How Does Chiropractic Promote Overall Wellness?
Chiropractors know that adjustments are good for your general health. But what do chiropractors know that the rest of us do not?
Chiropractors know the nervous system is the one system in the body that directly affects every other system. This is because nerves conduct sensory information from every part of the body and then delivers this information to the brain. Once there, the brain analyzes the information to determine what the body needs to maintain a healthy state.
Chiropractors study the effects of vertebral subluxations – conditions of the spine where alignment and/or movement patterns of the vertebrae are abnormal. In turn this can cause interference with information that is transmitted along the spinal cord through the nerves. Chiropractors are the only health care professionals specifically trained to locate and correct spinal subluxations.
Where’s the Proof? For decades, scientific research has focused on the use of chiropractic adjustments for low back pain, neck pain and headaches. In fact, there is now clear evidence to recommend chiropractors as the go-to professionals for spinal pain syndromes.
In a recent report from the Center for Disease Control, the four most popular forms of alternative and complementary medicine were listed as: natural products, deep breathing, meditation and chiropractic! As a profession whose core philosophy is about the optimization of the brain- body communication network, chiropractic can be viewed as a therapy with an emphasis on whole body health and wellness.
Research is catching up to what chiropractors have known for years. In a recent study that reviewed all the available research to date, investigators found that “chiropractic adjustments, often for the purpose of correcting vertebral subluxation, confer measurable health benefits to people regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms.” More people are seeking what chiropractic offers: optimization of health and an improved quality of life, with a spine free of vertebral subluxations!
Which is Healthier for You?
Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys up but instead of fattening them up, it was killing them. So what was decided was—colour it yellow and sell it as a butter substitute.
While both have the same amount of calories, butter has eight grams of saturated fat while margarine has five. However margarine is hydrogenated and full of trans-fatty acids so it increases the risk of heart disease and cancer,. It affects breast milk, weakens the immune system and depresses insulin response.
Butter is natural and good for you: it increases the absorption of many vital nutrients, tastes good (especially when used for cooking) and has been used traditionally for centuries in cultures that had no heart disease, cancer, diabetes or obesity.
Butter is better, especially farm fresh butter. Please share this information with your friends (if you want to ‘butter them up’).
Staying Active During the Winter
You go outside, only to find your hands freezing and nose running. It can be hard to stay motivated and committed to fitness and activity during the winter months. While it can be easy to lose sight of your activity levels during winter, research has shown it’s important to stay active in the winter months. With increased darkness and cold, your serotonin (or feel-good chemical) levels drop. Consistent exercise and activity is a great way to combat this. Getting up and moving in the winter also boosts immunity by keeping the lymphatic sys-
tem active. Below are some tips to keep active during the winter months:
1. Get outside and move. This option embraces the cold. Alberta is full of opportunities to use the frigid weather to your advantage. Skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing or skating are all great options to keep you moving outside. Also check local communities for fun activities near you!
2. Activity in your day-to-day life. Being active doesn’t always have to mean sweating it out. Making little, conscious decisions to get up and move can do wonders for your overall health. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get out and shovel the snow by hand (using the correct technique, of course). Get up from your desk and take a short walk every few hours. It’s little activities like these that can help break up the monotony your body can feel during the winter months.
3. Join a gym. A great indoor option is to join a gym. Joining a gym doesn’t just have to mean running on a treadmill or lifting weights. A lot of fitness facilities offer a variety of indoor activities and classes for you to participate in. This may include basketball, swimming, squash, yoga, etc. This may be cost prohibitive for many, but still remains a great option.
Chiropractic Treatment and Breathing
Breathing is an automatic bodily function. Every day we do it up to 20,000 times without a thought, but most of us do not use the full potential of our breathing. Are you breathing correctly? Please take a deep breath! Did your stomach go in or out? If your stomach went out – good! If it went in – please read on.
Most people breathe only with the top part of the body, which means that they are not fully lowering the diaphragm and expanding the lungs, this in turn is not allowing the full use of lung capacity.
This kind of shallow breathing is how you breathe if you feel anxious or depressed, it can also induce stress and tension; these are contributory factors in many illnesses and diseases. What is the effect of incorrect breathing? Limiting your breath to the chest not only reduces the potential intake of oxygen to the body but also the diaphragm remains tense leading to tightness. When you breathe incorrectly you overuse the accessory muscles of breathing, the muscles of the neck and shoulders, which subsequently fatigue and tightens up, leading to pain and tiredness.
Breathing properly is particularly important in people with impaired breathing (ie. Asthma and emphysema).
Poor breathing is usually connected with poor posture, physical stiffness, tense shoulders, a curved spine and a rigid pelvis, all of which disturb the natural balance of the body. Therefore, when your breathing is out of balance the diaphragm, abdomen and pelvis are also out of balance.
Important points to remember to help your breathing:
1. Limit the amount of time that you spend sitting
2. Watch the posture of your upper back at all times.
3. Get adjusted to have your muscles, bones and nerves working together without restriction.
4. The most efficient way to breathe is by pushing through the abdomen, or the diaphragm, as gravity dictates, to encourage the air to go to the bottom of the lungs where the best blood supply is and oxygen exchange will occur most efficiently.
5. Only through abdominal breathing can we access this deep breathing.
Breathing Exercises to Try
1) 4-2-8-2 Method: inhale for a count of 4, holding the breath for 2 counts, exhaling for 8 counts and hold- ing the breath again for 2 counts. Best for promoting relaxation and reducing stress, also great for calming anxiety.
2) 4-7-8 Method: By inhaling for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds and exhaling for 8 seconds. This method helps regulate the nervous system and can lead to improved mental and physical wellbeing.
3) 4-4-4-4 Navy Seal Sleeping technique: this involves inhaling through your nose for 4 seconds, holding you breath for 4 seconds, and exhaling through your mouth for 4 seconds, then holding your breath again for 4 seconds. This rhythmic technique helps to regulate the brain and slow heart rate down to achieve sleep quicker.
Following these simple techniques on breathing can help you achieve the most out of your lungs!
Ask the Doctor:
Are Chiropractic’s Against Drugs?
A. The Function of drugs are to suppress symptoms and stimulate or inhibit body functions. Ideally they should be used only temporarily if at all. All drugs are potentially toxic and dangerous. All drugs have side effects, adverse reactions and create toxic build up.
When symptoms are suppressed they are driven deeper into the body creating deep diseases that are difficult to eradicate. Research has shown that suppression can turn an acute (temporary) illness into a chronic (lifelong) condition.
Chiropractic is expressive rather than suppressive. Symptoms serve a purpose: they are the way your body heals itself and should usually not be suppressed.
Chiropractors help to “wake up” the greatest drugstore in the world – your own body. Your body makes a myriad of drugs, all unique to you and in the exact right amount so you’ll never have an overdose.
Ways to Remember Remembrance Day—November 11th
Wear a poppy
Read the poem In Flander Fields
Ceremonial readings
Stay informed
Take 1 minute at 11:00 am to honor those that are no longer with us
