The essence of the use of chiropractic care is that you don't need symptoms, you don't need pain, you don't even need to be sick. It's like walking into a room where the lights are on a dimmer and they are constantly set for 75%. Most people live their lives that way. Chiropractic makes sure that they are living their lives at 100%. Chiropractic care, by removing nerve interference, makes sure your life is "turned on" to its fullest potential and you can function at a level you may have never known was possible."
~ Armond Rossi, D.C.

Weekly Thoughts and Tips
Health Tip of the Week | Thought for the Week | Chiropractic Thought for the Week

Previous Chiropractic Thoughts:
"The fact that chiropractic focuses on nerve intervention makes it unique as a profession. If the nervous system is subluxated, is interfered with, and is not allowing the body to function at its highest potential, the person will never be as healthy as he or she was meant to be. That is the uniqueness of chiropractic."
~ Fabrio Mancini, D.C. President of Parker College of Chiropractic

A recent study shows that hamstring and lower limb muscle strain injuries can be dramatically reduced through the inclusion of a sports chiropractor in the traditional injury management programs adopted by sports teams which generally involve a mix of physiotherapy, massage and strength and conditioning management. "The study lasted an entire season and involved 59 players from two Australian Football League clubs," Dr. Wayne Hoskins, study author, said. "The group which included chiropractic management had a four per cent chance of a hamstring injury and a four per cent chance of a lower limb muscle strain. The group which received the traditional management had a 17 per cent chance of hamstring injury and a 28 per cent chance of a lower limb muscle strain."
~ BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Chiropractic care for children offers many benefits to enhance your family's lifestyle, health and vitality. The focus of chiropractic care is on the function of the nervous system and body. Through (the) nervous system, your child perceives the world, responds to stress, coordinates all body parts and functions, expresses emotions and creates conscious reality. Eighty percent of the nervous system develops by age 2, a time when the average toddler falls 38 times per day. Through spinal assessment and specialized
testing, chiropractors can detect stored tension in your child's body and nervous system caused by physical, chemical and emotional stress. This stored tension can result in altered expression of life force, decreased vitality, poor posture, physical and/or emotional symptoms and disease. Using precise, artfully applied touches to the body, known as chiropractic adjustments, chiropractic care helps children release the stored tension and achieve optimum function and health. To learn more about the chiropractic family wellness lifestyle, visit icpa4kids.com.
~ Parent Survival Guide, The Advocate Weekly

Giving birth might become an easier and safer experience through chiropractic techniques that are being researched by New Zealand specialists. "We are working with a number of pregnant women here in New Zealand; and the University of Australia in Sydney, which is also involved in the study, is testing hundreds of women," Dr Kruger said. "We are using state of the art 4D ultrasound to visualize the pelvic floor of women, pre and post chiropractic adjustments. We want to see whether spinal adjustments can alter the way the pelvic floor works. That way, their health professionals can work with them before birth and take special precautions once they are in hospital, to give them the best chance of having a safe, trouble-free birth." New Zealand Chiropractors' Association spokesman, Dr Simon Kelly, hoped the results would mean health professionals were able to offer pregnant women a greater level of preventive care and support.
~ Wellington, April 8 New Zealand

A recent article published in January 2010 edition of the "Journal of Pediatrics, Maternal and Family Health," highlights how important a well adjusted spine is to the health and developement of young children and babies. The Journal reports the case study of a 2-week-old male patient who showed symptoms of colic, constipation and a troubled sleep pattern. In the case of this 2-week-old, the mother wanted to try chiropractic care. When the child was presented for his initial examination, he was crying and in distress. The examining chiropractor found the existence of subluxations in the child's spinal area. After the doctor performed the first adjustment, the infant had an immediate bowel movement and fell asleep. The patient underwent a regular program of chiropractic care, including spinal adjustments. After the fifth adjustment, the mother reported that the baby's bowel movements were becoming more regular. After a series of adjustments, the child was sleeping better and all symptoms of constipation and colic were resolved.

Irritation to a young person's nervous system can begin in utero. The baby's position during delivery (natural or cesarean) can create stress on the baby's nervous system. Even a "normal, healthy" birth can induce 40-50 pounds of pressure on a newborn's neck and spine. Dr. Carrie Getzmier, Chair of the Minnesota Chiropractic Association Communications Committee says, "Gentle chiropractic care not only removes this nerve interference, but also stimulates the immune system, enhancing the child's overall health." Dr. Getzmier explained that some of the symptoms parents should watch for include ear infections, colic, sleep disturbances, tilted head position, difficulty breast-feeding, reflux, and constipation or diarrhea. Any bumps and falls can also create joint dysfunction and nerve irritation to a young person during the developmental years. This may present as:
- Headaches
- Growing pains
- Osgood-Schlatter's (Jumper's knee)
- Difficulty sleeping
- Bed-wetting
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- Difficulty concentrating or staying focused
- Stomach aches, heartburn, or indigestion
- Skin Disorders
- Asthma
- Allergies
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~ PR Newswire

"If you want to maintain health and have your nervous system function at its best, while staying away from drugs and surgery, the solution is chiropractic care. This is a natural procedure of maintaining good health. The nervous system is the central processing unit of the body, which means that every action, reaction or function of the body is directed and observed by it. Therefore any problem created at this end can result into minor to major ailments. This is the reason why the chiropractic profession is becoming more and more popular, day by day."
~ Amit Pathania, TopNews.com, Top News Magazine, India

Chiropractic Reduces Blood Pressure. According to the March 2nd, 2007, Journal of Human Hypertension, Chiropractic adjustments were better in lowering blood pressure than 2 medications combined! George Bakris M.D. said, “Not only does it work, we saw no side effects and no problems!” This was an 8 week study, where 25 patients who were receiving medication to treat early-stage high blood pressure were specifically adjusted. They significantly lowered their blood pressure compared to 25 similar patients who received sham or fake adjustments. Those patients who received specific chiropractic adjustments saw an average of 14mm Hg greater drop in the top number, and an average of 8mm Hg greater drop in the bottom number. George Bakris M.D. said, “when the statistician brought me the data, I actually didn’t believe it. It was way too good to be true.” The statistician said, “I didn’t believe it either, but we checked for everything and there it was.”
~ Dr. Kate and Patrick McCann, D.C., Brookfield Now.com

Q: Why would my child benefit from chiropractic care?
A: Simply put, children with properly aligned spines have a better opportunity to be healthy. Beginning at birth, children go through many different micro-traumas, (such as) frequent falls as they learn to crawl, walk and eventually run. Chiropractic adjustments give children an edge by reducing many physical stressors they endure throughout life.
The child’s spine is developing rapidly in the first 10 years of life. (Seemingly) innocent events, such as wearing backpacks, using the computer, having poor posture and getting injured playing sports, can create spinal subluxations (misalignments) in the child’s spine. Subluxations can put pressure on the child’s nervous system. When the nerve isn’t functioning correctly, it can result in symptoms related to organs, muscles and various systems of the body. Symptoms such as colic, asthma, ear infections, stomach ache, bed wetting, poor posture, hyperactivity and frequent colds or flu might be evidence of subluxations.
Through safe and gentle adjustments, a chiropractor can realign the child’s spine with specific contacts, reducing the pressure on the nervous system, allowing the body to heal and reduce symptoms. Like dentistry, many parents also see the benefits of providing preventive care for their children and see this as an important role in their child’s overall health and wellness.
~ Dr. Jeff Ludwick, PennLive.com

"Chiropractic is not a natural cure for any condition or disease. That's not what this is about at all. We, as chiropractors, are not treating; we are enhancing normal body function by removing spinal nerve interference. It's not just a play on words, (where we come from) is a completely different base... That's what makes the difference."
~ Jeanne Ohm, D.C. Editor and Chief, Pathways magazine

"You needn't be sick to benefit from chiropractic care. All you must have is a desire to express your life to its fullest potential, and if you have that desire, the chiropractor can assist you by identifying and correcting areas of interference."
~ Christopher Kent, D.C., FCCI, J.D.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? In relation to the spine: What happens first, the spinal bone misaligning or the muscle straining? A very common question to the chiropractor is whether the bone is out of place or whether it is just a muscle pull. The answer is, one can't happen without the other. First, the back or neck muscles undergo an unusual amount of stress (such as a strain). Since the spinal muscles are attached to moveable spinal bones, the muscle exerts a force on spinal joint and "pulls" the bone out of its proper alignment. Once the spinal joint is misaligned, the muscle stays stretched and irritated. The only way to get the muscle to correct itself is to realign the spinal joint. Treating the symptom with ice, heat, electric muscle stimulation and massage will only temporarily relax the muscle tissue. As long as the spinal bone is out of alignment, the muscle will stay in a state of imbalance. Thus the purpose of chiropractic, to adjust the spine, balance the musculature and correct the condition.

The brain sends mental impulses down the spinal cord and out through the spinal nerves to all of the body's systems, organs, tissues and cells. This is how the body (including the heart!!) works, functions and lives. If there is a disturbance, disruption or interference in the brain's mental impulse and nerve flow, the body cannot be as healthy as it was meant to be. Chiropractic removes nerve flow disruption along the spine. It improves the brain's communication network, thereby improving bodily function, performance and health!

Since I have already mentioned the term "Silent
Killer," did you know that the chiropractic profession has
used that term as well? Misaligned vertebrae (called subluxations)
have often been referred to as a "silent killers." The majority
of subluxations that exist in our bodies' spinal columns, exist
without causing symptoms (pain). A misaligned vertebra places
pressure on vital nerves that come from the spine, and the subluxation
interferes with nerve flow. Nerve interference causes a decrease
in function to all of the systems, cells and tissues in the
body. Overtime, the interference leads to a decrease in bodily
function, performance and health. As with blood pressure, the
only way to know if you have subluxations is to be checked,
in this case, by a chiropractor. A chiropractor will re-adjust
out-of-place vertebra by a using a simple, pain-free technique.
When the vertebrae are properly in place, your nerve flow will
be at its fullest capacity.

"I'm always astonished by how little is needed for an adjustment on babies and children, and how incredibly they respond physiologically. My greatest miracles in practice - some of them have been truly life-saving, a matter of life or death - were with babies. The parents knew very clearly that if those babies had not been adjusted, they would have died. Their medical situation was very complex and documented (by) some of the best children's hospitals in Pennsylvania. Then came the chiropractic adjustment and their entire physiology shifted, and that child lived. So, that to me has always been the bewildering factor about chiropractic."
~ Arno Burnier, D.C.

"Many think that health is merely the absence of pain or symptoms. A wellness approach to health means adopting a variety of healthy habits for optimum function on all levels - physical, mental, social, and spiritual. Because of its focus on the nervous system, chiropractic care can be an important part of a wellness lifestyle. The nervous system controls the function of virtually every aspect of our lives. So, maintaining a properly functioning nerve system is essential if you want to be your very best."
~ Dr. T.J. McKay and Dr. K.B. Jenkins

"Doctors of chiropractic play an important role in helping Olympic athletes prepare for competition and recover from injuries. Their visibility on the U.S. Olympic Committee's (USOC) medical staff has increased steadily over the years. We're taking five chiropractors [to the Olympic Games this year] and that just shows how far chiropractic has come since the first chiropractor joined the Olympic medical staff in 1980," says Dr. Michael Reed, a doctor of chiropractic who serves as a USOC medical director. "It has a lot to do with the requests of the athletes - they recognize the benefits of chiropractic in helping their bodies perform at peak condition."
~ Sentinel-Tribune, Osceola, IA

People have counted on chiropractic adjustments for years. A few cracks of the spine can make a world of difference, but according to Dr. Patricia Cline of the Cline Chiropractic Center, those adjustments can have some long-term benefits many folks may not realize. "You're going to have better resistance to colds and flu," she says. "You're going to feel more rested and may even sleep better."
~ Rob Poindexter, TV 5 News, Bangor, Maine

See Number 10 and apply to your family.

" I am a chiropractor working with the sciences of the universe by turning on the life in man throiugh the art of the adjustment. I do not prescribe, treat or diagnose conditions. I use only my hands. I work with that "mysterious something" which created my body from two cells."
~ BJ Palmer, D.C, Ph.C

"This is the time of year that headache complaints are on the rise. Colder weather, busier end-of-year schedules, holiday stress (and) over-indulgence in caloric foods and alcohol are just a few of the reasons that headaches are increasingly more common. If you have chronic headaches that won’t go away, call your chiropractor. More than ever, patients are finding relief in chiropractors’ offices for chronic headache pain. Tension, sinus and even migraine headaches usually respond to a series of chiropractic treatments."
~ Dr. Mark Kestner, The Murfreesboro Post, TN

“Chiropractic allows the body to heal itself naturally. Chiropractic adjustments free the nervous system to work effectively, which in turn aids the immune system’s functioning, as well the musculoskeletal system."
~ Dr. Todd Shelton, Valley News, Yelm, Washington

"Chiropractors will never be as busy as they could and should be until people lose faith in the unscientific religion of modern medicine."
~ Robert Mendelsohn, MD

Forget back pain and neck pain for a moment. Move symptomatic relief from aches and pains out of your mind. The most important aspect of chiropractic care is that spinal adjustments open up the nerve channels between the spinal bones, allowing the brain to effectively send its messages down the spinal cord and out through the spinal nerves. When the nervous system is flowing properly, the body works better, the body performs better, the body is healthier!

"Spinal misalignments (subluxations) can often flow into pain sensitive structures in the head and neck. Chiropractic spinal adjustments are important to restore normal spinal alignment and eliminate and/or reduce the irritations that can cause headaches. Misaligned vertebrae can affect the spinal nerves, muscles, and blood supply to your head."
~ Daily Observer, Pembroke, Canada

"The body's ability to function properly is based on the integrity of the nervous system. Chiropractic care can maintain a spinal column relatively free of nerve interference and thus enhance the body's innate ability to restore and maintain health."
~ Fred Barge, DC, PhC

"One of our biggest challenges is not the
small percentage of people who don't go to a
chiropractor, or those who do, it's the vast
majority of people that have no idea who we
are or what we are about," says Dr. Sigmund
Miller, a chiropractor of 35 years who serves
as executive director of the Association of
New Jersey Chiropractors.
That's because people don't view chiropractic
as a continual vessel for health and well being.
They only see it as something that's necessary
when the back is out of wack.
"We're primarily focused on caring for patients,
adjusting the spine and improving quality of
life," Miller says.
~ Courier News, Central Jersey.com

Chiropractic and bedwetting: “Chiropractic adjustments correct the misalignment which allows the nerve to carry information freely and completely between the bladder and the brain,” says Dr. Packard-Spicer. “If enuresis or bedwetting is an effect of the misalignment, the chiropractic adjustment can restore normal night-time dryness.”