So I went to Las Vegas this past week to a Parker seminar and I came away with many new ideas and even more reminders of things that I once knew, used to do, or always wanted to do but then forgot. That's the beautiful part of a good seminar! You learn how much you know, but realize you are not properly applying it. In my case, I realized patient education about why we do what we do as chiropractors was an area of weakness for me, I mean the real philosophy behind it. I do a wonderful job of educating the patient what I am doing, why I am testing them this way, how their body works, what shows up, what's improved, etc. but I forget to talk about the subluxation. Why? I already know the answer. Chiropractors are kinda weird and I don't want people to think I am weird too. But that doesn't mean avoid topics all together so I am trying to turn over a new leaf of sorts and incoroporate some new vocabulary and focus on some new areas. I guess my worst fear is to be put in the same category as the guy who is wearing magnets all over his body, feathers of some special bird around his neck, various types of religious beaded bracelets around his arms just to cover all the bases and because he respects the 'philosophy and culture' of all the religions of the world, walking around talking about the "universe this and the universe that", acting like chiropractic is a religion, all while chewing on tree bark! (No offense to anyone out there, do your thing :))
I do want to make a point that one of the best things about chiropractic is the wide variety of techniques and philosophies. What chiropractic is to one person, it's totally something else to another. I have worked very hard to make sure I am an example of chiropractic being nutrition, adjustments, and science based. I do not get into the gray area of the almost religious aspect of it because I am a Christian and I already know who made the body, what innate intelligence really is, and who is doing the healing. It's easy to blur the lines and confuse things if your personal philosophy isn't straight. I spend a lot of time talking to my patients about the power of their body and tie in God whenever possible. The wonderful chiropractor I used to work for in Alabama had a wonderful outlook on this and taught me more in my first year about all aspects of chiropractic than most of my peers get in the first decade in practice. He's a wonderful man and chiropractor and I will never be able to repay him for his generosity and the vision that he has given me. Chiropractors are all so different. There are many different techniques. They all work. I always tell people that everyone needs a chiropractor and with the variety offered in the world, everyone should find a chiropractor that works for them and that they love. I know my approach isn't going to 100% satisfy everyone and that's because it's not a cookie cutter approach.
So my first 2 things that I want to work harder on are: #1 educating people, my patients or not, about a subluxation and #2 expanding the pediatric side of my practice which is probably the most challenging population group because #1 isn't done enough....
So a vertebral subluxation is a misalignment of a vertebra to a lesser degree than a dislocation putting pressure on the nerves that exit the spine that protects and covers the spinal cord of that region and thus having an effect on the organs or tissues that the nerve goes to (in layman's terms). There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves; 26 of
these pass through movable vertebral segments. Five pairs of spinal
nerves (accompanied by some parasympathetic fibers) pass through
solid bony openings in the sacrum. There are an additional 12
pairs of cranial nerves which pass through bony openings in the
base of the skull (including the 10th cranial parasympathetic
vagus nerve, which travels down to supply visceral structures
in the thorax and abdomen). You can see how an adjustment can be so globally powerful by affecting any number of these guys. Unless you have been adjusted, you probably have a subluxation because they are caused by 3 common causes: emotional, chemical, and physical. So you can see how artificial sweeteners, bad diet, negative thoughts, stressful jobs, falls, childbirth, and long car drives can all cause a subluxation. It's been shown in nerve conduction studies that it takes only the amount of pressure equal to the weight of a dime to decrease nerve flow by up to 60% according to research conducted at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Your body is so innervated by nerves that if you were to take off all of the flesh off of a person, you would still be able to identify them and see the details of their body just because of the massive innervation via nerves. I don't think anyone can dispute the importance and value of nerves.
Moving on to my #2, children need chiropractic care! Some need it more than adults! 35% of births are estimated to be via C-section. The travel though the birth canal is the very first alignment of the spine. It's equivalent to the butterfly squeezing through the cocoon. If anyone has ever tried to assist a little butterfly and done the work for them, you know that the butterfly wasn't the better for it. Every butterfly I ever tried to help never flew because I opened the hole up so large it didn't squeeze him at all and the fluid never dissipated and his wings never spread and he never flew. Sad, I know. So for those kids, like my own, who miss the first alignment of the spine, an adjustment is very important! Since different segments give way to nerves who innervate different organs, you can have an effect on constipation, ear infections, digestive issues, allergies, immune system, and many other common childhood issues all by the adjustment! If you're thinking that the adjustment sounds like a powerful thing, then I'm conveying the message somewhat well! The first adjustment a baby needs to receive is when he or she is still in the womb. Maternity care is imperative for a healthy delivery of a healthy baby. The baby spends most of it's development upside down, crunched up, then in many cases is pulled out and injected with various chemicals all in the first phase of life. Then the child has to cut teeth, learn how to control muscles, walk, and is carried on Mom's hip and car seats. Childhood is kinda rough. If we adults had to learn how to walk we would need physical therapy and if we had to cut that many teeth again, we would have a prescription of Lortab on hand. Kids are resilient, amazing little people! It's all about giving them the best start to life as possible! It's never too late to start getting adjusted and it's never too early.
I am so passionate about chiropractic for many different reasons. One is because you can see how wonderfully God made the body and it's designed to work well and well for a long time. Health comes from the inside out. It's been an amazing thing for me for various reasons throughout my life from being a child who suffered from migraines to being diagnosed with scoliosis to whip lash injuries from car wrecks to improving my immune system so I'm not the first person to always catch a cold to maternity care to dealing with baby blues after the pregnancy, etc. It's so wonderful to watch my child grow under this alternative way of thinking and see how he blossoms in every situation in every phase of life that he has been though yet and I just think, the proof is in the pudding! If anyone who reads this has any questions or wants to know more, please feel free to ask. :)
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