As a chiropractor, of critical importance to me is the improvement of my patient’s brain and nervous system. This involves improving mechanical alignment to the spine, however it is also critical that we look at the other ingredients necessary for proper functioning of brains and nerves. At the top of anybody’s list is fish oils. An added benefit is that fish oils are one of those super foods that do much more to improve health. This fact was highlighted again in a recent article.
The other day I was talking with a patient who commented on their ankle pain by saying, “I’ll just take some more Aleve.” Now this person was new to the clinic and had no idea that we work on ankles as well as spines. But that idea of taking more medication and thinking they would be OK is very common. After all, the over the counter medications are safe, aren’t they? And as long as I don’t hurt I’m OK, aren’t I?
If you ask people what you go to a chiropractor for, most people would say to help with back or neck pain. While musculoskeletal complaints are definitely an area of expertise for us, there is so much more that can be treated with chiropractic care. To understand this connection, you first need to start with basic anatomy. There are nerves running throughout your entire body, not only going to your muscles, but also going to all of your organs, such as your stomach, intestines, pancreas, heart, etc. When there is interference to the nerves, which happens when your spine is out of alignment, you can have all kinds of symptoms. This can be pain, but it could also be issues like asthma, heartburn, or sinus troubles, just to name a few.
The health care paradigm in our country is crisis care oriented. We wait until we are in a crisis before we see our doctors for advice and treatment. The result is we are offered crisis treatment such as drugs and surgery. While no one wants medication or surgery, we trust our doctors and health care regulators to ensure the safety of these interventions. Unfortunately, we have yet another example of a failure by regulators such as the FDA, to properly notify and protect millions of patients.
I grew up in a small town in central Minnesota during the 1960′s and 70′s. Unlike many small towns today, we did not have a chiropractor. In fact, chiropractic wasn’t something we had as an option for health care. Consequently, health care to us was aspirin, penicillin, cortisone (I remember those injections being particularly painful), and rounds and rounds of antibiotics. How I wish things had been different!
The Team Care Method for serious disc injuries uniquely offers non-surgical therapeutic interventions for one purpose: restoring the disc’s natural mechanism for self repair.
Fatigue, weight gain, dry skin, depression, constipation, headache and feeling cold all the time. These are just a few of the symptoms that can occur when your thyroid gland stops working. Thyroid disease affects 10% – 20% of women and up to 2% of men in this country. But thyroid disease is actually a symptom of some deeper problem. In other words there is a reason why the thyroid quit working. Current medical treatment involves prescribing thyroid medication, but does not really get to the causes of the condition. A newer, better way to treat thyroid involves identifying the causes and treating them.
Cloth diapers. Do you like them? What do they cost? Aren’t they a lot of work? What do you do with the poo? These are some of the questions I get when people find out I use cloth diapers on my baby. (Not to mention a few initially thought I was nuts.) I started doing some research on cloth diapers when I was pregnant with our second child. Honestly, my motivation initially was financial. The average child will use diapers until the age of 2-3, which is 8000-10,000 diapers. We will spend $2800.00 to 3500.00 on disposable diapers that we literally throw in the trash. As I continued reading I learned there was more to consider than just stretching my household budget.
As I review my children’s patient histories, many times mothers will check off that they had a “natural childbirth”. In the next question, I notice they have either had an epidural or were induced. As long as the child was delivered vaginally, they have been led to believe they delivered naturally. If that same question was asked even 60 years ago, the answer would be much different.
I am frequently asked by the athletes we treat about creatine, whey protein, and other nutritional supplements for gaining muscle mass and improving athletic performance. However, increasingly I am also being asked by middle age and older patients about improving body composition for wellness purposes and “anti-aging” effects. They are often well read and know that by increasing one’s muscle mass (creating a relative loss of body fat) they will increase their metabolism, reduce obesity, better regulate blood sugar, reduce the likelihood of diabetes, and statistically reduce the likelihood of disability as they age. Who ISN’T interested in that?
