I just replied to an email I received from someone in San Francisco and it inspired me to make a new entry. This person is dealing with a chronic pain and has tried going to various doctors and alternative health practitioners. One piece of advice I had for this person is "don't give up!" There are plenty of times in my office where, unfortunately, I wind up being the 3rd, 5th even 15th doctor someone has seen for an issue. I definitely can't say that I have taken away the symptoms of each and every one of those people but I have helped many. Sometimes there is either one piece of advice, one supplement, one adjustment, or a muscle being worked on the correct way that can make a difference in the way a person responds to care.
I'll give you my personal example...Before graduating chiropractic college I was in a car accident. Along with many other injuries I also had 2 compression fractures in my spine. Those two fractures kept me in some form of pain or discomfort for months. I had been getting adjusted by great chiropractors 1-3 times per week, I was in Physical therapy for 2 years, I exercised on my own and was taking great care of myself and I still was experiencing mild chronic lower thoracic pain. I also had frequent flare ups of more acute pain for about 2 1/2 years after the accident.
Having chronic pain would have been frustrating for anyone but especially for someone like me who's job it is to care for others. Here's where things changed. I went to an Applied Kinesiology seminar because I was curious to learn more about it and to be honest I was getting bored with my practice. I was called up to the "stage" by Dr. Eugene Charles who was teaching the seminar because I raised my hand as someone who had a certain type f pain that he was describing. I laid face up on a chiropractic table and Dr. Charles put 2 wedges under my back and then proceeded to traction my legs. The whole procedure took 1 minute and he then told me to stand up. When I stood up and tested my range of motion I noticed I had the ability to rotate side to side further than I had been since the accident and I felt better as well.
That one movement to correct a "facet imbrication" was done by a chiropractor and is considered an adjustment just like I had received hundreds of times before. The point is this time there was something a little different. Sometimes that is all a patient needs. Something a little different. I still have to keep up a healthy lifestyle of getting adjusted, eating well, exercising and taking supplements; but without that facet imbrication being released I feel like I would have still felt that accident to this day. That is what put me on the road to learning more Applied Kinesiology and why no matter what; you should NEVER GIVE UP!
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Stress is just like Calories!
Stress is a word thrown around way too easily these days. "My neck hurts but its just stress...I have a stress headache...Ugh, my boss is stressing me out!...I can go on and on. I hear complaints about stress all day long in my office and I don't think people understand that when we experience stress we can't just blow it off!
Stress is like calories. If you eat more calories than you burn what happens? You gain weight and after weeks or months or years of your calorie equation being out of balance(More calories in than out) you can see the damaging affects on your body.
Think of stress the same way. Every day we are exposed to combinations of physical, chemical and emotional stress. If we experience stress yet do little to alleviate stress we throw off balance our stress equation(More stress in than out). The affects of stress aren't as quickly apparent as calories but they do impact our health in a tremendously negative way.
Think of it; when you experience any stress your muscles tense, your blood pressure rises, your blood sugar rises, your heart rate increases, your immune system becomes depressed...I can go on with many more! Even when the stress is over there are residual effects of stress that stay with you. Think of the most basic:
Right now feel around your upper trap muscle ( its the muscle between your ear and your shoulder) If you poke around for a few seconds it will be easy to touch upon a sore spot. There will most likely be one little knotty area that will feel slightly more tender than the rest of your trap. That is one of the many effects of stress, tight muscles. those muscles in turn pull on your spine and cause subluxations. Subluxations are small misalignments that place stress on your nervous system. So ultimately a lot of the stress that you experience negatively impacts your nervous system. That doesn't sound like a good thing to me...how about you?
The greatest way to alleviate stress is to live an incredibly healthy lifestyle. You need proper rest, regular exercise, and excellent nutrition. If there are times when you are not following the best of lifestyle, which for most people is often, you should get to a chiropractor. Remember stress is cululative just like calories it builds up for weeks, for months, or even for years before you start to pay attention to the affects of stress.
The main purpose of chiropractic care is to reduce the effects of stress on your body. The less stress your body experiences the healthier you are. I also choose in my practice to utilize Applied Kinesiology, which is the melding together of chiropractic, nutrition, acupuncture, physical therapy and cranial sacral therapy. The more areas of stress you relieve the better!
My Advice! Get rid of your stress right now and call your chiropractor for an appointment!
Stress is like calories. If you eat more calories than you burn what happens? You gain weight and after weeks or months or years of your calorie equation being out of balance(More calories in than out) you can see the damaging affects on your body.
Think of stress the same way. Every day we are exposed to combinations of physical, chemical and emotional stress. If we experience stress yet do little to alleviate stress we throw off balance our stress equation(More stress in than out). The affects of stress aren't as quickly apparent as calories but they do impact our health in a tremendously negative way.
Think of it; when you experience any stress your muscles tense, your blood pressure rises, your blood sugar rises, your heart rate increases, your immune system becomes depressed...I can go on with many more! Even when the stress is over there are residual effects of stress that stay with you. Think of the most basic:
Right now feel around your upper trap muscle ( its the muscle between your ear and your shoulder) If you poke around for a few seconds it will be easy to touch upon a sore spot. There will most likely be one little knotty area that will feel slightly more tender than the rest of your trap. That is one of the many effects of stress, tight muscles. those muscles in turn pull on your spine and cause subluxations. Subluxations are small misalignments that place stress on your nervous system. So ultimately a lot of the stress that you experience negatively impacts your nervous system. That doesn't sound like a good thing to me...how about you?
The greatest way to alleviate stress is to live an incredibly healthy lifestyle. You need proper rest, regular exercise, and excellent nutrition. If there are times when you are not following the best of lifestyle, which for most people is often, you should get to a chiropractor. Remember stress is cululative just like calories it builds up for weeks, for months, or even for years before you start to pay attention to the affects of stress.
The main purpose of chiropractic care is to reduce the effects of stress on your body. The less stress your body experiences the healthier you are. I also choose in my practice to utilize Applied Kinesiology, which is the melding together of chiropractic, nutrition, acupuncture, physical therapy and cranial sacral therapy. The more areas of stress you relieve the better!
My Advice! Get rid of your stress right now and call your chiropractor for an appointment!
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