our clients is very different with a unique set of issues that we treat. Sometimes people come in with one complaint and after chiropractic care, several issues are better. We want to hear what you do use (or could use) our care to treat. We want to help you today!

The Three T’s: Trauma

Let’s Discuss Trauma

The 3 T’s of chiropractic are thoughts, trauma and toxins.

In this article we cover trauma.

DD Palmer, the discoverer of chiropractic in 1895 said that dis-ease or body malfunction is usually caused by three things: toxins, thoughts and trauma.

Trauma is any force that the body cannot resist or adapt to.

When people think of trauma they often think of something violent – a car accident, a fall, a sports injury, a difficult delivery, sleeping in a weird position, collisions or other sudden disruptions.

What is micor-trauma?

But there’s also micro-trauma – doing the same thing over and over so that it eventually wears down and damages the body: typing in the same position, laying carpet or even playing a sport using the same motion over and over.

The Result is Sublaxation

Whether it is a macro-trauma or a micro-trauma the result is often a subluxation – a distortion in your body structure creating dis-ease. As a result, your body struggles to re-balance and function ideally. Your nervous system is under-working or over-working. There is muscle, organ or tissue weakness, sub-optimal functioning and lack of health (wholeness). This dis-ease sets the stage for disease.

Chiropractic Care can Help

Chiropractors are specially trained to locate and correct subluxations in your body whether trauma has occurred today or at birth or any time in between. That is why everyone, from infants to the elderly, needs a chiropractic checkup and adjustment.

Researching Chiropractic: Case Studies

High blood pressure
Pervasive developmental disorder
Upper back pain, numbness and “nerve feelings” in the hands (T4 Syndrome)

High blood pressure and chiropractic

A 72-year- old man with a history of hypertension, arthritis, ringing/buzzing in the ears and numbness/burning in his shoulder sought out chiropractic care. He was on blood pressure medication for one year prior to beginning chiropractic care. During this time his blood pressure had decreased from a baseline of 174/94 to 150/90.

He had a history of traumas that included a motor vehicle accident, a fall from a tree, and a twenty-year involvement with Judo. For the next three months the chiropractor located and corrected (adjusted) his vertebral subluxations.

His blood pressure decreased over the course of care to 132/80. Also his emotional/mental state, stress and life enjoyment, based on a self-rated survey, showed improvements in all categories. (1)

Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)

A 33-month- old boy was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). His symptoms included delays in:

Communication
Speech
Cognitive function,
Gross and fine motor skills,
Social and emotional development
Self-help skills

He was also dealing with “fist walking” and bruxism (grinding teeth). He was on ADD medications, antidepressants, anti-seizure and antipsychotic medications to treat his symptoms.

Medically there is no cure.

Chiropractic care consisted of the location and correction of his subluxations. After ten months of care his language
skills had improved greatly and his sensory processing issues had reduced. His mother said, “He seems much more comfortable in his personal space.”

In addition, his bruxism reduced, he was no longer “fist walking” and he had stopped swaying and rocking. His mother reported that he was also beginning to read at a level above his age.

He continues to improve in areas of socializing and continues with chiropractic care. (2)

Upper back pain, numbness and “nerve feelings” in the hands (T4 Syndrome).

A 64-year- old woman was suffering from upper back pain, numbness and strange nerve sensations in her hands. She was diagnosed with T4 Syndrome.

Subluxations were located in the upper back that appeared to affect nerves to the upper limbs. Chiropractic adjustments to reduce subluxations were delivered, and by the fifth visit the patient reported complete remission of upper back pain and hand numbness. (3)

Sources:

Van Dyke V, Russell D, Alcantara J. Resolution of hypertension in a 72-year- old male following subluxation based chiropractic care: a case report & selective review of the literature. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. November 12, 2015:172-177.
Cohn C. Improvement in autism spectrum disorder following vertebral subluxation reduction: a case study. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2011;3:87-91.
Librone P, Kalantarov E. Resolution of T4 syndrome following chiropractic care: a case report. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. September 29, 2014:161-168.

Can Chiropractic Care help with Colic?

YES! Chiropractic Care helps with colic and infant vomiting

Although a lot of people associate chiropractic with low back, neck and hip problems or headaches and migraines, chiropractic care doesn’t “treat”a particular disease. Rather it corrects a dangerous form of spine/nerve stress called the subluxation. This may be causing an infant’s colic.

Infants may suffer from subluxations as a result of a difficult birth (especially when forceps or vacuum extraction are used) or a fall, in which case the child begins life with subluxations in his/her body and the potential for serious health problems any time in their life.

In fact, any time an infant has any health problems it is essential they be checked for subluxations. We’ve reported on case studies showing that babies and toddlers with colic, projectile vomiting, failure to thrive, sleeping problems, eczema, vision and hearing problems and many other conditions respond to chiropractic care.

Every baby and child should have a chiropractic checkup.

They may not be able to complain about pain or a problem now, but we can locate and correct subluxations in them before they are able to verbalize their problems.

The 3 T’s: Thoughts (mental health and chiropractic)

The Connection Between Mental Health and Chiropractic Care

Dr. Daniel David (DD) Palmer, the discoverer of chiropractic, was a man ahead of his time. He had an impressive library of scientific insights. Drawing from his studies he came to the conclusion that dis-ease (body malfunction) was caused by three T’s: Toxins, Thoughts (mental health) and Trauma.

Today’s scientific community is verifying those profound insights. Last month we discussed toxins. Now let’s look at thoughts.

Thoughts (emotions) are Powerful

The body affects the mind and the mind affects the body. Years ago it was believed our thoughts had no bearing on our health. During the mid-20th century the term psychosomatic illness was used to refer to a few conditions believed to be caused by emotional stress. But that was only just the beginning.

Today, many healers agree that it is rare to find a physical illness that cannot be affected by our emotions and just as impossible to find an emotional illness that has no physical effects. Mind and body interact in all circumstances.

Today the term mind/body or body/mind is used to describe this complex interrelationship.

From a physical standpoint we know that emotional stress affects our hormonal system and our immune system. We also know that physical stress and changes in body chemistry can cause or contribute to changes in brain chemistry.

Life-threatening, even terminal illnesses such as cancer, have been reversed when individuals have had an emotional catharsis or an experience inspiring great hope and optimism. Emotional illness has reversed when people have experienced a physical healing.

The Chiropractic Connection

Chiropractic is a mind/body or body/mind healing art. The mind healing (psychotherapeutic) effects of chiropractic care were observed over a century ago and resulted in the creation of the Clear View and Forest Park Sanitariums devoted to caring for people suffering from mental and emotional disorders such as anxiety, “nervous disorders” (as they were then called) and more severe forms of emotional illness such as schizophrenia.

In fact, over a forty-year period, Doctors of Chiropractic and chiropractic schools operated nearly two hundred hospitals demonstrating that chiropractic care, with proper subluxation correction, along with a nutritious diet, exercise, fresh air and sunlight, had powerful healing effects.

Both Clear View and Forest Park Sanitariums consistently reported greater success than the state mental hospitals. The results so impressed North Dakota circuit court judge A.W. Ponath, that he consistently refused to send a patient to the state mental hospital unless they first spent time in the chiropractic institution. (5)

Why? Because without drugs, surgery (pre-frontal lobotomies) and electric shock therapy, chiropractic promoted real brain health and had a greater healing success rate.

Today chiropractors see many patients suffering from anxiety, depression, addiction, ADD, ADHD, autism and other conditions.

References and research for this article were obtained from the following sources:

1. Regan B, Hirshberg C. Spontaneous Remission: An Annotated Bibiliography. by. Sausalito, CA: Institute of Noetic Sciences, 1993.

2. Quigley WH. Pioneering mental health: institutional chiropractic care. Chiropractic History. 1983;3:68-73.

3. Goff PJ. Chiropractic treatment of mental illness: a review of theory and practice. Research Forum. 1987;4(1):4-10.

4. http://www.chiro.org/Plus/History/Persons/Mental-Health_in_Chiro/Mental_Health&Chiro- chrono.pdf

5. Glenther GC et al. Improvement in depression following reduction of upper cervical vertebral subluxation using orthospinology technique. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research. November 7 2005;1-4.

Laughter is Good for You!

Did you know?

People who laugh a lot are much healthier than those who don’t.

Dr. Lee Berk at the Loma Linda School of Public Health in California found that laughing lowers levels of stress hormones, and strengthens the immune system.

Kids have the best laughter

Six-year-olds have it best – they laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.

Do Antibiotics Increase Allergies and Asthma?

Growth of Yeast in Digestive System May Be to Blame

University of Michigan researchers claim that antibiotics alter intestinal microflora and can lead to changes in the entire immune system. The findings were presented a few years ago at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, but we feel they are worth repeating.

Antibiotics play a big part

Mice were first given antibiotics, and then given yeast fungus to create a fungal colony in their digestive tracts. The lead researcher, Gary Huffnagle, described the lungs of the treated mice as “shredded,” making them unable to breathe.

Antibiotics increase the growth of the yeast Candida albicans in the gut, Noverr explains. It is a common side effect of antibiotic use and previous studies show that this change in the gut could increase allergies.

“Over the past four decades there has been an explosive increase in allergy and asthma in westernized countries, which correlates with widespread use of antibiotics …,” said researcher Mairi Noverr, with the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, in a news release.

How do you treat Candida in your Digestive System?

Besides an increase in allergies and asthma, an abundance of Candida can also cause the following symptoms:

Exhaustion
Cravings for sweets
Bad breath
White coat on tongue
Brain fog
Hormone imbalance
Joint pain
Loss of sex drive
Chronic sinus and allergy issues
Digestive problems (gas and bloating)
Weak immune system
UTI

For more information on how to treat Candida Overgrowth Syndrome (COS) check out this article.