Pain does not have to be the norm for your Veteran

Although there are many different age groups for Veterans, one in particular I want to tell you about is elderly. I was given the privilege of caring for this Veteran in his late 80’s beginning a couple weeks ago. As with all my elderly patients, I would be lying if I didn't say I was slightly dreading his appointment. “Why didn't you see a Chiropractor sooner?” is always my first thought. It is so hard to make the dramatic improvements, my type-A personality wants to see, in the elderly.  But most of the time, our elderly are unaware of the benefits Chiropractic could have had on them throughout their life. But in this particular case, finding the right Chiropractor was what he needed.

He called me one Monday morning and had left a message because the office was closed that day. A message nearly 3 minutes long I might add. He said he had seen my advertisement in a magazine and what caught his eye was when I quoted B.J. Palmer by saying “the power that made the body, heals the body”. He was convinced I had the answer to his problem. He was probably a little bit more convinced than I was when I first met him.

What he had been experiencing for the past year and a half was extreme vertigo. I had cared for other patients experiencing vertigo, but nothing like this. He needed help doing everything, moving into any position, and looking any direction. He had a history of a decent amount of head trauma both before and during the vertigo so I was hopeful that the upper cervical adjustment technique I specialize in would benefit him.

His daughter who accompanied him on each visit had expressed her concern in coming to me. She was understandably tired of spending time and money on a symptom that wasn't improving, while watching her father’s health decline in the meantime. They had been to two other Chiropractors, and a variety of Medical Doctors and specialists and no one knew the answer. I get a range of emotions when patients tell me this. I am at first anxious for the challenge and then secondly I am overwhelmed with doubt. He was confident in my ability for some reason, so I was ready to try.

The first visit took a decent amount of time, both because we had such a good time visiting with each other and because vertigo is not something you can rush through. If you have ever experienced it, you will know what I mean. We did a few very basic adjustments, typical for what I perform on all of my elderly patients and an additional procedure specifically for patients experiencing vertigo. He claimed to feel no different after the adjustment, which I told him I expected and to be patient. He came back three days later for his second adjustment and although he said his neck felt “less tense”, the vertigo had not changed.

He came back for his third adjustment a few days after that and I knew there was something different the moment he walked in the door. “Can I hug you?” he said. Then with tears in his eyes he told me that his vertigo left after that second adjustment and hadn't been back since. THAT is why I am a Chiropractor. And I am honored that God chose me to utilize this great tool.

In just a couple weeks after recovering from vertigo, this patient has made a variety of health improvements. He had always been very active and with the presence of vertigo it had become very dangerous for him to do something as simple as going for a walk.

One of the most debilitating influences on a person’s health as they age is a sedentary lifestyle. Exercise can improve a person’s mobility, digestion, and circulation, and can decrease anxiety. Walking improves elasticity in blood vessels, which makes them less susceptible to aneurysms.

Chiropractic care is essential for the elderly because of the dramatic changes that occur in the spine with increased age. As we age, spinal discs, joints, ligaments, muscles, and other spinal tissues become weaker, less hydrated, more fibrotic, and less able to endure “normal” stresses. As a result, back pain and injury become more prominent. Anti inflammatory medications and pain relievers only mask the symptoms and have many undesirable side effects, which is why Chiropractic care is so advantageous resulting in pain reduction and decreased spinal stress and degeneration. Popular reactions among my elderly patients are increased energy due to pain reduction, which also leads them to sleeping throughout the night, and better balance is often experienced as well.

Chiropractic care has a number of benefits as we age:

• Relief from spine and joints

• Decrease in muscle stiffness

• Increased mobility

• Straighter posture

• Increased balance and coordination

• Increased energy

• Increased sense of well-being

• Decreased arthritic pain

• Minimized spinal stress

• Reduce risk of falls/injuries

My elderly patients also enjoy both the nutrition and ergonomic discussions we have. Most of them have lost a decent amount of teeth as they have aged and have not been taught how to change their food habits now that they can’t chew certain foods, which leads to them simply eliminating them altogether. Reassessing what they are eating to assure proper nutritional needs are being met is very important. Also, they are sitting a lot more now and perhaps their favorite lounge-chair isn't so favorable for the proper maintenance of spinal alignment.

Thank you to all of you who are Veterans! 

 

Rainbow bite juice

I have had a lot of patients come in to the clinic this week either sick or having just recieved the flu shot. So to keep my immune system strong, I made the Food Babe's rainbow bite juice.  It has a bite!

Rainbow Bite juice
-1/4 cabbage
-1 bunch raindbow chard
-1 lemon (no peel)
-1 cucumber
-1/2 bunch celery
-2 garlic cloves
(Makes 2)

Enjoy!

Quinoa breakfast

I just had to share a picture of my delicious breakfast!
A lot of times my breakfast gets pretty boring - 2 scrambled eggs with greens, 2 poached eggs, a mean green smoothie, or a fruit smoothie. But I decided to go a little out there this morning with this quinoa breakfast bowl -
Quinoa
Greek yogurt
Blackberries
Sunflower seeds
Walnuts
Mint
Honey

The smile of a child

                             

It’s beginning to be that time of year again!!  Here at The Chiropractic Villa we are collecting toys, which will benefit:

·The Family Place

·The Boys & Girls Club of North Central Texas

We were very pleased with the generous amount of donations we received last year and hope to collect even more this year! Of course all toys are greatly appreciated, but toys needed most are for the 10-14 age groups for both girls and boys. It’s easy and fun to buy for those little kids, and so we often forget about the pre-teens and early teens needing some Christmas cheer as well.  It’s heartbreaking to know that there are so many children, even in America, who have to worry about when their next meal will be. Giving them a toy for Christmas doesn’t begin to solve their problematic situations, but they are still children and deserve to experience times of joy, if even for a little bit.

Mission work is something very dear to both my and my mother’s hearts. I hope to have the opportunity of doing Chiropractic missions work in the future, but so far I have been fortunate enough to do a few things here and there. From when I was very young, I remember not only participating in things like the local Angel Tree opportunities and Operation Christmas Child, but we also went as a family to mission’s trips to Mexico with an eye Doctor friend of ours. There are always ways we can relate with others, no matter where they live and I remember having lots of fun as a five-year old playing with the children in Mexico and helping them choose sun glasses and understand how to use hygiene items like toothbrushes and toothpaste.

Because of my mom’s successful work with World Vision by getting many children sponsored, she has had the opportunity to go to Guatemala, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and I was able to join her on a trip to Haiti. World Vision is an excellent organization and we have been repeatedly impressed with how they differ from programs that just give handouts. World Vision is a child sponsorship program that provides the sponsored child things like clean drinking water, food, and education. My mom was amazed on one of her trips when there were several children in one particular family, but not all of the children were sponsored. When asked why the additional children were not sponsored yet they were told that they didn’t want to teach dependence on handouts, but instead wanted to teach self-sufficiency to the locals. What a concept!

What’s neat about World Vision is you can actually communicate through letters with the child you sponsor and you will receive pictures as they grow and information on their progress. If you want to personally send them some small gifts you can do that as well, which of course they love. Some people help their sponsored child’s family get things like goats or chickens, which further helps their self-sufficiency.

We aren’t all called into the mission’s field, but I think it is important for all of us to experience a small portion at least once. So many of us have truly no idea how blessed we are. We have never experienced what it feels like to have an actual hunger pain. We don’t have to walk barefoot hundreds of miles, while risking our life, just for water...that is dirty and most likely contaminated. My mom witnessed several times on her trips where small children, kindergarten age, would tuck away a portion of their already measly scrap of food into a pocket either to eat later or to give to a relative back home. No we shouldn’t feel guilty for our advantages and run off and sell everything, but putting things into perspective and not whining about things that really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things is my goal here.

There will always be a new version of the Iphone, a more supped-up car, and bigger and better houses. Our desires will almost never be met. But giving someone a chance to meet their daily needs when there may be no other opportunity for them, and giving a child something small to smile about is irreplaceable in both your heart and theirs.

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Celebrate!

I have gotten a little behind on my blogging and was given inspiration by a patient and fellow blogger www.quinnforaday.com to get back to it. So here we go.

This past Thursday (October 16th) we celebrated The Chiropractic Villa's two-year Anniversary. In a way, it seems like time has flown by, and in a way, it seems like we opened just yesterday. We have had quite a few challenges along the way. They say opening a business is hard. Well they were wrong. It's harder. Pretty much anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. There were days in the beginning where I wanted to throw in the towel, but then it became quite comical. Max Lucado in one of my many favorite books of his called "You'll get through this" helped change my attitude and showed me I was struggling for a reason. I actually began to awake each day looking forward to what problem I would experience that day. It's not that I'm a pessimist about things...I'm a realist actually. If it wasn't something breaking then it was a permit we had been unaware of needing or some other "state regulated" expense. And whoever came up with the term "being dollared to death" is sorely mistaken....it should be called "being thousanded to death" haha. I believe though that those of us who go through the biggest struggles, He has the biggest plans for. So I'm excited to see what He has in store.

I am so thankful and blessed to have the support of so many friends and family. I couldn't have done any of this without my mom and sister specifically. This has been a learning experience for all of us and I am happy to report that we made it through the toughest first two years and we all lived lol. It was touch and go there for a little while. You are forced to learn things you have no desire to learn while opening a new business, and working as a team, expressing a variety of strengths, has been a priceless blessing. I am also very thankful for all of the advice I have been given along the way by people who see my passion and drive and are wanting to help me be successful as quickly as possible. And on the other hand, I'm thankful that I stuck to my guns on some things because the result of my choices have been for the better. Cheaper things have never gotten me the best in my life, so why would I want to give less than the best to my patients?

Slow and steady wins the race...unless there is a time limit, which is why consistency and determination prove to be far more reliable.

Farewell Oscar...

I know this has nothing to do with the theme of my blog, but it is a part of my past that I can brag on.
Many moons ago i was a model. And during the beginning days of modeling, thanks to my mom and her motherly motivation to find every opportunity to help her daughters....... she found out about...and we crashed, an Oscar De La Renta fashion show at the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus. No one ever knew that we didn't belong. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes. Enough time to chat with Oscar, snap a picture, and exit with him in the elevator.
Oscar was as kind as could be and I am so happy I had the chance to meet him. His classical style will forever be admired. Farewell Oscar.
......and yes, I am unfortunately a natural blonde.

How is your nutrition?

Do you know if you are meeting your daily requirements for nutrition? It is nearly impossible to get everything we need from our food because our sources are now so depleted. An example of this can be seen with something like an apple. The nutritional equivalent of one apple our grandparents ate is equal to about five apples that we have access to currently. And I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want to sit around and munch on five apples! Are you sure of the quality of ingredients used in your large bottle of multivitamins you purchase at your local discount store? Most vitamins available can actually be causing more harm than good AND most of them cannot even be properly broken down and absorbed by your body, so you are actually just flushing money down the toilet…literally.

Do you even know what vitamins you should be taking? So we all hear we should take a multivitamin, maybe some vitamin D, Omega 3 fatty acids, and the list can go on, but how do we really know what we should be taking and how much we should be taking? Should a petite female take the same nutritional supplements as a male body-builder? Should someone who suffers from depression take the same things as someone who is bubbly and energetic?

Due to both my history of Lupus and going through Chiropractic school, I have a rather large base of knowledge on nutrition and like to carefully research products in order to better educate my patients. I am always very skeptical to all nutritional companies because they never end up being what they claim to be – “all natural, pure, organic, etc”. I have personally tested the majority of the most popular products out there and have continuously been disappointed. Until now. A pharmacist named Paul Sullivan developed the product I am completely impressed with. Paul Sullivan, who’s critically ill daughter inspired him to create these products for everyone, eventually developed a complex computer algorithm that combines each individuals personal health and lifestyle habits to devise a specific nutritional supplement regime based on your scientifically proven needs.

I love how this company shows their research of why you need certain nutrients so that you aren’t guessing which supplements you need. I especially love how this product truly is organic, non-GMO, soy free, gluten free, and casein free and they don’t try to hide any of their ingredients. This nutrition also comes in convenient packaging pre-sorted into AM and PM doses because some nutrients are proven to be better absorbed at certain times of the day. If you are already on a supplement regime, you will also find that these nutritional supplements are significantly less expensive than the high-quality ones you can currently purchase because you aren’t paying for all of those space-wasting bottles.

Although all of the products have impressed me, the one most impressive, by far, has been the Omega-3 fatty acid. Omega-3 fatty acid is a vital nutrient that we should all be taking to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, protect your heart, ease joint pain, improve memory, and is excellent for reversing symptoms of both autism and head injuries. But unfortunately most sources are full of toxic mercury and by taking most store-bought omega-3 you can be defeating the whole purpose of the nutrient. This product has mercury free omega-3 fatty acid and is in one small gel capsule. The other trustworthy sources I am aware of are either in a nasty liquid form, or you have to take a large amount of huge capsules, which really starts to add up cost each month.

You may notice a variety of health improvements once your nutritional needs have been met. Some things I have witnessed so far include decrease cravings, decrease PMS symptoms, improved memory, healthier skin and hair, decreased digestive issues, better mood, less stress/anxiety, decrease in joint/muscle aches, weight loss, improved immune system, and more energy. IDLife also offers additional products for those specifically looking to sleep better, have more energy, and/or lose weight. Click the link below for the free assessment and see how IDLife can help you. This individualized assessment will tell you what you need personally and why. You must create a user name and password because it is HIPAA compliant. Click here to take assessment: IDLifeAssessment

Football injury prevention and recovery

The speed, forces, and regular occurring contact associated with football during both practice and within games, make some type of football-related injury almost unavoidable. Injury prevention and treatment for any athlete starts with optimal health in both nutrition and musculoskeletal alignment.

Chiropractic care focuses on the health and function of the entire body, with particular emphasis on the skeletal system, muscular system, and central nervous system. When the body’s central nervous system is optimized and 100% healthy, all systems within the body perform properly and at their full potential. When there are interferences (known as subluxations) within the central nervous system, the systems of the body are not able to function at peak levels, which leave them susceptible to illness and injury.

The majority of catastrophic football injuries occur secondary to axial (downward) compression of the cervical (neck) spine. This mechanism of injury occurs most often when a player drops their head down when tackling or blocking an opponent. This flexes the cervical spine, flattening the natural Lordotic curve, which bypasses the shock absorbing capacities of the spine and the associated muscles and ligaments. It is very important that these young athletes practice proper training from an early age to avoid initiating contact with their helmet.

Concussions have received an increasingly amount of attention in the press lately because we are all aware now of just how harmful they can be. If not dealt with properly, concussions can have lasting effects on the individual’s brain function. Concussions occur when there is a traumatic blow to the head, neck, or body. This trauma can cause a whiplash-type injury to the neck, which is a term used for the association of tearing of the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This type of injury will result in loss of normal function in the spine immediately, and will progress even more in the future if not treated properly. Recent studies have found that the Chiropractic adjustments of the upper cervical spine, increases performance of the central nervous system due to the precise x-rays, gentle technique, and direct relationship on the central nervous system.

As much as we teach our youngsters principles like “no pain, no gain”, athletes, their trainers, and Doctors understand the consequences of disabling the pain mechanism and have come to realize the benefits of the Chiropractic perspective - treat the cause of the pain. It is also important to note that a misaligned spine does not always produce pain. Typically pain is one of the last symptoms to appear, which means that damage has been going on long before seeing a Chiropractor.

Dr. Catherine Kuiken with Andrew Kossack

Here at The Chiropractic Villa, we serve our patients and clients with whole-body health by utilizing upper cervical Chiropractic, massage, nutrition, acupuncture, and e-stim therapy. Make sure your child is properly prepared for a future in sports and stays as injury free as possible!

Kombucha - yea or nay?

What is that popular health drink that looks so much like your dirty dishwater? Is it just a new fad among health nuts? When I had my first sampling of Kombucha, I was not at all impressed. It reminded me a lot of Apple Cider vinegar. Not very appetizing, in my opinion. I kept hearing of this drink’s many health benefits, but wondered if the benefits were enough to overcompensate for the awful taste?

I had decided this was one health strategy that I would steer clear of. My sister had been drinking it every day for a while because she actually enjoys the taste. There was no way I could drink something, let alone enjoy something, that tasted like that…or so I thought. I was hit with both pneumonia and the flu this past winter. I tried everything I could think of and nothing would kick the horrible month-long cough that I had. Out of desperation, I finally forced myself to choke down a pint of Kombucha for two days in a row (which surprisingly tasted pretty good when I was that sick) and when I woke up the third day, I was amazed at how great I felt. I don’t know what happened with my taste buds, but ever since then, I crave the taste.

So what exactly is Kombucha? Kombucha is a raw, fermented drink made from sweetened black tea. Originating in China, in the early 1900s, Kombucha has become popularized by its immune-boosting and healing effects.

What all is Kombucha good for?

1. Immune system. Because Kombucha functions as a prebiotic, this causes an environment free from bacteria while providing growth to microorganisms. Yes, Kombucha can kill bacteria. Acetic acid, which is a bi-product of fermentation, creates a sterile environment, meaning it prevents and even kills infection. 

Prebiotic: Specialized form of dietary plant fiber, which are not affected by heat, cold, acid, or time. These have been medically proven to provide a wide range of health benefits as they nourish the good bacteria that everyone already has in their gut.

Probiotic: Live bacteria in dairy products and pills. There are hundreds of available probiotics available, but we do not yet know which are the best. These probiotics must be kept alive and can be killed by heat, stomach acid, and time. Health benefits of these are definitely suspected, but not yet proven and probiotics must also compete with over 1000 other bacteria species already in the gut.

2. Digestion. Your digestive system has a rough job, especially with all the toxic “food” we can’t seem to resist. Fermented foods are “pre-digested”, which provides a much-needed break to your pancreas, which normally has to secrete a lot digestive fluid. Furthermore, the prebiotics, yeasts, and enzymes in kombucha actually help to break down food and aid your body in absorption. Prebiotics also help balance the digestive system by helping to maintain a healthy PH balance. Because of all of this digestive relief, Kombucha helps alleviate conditions such as Crohn’s disease, Celiac disease, Candida, IBS, and stomach ulcers.

3. Weight loss. A large number of people claim that kombucha helped to aid in weight loss by curbing their appetite. This is not assured in everyone though, just an added bonus for some.

4. Vitamins. Kombucha contains B and C vitamins. B vitamins are a favorite among many due to their sugar-craving reducing qualities. B vitamins also help to reduce stress, reduce the risk of heart disease, aid in PMS symptoms, and help to improve memory. Vitamin C helps us by acting as an antioxident, boosts our immune system, and functions as a natural antihistamine.

5. Gut. Yet another benefit of kombucha is that it contains Butyric acid. This acid strengthens the walls in our gut, kills parasites, and protects against yeast infections.

6. Stomach. Because of the natural acidity in Kombucha, whether you need more stomach or less stomach acid, Kombucha will help to balance this. This balance can aid in many uncomfortable digestive problems we often experience.

7. Detoxifying. Kombucha contains tons of antioxidants, which is good news for your liver and helps to prevent cancer.

8. Joints. Surprisingly, Kombucha naturally contains glucosamine. Glucosamine helps to keep your joints healthy and prevents arthritis.

9. Energy. Because of the many B vitamins, Kombucha makes a great energy drink substitution.

10. Delicious! Some of us have a palate for it and some of us have to acquire a palate for it. Due to its rather sweet, yet vinegary flavor, it may take some getting used to, but you can also flavor it with some fresh fruit juice for your taste. And added satisfaction is it’s naturally effervescent (carbonated), which is good for those of us who choose to avoid pop.  

Just like anything though, we are all different and the benefits of kombucha vary from person to person. Because of the benefits I have seen personally in myself, I have a serving almost every day. Some things I have personally experienced are increased energy, decreased craving for sweets, and the biggest change has been the boost in my immune system – has helped me both get over illness and prevent illness.

Here at The Chiropractic Villa, we offer kombucha for only $3.50 a pint. We encourage you to recycle your used jars back to us and we will refill them for only $3.00. Our kombucha is not flavored, but you may feel free to add a splash of your favorite fresh juice such as pomegranate, cherry, or strawberry.

Sitting can be deadly

Most of us are aware that it is important to try to, not only, not sit for long periods of time, but also to maintain good posture while we sit. But do you know why? What really happens to your body that is that much different from standing versus sitting? Did you know that sitting for long periods of time is detrimental to both your spine AND your organs?

Most people probably associate sitting too much with back pain and don’t even realize the effects that long-term sitting can have on your organs and bodily functions. Believe it or not, prolonged sitting is linked to high blood pressure and cholesterol because inactive muscles allow fatty acids to accumulate in your vessels, which more easily clogs the heart. People who sit more often are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease as opposed to those who are more active. Another organ that can be affected is your pancreas. The pancreas produces insulin, which is a hormone that carries glucose to your cells to be used for energy. Cells in unused muscles do not respond as readily to insulin, so your pancreas produces more and more insulin due to the lack of reaction, which then, of course, leads to diabetes and other diseases. Studies show that even one day of prolonged sitting can lead to a decline in insulin response. Extended sitting has also been linked to colon, breast, and endometrial cancer due to increased cell growth by raised insulin levels. Increased cell growth leads to metastasis (cancer).  Movement boosts natural antioxidants in your body and helps to kill damaging, cancer-causing free radicals.

Prolonged sitting has detrimental effects on not only your spine, but also your Central Nervous System. Body movement encourages fresh blood and oxygen to pump through your brain and triggers the release of brain and other mood enhances chemicals. When you sit for a long period of time, you may notice a decrease in your ability to focus, conceive ideas, or even communicate properly. When I was in Chiropractic school, most of our professors encouraged us to both stand during class and to go out and walk around in between classes. I noticed a significant difference in my ability to understand things when I was up moving around ever so often, versus sitting all day with no physical movement.

Neck strain is a common problem associated with sitting too much and when experienced regularly, you are at greater risk for permanent imbalances in your cervical (neck) vertebra. When we sit for long periods of time, we are typically doing something that causes our head to be bent slightly down. This puts a large amount of stress on the back of our neck muscles. There is a quick example I show my new patients to better understand this, which is having them hold a 5 pound ball with one hand out in front of them, elbow bent, and wrist bent backwards to support the ball. It’s easy to see how much easier it is to hold the ball with your wrist bent backwards then to bend your wrist forwards. Well this is what your neck goes through every day while trying to hold your head up when you are bent forward at your desk. We all have a natural curve in our neck that curves backwards and when we are bent over all day, the muscles on the back of our neck are having to work too hard and become strained, which leads to shoulder tension as well.

Lack of movement also leads to an inflexible spine, which makes you more susceptible to injury with mundane activities like bending to pick up a piece of paper, for example. I’m sure many of you know one person or another who have bent to pick up something small like that and then claim to have “thrown their back out.” This complaint could be due to many things, but most commonly includes either muscle spasms or a disc herniation. Movement encourages the discs between your vertebra to expand and contract like sponges, soaking up fresh blood and nutrients. Lack of movement causes discs to become weak by losing their sponginess. Another cause of disc herniation is by a tight psoas muscle. Your psoas muscles travel through your abdominal cavity and becomes tight when in a flexed, seated posture. A tight psoas pulls your upper lumbar spine forward causing your upper body weight to rest entirely on your ischial tuberosities (sit bones) instead of being evenly distributed along the arch of your spine, putting greater pressure on your discs.

Prolonged sitting has an effect on us later on in life as well. Studies have shown that a decrease in hip mobility is a main reason why so many of our elderly tend to fall. Chronic sitters experience tighter hips due to shortened hip flexor muscles, which then leads to a shorter stride and subsequent problems with balance. Weight-bearing exercise (walking and running) is very important as well, to stimulate hip and lower body bones to grow thicker, denser, and stronger, which is why recent surges in osteoporosis have been attributed to lack of physical activity.

For those of us who are vain, there can generate problems with our appearance that stem from excess sitting as well. When you are upright, you are naturally toning your core/stomach muscles as well as your glutes. I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t want mushy abs or limp glutes. Problems with circulation are other common troubles that can be associated, which include ankle swelling, varicose veins, especially if you cross your legs, and even something as serious as blood clots can occur. On the flip side though, some of these are common problems with people who are on their feet all day, so just like everything else, moderation is key.

A lot of you have no choice but to sit for prolonged periods of time because of your job or school, but taking a simple one-minute break every hour or so can make a significant difference in your quality of life. Making sure that you sit properly is very important as well to prevent not only, many of the problems I have described, but also to maintain spinal and muscular health and balance. First of all, sit up straight, right on your sit bones; no slouching. Be sure that you have your chair positioned so that your legs are parallel to the floor; your chair shouldn’t be too high or too low.  Also make sure that your feet are flat on the floor. That means no leg crossing! This puts a large amount of strain and torque on your low back and hips especially. If, at the very least, cross your ankles underneath you if you can’t quite go cold turkey yet. Gentlemen should also stop sitting with their wallets in their back pockets because this is just as harmful to your low back as crossing your legs. It doesn’t matter how thin it is, simply take your wallet out while you sit and you can replace it when you stand. Something else people don’t even consider is the height of their computer screen. Make sure your computer screen is elevated up to eye level to decrease neck strain of looking down. Stacking some books under your screen can easily alleviate this problem.

For those of you who simply cannot maintain good posture while sitting, it may be beneficial to try a lumbar (low back) support, which will force you to sit up straight. If this still doesn’t do the trick, try sitting on a big wobbly exercise ball. This will not only force you to sit up straight, but you will also get a little core workout…it may also help you to focus a little better because you will have to stay more alert as to not lose your balance and take a tumble.

Chiropractic is very beneficial to those who experience prolonged sitting because once your spine is aligned, it is easier to maintain good posture. Your Chiropractor can also show you some easy stretches to do at home to help loosen up your tight hip flexors and also to relax your strained neck muscles. Remember, motion is life and lack of movement leads to pain.

People are addicted to the "crack"

Patient preference seems to range from one extreme to another in regards to the “crack” they hear and feel during a Chiropractic adjustment. Some people absolutely cannot stand the noise and insist that an instrument be used on them as to avoid the sound. Other patients believe that if every single vertebral joint does not crack during their appointment, the performing Chiropractor must have no idea what he or she is doing, which is absolutely not the case. 

I have several patients in particular who have been to many different Chiropractors over the years and claim to “know their body exceedingly well” and get frustrated with me because I will simply not “crack” something that doesn’t need adjusted. Sure, we all love that feeling of endorphins flowing when an adjustment has been made, but take it from someone who has experience in ligament laxity. If your Chiropractor can’t find any subluxations, you simply don’t need adjusted, and forcing something to “crack” will only cause more harm than good. Furthermore, if your Chiropractor adjusts you the same way every single appointment without taking the time to check your spinal alignment each visit to check to make sure there are in fact subluxations in your spine, find a different Chiropractor.

Ligament laxity can occur from a number of things, but the kind I am referring to here in this post is caused by chronically sliding a joint in and out of place. This can happen not only by unnecessary, forced Chiropractic adjustments, but can also be self-caused, for example by cracking your own neck. This encourages hypermobility in your joints, which then naturally causes your neck muscles to become tighter to stabilize those joints. This then makes your neck feel strained, achy, and tight and so you then crack it to get some relief and then the vicious cycle continues on and on.

Now onto a little more of an in-depth explanation to understand the cavitation in a Chiropractic adjustment, versus the “crack” so many of us often self-inflict. There are four phases of motion in our vertebral range of motion, which include: active, passive, paraphysiologic, and sprain.

Active motion is the range in which a person can move a joint with your own free will. For example, wave your index finger up and down. That's the active range of your second metacarpophalangeal joint. Now use the fingers of your other hand to move the index finger up and down passively. This is the passive range of motion, which should be of greater range than the active range. 

Movement through the paraphysiologic range involves the "play" of the joint. In the paraphysiologic range, the surfaces of each bone, which don't actually quite touch in a normal joint, move apart slightly further. A sudden and quite temporary vacuum occurs, which is just as suddenly filled by gas, which has been, up until that moment, saturated in the joint fluid. A popping or cracking noise is produced. This exchange of gas and fluid is called cavitation. It is similar to popping your cheek with your finger; when you push your fingertip out of your mouth quickly, air rushes in to the space suddenly created and makes a pop.

If you are a chronic neck cracker, you are likely stretching out the supporting ligaments in your neck, which will soon lead to hypermobility. Skilled Chiropractors will be able to detect this and will treat this problem with strengthening exercises to prevent early degeneration, pain, and dysfunction. You will also more than likely receive a friendly lecture about not cracking your own neck. You may feel worse for several weeks, if ou go cold turkey, due to the fact that your now overly tight muscles become stiff from overcompensation of the lax ligaments, but this will improve over time and your future spinal health will thank you.

Moderation is key

I have this particularly embarrassing fault I will share with you to show why moderation in your diet is so important. Like I have said before, overall I eat very healthy. But when I fall off the wagon, I fall HARD. During gymnastics, I became rather addicted to baking…probably because I also became rather addicted to eating. I am a pretty good baker, if I do say so myself. I enjoy not only eating what I bake, but I also enjoy sharing with my friends and family…sometimes.

One particular day, I was home alone and decided to make this chocolate cheesecake. The crust was made from Oreo cookies and chocolate, and the cheesecake filling was the most rich, velvety chocolate ganache creation you have ever tasted. I’m drooling just thinking about it. After I made the cheesecake, I decided I had better try a sample of it. I couldn’t serve this to my family if it was bad, right? Well the first sample was so good that I decided I needed another…and then another. Before I knew it, I had eaten way too much of the cheesecake and was embarrassed for my family to see what small amount was left. So I decided to throw the rest away so they wouldn’t know about it and lectured myself to never do that again.

As I was cleaning up the kitchen, I kept thinking about how delicious that cheesecake was and how, surprisingly enough, I wanted more. I could see it in the trash, lying there right on top. “I shouldn’t…” I thought to myself, “but it’s lying right on top and you could just scoop some off that isn’t touching anything else”. Judge me all you want because I find it very hard to believe anyone, who says they have never done this…never eating an entire cheesecake in one afternoon, okay I believe that. But I know A LOT of people who have eaten out of the trash. I am just able to admit it. Yes, I ate the majority of the rest of that cheesecake from the trash. And it was delicious. I still have the recipe if anyone wants it. I wouldn’t dare make it again though.

I deserved my punishment. Cheesecake doesn’t taste as good coming up as it does going down. Normally when I do something like that, I am sicker than a dog for the rest of the day and have a migraine and joint pain for several days. I deserve it. As you can see, I seem to have a problem with moderation. I thank God for my high metabolism and sensitive stomach or I would be a much heavier individual. It became a tradition of mine, several years in a row on Fourth of July to stuff my face with bags of Cheetos and red licorice, while watching the fireworks, and to awaken in the middle of the night puking my guts up. Some of us never learn.

Just because you fall off the wagon, doesn’t mean you can’t get back on. Having a cheat meal every now and then is actually healthy because it lets you get over your craving and move on. If I don’t satisfy my cravings, I tend to go a little crazier than if I just go ahead and have that piece of cake instead of denying myself and then going overboard later. Over the years, I have come to the realization that I don’t agree with “diets”. For some people they may work, but not for me. I can’t deprive myself of all my favorite foods for very long. I get a severe case of “hangry” (so hungry you’re angry) if I do this. What I find works best is four to five small, healthy meals throughout the day. This keeps your metabolism running and keeps you from becoming “starving”, which then leads you to binge regret. A cheat meal once a week for me helps satisfy cravings and can be something like one to two slices of pizza with a large salad…not consuming the entire pizza in one setting, like we all have tried our best to do.

A cheat meal like this every once in a while, will allow you to satisfy your craving, without blowing your entire healthy lifestyle. When you blow it, you may feel disgusted with yourself, and will all of a sudden feel like you’ve gained a bunch of weight, and will lack the motivation to get back on your healthy wagon again. Try focusing on your health instead of making this lifestyle a “diet” to lose weight. When I reached my full-grown height of 5’9”, and was in the perfect shape of my life because I was in gymnastics, I wore a baggy size 0 in jeans, yet I weighed 125lbs…on my light days. Yea 125lbs sounds good, but not for a size 0. Because of this, I have never been a fan of scales. No, it’s not like I fear them; they actually have no meaning to me. Muscle weighs more than fat and if you look great, feel great, and both exercise and eat the way you should, the number on the scale shouldn’t matter. So stop being concerned about the number on the scale and focus on eating a lot more healthy food and get to the gym or go outside and move!

 

Vaccines. Decide for yourself

The traumatic stories on the effects of vaccines are endless. My personal experience with vaccines isn’t comparable at all to the stories I've heard from both patients and acquaintances.  I remember just like yesterday, going in for some routine vaccines when I was 6 years old. One of the vaccines I received that day was the tetanus booster, which I received in my right arm. The moment that the Doctor injected me, I immediately was in pain. Over the next 10 minutes, the pain spread from the injection spot all the way down my arm and up into my neck and back. I remember being hunched over, unable to move for the remainder of the day. My mom took me to the grocery store afterwards, to get a pain reliever because I wouldn’t stop crying, but it didn't help. I remember not even being able to walk through the store because my legs had gotten so weak. I knew what I was feeling wasn't normal, but we simply had done what the Doctor recommended and because we knew no different. Sometimes I think this vaccine may have played a small roll in my autoimmune disease, but God only knows. That was the last vaccine I have ever received or ever will receive.

I feel bad for my previous OBGYN whom I went to for many years. She should have really made a note on my chart so she didn’t have to be rejected every year to try to sway me to get the HPV vaccine Gardasil, among other things. Every year it was the same; she would try to tell me the “dangers” of not receiving the vaccine and I would tell her it was far more dangerous not only for an immunocompromised person to get the vaccine, but that a healthy individual will fight off the virus, if received, anyway. I gave her the whole rundown of what is really in the vaccine, how it hasn’t been effectively studied, and how it can cause more harm than good. The funny thing is…she would agree with me every time…yet she continues to give the vaccine to all of her other patients. I currently have one patient, in particular, who has had a wide range of serious health problems since receiving the HPV vaccine. She has missed so many days of school that her mom has now been forced to homeschool her. The girls Medical Doctor won’t even report her case, saying that it is a “coincidence” she developed these debilitating health problems the next day after receiving the first HPV vaccine. Thankfully, she didn’t complete the series. Who knows what would have happened.

Aside from the fact that I have done a lot of research on vaccines over the years, which causes me to disagree with them completely, common sense shows they are unnecessary and counterproductive. Why would you get the flu vaccine, for instance, if it makes you get the flu anyways? I understand this is not 100% the case…but for the majority of people I know who get it, it is. Also, when you get vaccines, you shed the vaccine for several days or longer, depending on which one it is. So you get a vaccine, you end up getting the flu, and you give the flu to your unvaccinated friend (or your Chiropractor). Makes no sense to me. There are many ways to prevent getting the flu that naturally have no side effects. Washing your hands, for instance. Loading up on fresh produce that contain vitamin C, eating garlic, and staying away from processed sugars are just a few things to start with that will strengthen your immune system.

Being educated about different vaccines, instead of simply receiving just what the Doctor tells you what you are getting, is very important. Medical Doctors often push for ones to get that don’t even make sense, like the Hepatitis B vaccines for newborns even if there is no possibility for the mother to have Hepatitis B. The only other way the baby could get it is through intravenous drug use or sex with someone who has Hepatitis B…yah…a baby. My family laughs at the craziness of when my sister was younger and stepped on a horseshoe nail. Our Doctor, at the time, insisted on her getting the tetanus vaccine because “she could get tetanus from the nail”. Well did you know that the tetanus vaccine can’t treat existing tetanus that is already in the blood stream? It can only prevent tetanus in the near future.  It is also ridiculous to assume all women have an STD and to let babies suffer through silver nitrate drops the moment they are born, which is the only reason for the drops to be used for. These drops burn very badly and cause you to go blind, lasting for hours.

Immunizations have had their benefits in history and differ from vaccines. Immunizations introduce a pathogen to the body so it will later recognize that pathogen and attack it in later exposures through a pathway that the body would normally be exposed to. Vaccines, however, are an injectable cocktail of the intended pathogen along with a host of toxins such as thimerosal (mercury), aluminum, formaldehyde, and genetic material from both humans and animals, among other things. Deciding whether or not you choose to vaccinate is a decision you must make for yourself. I am not here to give you research statistics or even try to sway you to one way or the other. I just want you to be informed and to spark your curiosity for more research. Facts are facts though. Many diseases were eradicated once proper cleanliness, nutrition, and better living conditions were introduced, not because of vaccines. Conventional medicine teaches that Polio and Smallpox epidemics, for example, were brought down due to vaccines, when in fact, there are a significant number of studies in Medical journals that show this wasn’t the case and that these were actually eradicated BEFORE antibiotics and vaccines were introduced.

No matter what your decision is regarding whether or not to receive vaccines, they have changed significantly over the years, both in quantity and quality. Vaccines are moneymakers and the slim benefits of them will be exaggerated to get patients to receive as many as possible to bring in the biggest buck. At least make your decision an educated one and if you feel that some vaccines are still necessary, in your opinion, try choosing an alternate schedule that allows you or your child plenty of time to recover between vaccines, instead of exposing your body to them all at once.

Medical Doctors are now even questioning the use of vaccines; this is a great interview http://www.nvic.org/NVIC-Vaccine-News/October-2012/Mercola-Palevsky-Interview.aspx

http://www.naturalnews.com/Vaccines_Get_the_Full_Story.html

Mercola has tons of informative articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/30/whooping-cough-vaccine.aspx

‘The Greater Good’ is a great documentary worth watching and ‘What your Doctor may not tell you about your children’s vaccines’ by Stephanie Cave is a great book. Feel free to ask for any more resources and I will be more than happy to point you in the right direction.

The New York nightmare

During the two-week break before my final trimester at school, my mom and I decided to take a short trip to New York. Even though my dreams of modeling were long gone, I will always love New York and would live there in a heartbeat if money were no question. As much as my mom was completely against the idea of me going, she didn’t want me to have any regrets and so her and I made plans to go up there and scout out some cities to see if living there and opening a Chiropractic clinic were even an option. Sometimes it is hard to see the plan that God has for you, and other times it is completely obvious. I am one hundred percent certain that New York will remain an occasional vacation destination for me, instead of a place where I will live. The problems started before we even left Texas.

One of my best friends parents were in town and so we went out to dinner the night before our trip. As I was putting my contacts in that evening, I felt a sharp pain in my right eye just as the contact was put in place. I immediately took it out and rinsed it and then put it back in. Well it instantly started to turn red and was moderately painful. “Just ignore it”; I thought to myself, “it will go away.” So we go to dinner, and yea it is starting to hurt more and more. “Ignore it, ignore it”, I keep thinking to myself. We finished out the night and woke up early the next day to catch our flight to New York.

I looked in the mirror when I woke up…o my gosh… it was even worse. My eye was completely blood-shot and felt like it was on fire. So I smartly decided to go with wearing glasses that day…which was also fun because my glasses were not the right prescription. Constantly squeezing one eye shut because it hurt so badly and looking through the wrong prescription eyeglasses in your non-dominant eye can be quite challenging. Well I only thought my eye hurt before I got on the plane, but it was nothing compared to the pain I experienced while up in the air. The pressure from the plane increased my pain from probably a 5 to a 9 and I just prayed the whole time that we would get there quickly. Oh and did I mention we were seated in the absolute last row in the back of the plane with a screaming toddler right in front of us?

We finally get to New York; get a rental car and head to the hotel on Long Island we had already made reservations for. I felt so bad that my poor mom had to practically do everything herself because I couldn’t see a thing! At no surprise to us, once we got to the hotel we discovered they had reserved the wrong room for us. An easy fix once they finally figured out what had happened. We got situated in our room and then attempted to do some driving around but that just was not working. I couldn’t see a thing due to the fact that my eye hurt so badly and every time I tried to open it, my eye would start pouring with water. We decided to go to dinner and call it an early night. We attempted to “watch” a movie…meaning my mom watched and I listened.

The next morning I woke up…it was not good. My eye looked much worse. Okay we finally decided I had better go to a Doctor. Well guess what? It was now not only a Sunday, but we apparently take for granted all of the minor emergency clinics surrounding us back at home. It seems like there is one on every corner, as well as a hospital in every direction. Well in New York that was not the case. After a bit of effort, we finally found a hospital. I was thankful at this time to only have the one, non-dominant eye to see with, as this hospital was not at all up to the standards we were used to back home. My OCD nature was about to lose it, but we had no other option.

The Doctor who treated me was very nice and she quickly determined that I not only had punctured my eye, but also had literally taken a chunk of my eyeball off. I had wondered why there was this rather large, white section on the blue iris of my eye. I had also developed conjunctivitis (pink eye), no shock there. I then chatted with the Doctor about why I was in New York and she pretty much told me I was crazy for wanting to move there instead of staying in Texas and then proceeded to tell me all the reasons why it was a bad idea. Okay God, I get it. Right before I was done, the Doctor hands me this amazing beige eye patch she expected me to wear that was half the size of my face. She said I had to keep the light out of my eye in order for it to heal properly. Made sense because of the electric shooting pain I experienced when the light hit my eye. I said, “Yea for sure I will definitely wear this”. You are correct; I threw the eye patches in the trash before we even left the hospital. There was no way I was going to wear that. So instead I wore my eyeglasses with my sunglasses over them and just squinted my right eye closed. Because that looked much better right?

The whole rest of the trip was a bust. I couldn’t look at anything. We decided to take the train into the city so we could at least enjoy that. But guess what? There was a pretty serious protest going on! So that didn’t exactly work out either because we couldn’t even get to the places we wanted to get to. So overall the food was great, the company was great, and the memories will for sure last, but it is safe to say that I understood God’s answer on that one, loud and clear. God apparently wants me in Texas. My poor eye took a record slow time to heal. My eye Doctor said that she had a patient staple their eye and it didn’t take as long as mine did to heal. Yea…I have no idea how on earth someone staples their eye.

Chiro cracks-ups #1

So this is an entertaining story, to say the least. This is the story about a man who I will refer to as the Indian. No, he was not literally a Native American. He was as white as me, but you will understand why I call him that soon enough. I have completely changed the names of those involved, as well as clinic location, and don’t worry; I’m not talking about you, so don’t get excited.

While interning at a privately owned clinic, Victoria treated this particular patients’ mother a few months prior to seeing him. Her treatment ended after a series of only about four or so adjustments due to the fact that Medicare would no longer pay for her care. After telling her this, her story of how severe her pain was, quickly changed from just bad to all of a sudden life threatening. The clinic Doctor and Victoria soon discover that she was trying to use the Medicare system to receive free care. So they documented the accurate findings and she never returned. This actually happens a lot to any of us in the health-care field and is one of the many reasons why our insurance system is such a mess. Don’t get me started.

Some of her visits were often strange too in fact; on one particular visit she complained to Victoria that she was having restless leg syndrome symptoms and that she experienced them off and on over the past few years. Victoria asked her some questions about it and she promptly told her that she knew what the cause was. Victoria said, “oh really, what is it?” “The cause of restless leg syndrome is sex”, she firmly told her, “ but I know you and all the other Doctors won’t believe me.” Before she could ask her exactly what she meant by this, the clinic Doctor came in the room, so she wasn’t able to ask her more about it. She did tell the clinic Doctor about her having restless leg syndrome though…but not the patients theory behind it. Upon her next visit, Victoria asked her if she had any more symptoms of restless leg syndrome and they had miraculously vanished. She never mentioned again this “cause” and Victoria never quite understood what she meant by it.

One day a few months later, Victoria received a call from this Medicare patient asking if she could treat her son because he had badly hurt his back. Victoria said absolutely and told her to have him at the clinic that day by 3:00. Part of her dreaded seeing this patient because there was always something strange about his mother; she just always had the feeling that something wasn’t right. So 3:00 came, and Victoria was paged to the front desk saying the patient was ready. The strange feelings Victoria had when she first saw his mother was nothing compared to how she felt when she walked into the waiting room and saw both the mother and the new patient, the Indian. So there he sat, this forty-two year old man, slumped over, barely able to make eye contact with Victoria, either because his eyelids were so heavy or because he made no attempt at lifting his head. She introduced herself and then instructed them back to the exam room. The Indian grabbed Victoria’s hand and demanded that she help him stand up. Victoria is not really the type of person that allows this fake, attention-seeking behavior, but she had a sense that this was going to be a difficult appointment so she bit her lip and helped this apparent handicapped man to the exam room.

Once they got back to the exam room, Victoria started glancing over the paperwork that he had “completed” up at the front. She was quickly thrown off and don’t know what happened, because the ladies at the front desk normally did a pretty good job about checking to make sure paperwork was properly completed. Short from his name, there was hardly anything filled out and what was filled out was worse than chicken scratch. Nothing was legible. On one section, there is a picture of a human body, which you are supposed to mark with an X on the area of concern. Well he simply drew an X over the entire drawing. So Victoria thought to herself great, this is going to be fun. So she said, “So um, did you have some difficulty filling out this paperwork?” “uuhhh?” He groans. “Why did you not fill out the paperwork? I can’t read any of this,” she said. It was VERY hard to understand this guy between the mixture of southern twang, exaggerated pain groans, and desire to be a pain in the a$$. So he says, “eeeh can’t move my arms,” as he’s slumped over on the exam table. “Okay,” she said, “we will just have to do this the long way then and I will verbalize every question to you.” “uuuh ok,” he grunts back to her.

Victoria proceeded with the questions and at one point she started looking around for the hidden candid camera. This dude claimed to have had a train hit him in the right shoulder going full speed and he was able to lean forward and stop the train. He said he had several surgeries and his entire ribcage had screws holding everything together, he had shoulder replacement, hip replacement, and a few other things. He then explained in great detail about how several times an Indian from Oklahoma would climb on top of his back and start whacking him over and over again on the shoulder with his tomahawk. He would say, “Yea man, this was the chief of the tribe I have occasionally smoked peace-pipe with.” Oooooh ok, gotcha. It’s beginning to make sense to Victoria now. So then she looked over and noticed that his mom is in her chair shaking hysterically with laughter. Are you freaking kidding me? He saw Victoria looking at her and he said, “Yea she always enjoys my stories.” So clearly she was quickly approaching her breaking point. He then tried to tell her that he never smokes. She thought that was interesting seeing as how his fumes filled, not only the exam room, but also the entire clinic…maybe he doesn’t count “peace-pipe” as smoke.

Victoria persisted on with the actual physical examination portion of the appointment now, which turned into a complete joke to say the least. It was obvious that he was making a complete mockery of the whole thing, so she stopped him just a few minutes in and said, “ok, I know you are having a lot of fun here and all but if you are in legitimate pain like you say you are, you need to start taking this more seriously so we can actually finish all of this today.” “I AM TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY! I WANT YOU TO CURE ME DOC!” he screams. So her blood is boiling now by this point. It is difficult when you are either interning under someone else or working for someone else because you can’t react the way you wish you could…which could be either a good or a bad thing. Victoria decided she could go no further and needed help with this particular patient. He put absolutely no effort into anything and all the while he is feeling great about himself serving as comedy central for his mother. The straw was that he started being suggestive about Victoria in general. Saying things like he couldn’t wait for her to put her hands on him and that she had really long, strong-looking legs. You know the usual kind of “flattery” that begs for a heel to the crotch. So she had enough and excused herself to go ask her clinic Doctor what she should do about the patient.

Her assigned clinic Doctor actually wasn’t there that day, which was probably a blessing in disguise. Although he was a great Doctor… his personality was just a little too…should we say timid, for this type of situation? She went to one of her favorite clinic Doctors whom I will refer to as Doctor Williams. Victoria explained the situation to Doctor Williams and she realized after telling him everything just how riled up she had gotten. She was surprised she got so upset about it all, but good grief! But was there to help this guy and he was trying to make a fool of her! Thank goodness Doctor Williams was on the same page as she was and once she finished explaining the situation with the Indian character, Doctor Williams says, “Oh so he’s forty-two years old and still lives with his mommy? Well we are dealing with quite the intellectual individual now aren’t we?” See why she loves Doctor Williams?

Victoria and Doctor Williams head back in to the exam room and in a matter of minutes, both the Indian and his mom had quickly changed their demeanor when informed by Doctor Williams about how their attitude had better change or they would be escorted out immediately. Doctor Williams then proceeded to tell the both of them that this was a professional environment and there were certain expectations of conduct that the patients were to exhibit. He then laid down what was expected of the Indian and asked if he was going to cooperate with the remainder of the exam. Now very agitated, the Indian agreed to proceed. Doctor Williams led him through the remainder of the exam in a very factual manner. Victoria was thankful to have gone through the entire situation with this patient early on her career, because she was able to see how to deal with problems while still under the guidance of another Doctor.

After completing the exam, the Indian was sent to receive full body x-rays because of all of his past “trauma” and then they told him he had to come back the next day for his report of findings and adjustment, because the appointment had already gone on for over two hours. He was surprisingly not too upset about having to come back the next day and Victoria was honestly hoping for a no-show on this one. Later that day they were able to access the Indians records and much to their amazement (note the sarcasm) there was absolutely no evidence of surgery, trauma, or any other deformity. Well except for some evidence of “peace-pipe” smoke in his lung tissue.

Much to her disappointment, the next day came and the Indian arrived for his appointment right on time. She began the appointment by explaining what they found on the x-rays…or actually what they didn’t find. No, she wasn’t about to let all of his lies about his “surgeries” slide. And she was of course, excited to lecture him about the effects his “peace-pipe” had on his lungs, even though he insisted it was helping him with his asthma and allergies. His attitude had significantly improved even though he still gave her the creeps and continued to try to insist that she help him in and out of chairs.

For that initial appointment, Doctor Williams wanted to make the first adjustment, which was more than fine with Victoria. Getting the Indian to relax was no easy task and he made the process way more difficult than it should have been. As soon as Doctor Williams had gotten to his mid back area, in between his shoulder blades, the Indian started screaming that the Indian chief had his tomahawk stuck in him again. Doctor Williams followed through with the adjustment in that area and then the Indian leapt off the table exclaiming that he pulled the tomahawk out and “cured” his pain. That was when Victoria officially lost it. How can people be this nuts? She bust out laughing and Doctor Williams couldn’t resist either.

The Indian continued to come to his appointments throughout the remainder of his treatment plan (or actually until his mother didn’t want to pay anymore) and they made a great deal of progress. Victoria always had to block out a good amount of time after his appointment in order to document everything that was said during the Indians visits. In addition to all of the questionable Indian “herbs” he claimed to use, not a visit would go by without him trying to get Victoria to go out to dinner with him. He also had some pretty interesting stories about owning some oil wells in the Middle East and was bringing in “billions” each day. I don’t exactly know what billions he was referring to when his 75-year-old mother had to pay for his Chiropractic adjustments.

Let's get technical

Now remember at the beginning of my story when I talked about my birth trauma and how it made a significance on my health? Well, let me explain that a little bit. Because there was so much force applied to my neck, when I was born, by the Doctor pulling me out by my head, the ligaments, muscles, and bones in my neck were put at a great deal of stress right from the start, similar to a baby being born by vacuum extraction. Now that I know what to look for, I can see many suggestions of misalignment in my baby pictures. My Chiropractor used a very gentle, specific technique that has a great impact not only on your spine, but also on your brain, which is why I perform this technique on all of my patients as well. This technique is known to many of us as the “Mercedes” of adjustments. Now prepare yourself to get a little technical in this explanation.

The word “adjustment” is a rather loosely used term in chiropractic today. It denotes the application of a force to a spinal bone (vertebra) to move it from one position to another. The intention of the adjustor in moving a vertebra is to correct the patient’s subluxation (a misaligned spinal bone causing harm to nervous structure). In order to do this, the adjustor must reduce the vertebra to or toward its normal position. If spinal bones did not displace, there would be no reason to adjust them; no objective would be gained in trying to re-position a vertebra that is in its proper location in the spine, causing no harm to nervous structure. When, however, a vertebra is displaced and is interfering with nervous structure, it should be restored to its normal position by an adjustment. The word “adjustment” means “to set right”, and is what Chiropractors do: re-set displaced vertebra.

The technique that I perform is called Upper Cervical Technique. This means that the adjustment is given in the upper neck, applied to the first cervical bone called the atlas or C1. The reason for correcting the atlas is that it affects the Central Nervous System (brain stem and spinal cord) when it subluxates. Because all other nerve systems in the body are controlled by the Central Nervous System, an atlas subluxation affects the entire body. As a result of an atlas subluxation, the patient’s entire spine and pelvis are distorted from its true axis by spastic contracture of the spinal extensor muscles because the atlas subluxation interferes with the essential inhibitory control to the muscles.

A very precise adjustment is, therefore, necessary to obtain an atlas subluxation correction to restore spinal balance. There are several directions in which the atlas can be misaligned and there are different degrees in which it can move in each direction. The doctor, therefore, must make an x-ray examination in three planes in order to obtain this information. The doctor then analyzes the x-rays so that an adjustment can be specifically structured for each patient. X-ray is the only means from which this precise adjustment can be figured, and each patient receives an adjustment tailored to his/her needs.

The atlas subluxation is known as the Atlas Subluxation Complex (ASC) because it distorts the spine and pelvis. Vertebrae below the atlas are also misaligned in over 90 percent of the cases and must be realigned by a C1 adjustment. Thus it is a complex-composed of many parts. The complex is a biological stressor, a strain or an interference affecting the entire body. If the spine and pelvis measure normal after an adjustment, the electro-chemical flow of the nervous system is balanced. The adjustment, therefore, must be accurate, timed, and coordinated. Further, it requires control and direction of force, which must not be greater than the resistance of the subluxation being adjusted and performed in accordance with sound kinesiological and biomechanical principles. For this reason, an adjustment is not painful to the patient.

Because no two adjustments are exactly alike, atlas adjusting is a difficult art. All healing in the body is self-healing. An example of self-healing is the repair of a broken bone. No treatment of any kind can heal bone tissue; only the healing forces within the body can heal bone tissue. Other bodily tissues are no different in this respect. Self-healing, however, requires a perfectly functioning nervous system free from subluxation stress and interference, one that can normally feed other bodily systems with a normal electro-chemical flow, creating an internal environment in which the body’s immune system can function. Self-healing, then, is promoted by the adjustment. Correction or adjustment of the subluxation, however, must precede relief from illness and discomfort.