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.”

What is Health?

When asked what health is, most people will say, "feeling good!" Although feeling good is important for your quality of life, it is not actually the definition of health. The World Health Organization defines health as, "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." The next question is how do we achieve this?

There are many factors that contribute to your health including nutrition, exercise, stress relief, and relationships. An essential factor is one that is commonly overlooked: a functioning nervous system. Your nervous system controls every system, organ, tissue, and cell in your body so it is important to be sure that it is functioning at 100%. If you are asking yourself what chiropractic has to do with the nervous system, then keep reading!

The central nervous system (consisting of the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord) are protected by the skull and the spinal column. If any of the vertebrae from the spinal column are out of alignment, pressure is put on the nervous system leading to interference. Chiropractors call this a subluxation. When subluxations occur, the signals traveling to vital organs such as your heart and stomach are decreased.

Gardens Family Chiropractic uses a specific analysis followed by a specific adjustment that is unique to each person. By removing interference from the nervous system, your body will create an optimal environment for healing and living the way it is intended to. In order to achieve optimal health, the house of your nervous system must be checked and adjusted as necessary.

Imagine if the steering wheel in your car is out of alignment. If left alone, the tires will eventually wear out. Will rotating your tires fix the problem? No! The cause of the problem must be addressed: the steering wheel alignment. Chiropractic care is only a piece of the health puzzle, but without it, the other pieces won't be able to fit.