Are You Just a Machine?

In primary school you learned about the human body. For your convenience, it was divided into different parts based on their function. The mouth, esophagus, stomach and intestines made up the digestive system. The bones made up the skeletal system. And so on.

There was a lot of attention given to the circulatory system. You probably learned about the chambers of the heart, the route of the oxygenated blood and the difference between veins and arteries.

This has contributed to the widely-held belief that you and I are merely a collection of parts and chemical reactions. Yet, this way of seeing our bodies stands in the way of better health. It’s responsible for:

Specialization: Doctors who focus on narrow aspects of health, who know more and more about less and less.

Isolation: Incorrectly thinking that organs and tissues operate independently of each other rather than together as part of an integrated whole.

Mechanism: The belief that we’re simply a collection of parts in which identical inputs (drugs) should produce identical results in all subjects.

We chiropractors go beyond mechanism to embrace what’s called vitalism:

Wholism: We are each greater than the sum of our parts, with each part having a purpose that contributes to the whole.

Intelligence: You and I can learn, create, dream and have the capacity to adapt to our environment.

Self-healing: Cut your finger and your body can heal it. Mechanisms can’t.

Since the nervous system regulates these vital processes, chiropractic care is the centerpiece of the growing interest in vitalism.

Do Kids Have Bad Backs?

“I couldn’t help but notice there was a child out in your reception room. Why would a child need to see a chiropractor?”

The idea that children, even newborns, would see us to get adjusted is a stretch for some. Why would a parent bring them in? How would a child benefit? What would prompt the need for pediatric chiropractic care?

Birth trauma. Even so-called natural childbirth methods can take a toll on a baby’s spine. Cesarean Section can be even more so.

Colic. Lacking the ability to explain their discomfort, babies cry. And cry! Many experience extraordinary relief with chiropractic care.

Ear infections. Mechanical tension in the upper spine can compromise the inner ear and eustachian tubes, becoming fertile ground for infection.

Children seem to enjoy their adjustments. Besides requiring a lighter touch than the ones you receive, most infants respond quickly. They rarely have the build up of scar tissue that we often see in adults with long-standing problems.

Do you know a child that could benefit from today’s safe and natural chiropractic care? Resolving these problems early can avoid problems later on. Thus the old adage, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.”

The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

We all recognize this old saying, and it’s never truer than when it comes to our health. If we shut down the awareness to our body’s own cries for change, our body cries louder. And Louder. AND LOUDER!

Until we take action and make some changes.

That’s often what we see when new patients begin care in our office with an obvious ache or pain. First, they tried to grin and bear it, figuring the problem would go away on its own. When it doesn’t self-resolve, they often up the ante, suppressing the pain with over-the-counter medications. It’s convenient, but it merely prolongs the day when the underlying cause must be addressed.

Just as Einstein observed that problems are never solved at the same level that created them, they call our office.

Wise move.

Funny how so many people claim they don’t have the time for healthy habits and preventive measures, but when they lose their health, they somehow find the time.

Listen to your body. What’s it telling you?