Wellness Articles

September Is… “National Backpack Safety Awareness Month”

It’s back to school time and kids are getting ready to fill up their backpacks. Today, more and more schoolwork is given to kids and as a result, their backpacks get heavier and heavier. The heavier the backpack is, the more unnecessary stress is placed on the child’s spine. This can cause the misalignment of vertebrae of the spine (vertebral subluxations), which if left uncorrected can have serious health consequences.

It may be difficult to control the amount of schoolwork your child receives. However, there are things that you can do to ensure that their backpack does not cause damage to their spine.

First … Limit the amount of weight that is placed in the child’s backpack at one time. Usually ten percent of the child’s body weight is appropriate. Occasionally, schools will allow you to purchase a second set of books so that it is not necessary for the child to carry the books back and forth between home and school.

Second … Get you child a spinal checkup on a regular basis. Carrying heavy backpacks can cause poor posture. Posture is one of the most overlooked keys to best health and performance. Good posture improves fitness, thinking ability, emotional state and general vitality. Parents who appreciate the importance of checkups for their child’s teeth, hearing, eyes, ears, nose and throat often draw a blank when it comes to their child’s spine. In fact, a spinal checkup could be one of the most important of your child’s life. Schedule an appointment with your family chiropractor today. Start the school year off on a healthy note. Bring your children in for a spinal checkup and give them the best chance to get healthy and stay healthy throughout the school year.

Are You In Control Of Your Health?

What controls the things that happen in your life?

1. Do you believe certain things just “happen” to you, maybe just by luck or caused by other people, without your ability to stop them or change them? 

2. Or, in contrast, do you believe you have the power to make changes in most areas of your life? This belief is described as “locus of control.”

If you answered “yes” to question 1, you have an “external locus of control.” If you answered “yes” to question 2, you have an “internal locus of control.” Your beliefs about control can have a great influence on your decisions and behavior. We commonly experience some wonderful personal accomplishments in the first two decades of life: feeding ourselves, walking, tying our own shoe laces, learning to whistle, riding a bike, driving a car, graduating from high school, finding a job. Each of these accomplishments toward adulthood brings with it a feeling of personal satisfaction and self-confidence. The feeling of “I can do it myself” is a very powerful realization.

As we mature however, we begin to accept the fact that there are certain things that we cannot change. This can become a problem, though, if we view as “unchangeable” some important aspects of our lives that we can control. 

For example, most of us have experienced health problems during our lives. We may have grown dependent on the authority of other people to tell us what is wrong and what to do about it. We may have lost the sense of choice about healthcare. Traditional medicine focuses on treatment of symptoms; however, the symptoms are not the true problem. Symptoms result from underlying problems which compromise our health, and these problems may worsen over time unless the underlying cause is addressed. Chiropractic care focuses on finding and correcting the cause of the symptoms and uses natural means to correct the problem. 

Many times the underlying cause of symptoms is a subluxation (misaligned vertebra). Chiropractors focus on the human body as a whole unit, with special attention to the importance of the spine. Nerve impulses flow from the brain, through the spinal cord, to the rest of the body. Optimal health depends on the successful delivery of these nerve impulses to the organs, tissues and cells of the body. Each of the spinal vertebrae protects the nerves.  If a vertebra is misaligned by injury or the activities of life, the nerves can be affected and a health problem can result. Chiropractors correct the misaligned vertebrae with an adjustment and restore the free flow of nerve impulses through the nerve system. This enables the body to heal itself.

We have many choices in our lives these days: more options in the grocery store, on the internet, in the automobile showroom.  We also have the most important choices to make in healthcare, and you have the power to choose wisely. Make your choice the natural, safe and effective choice. Make your choice chiropractic care for yourself and your family.

The Importance Of Following Instructions

When we can’t figure out just how to use our new computer, digital camera, cell phone or any other machine for that matter, it is usually because we haven’t read the instructions. An automobile, a computer, a fax machine- these are all complex mechanical devices requiring instructions. We can learn how to use them effectively by reading the instructions or by allowing somebody to teach us how to use them.  Sometimes, if we haven’t used these machines in a while we have to go back and review the instructions all over again. These complex machines are a very important part of our lives. In fact, sometimes we feel lost or out of control if we lose the ability to use them.

Are you aware that the human body is defined as a “machine”? We generally think of a machine as made of metal and moving parts, but a “machine” can also be defined as “an intricate natural system or organism, such as the human body.” Unfortunately our bodies don’t come with an instruction manual when we are born.  And it is true, our bodies are the most important machines we will ever own in our lifetime.  It is very wise to learn as much as we can about it.

Let’s focus first on the terms “natural system” and “manmade systems.” Computers and cars are not natural systems. They are manmade and come with a set of instructions to learn from. The human body is a natural system and does not come with instructions. Instead, the body comes fully equipped with its own natural ability to heal itself. When we are experiencing a health issue, it is important to understand that symptoms of illness are our body’s intelligent way of letting us know that something is wrong.  Something is interfering with the body’s natural ability to heal itself.

Chiropractic care is so effective because it works with the body’s natural healing ability. Pills will simply mask the symptoms of an illness without ever locating and correcting the cause of the problem. Chiropractors do not rely on pills but rather focus on enabling the body’s natural system to restore health.

The most amazing aspect of this “natural system” is that it works with no conscious thought. Our body works perfectly without us even thinking about it or reading an instructions manual to operate it. We don’t have to tell our heart when to beat or how to digest food or how to grow hair. When there is no interference in communication between the brain and the rest of the body, each system works optimally.

Chiropractors restore the body’s communication system by removing interference caused by spinal misalignments (subluxations). When the vertebrae of the spine are misaligned, this can cause a breakdown in communication of nerves to other parts of the body. This is when symptoms can arise. Chiropractors correct subluxations with an adjustment and help to restore the body’s natural ability to heal itself. 

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.

Adapting to Stress: Body and Mind

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.