Chiropractic's Human Connection

This article is in today's Citizen.  

I had a patient some years ago who passed away after cancer took away her body’s resilience.  I do not treat cancer.  As a chiropractor, I work on the spinal articulations that strongly influence how well the nervous system regulates the body’s defenses. I don’t even treat back pain.

I have to repeat that often because most people see the end result of a person with back pain getting better after going to the chiropractor.  So getting this message across is very important. 

For my patient with cancer, I wished she had sought out chiropractic sooner.  I would have had more time to work with her on the less appreciated mental benefits of chiropractic care.  At the time, it was leg pain that brought her to my office.

She was still working at her job during cancer treatments, but the leg pain was more disruptive.  She expected to be tired and drained after chemotherapy, but not being able to walk was emotionally beating her up. 

We talked a lot about how she had to juggle so many doctors.  Each one had his or her own specialty so she was seeing them for various infections, blood clots, and other ailments related to her weakening immune system.  She said there was an empty disconnect because no one would talk about her cancer except her cancer doctor.

As a chiropractor, I was also in that disconnected category.  Back and leg pain brought her to me, but I had to explain to her I had no control over her pain.  My objective was to address her stressed nerves that were so crucial in the regulation of her body systems. 

We talked about rebuilding her stressed body with spinal adjustments, cleansing nutrition, and enjoying her favorite activities.  I adjusted her and she felt better.  Her leg pain was gone and she said she never felt so good. 

I told her at the time she was feeling great to keep up our routine because the physical stresses were still there.   She thought that was a great idea.  And I did see her.  When she was worn out from other appointments and the leg pain returned, she came to my office.

She was always happy to get adjusted.  Her mood was uplifted.  She was excited to get her energy back.  Then, chemotherapy wasn’t working according to tests so different combinations were tried.    

I saw her again after a long absence.  Sickness and fatigue kept her home more often.  I asked about her rebuilding activities and she responded that she was too depressed and kept eating sugar all the time.

My heart sank.  She couldn’t do it alone and we made her stay alone.  Four or five different doctors worked with her.  We each followed our profession’s standard of care.  But she needed more than that.  She needed us in the same room talking to her about how important she was as a person. 

We can teach people to understand and trust their bodies’ innate intelligence.  We can give them tools to enhance their natural healing.  And when a chiropractic adjustment gives someone a moment of peace and human connection during a time of suffering, I will do it. 

Obama-Care Prep Talk (Part 2)

A lot of the Affordable Care Act goes into effect in 2014.  The Affordable Care Act is designed to finance health care, but that does not mean there will be efficient health care.

Financing health care does not mean providing health care, either.  Nor, will it provide the health care results you want.  Lifestyle will always trump health care.

Two aspects of health we tend to overlook are:

1-    Where does health come from?

2-    Where does it go?

When we were barely conceived and in utero, the first organ system to form after multiple cell divisions was the nervous system.  The nervous system monitors and heals the body, maintaining homeostasis.

We all know pregnant moms have to be careful what their babies are exposed to, however, we seem to forget about this smart thinking once we are all grown up.

So, the stressful world slowly breaks down this perfect system that took care of us growing up.  

We use chiropractic care as part of a Lifestyle because nothing will go well for you without a clear neurological connection—the brain and spinal cord working in sync with the rest of the body.

We hope we are building up at a rate faster than we are breaking down.  We need a healthy, chiropractic lifestyle to fine-tune the nervous system that never gets to take a vacation.   

Yep, even when you sleep your nervous system is working hard taking care of you.

And at Homic Advanced Chiropractic we know the Chiropractic Lifestyle is a SNAP!

*Stimulate the brain

*Nourish the Body

*Activate the Nervous System

*Pursue Life                            ---See you at the table….the adjusting table.

Did you miss Part 1?

--Dr. Lisa

--Your Health Freedom Advocate

Take "Treatment" Out of Your Wellness Vocabulary

Q. Do, I, as a chiropractor, treat the spine for spinal conditions?

A.  No.  A treatment is something you do to windows or a deck.  You are a person.  You may be a person in spine pain.  You may be a person lacking energy.  You may be a person having a great day.  You may be a person having a bad day.  But I won't treat you.  I help you harness the Chiropractic Lifestyle so you can meet your own personal goals of success and purpose.  I hope you want to do that with the most natural and least invasive way where you are empowered in your health care decisions.

Q.  What is the Chiropractic Life-Style?

A.  It is a mind-set where you understand that the body is self-regulating, self-governing, self-healing.  The body always tries to self-balance when stress is incurred.  The body will rebuild over and over again if the stress is not overly burdensome.  The Chiropractic Life-Style concentrates on ways to boost the nervous system so it can govern the body appropriately.  Anything that is opposite of our "boosting actions" is a depleting action that harms the body's resilience.

Q.  What are these boosters and stressors?

A.  It is a SNAP to remember:

S - Stimulate the brain (emotional and cognitive health)  -- the opposite (stressors)  is draining mental energy, exhausting the brain, exposing the brain to poisons, exposure to emotional traumas, poor sleep, lack of physical activity, and depriving the brain of educational activity

N - Nourish the body -- the opposite (stressors)  is poor nutrition, dietary stress that harms digestions, toxins building up in the body, nutrient deficiencies

A - Activating the nervous system -- the opposite (stressors) is not getting chiropractic adjustments on a maintenance schedule, repetitive injuries, repetitive strain, poor posture, inadequate exercise.

P- Pursuing Life --- the opposite is not having a life purpose, living in an isolated manner, feeling out of control and having a poor outlook.

Q. What else is important about the Chiropractic Life-Style?

A.  Understanding that healing is a constant process.  We are healing even when we are feeling good and don't realize the damage we have suffered.  This is why we should adopt this kind of lifestyle.  It is proactive and time-saving, as well as life-saving.


---See you at the table...the adjusting table.

--Dr. Lisa
--Your Health Freedom Advocate

I Am Horrified that People Are Sick Due to Poor Information

My recent article in the Citizen.  

As always,

---See you at the table....the chiropractic table.

--Dr. Lisa

--Your Health Freedom Advocate

Social media online can be very useful. Folks do their own research as they shop for a product. I use it to converse with other chiropractors who have similar interests. 

One of my colleagues was not too pleased to have a commenter leave numerous unproductive remarks on her discussion page. She was planning on banning the person from the forum but wondered if it would be more productive to engage the person and perhaps provide some education.

This repeat offender made the remark that offering chiropractic to babies was horrifying. Now, to us chiropractors who have been adjusting babies our entire careers, we are saddened to face such an attitude that shuts people off from the powerful life changes we constantly witness in our offices.

I’ve been adjusting my son since he was four days old. He’s been adjusted when he was sick, when he was well, and after many falls and injuries that children endure. He has also been adjusted by other chiropractors.

Children have spines, just like adults, and adjusting them is not that different. In fact, they are much easier. Getting them to sit still to assess their spines is probably the most challenging. 

For something that is very natural to us, we forget that other people have yet to comprehend such an idea. So, pretend you are a chiropractor for a moment and see the world through our eyes.

Most people don’t watch chiropractors give adjustments because the health care norm is to place people in a private room for a consultation and treatment. The learning atmosphere was much different in the group settings of chiropractic college. Similar to gatherings at healing retreats and seminars, there is an inspiring intent shared by the participants.

It is this excitement that brings chiropractic alive as it is used to enliven.  And watching children get adjusted conveys that beauty. They don’t question it. They don’t obsess over symptoms or make comparisons to someone else’s ideal of wellness. Once they get adjusted they instinctively know it was something special.

In the same manner that we lose our childlike curiosity and creativity as we grow up, we starve ourselves from our natural state of well being. We can’t live the carefree life of childhood but we have the opportunity to remain as connected as possible to the innate energy that guides us through healing, feeling, thinking and learning.

What allows you to make an impact in the world? It takes a lot of desire, dreaming, and elbow grease. We develop these traits as our whole being absorbs life around us.  The brain, body, and emotional spirit rely on the intricate connection of nerves and electrical impulses. How nerve impulses travel through the body shapes how a person lives, achieves, and cares. 

Is it horrifying to give a child or an adult the best chance to be alive? I hope not because that is the main objective I have for everyone I meet in the office.  If you think chiropractic can’t be more than a limited clinical tool, I invite you to step into my world.  

Obama Care Prep Talk (Part 1)

A lot of the Affordable Care Act goes into effect in 2014. The Affordable Care Act is designed to finance health care, but that does not mean there will be efficient health care.

Financing health care does not mean providing health care, either. Nor, will it provide the health care results you want. Life style will always trump health care.

The current health care system is a sick care system. In fact, it pays for sick care procedures that don’t really get you better.

Many medical doctors are not able to help you get well because medicine is run by pharmaceutical lobbies that have tied the doctors’ hands. If you haven’t seen the documentary “Doctored,” I recommend you watch it.

As a chiropractor, I have a very different definition of health and how one goes about obtaining and maintaining health.

Chiropractic is not medical. It is not an intervention for symptoms and sickness. Chiropractic is a proactive approach to maintaining your body’s survival system: the nervous system.

Your nervous system is the first line of defense to living and healing. The pharmaceutical approach is toxic and damaging to the nervous system. We’ve always known that.

Toxic health care will be available through Obama-Care, but do you really want that?

Consider this:

Many people may not be utilizing chiropractic enough to really health-build. You may not realize the unique benefits chiropractic provides.

Mainstream health care may not be available as it is now, and it may no longer be desirable to you……

As always, I am here to take that journey with you. Read more in next month’s issue on this blog.

See you at the table....the adjusting table.

--Dr. Lisa

--Your Health Freedom Advocate