Being a practicing chiropractor for many years, I have the opportunity to meet a wide variety of people everyday.  When patients enter my office on their initial visit, they enter with certain symptoms as well as very specific expectations of what it is they want to accomplish.  Most commonly, they present with back pain, neck pain, headaches and other symptoms of disease and have a simple understanding, or should I say misunderstanding, that chiropractors “fix backs.”  And, their expectations are that they want to feel better “NOW.”

For these reasons, it is my belief that it is absolutely critical to take time to educate and empower every one of my patients so that they have a complete understanding of the following 4 things:

1. What exactly has caused their problem.
2. What it is going to take to correct their problem.
3. How long is it going to take to correct their problem.
4. Exactly how chiropractic can help.

You see, what I want every patient to understand is that as unique as each individual is when they enter my office, they ALL have certain things in common.  For me, the very best part about being a chiropractor is knowing that every patient that walks through the door walks in with a problem and the solution inside of them.  Remember, healing always comes from within each of us.  It is my responsibility as the Doctor of Chiropractic to help facilitate that healing by removing vertebral subluxations from the nerve system.  When interference is removed, the body can adapt and heal on its own.  How long that will take is unique for each individual. 

It is absolutely critical to empower patients to live a healthier lifestyle … a chiropractic lifestyle.  This includes proper diet, exercise, stress reduction and adding love to their lives.  I find that patients who own a greater understanding of exactly what it means to be “healthy” can make the best health decisions for themselves and their families.  I am truly proud that my chiropractic practice is comprised of families who choose to be lifetime chiropractic patients because they are empowered to live long, healthy and vital lives.

Making a promise is a very powerful action to take.  Many times during our lives, we are asked to make promises to do certain things.  For example, at age 16, we receive a driver’s license that requires us to make a commitment to obey the laws of the road.  If we fail to obey these laws, we may pay a price.  We might pay a fine or lose our driver’s license for a while.  Many lessons can be learned through experiencing loss.  We learn quickly to pay close attention to speed limit signs and reduce speed when necessary.  Experiencing loss can teach us a practical lesson such as this; however, it also helps us change behavior in other ways. 

Have you ever experienced the unfortunate loss of a loved one?  

Grief is a common and expected emotion to feel at this time; however, in addition, we frequently feel a sense of regret that we did not fully appreciate and value the relationship we had with our loved one until it was lost.

Regret is a very difficult emotion to deal with.  Usually we can choose to celebrate the wonderful memories; however, sometimes we may choose to change our future behavior with our loved ones who are still with us.  We make promises to spend more time with the people who are important to us and tell them how much we value and appreciate the relationship.  Loss has taught us a valuable life lesson.

In other words, sometimes we tend to take things for granted until we lose them.  It is when we lose them that we truly understand their value in our lives.  We can understand this concept in other areas of our lives as well:  financial independence, health and happiness.  We can promise ourselves that we will reach specific goals regarding financial independence and even happiness.  These promises have little value if we don’t have good health to follow through with them.  It seems unfortunate to me that our own health frequently seems to be the personal asset we take most for granted.  Because we take our health for granted, we may never have set an effective plan to insure optimal health today and in the future.

The best promise you can make TODAY is to make the health of you and your family top priority.  Promises are powerful.  A promise means that we state an action that we will take and not allow anything to stop us.  We can use this powerful tool of making a promise to create and implement a health plan that focuses on the body’s natural ability to heal itself.  Make a promise to yourself to prevent health problems before they arise by eating well, exercising, getting enough rest and committing to a chiropractic corrective and wellness care plan. 

Chiropractic care focuses on YOU and your body’s ability to heal itself.    Chiropractic emphasizes the necessity of having a healthy spine in order to insure optimal health.  The brain, the body’s central command center, sends messages to every tissue, organ and cell of the body through the nerve system.  These messages can be interrupted through misalignments of the spinal vertebrae (subluxation) caused by activities of daily life including falls, sports and accidents. 

Traditional medicine utilizes drugs to treat and mask the symptoms, while chiropractors realign the vertebrae of the spine, restoring the body’s natural communication system.  Chiropractors locate and correct the cause of the problem so true health can be restored.

Don’t make an unfortunate mistake that so many people make.  Don’t take your health and your family’s health for granted.  Make a promise to yourself TODAY to make chiropractic a part of your healthy lifestyle and insure yourself and your family a healthy future.

Health is a state of well being in three distinct areas: 1. Physical, 2. Mental and 3. Social.

A negatively stressful life will rarely lead to a healthy body.  A struggling, desperate individual will likely experience illness despite following most of the other important rules of wellness.  Even if you could be healthy while experiencing stress, you’d just be a healthy miserable person.  And, who wants that?

On the other hand, someone who has peace of mind, knows who he or she is, works hard to emerge victorious over struggles and experiences loving relationships will very likely enjoy ongoing good health.  If you’re not having a good time living in your body, it’s hard for that body to be well or for you to call it healthy.  The fact is, you can’t separate your wellness from your emotions.  Every feeling you have affects some part of your body.

“Celebrations and tragedies alike cause a stress response in the body.  Some stress is unavoidable.”

All feelings create physiologic change.  Skin, heart rate, digestion, joints, muscle energy levels, the hair on your head and endless cells and systems you don’t even know about change with every emotion.  These changes can be called the stress response.

The only stress-free people on the planet can be visited at any local cemetery.  On the other hand, stress becomes negative only when:

• Your response to it is negative.
• Your feelings and emotions are inappropriate for the circumstances.
• Your response lasts an excessively long time.
• You are feeling continuously overwhelmed, overpowered and overwrought from circumstance.

Our personality and emotions are not pre-determined and pre-programmed as we once thought.  You are not who you perceive yourself to be!  Many of us feel stuck inside a brain that doesn’t work the way we want it to.  What science has discovered is that we control our genes, they don’t control us!

Although your DNA is your basic blueprint, it is triggered by our attitude and environment.  By beginning to embrace and cooperate with life and recognizing how powerful you are, you can start to have a spirit of overcoming, experiencing positive, healthy stress, rather than living as a victim in a state of overwhelm and negative stress.

Stress has become a serious health hazard.  If you don’t get a handle on it quick, stress can take a huge toll on your physical, mental and social well-being.  Let me share with you the simplest way to turn stress into your ally and not your enemy…

Regular chiropractic adjustments are the quickest and most effective way to reduce stress to your nerve system.  Spinal nerve stress caused by a vertebral subluxation is a dangerous mechanism that damages nerves, weakens health and depletes energy stores.  Many people may walk around with a painless subluxation for years without knowing it.  Doctors of chiropractic are professionals who specialize in correcting vertebral subluxations, the cause of spinal nerve stress, which leads to increased energy, improved health and a rejuvenated body.

We should always follow the golden rule about how we would like to be treated if we were in another person’s shoes. 

• We need to keep a pleasant personality.  People prefer to do business and interact with people they like.  People like to associate with people who are pleasant to be around.  Pleasant people portray themselves as sincere with a generous, cheerful and considerate attitude.
• Maintaining optimal physical and mental health is essential.  Even if we already have an enthusiastic and positive attitude, we must control our mental and physical habits so they remain life enhancing and productive for success.  Proper rest and relaxation are vital to renew energy and sharpen purpose and focus.  Most of us realize optimal health is the key to expressing our best; however, we need to remember that regular chiropractic care is a necessary step toward physical and mental wholeness.
• Forming good habits is really smart.  Both good and bad habits are formed the same way- through repetition.  By understanding this, we have the power to change a negative habit into a positive habit by repeatedly commanding our thoughts and actions through positive motivation.  These steps ensure that the positive habits become automatic.
• Always giving that “little extra” can elevate our daily lives and help make a difference in the lives of others.  Studies indicate that a shift has taken place from the “me” generation to the “we” generation.  When we reach within ourselves, we will find that “extra something” we can give to those around us.  When we give more than is expected from us, life will reward us.  Elbert Hubbard wrote, “Folks who never do any more than they get paid for never get paid for any more than they do.”  Always give that extra something.  You’ll be glad you did and someone in the world will be better because of it.

I challenge you to give that “something extra” and make your life even happier, healthier and more successful.  Make a bigger difference in the lives of others because that is where real joy comes from, making others happy. 

I ask you to welcome challenges, look for opportunities in every situation to learn and grow, delight in the beauty around you and offer your sincere caring and kindness to others.  This is the real “stuff” of life.

I am committed to giving you that “something extra” because I am committed to making a bigger difference in the lives of my wonderful patients.

What do our body and our automobile have in common?  Our body and our car have very complex operating systems that we take for granted and infrequently think about unless something goes wrong. 

Years ago, you may have learned to drive a car with a manual gearshift, which was located either in the steering column or in the floor of the car.  You learned deliberate motions to move the gears through each position.  Most cars today have gears that shift automatically while driving and you are not even aware of these movements. 

In Many ways, our body functions like a car with an automatic gear shift.  Every second, the human body automatically performs millions of vital functions, without us even being aware that it is occurring.

The brain, the master controller of the body, sends messages to all parts of the body through the nerve system.  These millions of detailed processes are ordered and controlled by the brain.  A critical element in this communication system is the spinal cord, which is housed within the spinal canal.  This canal has many openings in the vertebrae through which the spinal cord and its membranes pass to all parts of the body.  The vertebrae protect the delicate nerve system.  This system is a miraculous network of inborn intelligence and it enables the body to heal itself and regulate itself, as long as there is no interruption in the system.  However, stress and strains of daily living can cause the spinal vertebrae to misalign and cause an interruption of the communication process.

We seldom think about the complex and automatic operation of our bodies or our cars unless there is a problem.  When we have car trouble, we take our car to a car mechanic to fix the problem because cars cannot heal themselves.  Similarly, when our bodies express symptoms and we feel sick, we often take over-the-counter medications or we go to a health care provider who may prescribe medications.  However, we may forget the first step in restoring health is to locate the cause of the problem.  Remember, the body is capable of healing itself, as long as there is no interference with its inborn intelligence.  The next step toward health is to correct the cause of the problem. 

This leads us directly to chiropractic, the only healthcare system focusing on the correction of misaligned spinal vertebrae that interfere with the body’s communication system.  When these misalignments are corrected, the body’s inborn intelligence can function properly again.  This restores the body’s natural ability to heal and regulate itself, without the need for medications. 

For over 114 years, chiropractors have empowered people to understand that every function of the body is controlled and directed through the nerve system. 

In this blog, I will share with you a wealth of valuable information that is guaranteed to address many of your concerns and answer pressing questions.  It will absolutely provide you with all of the tools necessary to empower you to make the best health choices for you and your family and guide you on a path to “optimal health.”

“Every dream starts with a burning desire: a passion to change something, to make a difference. ”

“You are never given a wish without the power to make it come true.  You may have to work for it, however.”
-Richard Bach

“It’s OK to dream big if you are willing to take enough action to make it happen.”
-Lollie Mc Lain 

What is your BIG dream?  Most of us have dreams but are not willing to do what it takes to make them become reality.  If you are willing to work hard, here are some tips to help make your dreams come true.

Desire … Every dream starts with a burning desire: a passion to change something, to make a difference.

Decision … Add to desire the decision that failure is not an option.

Determination … You will always encounter obstacles on the way to your dreams.  Determination keeps you moving forward in spite of setbacks, discouragement and all kinds of difficulties.

Responsibility … This means the ability to respond.  It also means that you are the one in charge of making it happen.  There is no room for “It’s not my fault” or “I tried.”

Resources … Use the resources around you.  Ask for advice.  Ask for help.  There are people in your life who have either done what you are doing or who are in the middle of doing it.  Ask them how they did it.  Use your resources.

Enthusiasm … The people who are living their dreams are usually lots of fun to be around.  One reason is because they bring such passion and enthusiasm to what they do.  Work becomes fun.  The really wonderful side effect is that enthusiasm gives you a great deal of energy.

Energy … An absolutely necessary ingredient to living out your dreams is lots of energy.  Often the only difference between those who live their dreams and those who don’t is that “dream catchers” keep on going while “dream droppers” get tired and quit.

Attitude … You must have the attitude that nothing will stop you no matter what.  You’ve got to live the Japanese proverb: “Fall down eight times, get up nine.”

Action … You can have all the above ingredients in full and still not get anywhere.  You have to do something about your dreams every day.  You have to take action, sometimes a little bit each day, sometimes a lot.

Momentum … If you put the above nine tips into action, you will build a momentum that is virtually unstoppable.  Momentum carries you through the low and weary times, and makes the obstacles that were once huge boulders, mere pebbles in your path.

There Are Few Things In Life As Satisfying As Living Out Your Dreams … Get Started On Yours!

 Stand Up STRAIGHT… Please Don’t SLOUCH… Your Posture is the Window to Your Health

Posture is one of the most overlooked keys to best health and performance. Good posture not only improves fitness, thinking ability, emotional state and general vitality, it can actually help reverse the aging process, not just cosmetically, but functionally.

It’s Time to Get the Facts STRAIGHT…

Just as proper attention to teeth can prevent problems later in life, proper attention to the development of PERFECT POSTURE will prevent deterioration of your health in the future.

Corrective chiropractic care insures good posture by aligning your spine so the muscles, joints and ligaments can work as nature intended. Good posture contributes to the normal functioning of the nerve system and affects the ability of your body’s organs to function at peak efficiency. For many years, I have committed to directing people to the awareness that proper spinal alignment (Subluxation Free) is the MOST IMPORTANT factor affecting perfect posture and maximum health and vitality.

Almost everyone can avoid or reverse the problems caused by poor posture at any age. There is no greater miracle in nature than the body’s ability to heal and correct itself. Balancing postural distortions and reducing structural stress through chiropractic adjustments releases the power within you. The result is healing energy that strengthens and normalizes your immune and nerve systems, all of which helps to increase your personal power.

Do you notice the hum in the air?  Maybe you can’t really hear it, but can you feel it?  Can you feel the vibration?  The “vibrations” around us are not mysterious at all; they are the result of life in motion.  The only thing that is a constant in life is “change.”  Change occurs faster and faster, and sometimes we can feel overwhelmed from the pace.  

A generation or two ago, grandparents used to complain about too much change.  They do not complain about the changes themselves, they complain about the speed of the changes.  Younger people and children are the ones who seem immune to the acceleration of change.  Those who shop for groceries know that evidence of change can be seen at the supermarket.  Try to find a cereal you  purchased last week. You probably won’t find it because  it has already been replaced by a  low-carb, low sugar version.

In spite of the rate of change in many areas of the human experience, some things never change.  For example, we all want to succeed.  We don’t frequently change our life goals of health, financial security and happiness, because none of us would choose to be sick, poor or sad.  We know that motivation and persistence are two key factors of success, no matter what our goals are.  We strive to become healthy and remain healthy.   However, frequently our habits reveal that we have slipped into patterns of motivation that hurt us rather than help us.

What motivates us to seek the help of health professionals: health or sickness?  Unfortunately, many of us would have to answer that we look for help only after we become sick.  When we are motivated by sickness, we seek help only when we already are experiencing symptoms or health issues.  In this circumstance, we are not really in control of the quality of our health because we are taking a reactive rather than active approach to healthcare.  When we take a reactive approach, we rely on pills to mask symptoms.  Although this approach may make us feel better temporarily, it never really helps us achieve and maintain health.  Reactive healthcare leaves us battling symptoms for most of our lives.  Rather than living on the “symptom see-saw,” instead we need to act on a plan designed to achieve and maintain optimal health. 

Corrective chiropractic care is the best way to achieve this goal.  Chiropractic care is a health care approach based upon the body’s natural ability to heal itself and is a very important step in a commitment to optimal health. Optimal health is one of our most valuable possessions.  We should value ourselves enough to strive for the highest level of health.  When we take responsibility for the choices we make regarding health, we give ourselves the best opportunity to achieve all of our health goals.  Chiropractic care can help give us the natural health we deserve when we commit to learning more about our body and take all of the necessary steps to stay well.

Practicing chiropractic for many years years, I have been at the leading edge in healthcare and I have coached thousands of patients of all ages to take full responsibility for their health.  In this blog, I will share with you a wealth of valuable information that is guaranteed to address many of your concerns and answer pressing questions.  It will absolutely provide you with all of the tools necessary to empower you to make the best health choices for you and your family and guide you on a path to “optimal health.”

Life around my house is about to change.  I am having some major renovations done to my old house and I have to move out of it for the work to be done.  This, much to my chagrin, involves planning, packing, and moving heavy items.  Ordinarily there would be no big deal about a move, but I happen to have a vested interest in my lower back and have injured it before.  Maybe that is why I have seen so many people in the past couple of weeks with disc troubles – I needed a not so gentle reminder of how it all feels.  There is a lot to know about disc bulges and how to treat them.  I hope you find it useful.

First of all, there is a major difference in a disc bulge and a disc rupture.  About 80% of the walking population has a lumbar disc bulge.  Most of them are asymptomatic and those who have them don’t even know it.  The disc material is very tough and cartilaginous.  If a disc is healthy it provides shock absorption and cushioning for the vertebrae, or spinal bones.  As a result of normal wear and tear, the outer coating, or annulus, of a disc dries out and develops cracks.  The soft inner material of the disc, the nucleus, might leak out through these cracks and this creates what is commonly referred to as a bulging disc.  If it is irritated enough, the disc material will put pressure on the nerve roots which exit the spinal cord through tiny holes at the rear of the area occupied by the disc. This results in annoying and sometimes severe pain. Often the pain is not in the lower back, but is in the buttocks, hip, back of the thigh or calf, or even in the foot. This pain is following the path of the sciatic nerve, which is the most commonly irritated nerve when a disc is bulging.   Sometimes the pain is very difficult to free yourself from if it isn’t treated soon enough.  Chiropractors are experts in this field, and there are many wonderful conservative techniques available to us to treat this problem.  Ask your chiropractor about flexion/distraction techniques, which are specifically for decompressing bulging discs.  If you can get this type of treatment early enough, you might be able to avoid further damage to the disc and thereby avoid surgical treatment.

In the case of a disc rupture, portions of the disc material are actually outside the annular fibers of the disc itself.  In some cases, fragments of the disc erupt into the spinal canal, and this is the cause of nerve root compression.  Disc rupture is more serious than a disc bulge, and should be treated accordingly.  Conservative treatment of a disc injury should reap results in as little as two to three weeks.  If serious symptoms persist, other treatment should be sought.

The best way to avoid serious injury to your lower back and discs is to act as if you have a disc bulge already since about 80% of us do.  Always bend with your legs when you pick up anything.  Bending at the waist, even to pick up something that is not heavy, puts increased pressure and strain on the discs of your lower back.  The large muscles of your legs are better equipped to handle heavy lifting than the layers of smaller muscles in your lower back.  Pull objects closer to your body before you try to pick them up, as leaning and lifting simultaneously are a deadly combination for discs.  Stretch your lower back every morning before you get out of bed.  There is no substitute for limber, warmed muscles when you call on them to work for you.  Getting out of bed is a big request when your body has been at rest all night long, and your lower back knows it.  Another simple way to keep your lower back healthy is to tighten the muscles in your abdomen.  If there is too much weight out front with no musculature to support it, the lower back is under strain any time you are bearing weight, which is any time you aren’t lying down.  Any time you are doing any heavy lifting or carrying heavy objects for an extended period of time, use common sense.  Know the limits of your body and when you feel pain, stop.  Working through the pain is not a smart way to handle a lower back that is sending you signals.  After a period of activity, ice it down and rest.

The hard part about taking care of the discs of your lower back is to remember all of this sage advice.  I will put myself to the test this very weekend.  Treat your body well.

In our Monday lunch staff meetings I usually make my best attempts to be inspirational or motivational but when we return from a seminar I always bring some tidbits home and share them with our staff so they can learn as we do about various topics.  This past weekend we attended the Spring Conference of the Georgia Chiropractic Association in Savannah and were reminded of some valuable facts that were part of the subject matter in our Monday staff meeting this week.  We were talking at the conference with many other chiropractors from all over Georgia and vendors from around the country.  We all agree that the body heals much better and more quickly if the spine is adjusted and nerve interference is removed and maintained but there are some conditions that people do not heal from no matter how many times they get adjusted.  Other intervention is necessary and we heard from a former professor of ours about the role the digestive system plays in the body’s overall ability to heal.  I know this does not sound as much fun to learn about as perhaps the secret to enlightenment or the latest techniques to get the best beach body but the health of your digestive system is paramount.

People suffer from many obscure conditions that can be traced to the malfunction of the gastro-intestinal system, or the gut.  The GI system plays vital roles in the operation of our bodies.  It digests food, absorbs nutrients that are converted to energy, transports small particles which are attached to carrier proteins across the lining of the gut into the bloodstream, acts as a major player in the chemical detoxification of the body, and acts as a defender against various infections because it contains many antibodies and other disease-fighting chemicals.  As long as the gut is performing its duties properly our bodies hardly know it is there.  Sometimes, however, the intestinal lining becomes hyper- permeable and allows particles that do not belong there to cross into the bloodstream.  Large particles of bacteria, partially digested food and toxins leak into the body. 

This is a major cause of improper healing.  It also is responsible for many cases of fibromyalgia and food allergies.    The gut is what allows the body to absorb nutrients and convert food to fuel.  If these functions are not working well the entire body is unhealthy.  Sometimes doctors might diagnose irritable bowel syndrome if symptoms of excessive gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain and indigestion are present.  While IBS might certainly be going on, the leaky gut problem is likely occurring as well.  When food particles leak from a hyper-permeable intestinal lining, the body assumes that these are foreign particles since they are not normally found in the bloodstream.  The body then develops antibodies that leak across the membranes and are similar to antigens on our own tissues.  The antibodies which are made to attack them actually begin to attack our own tissues and autoimmune disorders often develop.  Many diseases, according to Dr. Paul Goldberg, a leading authority on leaky gut and how to heal it, are direct descendants of leaky gut syndrome.  He traces rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, thyroiditis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and other diseases to serious complications within the digestive system. 

Often overuse of different medications, especially antibiotics, can be attributed to an unhealthy gastrointestinal system.  Excessive antibiotic usage results in high presence of yeast in the body and yeast secretes a number of enzymes which ultimately break down proteins.  The intestinal membranes are partially proteins and these enzymes can actually break down the membranes and their linings.  This results in leaky gut syndrome and there we are again with all of the unhealthy particles being released into our bloodstreams. 

People are obsessed with their outward appearance and making sure the body appears to be healthy on the surface.  We should be granting equal time to assuring the health of our organs and tissues for longevity.  It is no secret that our food supply is mineral-depleted due to over-planting and over-processing of the end products.  If we are not supplementing our diets with vitamins and minerals that are readily absorbable into our systems, we are missing the proverbial boat.  If we are not supplying our digestive systems with proper support to add back healthy intestinal flora and plenty of the right kinds of fiber to assure adequate transit time of our food through our systems, we are costing ourselves the health we could ultimately have.  Ask your health professionals to provide you with information on the proper nutritional path for you to follow to internal as well as external physical health.  While tests for leaky gut are not often performed they are available.  Sometimes just by process of elimination and testing probiotic supplements you can find relatively simple solutions to some extremely complicated physical issues.  Don’t wait until your health fails before you look for solutions to protect it.  Treat your body well.