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| Life Force |
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| Life Force |
If we look at our life from the time that we are born until the time we die, the body is in constant motion, even when at rest. The cells of our body are constantly dying and being replaced by new, healthy cells. Two and one-half million of them will die and be replaced every minute of your life. This is a normal process. Health can be defined as the ability of the body to replace the cells and tissue structures normally and consistently. There is an innate intelligence within each of us that is far superior to our educated brain which creates and recreates us on a continual basis. In order for this process to occur, life force (mental impulse) must be flowing throughout the body to all cells and tissues. Its medium is the brain and nervous
system. The innate intelligence directs this life force to every cell and tissue of the body.
When the life force is free of interference, the body is at its maximum health potential. If the life force is interfered with, the body does not have the ability to recreate itself normally and disease results. |
| Subluxation |
| Chiropractors work on primarily one thing - the vertebral subluxation. A subluxation is a vertebrae that is out of alignment with the vertebrae above and below resulting in nerve pressure and interference of the mental impulse (life force) from the brain to the tissue cell. This lack of mental impulse causes a break down of the normal tissue cells until enough abnormal tissue cells have been formed to cause dis-ease. The Chiropractor's job is to remove the subluxation allowing the mental impulse to get to the tissue cells and replace the abnormal cells with normal cells. This is healing. When a subluxation is corrected and maintained and optimum mental impulse is getting to the tissue cells the body has}- greater potential to heal and stay healthy. |
| What Heals |
Only the body has the ability to heal. There is no pill, potion, surgery, or anything else that can
heal from the outside in. The body has built all dis-ease known to man from within and has the capability to heal the same dis-ease through its own innate power. When life force is interfered with through a subluxation, the body loses its ability to function normally. Chiropractors recognize that all healing comes from within through the innate intelligence and, therefore, do not treat dis-ease or symptoms but subluxations. In order to maximize the health potential of the body this innate mental impulse must not be interfered with. |
| Symptoms |
A symptom only results from abnormal weak or damaged tissue cells. Damaged tissue occurs two ways. One, from acute trauma and two, the interference of the mental impulse from a subluxation. Cells of the body are
constantly dying and being replaced as a normal life process. The interference of this normal life process by a subluxation results in the
breakdown of normal tissue cells. A symptom is a warning signal sent to the brain from the tissue
cell level to alert the brain that there has been damage. The most common symptom is pain, however, symptoms such as burning, tingling, and numbness can also occur. Symptom threshold is different for everyone. Therefore, some people may not get symptoms until there is massive tissue destruction. The Chiropractor does not treat the symptom. Our main focus is to treat the subluxation, thus allowing the nerve impulse to reach the tissue cells so the body’s innate intelligence can rebuild them with normal ones. When a sufficient amount of normal tissue has been built the symptoms will disappear, and a healthier body will prevail. Is this not better than taking drugs to merely mask the symptom while the body builds itself abnormally? |
| What Causes Vertebral Subluxations |
Any physical, chemical, or emotional stress which is greater than internal resistance will cause subluxations.
Physical Stress can range from whiplash trauma to sitting at your desk day after day with your head turned to the same side. Birth itself can exert 40-60 lbs of pressure on the spine.
Chemical Stress is anything from eating too much sugar and preservatives to breathing environmental pollutants. This upsets the body’s chemistry which disrupts the muscles’ and ligaments’ tone resulting in subluxations.
Mental Stress is something everyone has
experienced in either tense or emotional
situations, or in everyday living. Mental stress causes the ligaments and muscles to tighten resulting in subluxations.
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| Two Types of Chiropractors |
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Not all Chiropractors are alike. Although they go by the same name, Chiropractors today differ greatly in technique and philosophy.
The traditional philosophy that Chiropractic was based on has never changed, but for social acceptance, on a cultural level some Chiropractors have. As a result, when patients go to different Chiropractors they get different opinions, treatments and results, not to mention costs. This can be both confusing and frustrating to the patient. If expectations aren’t met, patients stop Chiropractic care, and never get to experience the great results Chiropractic care can give them.
There are basically two types of Chiropractors. The musculoskeletal Chiropractors who focus on symptom relief and the traditional wellness Chiropractors who work on subluxations and structural correction. Lets look at the two types of Chiropractors so you can choose one.
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| The Symptom Relief Chiropractors |
Like the typical M.D. this type of Chiropractor primarily focuses on relief of symptoms (back pain and headaches). Manipulations are done to the spine to decompress the joints, free fixations and reduce pain. In addition, electrotherapies such as ultrasound, diathermy, e+lectrostimulation, tens units and laser acupuncture, are often used. In some states Chiropractors are even trying to “expand their scope of practice” to prescribe drugs.
Length of treatment and frequency of adjustments are usually dictated by the patient’s symptoms, or insurance coverage. Degrading treatment schedules like 3 to 2 to 1 per week are often used because this is all insurance will pay for. Monitoring patient’s progress by symptoms and insurance coverage, usually means shorter overall treatment time, but still leaves the patient far short of correcting the cause of the symptom. The patient may feel better temporarily, but since the spine remains structurally misaligned, it degenerates silently and results in damage and dysfunction to discs, joints, and to the part of the body the nerve supplies.
Also, this “multi-therapy symptom relief” approach results in high insurance billing from the doctor and forces the insurance companies into cost containment procedures, escalating insurance premiums and limited care programs like HMO’s and PPO’s.
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| Currently many medical experts see little value and even harm in simply treating symptoms. |
Robert Becker, M.D., research expert on the effects of electromagnetic fields on the human body commented on electrotherapy in his book Cross Currents. “It should be apparent that electrical currents administered to the body have purely physical side effects of an undesirable nature. Most people who employ or promote electrical currents are either unaware of these effects or choose to ignore them.”
Robert C.Atkins, M.D., Health Revolution “Orthodox medical tends to treat the symptom, and once it has this symptom go away, it tells the patient that his or her condition is cured or at least controlled. Actually, in most cases, the disease hasn’t been treated at all. Its symptoms have been masked or obliterated, but in due time the disease may well assert itself in another direction.” |
The bottom line is treating only symptoms still leaves that cause uncorrected.
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| The Traditional / Wellness Chiropractor |
This type of Chiropractor practices the traditional wellness philosophy of Chiropractic which is subluaxtions and structural correction of the spine. Modern technology has treatment faster and more effective than it was even 10 years ago. That’s why we have the most up-to date techniques and methods available. Simply put, a subluxation is a misaligned vertebrae which interferes with nerve impulses. Nerve impulse is the electrical impulse from the brain that regulates all function of the body and keeps us alive.
Although the traditional / wellness Chiropractor wants his patients to “feel better.” His primary focus is removing the nerve interference (subluxation) and restructuring the spine and posture to it’s most stable biomechanical position. By maximizing the integrity of the discs, joints and nerves through spinal adjustments and postural correction, the body’s wellness i.e. health potential and ability to function improves. This is done through a rehabilitation program of adjustment and spinal exercises.
The length of correction and frequency of adjustment is determined by the severity of the patient’s subluxations and structural alignment.
Symptoms may be gone long before the spine is at its maximum corrected position, so adjustment schedules are kept intense to allow structural correction in the shortest amount of time.
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“Posture affects and moderates every physiological function from breathing to hormonal production. Spinal pain, headache, mood, blood pressure, and lung capacity are among the functions most easily influenced by posture. The corollary of these observations is that many symptoms, including pain, may be moderate or eliminated by improved posture”
-AJPM, Vol.1 No.1 Jan 1994 Posture and Respiratory Modulation of Autonomic Function, Pain and Health. J. Lennon, BM, MM, C, Norman Shealy, MD., Roger K. Cady, M.D. |
The patient is then closely monitored by postural patterns, x-rays and spine reading until the subluxations are corrected and the spine is in proper alignment.
By reviewing these before and after studies with the doctor, the patient will automatically see the results. You will see your results (in black and white) on follow-up x-rays rather than just monitoring you by your surface symptoms and know your spine is in it’s normal position.
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| Since subluxations are silent and research shows they begin at birth resulting in dysfunction and dis-ease, the traditional Chiropractor recommends families to be checked, especially children. |
| Because of this, the traditional / wellness Chiropractor will work out fair equitable payment plans so families can afford care, regardless of insurance coverage. |
| Karl Lewitt, M.D., Dsc, a Czech neurologist prominent in manual medicine in Europe argues: “In principle, everyone should have preventative care to locate and treat ‘joint or segmental movement restrictions’ (subluxations) because we are convinced that they are a potential source of trouble and because they can be quickly and safely diagnosed as well as treated by manipulation.” |
So remember, when choosing a Chiropractor, choose based on your health care philosophy and goals. If your philosophy is to only treat symptoms and conditions when they arise and not worry about the cause, choose the symptom relief Chiropractor.
On the other hand, if your health philosophy is wellness, which means maintaining optimum health potential to prevent dysfunction and disease, choose the traditional / wellness Chiropractor for maximum correction and maintenance of your spine and health.
The choice is yours. |
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