Educated Pregnant Women Find Chiropractic Care Beneficial!

A study was taken with 343 pregnant women. Seventy-five percent of the women were educated,  having obtained a 2-year associates degree or higher.  Some of the women who participated in the study were in their first pregnancy and they had to have had their first chiropractic visit completed.  The study reported that they had "increasingly high satisfaction with their care". They completed an average of 23 visits. 

What you might find most valuable:

Fatigue was reduced
Pain was reduced and there was a significant decrease in pain interference with their pregnancy. 
Improvement in their social relationships

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that any pregnant female you know and love would be thrilled to have the same results. Please, don't hesitate to let them know that I'm a Chiropractor that cares for pregnant women.

Reference: http://www.chiro.org/pediatrics/ABSTRACTS/The_Use_of_the_Patient_Reported.shtml

Check out our office webpage:
http://www.uppercervicalspartanburg.com/blog/guess-what-educated-pregnant-women-stand-by-chiropractic

My lifestyle is the problem, not just a fad diet.

That’s a bold statement.

You might be thinking, “Hey, what gives? I’ve lost 25lbs by eating no carbs, tuna, and boiled eggs!  [As an aside, this is just as an example, this isn’t pointed at any one specific person nor diet.] You can’t tell me that it doesn’t work!” Oh, but I can and the reason why is hidden in the definition of “Fad”.  Fad: an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that isshort-lived and without basis in the object’s qualities”.  

Let’s break it down: short-lived. What happens when we get sick of “no carbs, tuna, and boiled eggs”?  How does our body handle the addition of “regular” foods back on our plate? If our typical or normal eating habits are what got us to the point of looking for a quick-fix-fad-diet, to begin with, they most likely aren’t helping us reach our – dare I say – healthy weight dreams?

Without basis in the object’s qualities. WHAT? Let’s say object = person and quality=characteristic.  We can break it down like this, a fad is not rooted in the same characteristics that a person naturally displays. Still confused? Don’t worry, here’s another way to say it, It is outside of my character. I do not normally eat only tuna and boiled eggs. I normally eat, without consideration for the portion size, pizza, bagels, and macaroni and cheese (As an aside, this is just as an example, this isn’t pointed at any one specific person, again.) The stick-to-it-self-control-willing-to-exercise-make-different-food-choices-for-the-long-haul-character required, I just don’t yet have, but I can.

Enter motivational quote, at the right time (end of a year, beginning of a new one), here. Some thin women or muscular man sweating for some reason is all the motivation I need to start a Fad diet and a quick exercise routine.

What about a lifestyle change?

Again, you might be thinking, “I hear you, but what does this have to do with Chiropractic and what does a lifestyle change mean?”

It’s important to understand that a lifestyle change is just that, a lifestyle change. It takes a lifetime to create a lifestyle, therefore, it takes time to create a change, please don’t let that stop you. In whatever direction you know your health needs to go, start there. If its portion control with carbohydrates, start slowly decreasing your weekly intake. You could even use an app to help track it. My fitness pal is free. I’m not promoting them specifically, there are plenty to choose from. If you know you need to exercise, add a 15 min. walk in daily. Do small things every day to create a lasting habitual change.

MOST importantly and I MEAN MOST…. Don’t do it without a spine and nervous system that’s fully functioning. Even when you are decreasing your carb intake, it won’t matter if the system in your body that needs to break down your food into nutrition, properly store it, and properly get rid of waste doesn’t work. When you start exercising and strengthening your body, what happens if you strengthen your body in the wrong position? What if that position is affecting your body’s ability to communicate across its nervous system highway? What if that position is why there’s shooting pain down your leg today and affecting your muscle mass tomorrow?  What if you have headaches due to light sensitivity and getting outside to exercise in the first place is a challenge? I dare you to start the New Year off right. I dare you to make the hard choices. I dare you to start “New” not with a resolution to “lose weight” but a resolution to make a lifestyle change… a permanent, life-giving, character building, foundational change. Start with chiropractic and see where it takes you… I’m looking forward to your growth and change, of course, only if you want it.  If you don’t know me, and you’d like to, don’t hesitate to contact the office. 

P.S. The image says three habits to promote a happy and healthy spine. We're here to tell you it works both ways. A healthy body by way of a healthy lifestyle, keeps the spine and nervous system as healthy as it can be. A healthy spine and nervous system, keeps the body as happy and healthy as it can be. 

Copy write: I found that image on a Chiro’s site. Feel free to check it out, but don’t leave us for too long.I googled the definition of Fad, I wouldn’t google the “without basis in the object’s qualities” because it took me down an existential rabbit trail that, well, maybe you’d enjoy, but I didn’t. 

Improvements in Hearing, Speech, Development, and Behavior Following Chiropractic in a 4 Year Old Male

What is changing the outcome of someone's life worth? Can we put a price tag on something like this? The reality is that most people raise their children with the best intentions. When they find their child faces a health crisis, they turn to a system that sends them to multiple appointments and sometimes they find little relief. Unfortunately, the possibility of a cure can't be promised but becomes the carrot dangled in front of a desperate, tired, concerned parent. How many children suffer endlessly with ear infections, nasal congestion, adenoid problems, speech difficulties, developmental delays, and behavioral concerns, statistically, though I don't have the numbers, we can all be certain is more than we'd like. What about a child that suffers from ALL of these health concerns?

Is a cure possible? Can symptoms decrease enough to change their life? Does it have to involve medication? What about chiropractic care?

In 11 visits, chiropractic care was able to address these concerns in a 4 year old. Specifically, the "patient’s re-evaluation with ENT physician revealed resolution of otitis media with effusion, adenoid hypertrophy, nasal congestion, hearing loss and improvement of speech, development, and behavior. Patient had improved intervertebral motion in the upper cervical and upper thoracic spine." 

Though this is simply a case study, the outcomes were simply achieved but changed the complex symptoms and the life of a child tremendously. 

"I thought chiropractic care was just for back and neck pain." Don't worry, we've heard that to. We know better because these are the positive-life changing- benefits of having a healthy spine and nervous system taken care of by a well-trained-well-educated-giving doctor of chiropractic. You can find us here. 

Want to read the case study for yourself? Please, click here.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Improved Function with Chiropractic care for Children with ADHD

In an article written by Dr. Jeanne Ohm, D.C. it is evident that though ADHD has become one of the most controversial health topics of our time, vitalistic treatment options are available.  Though most people traditionally turn to allopathic medicine Dr. Jeanne writes:

A Different Approach A major underlying difference between mainstream, mechanistic, allopathic medicine and vitalistic, wellness lifestyle care is that mainstream medicine operates in the paradigm of diagnosis and treatment of symptoms, while vitalism concerns itself with whole body function. Allopathic medicine’s focus on symptoms rather than body function can lead to a dangerous, false sense of cure. If symptoms can be changed with a drug, there is no need to look at the causes of those symptoms—and therefore, real healing and wellness cannot be achieved. Lifestyle habits that may have initiated and continue to perpetuate the symptoms are rarely regarded.
The two wellness lifestyle approaches mentioned by Dr. Jennifer Ashton—the nutritional approach and the chiropractic neurobiomechanical approach—are of a vitalistic paradigm. Vitalistic care differs from allopathic medicine in a number of ways.

1. Vitalistic care focuses on naturally supporting and enhancing overall normal body function rather than the chemical alteration of symptoms with drugs.
2. Vitalistic approaches recognize that the body has the inherent wisdom to function normally and that physical, emotional and chemical stressors may overload the body’s ability to do so. The goal is to remove these stressors, allowing the body to return to normal.
3. Symptoms are recognized as body alerts that serve to reveal stress overload. From the vitalistic perspective, it is not important to label the condition, and it is considered counterproductive to silence these symptoms with drugs.
4. Vitalistic care is not the diagnosis or treatment of conditions and diseases. Rather, it is a process of identifying and eliminating the cause of the body’s overload. Only when the overload has been eliminated can a person experience wellness.
5. Finally, the vitalistic approach is encouraged before symptoms even appear. In the case of chiropractic wellness care, spinal checks are encouraged to enhance nerve system function and overall health, with or without symptoms.

ADHD is classified as a neurobiological disorder. To get to the causes of its symptoms, one must address the neurological system. That being said, it is important to understand that there are three major stressors to our nerve system function: physical, emotional and chemical. Chiropractors sometimes call them the Three T’s: traumas, thoughts and toxins. An overload of any of these stressors has a major impact on central nerve system function via spinal misalignment. Most obvious is physical trauma. Jars, jolts and other impacts—even microtraumas such as poor posture and positioning—affect spinal alignment, and therefore directly impact nerve system function. Stressful thoughts and emotions have a direct relationship with body physiology as well. They create an overstimulated nerve system, tensing muscles and misaligning the spine, thereby impairing nerve system function. Toxic overload, in the form of poor foods, drinks and medicines also affects normal body function, with a consequent neuro-muscular reaction, resulting in spinal misalignment and nerve system impairment.

Spinal misalignment causes distress to the central nervous system and can therefore affect normal nerve activity and function. Spinal misalignment also causes a decrease in normal spinal movement, and this, too, has a great impact on nerve system function. This decrease in normal spinal movement affects proprioceptive activity in the nerve system, which is necessary for communication between the spine and brain and allows a variety of neurological functions to be accomplished. If spinal motion is impaired, brain function will also be compromised.
When a child is exhibiting signs of ADHD, it is imperative to find any undue stressors that might be inhibiting nerve system function. Chiropractic care addresses these spinal misalignments. Specific techniques detect and adjust areas of the spine, alleviating stress, restoring normal spinal motion and enhancing nerve system function.

Safe and Effective
Doctors of chiropractic use only gentle and safe techniques when adjusting children. One study done by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association was recently published in Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. In more than 14,000 children’s visits to chiropractors, no adverse events were reported. Only a handful of children experienced slight discomfort after the initial adjustment, and this discomfort was quickly resolved in all cases. Almost all participants experienced positive changes in their presenting symptoms. The data revealed some unexpected findings: In addition to the alleviation of the child’s initial presenting symptoms, other improvements were reported by both parents and practitioners. The adjustment resulted in better sleep patterns, enhanced immune system function and better moods and behaviors. The side effects of chiropractic care for these children was better overall function and improved quality of life!
Modern living imposes numerous stress overloads, and as parents, we are witnessing an increased onslaught of physical, emotional and chemical stressors to our families’ well-being. Fortunately, as a society we are becoming more aware of these stressors and are adjusting our lifestyles to decrease their effects. The hope for our future lies in addressing the elimination of these stressors—this being a complete overhaul in all aspects of our modern society. Until then, family wellness is dependent upon two factors: selective lifestyle habits that decrease our exposure to these stressors, and informed choices in healthcare that naturally and safely support our inherent ability to counteract them. Chiropractic family wellness care is one vital step toward enhancing our innate well-being.

You can read more here.

Chiropractic Care Extinguishes Primitive Reflexes

Primitive reflexes assist with survival through immediate responses to environmental stimuli.  When these reflexes do not morph into postural reflexes by six months to one year of age, then this demonstrates an immaturity of the central nervous system (CNS).
The current study involved eight case studies of patients from a chiropractic university clinic and/or private practice.  Every child in each case study had three things in common: 1) diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental issue prior to coming in for chiropractic care; 2) each child received chiropractic care; and 3) each child was given primitive reflex extinguishing exercises.
The first case study involved a 6-year-old male with an auditory processing disorder.  The student intern (3^rd author) observed that the patient had retained multiple primitive reflexes.  Besides chiropractic adjustments, the patient was given cross crawl integration exercises and primitive reflex exercises.  After three months of care, the patient demonstrated signs of independence, significant improvements in coordination, and increased self-confidence. 
The second case involved an 11-year-old female with ADHD.  The patient exhibited several persistent primitive reflexes.  The student intern (2^nd author) performed chiropractic adjustments on the patient and gave the patient primitive reflex exercises to do.  Once the patient began chiropractic care, her social interaction and emotional state improved.  Around visit #23, the patient’s parents reported that she was being selected to test for the honors program at her school.
The third case study involved a 13-month-old female with developmental delays in crawling and walking.  The student intern (5^th author) observed that the patient retained primitive reflexes.  The patient’s mother was instructed on cross-crawl exercises and brushing exercises for her.  After four adjustments, she was crawling normally and had taken four unassisted steps.
 The fourth case study involved a 2-year-old male with Cerebral Palsy.   The patient was not able to walk or talk, still wearing diapers, and did not use his hands.  The student intern (4^th author) observed that the patient had several primitive reflexes.  He received 31 adjustments over a seven-month period and his parents performed the reflex extinguishing exercises.  The patient reported the following improvements: he took things from his hand to his mouth, performed a modified commando crawl, made eye contact when he heard his name called, and started mumbling vocal sounds and said, “Hi.”
The fifth and sixth case studies involved two sisters, ages two and four, with anxiety and speech delays.  The youngest was always upset and disrupting the household, while the older sister had serious speech and communication delays that affected her socialization at pre-school and daycare. The sisters both had retained primitive reflexes and had diets with high amounts of diary.  The first author instructed the patient’s parents on brushing and remediation exercises and to eliminate all dairy products.  After receiving chiropractic care for eight months, the younger sister’s anxiety had been significantly reduced, enough for her to attend daycare, while the older sister no longer needed speech therapy and was admitted into a prestigious preschool program.
The seventh case study involved a 6-year-old girl who had reading issues and a history of multiple concussions.  The patient had a two-year history of blacking out, even with small traumas like falling backward on her bed.  She also had ATNR (asymmetrical tonic neck reflex) and eye tracking issues that has led to her moderate reading issues.  The first author gave the patient reflex and eye exercises.  After receiving chiropractic care for one year, she did not have any black outs and her reading skills had significantly improved.
The eighth and final case study involved a 7-year-old boy with ADHD.  The first author observed that the patient had a few primitive reflexes.  He was given remediation and brushing exercises.  After 30 adjustments over a 6-month period, the patient was no longer given negative comments on his report card, had all A’s, and his teachers no longer recommended Ritalin to his parents.  Overall, the combination of pediatric chiropractic care and extinguishing primitive reflexes may be beneficial to children with neurological issues. More research is warranted.

MLA Citation: Rubin, Drew, Brown, Samantha, Landhi, Eric, Cooper, Shamyra, and Bermudez Hernandez, Thais.  “Combining Chiropractic Care with Extinguishing of Primitive Reflexes: A Case Series of 8 Children.”  Journal of Pediatric, Maternal, & Family Health.  2016.2 (2016): 57-60.

This information and more can be found at: http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/chiropractic-care-extinguishes-primitive-reflexes.html

Reduction of Labor and Delivery Time Due to Chiropractic Care

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health published a case study on April 3, 2017, documenting the case of a woman who experienced a shorter and easier birth due to chiropractic care. This improvement was compared to her first pregnancy and delivery where she did not receive any chiropractic care.

The study begins by noting that chiropractic care has been involved in the care of pregnant women since the early days of the profession over a century ago. The authors note that over 76% of practicing chiropractors report that the care of pregnant women is a part of their practices. This care is rendered for both musculoskeletal issues related to pregnancy as well as care for overall wellness during pregnancy.

In this study, a 28-year-old woman went to the chiropractor for evaluation and possible care. She sought chiropractic for a pain in her tailbone area as well as for wellness care. The woman believed that her pelvis had shifted due to her first pregnancy. She reported that after the delivery of her firstborn, she experienced pain and discomfort at her tailbone any time she sat on a hard surface. The woman reported that her first pregnancy went well, but that her delivery was very long and difficult. This was one of the factors in her desire to receive chiropractic care in anticipation of her second pregnancy.

This information and more can be found here: https://www.georgiachiropractic.com/article/2998.html

What is Text Neck?

Your head weighs 8-10 lbs. Tilting it forward by only 15 degrees can put 27 pounds of pressure on your spine. Depending on hour far you lean over, poor posture creates up to 60 lbs of additional pressure.  Increasing pressure on your spine, especially in the upper cervical spine can affect respiration, temperature regulation, hormone regulation, just to name a few. Take a moment to look at the graphics... What are your thoughts?

Could your smart phone be a burden to your spine?

What does a postural change mean in the spine? Are you de-evolving?

What does this have to do with me? Well... experiencing mood changes, decreased immunity (it takes me forever to beat a cold), digestive changes, sleep difficulties, heart rate function, etc...

There's a solution. Other than decreasing your own postural stress, check out upper cervical chiropractic care. It could save and change your life.

http://www.uppercervicalspartanburg.com/