September 2013 Newsletter
Can Adjustments Make My Spine Too Loose?
You may have heard this concern from folks who dont understand chiropractic.
Most spinal problems come in pairs. Usually theres an area of the spine that is not moving adequately, accompanied by another area that compensates by moving too much. These areas can even be at opposite ends of the spine! Theyre called compensation reactions.
Your body is constantly dealing with the force of gravity. When one area of your spine malfunctions, a reaction can appear elsewhere. This is why patients are often surprised that we examine their upper back when their complaint is in their lower back.
Our goal is to avoid the compensations and focus on the primary subluxations. The spinal joints that move too much are avoided so muscles and ligaments can stabilize and heal. When we add motion to stuck spinal joints, areas that are too loose can properly heal.
Pop Quiz!
If youve been a patient for some time, you already know that chiropractic care is different from traditional health care. We depend upon patients like you to spread the word about chiropractic and its effectiveness.
Do you understand what makes chiropractic different (and effective)? Answer these questions to test your knowledge. Let me know how you did:
1. The primary focus of chiropractic care is to
a. Make hair shinier
b. Improve the vitality of the nervous system
2. Subluxations can cause one of two different reactions:
a. Eating or drinking to excess
b. Nervous system impairment or over-excitement
3. Chiropractic can help so many different health problems because
a. Its magic
b. The nervous system controls and regulates everything
(Answers: Chiropractic is all about the integrity of the nervous system. So, the correct answers are 1(b), 2(b) and 3(b).)
Lifestyle Decisions
Lifestyle decisions and long-term neglect can produce obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and other health problems. But since symptoms can take years to appear, these issues are easy to overlook.
If pressing a button instead of taking the stairs immediately resulted in a visible weight gain, youd head for the stairs.
If expressing anger, envy or grief instantly created a stomach ulcer, youd watch what you say.
But it can take years for the earliest symptoms to show up and by then, the problem has advanced. It wont happen to me, we lie to ourselves.
Yet, the damage is done. Thats why our most health conscious patients see us on a regular basis. Can chiropractic care reverse years of neglect? No. But periodic checkups may catch problems before they become serious.
Has it been a while since your last visit? Give us a call.