"The only real education comes from what goes counter to you."

Andre Gide

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November 2001

Contents

1. Chiropractic: Unconditional?
2. Question of the Month
3. Health News
4. Office Happenings

Chiropractic: Unconditional? 

If you ask a person what chiropractic is, most will say it’s a way of relieving neck and back pain. A “natural” Tylenol. A smaller majority might say that it is good for ulcers or headaches or asthma. A few would say it improves overall health and wellness. Chiropractic is all of those things and a whole lot more.

Before we take our health seriously, usually we must have a condition before we take action. Often it’s a symptom, a crisis or an injury that motivates us to do something. In fact, most think that having no symptoms means one is healthy.
This model of health allows us to experience only a small portion of our health potential. It also leads to the perception that you go to a chiropractor when you have a complaint. Approaching chiropractic this way is like owning a jet plane and using it like a taxi. You drive it back and forth from the hangar to the runway but you never take off.

Chiropractic is at its most powerful when it is used to improve your health. How could getting your spine adjusted ever do that? Your controlling and organizing force in your body is your nervous system. It consists of your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. Your spinal cord and peripheral nerves act like phone lines in the body, relaying the messages from your brain to your body and vice versa.

Sounds simple enough, but what’s the connection? The spine encloses and protects this wonderful phone line but it can also disturb or interfere with that mind-body connection. This interference, called a subluxation or misalignment of your spine, causes static on the line. Have you ever tried to listen to the radio in your car when driving underneath a power line? That static you hear is just like what a subluxation can do to the important internal messages of your body. 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t produce symptoms right away. Slowly, our bodies adapt to this poor communication. Our internal light starts to dim. We go about our daily activities but not with the same sharpness as before. Eventually our body’s fire alarm sounds – symptoms appear - and we act. During that time, our quality of life has diminished. We haven’t been the best parent, spouse, co-worker, athlete, friend or person we could have been. 

A wonderful fact exists about our bodies. They heal and regulate themselves via the nervous system. If we get our spines and nervous systems checked regularly, we can turn our internal lights back up and tune-in our body’s radio station clearly. We can work at being our best. Chiropractic is un-conditional. You don’t need a condition, whether it be a symptom or a disease to seek care, just a spine! Act now and improve your health.

Question of the Month

What determines how often I should see a chiropractor?

The main factors are your stress levels and how well your body deals with stress. When you encounter more stress than you can handle, the first areas of the body that are injured are the spine and nervous system. This process, called a vertebral subluxation, reduces your level of performance and creativity, affecting all areas of your life. 

The human body is designed to thrive under moderate levels of stress when healthy. By improving the function of the spine and the nervous system, the body can handle increasing levels of stress in a positive way. Stress is recognized by the body and is responded to appropriately. By seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis, past effects of stress can be repaired, current stress can be dealt with in a healthier way and the body can be strengthen to deal with future stress.

Health News

Canadians Face Increased Pressure, Stress

Canadian workers are stressed out, depressed and less loyal to their employers than they were about a decade ago says a study from the Canadian Policy Research Networks. The entire article can be viewed at http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/editorials/rad94BA7.htm. The events of September 11 have only added to this.

This has a huge impact on society, employees and employers. Do you know what system in the body is used to pick up and respond to stress? Your nervous system! What part of the body protects and supports the most important parts of the nervous system? Your spine! A healthy spine leads to a strong nervous system which allows you to deal with stress more effectively. Join us for our Stress Workshop on November 21 in our office to find out how you can lead a healthy life in these tumultuous times.

New, Growing Threat: Resistance to Cipro Antibiotic

Overuse of Cipro, spawned by anthrax fears, threatens to neuter the drug and make people more vulnerable to common illnesses, infectious-diseases experts warn. http://www.usatoday.com/news/healthscience/health/2001-10-24-cipro-resistance.htm. The article goes on to say that resistance occurs in two ways, mutations and trades, and has been observed to spread among bacteria in as little as 24 hours!

This is a point I keep bringing up but this single-minded focus on the bacteria is short-sighted. Their intelligence beats our drugs every time. The focus needs to shift away from the bugs and to the individual. Let's talk about the many ways, including regular chiropractic care, that we can build our internal resistance and strength and express our innate intelligence rather than touting the latest antibiotic on the nightly news. 

Office Happenings

1. Why Water Day? Join us on Friday, November 16 for our water information day. Water is very important component of health so stop by the office to find out more and have some water on us!

2. Stress Workshop. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed with the business of everyday life? We are offering a Stress Workshop on Wednesday November 22 starting at 7:00 pm in the office. We will be giving some insight into identifying areas of stress in your life and some strategies on how you can better deal with it. There is no charge but pre-registration is required. Contact Carol for more details.

3. The office will be closed on Monday, November 12 in honour of Remembrance Day. We will also be closed on Thursday, November 22 to celebrate the American Thanksgiving. Please make note of these days so we can continue to serve you.