1. Pain is the last symptom of dysfunction.

A patient’s back is often restricted or unstable for months or years before it presents as a problem and they show up in a chiropractor’s office. In addition, the absence of pain is not health. While medication may be needed, if you take a pill and the pain goes away, the dysfunction that caused it still persists. Muscle, ligament and joint injuries often occur as a result of long-term biomechanical dysfunction, sometimes from past injuries, making the area more susceptible to future injury.

2. Athletes use chiropractors to stay well and perform better, not just for the occasional injury.

Athletes choose chiropractors because we are movement specialists. Chiropractors were spotted all over the Olympic coverage last year, and top athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, Evander Holyfield, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have all been proud patients of chiropractors. These days it’s far more common than not for major athletes and sports teams to keep chiropractors nearby to help prevent injuries, speed injury recovery, improve balance and coordination, and give them a greater competitive edge.

3. The body does not perform as a cluster of separate mechanisms, but rather a cascade of events that all starts with proper control by the nervous system.

The nerves that travel through and control every function of your body originate at the spinal cord and their transmission may be disrupted if the joints of the surrounding spinal column are not moving properly. This disruption in biomechanical integrity combined with altered physiological function is what chiropractors call a subluxation. Below is a chart that illustrates the relationship of the spinal nerves exiting the vertebra branching off to the various organ systems. You can see why it is not uncommon for a chiropractor to treat a patient with mid-back pain who also suffers from irritable bowel system, a patient with a subluxated sacrum who has been unsuccessfully trying to become pregnant, or a patient with an upper back fixation and acid reflux.

4. Doctors don’t do the healing.


Sorry to disappoint you, but a chiropractor will never fix your back. What we are able to do is restore proper motion in the joints, which relieves tension on the nerves and muscles and allows your body to do the healing that it is inherently made to do. As chiropractors, we believe that the body is a perfect organism in its natural state, and all disease comes from a disruption in the body’s proper transmission of signals by the nerves which affects its ability to heal and to defend against disease-causing agents. We never treat disease. We assess to find which spinal levels are causing the disfunction, and we adjust it to restore proper nerve flow so the nervous system may work as efficiently and effectively as possible.

5. Chiropractic is for all ages.

Many seniors aren’t aware of the benefits of chiropractic care which can help them not only with pain relief, but also increase range of motion, balance and coordination, and decrease joint degeneration. There’s no patient too young for chiropractic either! Chiropractors check infants moments after birth for misalignments of the upper vertebrae that may occur as a result of the birth process. In addition to supporting overall health and well-being, parents also take their children to chiropractors to encourage healthy brain and nervous system development, to assist with colic, asthma, allergies, bed-wetting and sleeping problems, and to assist with behavioral disorders.

6. We know about more than your backbone!

This surprises many people who had no idea that chiropractors give advice on nutrition, fitness, ergonomics and lifestyle, screen for conditions unrelated to the musculoskeletal system and refer out to other practitioners when necessary. Chiropractors are also able to complete specialties in other areas such as pediatrics, sports rehabilitation, neurology, clinical nutrition, and addictions and compulsive disorders.

Other than particular specialties and the differences in learning to adjust and learning to prescribe medication, our training hours are not dissimilar from that of medical doctor. The following are the classroom hours for basic science requirements compiled and averaged following a review of curricula of 18 chiropractic schools and 22 medical schools.

7. Successful chiropractic patients accept responsibility.

When somebody says that they tried chiropractic and it didn’t help, I cringe and get the feeling that they really missed the boat. Of course, there are cases with complicating factors, but I have heard this from people with straightforward chiropractic problems when it is very clear what has happened here. In most cases, one doesn’t acquire back pain over night, and it’s not going to go away over night. If a weak core from years of sitting at your desk is to blame for the additional stress on your joints, I would expect an adjustment to provide relief, but once the condition is no longer exacerbated, I would most definitely prescribe some exercises for you to do at home. I might also suggest we evaluate your nutrition if I suspect an inflammatory diet may be wiring you for pain. Sure, I’m always happy to adjust someone and make a living, but if you’ve been given homework and you don’t do it, I better not hear you say chiropractic didn’t work when you’re hurting again!

8. Chiropractic may help you get sick less.

Studies have indicated that adjustments consistently reduce the production of pro-inflammatory mediators associated with tissue damage and pain, and may also enhance the production of immunoregulatory complexes important for healthy immune system defense. As far back as the deadly flu pandemic of 1917-1918, chiropractors noticed that their patients seemed to have fewer fatalities than among the general population and were able to publish their work in an osteopathic journal since no scholarly journals were accepting chiropractic data. The estimated death rate among patients of conventional medical care in the U.S. was estimated at 5 to 6 percent while the fatality rate among influenza cases receiving spinal adjustments was estimated at 0.25%.

9. “I heard I’ll have to go forever” is a myth.

You may want to go to your chiropractor forever once you’ve started because you didn’t realize how great getting adjusted is, but your doctor won’t expect you to come for continuous care without symptoms. Generally, if you come in with pain, once you’ve been treated for your initial complaint, you’ll be scheduled for a few more appointments to make sure proper motion is being maintained, then it will be recommended you return occasionally to be checked just like you would go to the dentist to get checked for tartar buildup and cavities. Of course, many people still choose to see their chiropractor weekly or monthly for wellness or maintenance care.

10. Adjustments don’t hurt.

There is no bone snapping or warrior-style pulling heads off spinal columns! The neck adjustment some chiropractors use causes anticipation for many new patients, but is actually much more gentle than they imagined, and involves a quick, direct thrust to a specific spinal bone. The sound an adjustment makes is called a cavitation and is only space being created within the joint causing gasses to be released from the joint capsule, which creates the popping or cracking noise. Also, chiropractic adjustments will not wear out your joints, as some imagine because they have been warned not to “crack their knuckles” for this reason in the past. Adjustments, unlike “knuckle cracking” or having your friend stomp on you while you lay on the carpet, are applied specifically to improve the motion of your joints and limit the small dysfunctions that over time can lead to arthritis. Most people after an adjustment describe the feeling as being “lighter”, having greater ease in moving the body, and being able to stand up taller.

Resources:

http://www.yourmedicaldetective.com/drgrisanti/mddc.htm

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=9485

http://omaleydc.com/chiropractic/10-things-most-people-dont-know-about-chiropractic/141/

If you’ve ever wanted to lose some weight or eat healthier than you are right now (I mean, most of the food we eat is crap, right??), chances are you’ve been on some sort of diet or some sort of crazy program that’s supposed to yield you magical results.

You’ve heard all the hype, the gimmicks and the mystical ancient tricks that are supposed to be your shortcuts to long lasting weight loss success… and guess what? It’s never that easy, is it?  It never lasts long-term, does it?  And chances are you might even gain more weight back than you originally lost!

Kind of sucks, right?

Well it does, and that’s because there really is no ‘magic formula’ to long-lasting weight loss success.  There is no ‘magic pill’.  There are no gimmicks that work long-term.

What does work is having a proven plan, and following the plan.  I’m going to give you 7 Simple Slimming Secrets to help achieve measurable weight loss that will stay off over time.

7 Simple Slimming Secrets To Losing Weight


1. Drink Plenty Of Fluids – I bet you didn’t know that 74% of adults are dehydrated.  And when I say dehydrated, I mean adults don’t drink enough water.  That’s a shame because there are so many benefits to drinking water.  For instance, water slows your metabolism, helps detoxify your body, provides energy, curbs hunger (often thirst is confused as hunger), and so on.  Bottom line is stop drinking the soda or other ‘sugary’ drinks and just drink a lot of water per day.

2. Eat Protein - Protein is a key way to help keep blood sugars level, and keeps you from getting hungry.  Plus, when you do exercise (see tip 7), protein helps repair the damage to your muscles that you incurred in your workout.  Benefits of protein include building lean muscle and burning fat, so you can see why eating protein is important.

3. Eat Fruits & Vegetables - I really shouldn’t have to explain this that much (especially since we’ve been told this a million times since we were kids), but it goes without saying as to how important it is to eat the right foods, namely fruits and vegetables.  They fill your body with low calories, high energy, nutrition, antioxidants and fiber.  Bottom line is you can eat more in a meal with less calories by consuming fruits and vegetables.

4. Avoid The Color Beige - You might not have known this, but most foods that are beige in color tend to be high in carbohydrates and calories, but low in nutrition.  For instance, breads, pastas, rice and other beige foods may taste great, but they are NOT good for you compared to the value you get with eating fruits and vegetables.  In fact, you could almost eat 10 cups of fruits to 1 cup of beans.

5. Get Some Sleep - The body is made to recover from its activities, and the ONLY way it truly recovers is with sleep.  The body really needs about 8 hours of sleep to function optimally.  Now it may be a coincidence, but 68% of people don’t get 8 hours of sleep per night, and that’s the exact percentage of people who are overweight.  Just sayin…

6. Portion Sizes Count - The average plate of food is 2-3 times larger than it used to be just 30 years ago, so that should be a ‘wake up’ call right there.  A normal serving size of protein is the same size as your computer mouse.  2 servings of mixed greens should be the same as 2 baseballs.  A serving of fruit should be the size of a tennis ball.  Keep these portion sizes in mind, and that will help you lose weight.

7. Exercise!! - The absolute best way to boost your metabolism, to boost your energy, and boost your weight loss into hyperdrive is to get off the couch and get some exercise, period!  Go for a 10 minute walk 3 times a day.  Go for a 30 minute workout 3-4 times a week.  Just do something.

If you follow these 7 Simple Slimming Secrets, you’ll lead a healthy lifestyle, you’ll lose weight, and more importantly you’ll keep it off.