A New Approach to Health

When many people think of chiropractic, they immediately think of a therapy for neck pain and back pain. And it is true that some chiropractors practice this way; however any principled chiropractor will tell you that if it is practice this way, it is a huge waste of its enormous potential. The truth of the matter is that chiropractic is not a therapy at all. In fact it is a science of an entirely new healing art, which is truly unique.

Currently in the world there are two ways to look at health. The first way is a therapeutic approach. The goal of this look at health is to find a cure for symptoms and create relief in the patient. There are two ways to “cure” symptoms in this approach; 1) Using drugs and surgery or 2) Using other modalities (PT, homeopathy, acupuncture, naturopathy, etc.) While at first it may seem that a therapy-based model for health seems like a good idea, a deeper look reveals that it is a backwards way to health, and is the reason why we currently have the sickest industrial nation in the world.

Under a therapy-approach, symptoms are seen as the problem; and almost anything is performed to alleviate the symptoms. However, symptoms are never the problem, they are a warning sign that dis-ease is present. An relevant analogy would be comparing symptoms to a fire alarm. If your house was on fire, would you want to cut the alarm or put out the fire. Well under the therapy model, we are just cutting the alarm! This is why you may be feeling great, and have relief, but inside you are still on fire!

The other approach to health is non-therapy based. It’s main purpose is not to “cure” anything, but to find the CAUSE of dis-ease. Once the cause is found, the body will cure itself, and symptoms will naturally go way. This is why everyone should see a chiropractor no matter what condition they have! Chiropractic is for everyone. Get your family checked today!

Dis-ease vs. disease

What is the one thing that all diseases have in common? The body isn’t working right! If your body was working correctly, the cells wouldn’t duplicate rapidly causing cancer, your heart would be beating at the right speed and right pressure, and your body would fight off the influenza virus so that you wouldn’t catch the flu. You see, there are thousands and thousands of diseases out there, but they are all effects of something known as dis-ease. Dis-ease is a disruption of communication between the brain stem and the body caused by a subluxation. If there is a break-down of communication, then the body will begin to weaken, and creates a perfect breeding ground for disease to grow.
A great analogy to describe this condition would be a dump. If you have a piece of land that becomes a dump, inevitable rats will begin to flock there. You can poison the dump, and kill all of the rats, however if the dump is left to sit there, more rats will congregate, and the cycle repeated. The only way to break the cycle is to clean up the dump! The same holds true for your body. If you have dis-ease that is caused by a subluxation it creates a “dump” inside your body. Just like the rats, different diseases will find this environment to be perfect to thrive in. You can take care of the diseases by using medications, surgery, or other therapies; however if you don’t address the dis-ease, your body will still be in a weakened condition, where more and more diseases can grow.
Go see a chiropractor today so that you can reestablish the communication between your brain stem and every single cell of your body. It’s far more important to take care of the cause of the problem and let your body take care of the symptoms on its own.

ADD - Treat the Cause, Not the Effects

ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) is becoming more and more common in children. Instead of looking for the cause of the problem, doctors are quick to prescribe Ritalin, a mind-altering drug that actually suppresses the nervous system. The nervous system is the root of the problem and therefore chiropractors should be the first doctor a child with ADD or ADHD sees so that their subluxations can be removed and the body can heal itself from the inside-out.

Giving a child Ritalin is an outside-in approach and will not work. A child’s brain and nervous system is still developing and interfering with this process will only injure the child. The body wants to heal itself and when the child’s energy is able to flow freely without interference (subluxation), the body can function optimally with full life potential!

Instead of drugging your children with medicine that will damage their nervous systems and cause more health problems in the long run, including death, give them something that will increase the function of their nervous system.

Read about the negative effects of Ritalin in this article:

http://www.naturalnews.com/027833_ritalin_sudden_death.html

Chiropractic and the Immune System

In the midst of flu season and the H1N1 virus, it is important to maintain a strong immune system. When your body encounters a virus, your immune system produces antibodies to fight it and maintain balance within your body. If your immune system is compromised, your body’s ability to ward off viruses is decreased. This explains why a class of 20 children can be exposed to the same virus and only 10 of them get sick. It is not the virus causing the illness, it is the environment in which the virus encounters.

Think about a pile of garbage with flies around it. We could kill all the flies there at that moment, but it doesn’t solve the problem of the stinky garbage. Flies will keep coming back until we clean up the garbage. Imagine that the flies are germs and the garbage is the immune system. As long as the immune system is weak, it will attract germs such as the flu virus.

Now that we know how to get to the source of the problem, we must determine how to strengthen the immune system. The first thing to do is get checked for subluxations. Because the nervous system controls all systems, organs, tissues, and cells in the body, it is important for the signals from your brain to the organs that control your immune system (the thymus and spleen) to be clear. Stress is also an important factor in managing the state of the your immune system as chronic stress can decrease your body’s ability to heal itself. Chiropractic has been shown to decrease overall stress in the body leading a higher functioning immune system.

A study conducted in 2006 showed that chiropractic adjustments can boost your immune system. Immune panels were measured on each patient's blood work over a 9 month period while receiving chiropractic care. Another study performed on HIV patients showed a 200% increase in their immune response while under chiropractic care.

There are other things you can do to maintain a strong immune system such as eating healthy, exercising, and decreasing stress in your life. These are important to keep in mind but will not have much of an effect if your nervous system is not functioning properly.

The Symphony Of Life

Let’s use a simple analogy to discover how our bodies operate every single moment of every single day: A symphony.  A symphony consists of multiple sections such has strings, woodwinds, percussion, etc.  Within each section are individuals playing their respected instrument.  We have violins, violas, clarinets, tubas, and wind chimes just to name a few.  Everyone can play their own instrument, and make beautiful music individually; however it needs the help of a conductor to take these individuals, and coordinate them into playing as a group.  The end result is a sound that is more beautiful and more powerful than any one member of the symphony can achieve individually.

Your body works entirely the same way!  Your body is just a collection of trillions of cells.  Like the sections of a symphony, it consists of four main sections: muscle tissue, nerve tissue, connective tissue (i.e. ligaments) and epithelial tissue (i.e. skin). Within each section are individual cells performing their respected function, just like the instruments of the symphony.  We have heart-muscle cells, liver cells, thyroid cells, bone-forming cells just to name a few.  Every cell can perform functions on its own to survive; however it needs the help of a “conductor” to take these individual cells and coordinate them into functioning as a whole.  The conductor of our entire body is our brain and spinal cord.  If the brain is doing its job and “conducting” our cells, health is the result!

 Going back to the symphony, what would happen if the violin section were given earplugs and blindfolds?  This would probably interfere with how the violinists were playing.  Even though the conductor is still trying to coordinate the symphony, the violinists just aren’t getting the messages.  What used to be an amazing synchronized masterpiece begins to sound more like a disaster.

 This is how disease manifests itself in your body. The brain, like the conductor, is sending out messages to all the cells of your body.  Now imagine there was something interfering with the messages going to your liver cells.  Those liver cells begin to become disorganized.  A pathology begins to exist.  In this example we may call it hepatitis, or liver cirrhosis. Whatever the pathology is named, it is all one common cause; a lack of harmony between your cells. 

 So what is the solution to the violinists in our example?  Our current health care suggests we either remove the violinists from the symphony, or put earplugs in the audiences’ ears.  In both cases you are not experiencing the symphony at its best. 

At Gardens Family Chiropractic we like to focus on the cause of the problem.  We would much rather remove the earplugs and blindfolds from the violinists and let the conductor lead them back into harmony.  What sounds more appealing to you?

KIDS and Chiropractic!

Do you remember when your first trauma occurred? Chances are that you don’t remember because it occurred when you were born. Whether you were delivered naturally through the birth canal or with intervention such as cesarean section, your spine was twisted, pulled, and torqued as you entered into the world. Research has shown that the more intervention used during delivery, the higher the risk or trauma to the spine and nervous system of the baby. Intervention includes c-section, forceps, vacuum extraction, and any type of pulling force on the baby made by the doctor.

Since the spine is the “house” of the nervous system, you can see how even the perfect birthing experience can result in subluxations. The birth process is our first trauma, but there are little things in our everyday lives that cause stress on our nervous system, especially in children. How many times do kids fall on their bums before they learn to walk? A lot! Not to mention all the slips, falls, and injuries that children encounter on a daily basis. Any force into the spine will affect the integrity of the nervous system and that is why it’s important for children to get checked and adjusted from birth.

Chiropractic intervention in children is currently a big topic in research and the results are showing that it is not only safe, but beneficial! Studies show that chiropractic care can help children with ADHD, colic, ear infections, just to name a few. Parents have also noticed unexpected results in their children such as improved sleep, improved attitude and behavior, and improved immune system function! As always, chiropractic does not “cure” any condition, but if free of subluxations, your child’s body will have the capacity to heal without medicine or surgical intervention.

For more information on the chiropractic care in children or to locate a pediatric chiropractor in your area, please visit the website of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association at www.icpa4kids.org.

The Story of Chiropractic

Thousands of years ago, a person observed that there was a force that existed in the world like no other; a force that unified all things. He realized that this power took the randomness of the universe, and from it, created organization. It was the force that made life predictable. It was the power that caused the sun to come up every morning, and the stars to come out every night. This very clever man took this force and gave it the name “God.” He also realized that God was inside us as well. It was the POWER INSIDE of us that caused a child to grow into a man. It was the power INSIDE of us that caused a broken bone to heal! This God created order and organization inside of our bodies each and every moment of our lives.

In 1895 one man had a similar observation; his name was DD Palmer. Palmer was a healer at the time, but thought a little differently than his colleagues. While most of the health field was trying to find the cure for all disease, Palmer wanted to find the CAUSE OF ALL DISEASE. His rationale was that if you just cured someone of a disease, the reason why the disease was developed in the first place was never addressed. The body is therefore still in a diseased state. Instead, he asked himself the question “why does one person get sick over another?” It was a question he could not answer at the time. But then one day something changed that. You see, he observed the same organizational force that was present in the world. Instead of using the word God to describe it, he used the phrase “Universal Intelligence.” He also realized that this universal intelligence was inside each and every one of us. He called this our “Innate Intelligence,” innate meaning born with, and intelligence meaning just that! From that he understood that we are innately born with the ability to heal ourselves. To do this, our innate intelligence utilizes our nervous system. Our nervous system is what is responsible for transmitting our healing messages to every organ, tissue, and cell in our body. However, there is a catch…just as the sunlight that is feeding a flower can be blocked by the shade of a tree, this inborn intelligence that is sending healing messages to our body through our nervous system can be interfered with as well. This interference is what he termed a SUBLUXATION. He now had the answer to his question. If someone had interference to their nervous system, their body would be susceptible to disease. This interference is the CAUSE of all disease! DD Palmer believed that if you took away the interference, the healing messages from your brain would then be free to flow to every cell in your body, allowing healing to take place. He took this theory and created a system of detecting interference in your nervous system, and then eliminating it, restoring full communication between your brain and body. He named this system CHIROPRACTIC!

DD Palmer was a man way ahead of his time. Because of his courage and wisdom, chiropractic has now become the second largest healing art in the world. He accomplished all of this just by appreciating the fact that our bodies are self-healing and self-regulating. Our current model of health however, does not give that same respect to our body. We live in a world that believes health is outside-in. Currently 60% of American’s are on medications, believing this is the way to health. We need to wake up and realize that true health comes from within. If innate intelligence is allowed to fully express itself, health is inevitable. We just need to have some faith in ourselves! Nelson Mandela once said “ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”