Corrective Chiropractic: Back Surgery Alternatives

Recent studies released by The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) confirms what the chiropractic community has been preaching for years. Despite the severity of back pain, there is significant hope for full recovery by means of getting treatment from a chiropractor versus going through invasive back surgery. The study concentrated on workers suffering from back injury and released shocking data on just how unnecessary back surgery may be.

As stated in the official excerpt from the NCBI website, when back pain patients saw a back surgeon first, they were 42.7% more likely to go through with back surgery as means of treatment. Compare that number to only 1.5% of patients who first saw a chiropractor.

So what does all this mean?
Chiropractic works, and it works without invasive surgery or habit forming pain medication. According to these numbers, more than 98% of patients who saw their chiropractor experienced a significant reduction or elimination of their back pain, so had no need to see a back surgeon. These patients were then able to get back to work within a few short weeks or months and live a normal life again.

Despite what back surgeons have been trained to say or do, surgery is not the only answer, nor should it be your first choice.

The cutting edge science of chiropractic has helped millions of Americans avoid back surgery through non-invasive treatment methods – something that the medical field is not proud to admit. So why put yourself under the knife when all it might take is seeing your chiropractor?

Something to seriously think about and research for yourself.

Just A Thought In Life

Have you ever been aware of what you are thinking about at any given moment throughout the day? Even though you might not be able to answer that, but your mind is always active. Some thought, regardless of size, is constantly passing through your mind. It may be a memory, a song, or even a picture.

And what exactly is a thought? Usually they are generally short-lived, discrete events of your life. They generally are not the ordinary sounds heard everyday or the sights you are conscious of daily. Do you actually think mentally, or is a thought just a passing reflection without any given pattern? At times you do concentrate on a given theme and something constructive is accomplished. Your thoughts are creative and you become deep in thought, a thing that no other animal can do. But even so, do you actively engage in mental creation or does it come from some other source somewhere?

What are you doing right now, at this very moment? Are you engaging in actual or passing thought, or is it a mental or spiritual reflection having more or less interest? What becomes of each passing thought? Where does it go during sleep or at time of death? On such occasions. the physical body either remains dormant or disintegrates. But what about the mental or spiritual aspect? Is there a logical answer?

What is life anyway? Where does it come from and where does it go? Within the womb of the mother, for instance, a physical creation takes place and at a given time a combined reaction takes place and a baby is born with a mental and physical element all of its own. Mental impulses call for nourishment and physical growth. This takes place for a given period of time until adulthood is reached after which physical growth is arrested. Maintenance and reparation continue all through life maintaining a state of being until "death do us part."

But, what about the processing of maintaining health and function or activities of daily living. What regulates this element? What changes common food, for instance, into flesh, blood, and bones, hair, skin and nails that are then distributed when or where needed? Do you ever give thought to this reaction? Do have any idea as to how this is done in such a unique way? Does the process require pills, drugs, shots, physiotherapy or simply passing thoughts on your part?

There is a logical answer, and that is a qualified no. All functions and activity of the body are directed and controlled through the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord is encased within the spinal column and sends out bundles of trunk nerves through openings provided for that purpose between the vertebrae that form the spinal column.

Through this medium, sensation reaches the brain where the message is interpreted. Responding mental impulses set glands and organs to activity and function, in a process of directed or controlled, a definite activity in a state of health.

However, sometimes there is a disturbance in this process. Illness or disease takes place and various symptoms are present including pain, numbness, fever, headache, indigestion and a myriad of others. Why?

In most cases the symptoms prove as a warning that something is not functioning as it should, a red flag of sorts. Something needs to be done to correct the cause of the problem. Does this require you to take pills, tranquilizers and/or pain killers? This kind of treatment often times produces side effects worse than the original disorder. You must treat the cause!

And this is NOT merely a passing thought.

Take Aspirin With Caution

"Take an aspirin a day” is likely the most irresponsible habit we have been led to accept as fact. We're told to believe we should take it for prevention of heart disease and strokes. Aspirin companies are not even able to lay claim to this gibberish, and that, is according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The problem is that aspirin is NOT effective on everyone and it can cause other health problems, including prolonged bleeding ulcers, high blood pressure and allergic reaction. Bottom line? Taking an aspirin a day can actually increase your chance of strokes.

Aspirin interferes with your blood's clotting mechanism. When you bleed, your blood's clotting cells, called platelets, build up at the site of your wound. The platelets help form a plug that seals the opening in your blood vessel to stop the bleeding. However, this clotting can also happen within the vessels that supply your heart and brain with blood. If your blood vessels are already narrowed form atherosclerosis (buildup of fatty deposits in your arteries) a fatty deposit in your vessel can burst. Then, a blood clot can quickly form and block the artery. This prevents flood flow to the heart or brain and causes a heart attack or stroke. The aspirin might then be recommended, but take it with CAUTION!

Studies prove over and over again that diet and exercise, along with overall active healthy lifestyle choices; have proven to reduce your risk of heart disease. This a much better option than taking a quick fix, and increasing your chance of stroke without any proof of benefits.

While aspirin can be a useful treatment for some people, it is NOT a substitute for a healthy lifestyle.

Acne and Sickness

I hear from patients that they are "often sick and lately have had quite a problem with acne. Why?"

In most cases the answer is quite simple. We’re brought into this earth with a defense system planted within our bodies called immunity. To survive here, this defense system must maintain normal and optimum levels of function as it’s constantly being bombarded with germs, allergens, and foreign substances. Immunity is also tied very closely with skin health. That is one reason why many doctors now give antibiotics for acne (definitely not something I recommend).

Germs and those tiny, invisible entities floating around in the air are not the enemy. An inability to adapt and cope with your environment and all that floats in it is the problem. You are in charge, not some microscopic speck. Most of us spend an entire day working to lower our defenses and strain our immune systems rather than working on behalf of immunity and to strengthen it.

For example:

1. Exercise increases immunity to cancer, infection, allergies, etc. 30 – 80% depending on what research you read. Therefore, if you’re inactive, your immune system is 30-80% depleted, less active and efficient.

2. Sugar, caffeine, chemicals, refined carbohydrates, fast and fried foods, and any processed foods all deplete the immune system. Additionally, they lack any real nutrients so do not give the organs of immunity the nutrition they so desperately need. On the other hand, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds all support and boost immunity and pack it full of vital nutrients.

3. Negative stress zaps nutrients from the system and dramatically depletes immune energy. A double dose of immune damage.

4. Antibiotics, while killing bacteria, also destroy important bacteria necessary for a healthy, immune body. So ironically, while antibiotics may help with a cold or flu, the net is more sickness.

5. Flu vaccines, even more than other drugs, contain many harmful products like mercury and aluminum. Unless you’re body is significantly immune compromised, you absolutely refuse to take care of yourself, or you’re in an emergency state, the less often you use medication, if at all, the better. All chemicals lower health and immunity, the most toxic of which are drugs.

Bottom line? Get up and move every day, make 80% of your diet foods that contain actual nutrients and are foods that don’t kill immunity, and learn to manage your time and reprogram the way you look at life so as not to suffer from the deadly effects of stress. When seeing a physician, ask if you really need the drugs; most MD's assume you want them or feel pressured. I personally have found that if you ask not to be given a drug, they will generally give you some time to heal without the use of dangerous medications. If you don’t heal, you may in fact need the drugs.

REGARDING YOUR SKIN:  Your skin is the reflection of your blood stream. Toxins floating around in the intestine and poisons in the blood stream will eventually show themselves as blemishes, acne, discolorations, and wrinkles. A healthy blood stream with the right kinds of fats to help balance hormones will give you your best chance at cleaner, younger looking skin. In other words, all that we mentioned to improve immunity, improves your skin ... without the use of dangerous prescriptions and antibiotics.

Plan For A Healthy Tomorrow

Tomorrow is constantly coming but it never quite gets here. What can be done about it? Is there anything you can do? Are you sometimes dismayed by the prospects but nevertheless keep planning for tomorrow? Attempt to welcome its coming. Be very prepared for the changes that are constantly coming. Look forward with a feeling of delight as those changes come, and plan to do your very best as all things are altered. Use today as a steppingstone to hopefully better things ahead in the game of life. And win or lose, you will have the joy of keeping on keeping on as you play the game.

Have you ever said that your today is hampered by ill health? Witness that often your plans for tomorrow are marred by headaches, indigestion, or some other hurdle involved in the game as it is played?

This may be true; but what are you doing to welcome change? Are you forming a drug habit? Are you leaning overmuch on tranquilizers and/or pain killers? What assurance do you have that tomorrow will be better or worse than today when you fill your stomach with drugs that may produce side effects worse than the original complaint? Would you consider this an encouraging outlook?

What is health? It is largely the normal expression of life through the medium of the glands, organs, and other structures of the body? What is it that keeps these structures normal, functioning as they were intended to do?

Your body is formed of bones and muscles, glands and organs, blood vessels and nerves. These are all arranged in systems directed and controlled through the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord through its communicating fibers.

The spinal column is the strength and support of the body. All the larger bones articulate with the vertebrae that form the spinal column.The major muscles and ligaments have their attachment tot he irregular surfaces of the vertebrae which are separated by a cushioning of cartilage that provide flexibility to the spine as well as a shock absorber for the body. Another feature mother nature has provided are openings between the vertebrae through which bundles of nerves emit from the spinal cord encased within the spinal column.

The nervous system is as vital to the activity and function of the body as technology is to the modern home. Ground an electric wire and service is impaired. Pinch spinal nerve bundles and symptoms of dis-ease (want of ease) are present in the form of pain, headaches, indigestion, and other disorders. Is it logical that in today's contemporary model, medication or pain killers are the remedy? In all too many cases the answer is an overwhelmingly, "YES!"  Why?  Because we what a "quick fix", or a "make the pain go away" syndrome.

Chiropractors have a different approach. We point out that falls, accidents, and mishaps incidental to life frequently produce shocks and strains on the spine that displace one or more vertebrae to a degree thus resulting in nerve interference and subsequently dis-ease with its various symptoms.

Should you plan for a better tomorrow, then give attention to your spine. Clear the nervous system for a better communications. Nature has provided that your health comes from within and outward.

Dememtia vs Normal Aging

During the aging process, we and others begin to challenge whether we are honest with our lives or magically remembering events that never occurred.

The Alzheimer's Association lists the following warning signs for the disease, including advice on how to tell them from normal age-related changes:

• Memory changes that disrupt a persons daily life. Forgetting important dates or events, asking for the same information over and over, and relying more on reminder notes and other memory aids.  WITH NORMAL AGING: most people sometimes forget names or appointments but generally remember them later.
• Challenges in planning or solving simple problems. Changes in the ability to work with numbers, follow a recipe or track bills. WITH NORMAL AGING: occasional mistakes when balancing a checkbook.
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks. Trouble driving somewhere familiar, managing a budget at work or home, remembering rules of a game.  WITH NORMAL AGING: occasionally needing help with settings on a microwave or using a "clicker" or even recording a TV show. 
• Confusion with time or places. Losing track of dates or seasons, forgetting where they are or how they and certain information got there. WITH NORMAL AGING: getting confused about the day of the week or an anniversary date, but figuring it our later.
• Trouble understanding visual images and special relationships. Difficulty reading, judging distance and perhaps determining color. WITH NORMAL AGING: vision changes could be from needing glasses or from having cataracts.
• New problems with words in speaking or writing. Trouble following or joining a conversation with others or repeating themselves. WITH NORMAL AGING: sometimes having trouble finding the right word.
• Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. Putting things in unusual places, losing things, accusing others of stealing. WITH NORMAL AGING: occasionally misplacing things and retracing steps to find them.
• Decreased or poor judgement. Irresponsible moves with money, less attention to grooming.  WITH NORMAL AGING: making a bad decision once in a while.
• Withdrawal from work or social activities. WITH NORMAL AGING: sometimes feeling weary of work, family and social obligations.
• Changes in mood and personality. Becoming confused, suspicious, depressed, fearful or anxious. WITH NORMAL AGEING: developing specific ways to doing things and becoming irritable when a routine is disrupted.