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How Many Two Weeks is Okay?

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Research by Dr. Videman out of Helsinki, Finland found that even minor traumas to the spine can cause scar tissue formation within two weeks. How many two weeks is okay with you?

Babies and Children
The birth process can be very traumatic to a newborn’s spine and cause pressure on the nerves that affect breathing, digestion, heart rate as well as the muscles and ligaments of the neck. Because additional research has found that nerve compression can exist without pain, this spinal trauma can be asymptomatic for decades. That is a lot of two weeks! How many two weeks is acceptable for you? How about your children?

If you have ever watched a child learning to walk, how many times a day do you think they fall on their bottom? This repetitive bouncing on their bum can cause their spine to become misaligned with pressure on the nerve, subluxations, which can affect their growth and development and lie dormant for decades. This is also a lot of two weeks especially if they live to be 80, 90 or 100 years old. How do you think this will affect their quality of life as they age?

As the famous poet William Wordsworth said, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” This is absolutely true for the spine. Both major and minor traumas that accumulate over time will affect the way your child’s spine grows.

Seriously, how many two weeks is acceptable for your children? Even more important than the structure of the spine, which is really important, is the impact that these traumas have on the function of the nervous system.

Nerve Pressure and Organ Function
Research shows that the weight of a dime, not a lot of pressure, can reduce transmission. Stretching a nerve as little as six degrees can reduce nerve function up to 70 percent according to Journal of Spine and Joint Surgery.

These traumas that affect the structure also affect the function because of the relationship between the spine and nervous system.

Your nervous system controls and coordinates the function of every cell, tissue and organ of your body. This includes your sinuses, heart, lungs, liver, kidney, stomach, intestines and every other organ as well as your arms, legs, hormonal balance and literally every function that is both conscious and unconscious that your body performs.

Symptoms
As the two weeks accumulate from these traumas, both the function of the spine and the nervous system are compromised. These compromises can be disguised as a myriad of symptoms ranging from allergies, digestive disturbances and attention deficits to headaches, neck pain or backaches.

Unfortunately many of these traumas lie asymptomatic for decades of two weeks until the body can no longer adapt and breaks down with more severe health problems, pain and even contribute to sickness and disease. Dr. Henry Windsor conducted research that found a nearly 100% correlation between the compromised nerve connections in an injured spine and diseases of the internal organs. (The Windsor Autopsies, The Medical Times)

More than 15 million people each year become diagnosed with osteoarthritis, a condition that results from decades of two weeks that influence the joints of the body.

Since deterioration can occur within 2 weeks, many individuals and families make weekly and bi-weekly adjustments a central piece of their healthy lifestyle. Lifestyle Care keeps your spine in balance with no pressure on the nervous system so your body can function at higher levels. Don’t wait until you “feel” it. You may have waited lots of two weeks too long.

Top 10 Reasons to Get Your Spine Checked

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10. The times that you need your spine the most will be the time that it will tend to give out on you.
If you neglect your spine and nervous system, you can be sure that when you need it the most due to stress, physical activity, business or pleasure travel, it can give out on you. Extra stress on a weakened spine and nervous system can overload your system and contribute to health problems. Lifestyle Care can keep you healthy and prevent these inconvenient episodes from putting a damper on your life.

9. Nerve pressure can exist without pain.
According to the research, pain is not a good indicator of how healthy or unhealthy your spine and nervous system are. Spinal examinations such as posture, weight balance, palpation, muscle testing, computer scans and x-rays are much better indicators. Pain is usually the last to show up and the first to be relieved when you begin chiropractic care.

8. Nerves supply your whole body.
Your spine protects your nerve system, the master control center of your body. Vital energy flows over your nerves and communications with every cell. Nerve pathways must be clear for the messages to get through. If you have an uncorrected spinal problem, it can cause a decrease in the function of vital organs and systems, and lead to unnecessary pain or health problems.

7. Deterioration can begin within 2 weeks.
Researchers found that when the spine is misaligned it can begin to deteriorate within 2 weeks. Think about how many two weeks have passed since you were born, which is often when the first spinal injury or vertebral subluxation occurs. How many two weeks are there from a childhood fall to age 50? Is it any wonder why more than 15 million people are diagnosed with osteoarthritis each year? Don’t wait another 2 weeks for a check up.

6. Your quality of life depends on a healthy spine.
If you want to be healthy and active as you age, your spine and nervous system must be healthy. Period.

5. The straw will break the camel’s back.
We’ve all heard the expression “the straw that broke the camel’s back.” This is so true for too many people who ignore minor spinal problems. One day they do something simple, like bend down to tie their shoe, and they can’t get up. Major problems are much more painful and expensive to care for, and they can ruin your day, or even worse, your life.

4. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t get crooked overnight. They grew that way over time.
Over time, the spine and nervous system deteriorates, not because of age, but because of subluxations. Just like the tires on your car wear down unevenly when they are misaligned, the same can happen in your spine. You may have some areas in your spine that look and feel like they are 80 years old while you have other areas that are more like a 30 year old. You can keep your entire spine healthy with chiropractic Lifestyle Care.

3. Good posture keeps you young and attractive.
When your body becomes bent over and crooked, you will look and feel old and decrepit. If you keep your posture and your spine straight and strong, you will stay healthier and feel younger and more attractive. People often use drastic measures to preserve their youthful appearance as they age. Don’t you think a facelift would look silly on a person whose spine and nervous system were neglected?

2. You can’t afford to get sick or injured.
Now more than ever, you cannot afford to get sick. Crisis care costs are astronomical and an unhealthy spine and nervous system can be the cause of many problems. Getting your spine and nervous system checked and adjusted regularly can help you stay healthier and save you money in the long run.

1. Because you were born.
Everybody deserves to be healthy from the time they are born through their last breathe of life. This includes you. Too many people wait until they have intense pain and suffering before they make their health a priority. Don’t let this happen to you.

© 2013. The Family Practice, Inc., Dr. Eric Plasker and The 100 Year Lifestyle. All Rights Reserved.

A Truly Sustainable Health Care Solution

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Is Your Health Care Philosophy Sustainable?
When you think of “Health Care” what is the first image that pops into your mind? Do you envision hospitals, prescriptions, expensive surgeries, or a sick person? This is often what people have been conditioned to think about because the current health care delivery system is actually a Sick Care system in disguise. Fortunately, heart disease, diabetes and even many forms of cancer are preventable “lifestyle” diseases.

Lifestyle choices such as smoking, poor eating habits, sedentary living, and allowing stress to build all affect your body negatively and can cause you or a loved one to suffer from a disease that could have been prevented.

Suffering or sickness can be reasons to make lifestyle changes, and pain can certainly get your attention fast. However, avoiding sickness and pain altogether is a much more desirable option. When you make good choices and invest in your health you are more likely to thrive over the course of your lifetime. This is a truly sustainable health care solution for you and your family, and for our society as a whole.

The Health Care Hierarchy
The Health Care Hierarchy of The 100 Year Lifestyle is Self Care, Health Care, and Crisis Care, in that order. They will help you set your priorities regardless of your current health condition or age and get you on a sustainable path.

Self Care
Self Care is what you must do for yourself to keep your mind, body and spirit healthy and functioning at your highest level. Nobody can sleep, sit up straight or exercise for you.

Health Care
Health Care is what you need to do to stay healthy that you cannot do for yourself. Chiropractors, Dentists, and Nutritionists are some of the professionally trained experts that can help you stay healthy beyond your Self Care.

Crisis Care
Crisis Care is meant to help you recover from a serious injury or illness which requires the support of the appropriate crisis care specialists.

With the right Self Care and Health Care team you may be able to avoid the need for Crisis Care completely.

Who is Responsible?
Who is responsible for your health? Is it your doctor, government, or your insurance carrier? Keep in mind that our current health care system’s main focus is on Crisis Care only, sometimes leading to severe side effects and long term damage. Dramatic and expensive rescue measures as a way of life add to your stress and can make health challenges worse for you and your loved ones.

This even includes prescription drugs. The “quick fix” of over-the-counter or prescription drugs can make you feel different because they change your body chemistry but they can give you a false sense of security that everything is fine when it really is not.

Lifestyle Care
Chiropractic Lifestyle Care aligns your spine and nervous system to optimize your body’s functions. Your spine and nervous system are the means by which your brain communicates with your vital organs, muscles, ligaments, and cells. When there is interference to this communication system, the messages are interrupted. Your body may experience immediate symptoms or it may take a while to feel like something is wrong or not functioning like it used it.

Keeping your spine and nervous system aligned and balanced before a crisis can improve your body’s natural immunity and ability to reach a higher level of vitality, energy and health. If you are already in crisis, chiropractic care can remove the interference, get the pressure off the nerve and may promote a faster recovery without having to resort to more invasive options.

Begin making better lifestyle choices today for yourself and for your family. Make Self Care and Health Care your top priority.

© 2013. The Family Practice, Inc., Dr. Eric Plasker and The 100 Year Lifestyle. All Rights Reserved.

Extreme Sports and Peak Performance

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Extreme Athletes Expect Precision

Extreme Sports are on the rise. At the gym, on the bike, in the park, up a mountain; these are all places where people push their body to extreme limits. Whether you are extreme on your own or an Ironman, triathlete, distance runner, Tough Mudder, or participate in other extreme sports, this article can help you optimize your performance.

When you put extreme demands on your body, you want and need your body to respond with precision at the right times. Many professional and extreme sports athletes utilize chiropractic care to keep them performing at peak levels mentally and physically while minimizing injuries and recovery times.

Chiropractic Enhances Performance Levels

Research with athletes and Chiropractic shows that “a single adjustment has the power to improve speed and coordination throughout the entire body.”1 That means the brain-body connection is working much better than before the adjustment.

A recent JMPT report offered supporting research. Fifty athletes were given eleven different tests to check athletic ability. Tests were based on agility, balance, kinesthetic perception, power, and reaction time. Twenty-five of the athletes were given Chiropractic adjustments and the other half were not. The results were amazing. The Chiropractic group improved significantly on 11 out of 11 tests and the other group improved only slightly on 8 out of 11 tests. During the reaction time test, the non-Chiropractic group improved less than 1percent, and the Chiropractic group improved 18percent in 6 weeks and 30percent in 12 weeks.

The Brain-Body Connection

If you are an extreme athlete or athletic in any way, there are clear benefits of optimizing the health of your spine and nervous system. From the time you were conceived, your body’s innate intelligence utilized your nervous system to control and coordinate your development and the function of every single cell and system in your body. There are approximately three million different messages being sent from your brain to your body and back every second. Extreme athletes can optimize the efficiency of these pathways with Chiropractic Lifestyle Care that is performance-based. The intensity of your Chiropractic Lifestyle Care depends on the intensity of your lifestyle so as your training intensity increases you may need or want more intense care.

Fueling your body with healthy non-processed foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins is also important. As a peak performer pushing your body to the limits, eating healthy organic foods is essential to get the nourishment that you need. Adjust your quality calorie intake according to your training intensity, and eliminate empty calories such as white sugar and white flour that have no nutritional value.

Training For Extreme Sports and For Life

When training for extreme sporting events, and for life, keeping your spine and nervous system healthy is crucial to your performance and for your longevity. Most importantly, don’t wait for a crisis or an injury to force you to alter your training or knock you out of a competition. Be proactive and enjoy the excitement that comes with pushing your body to the limits, and succeeding.

Research
1.http://www.sciencedirect.com/Volume 29, Issue 4, May 2006, Pages 257-266

Emerging Health Care Leadership

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A Shortage of Medical Doctors
With the shortage of medical doctors increasing dramatically, more and more people are using chiropractors for their health care leadership. According to the AAMC, the American Academy of Medical Consultants, there is a shortage of medical doctors by 50,000 in the U.S. alone. Between now and 2025 that shortage is expected to grow to 125,000.

These statistics are experienced in the real world as more people are forced to go to Doc in the Box medical establishments where they don’t know the doctor and have not been able to establish a relationship with a provider who knows their body or who knows their family. This has led to many a frustrating experience and is one reason for the shift.

The Public is Demanding Holistic, Drug-Free Health Care
The shift to chiropractors is not just due to the medical doctor shortage however, it is due to a shift in the public’s demand for a holistic, drug-free health care approach. Traditional medical care is strictly for use when you are in the middle of a severe crisis. This can be from an accident, injury, or being diagnosed with an illness or disease. This Crisis Care is important. It is necessary. And at the same time, individuals and families are looking for ways to stay healthy and drug free to avoid and prevent a crisis from occurring, while many others are looking to optimize their health.

Chiropractic care, especially within The 100 Year Lifestyle model, contributes to restoring your health in times of crisis, and it can also help you make the Critical Transition from Crisis Care to Lifestyle Care so that your health becomes your top priority. Health care consumers are realizing, through the rising costs of crisis care and the suffering of their aging parents and grandparents, that ignoring health until it breaks down is the recipe for deteriorating health, sickness and a pain-filled life. This consciousness has bankrupted so many families over the past few decades that the shift to Lifestyle Care is approaching critical mass.

The Nursing Home Generation
Assisted living centers and nursing homes are popping up everywhere as people are living longer whether they like it or not. This Nursing Home Generation is giving us the advance notice that we will probably live longer than we ever thought. The philosophy of this generation was “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” and they defined broke as severe pain or life threatening illness. There was no proactive approach to staying healthy; just a reactive approach to dealing with pain and sickness.

A Vitalistic Health Care Model
The vitalistic philosophy that we are talking about provides you with a new approach to your health care. We are not inanimate objects. We are vitalistic beings. Your body, which is composed of approximately 80 quadrillion cells, will work in harmony to keep you healthy, adapt you to your environment, digest your food and even heal you when you are sick as long as it is kept healthy and functioning without interference.

In a vitalistic model, when you are out of balance you are “broke.”

Through the principles and practices of The 100 Year Lifestyle, which includes chiropractic Lifestyle Care, you and your loved ones will enjoy a healthier, more active life. Find out if your body is functioning up to its potential. Make an appointment today.

Movement and a Healthy Brain

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Your brain is remarkable. It’s comprised of hundreds of billions of individual cells that are constantly receiving and transmitting information about your body and its place within your environment. The sum of all this activity is what you perceive as your personal human experience. Put more simply, the health and activity level of your brain determines who you are as a person.

In order for your brain to be healthy and perform its job at a level that allows you to enjoy life, each one of your individual brain cells needs to be healthy and maintain proper communication with it’s neighbors. Therefore, if you are to keep your brain healthy as you age, it is important to understand the three requisite factors of a healthy brain cell: oxygen, nutrition, and activation. Without the right amount or quality of any of these factors it becomes impossible for your brain to efficiently perform the countless functions that make you you.

Unfortunately, everyday life is not conducive to a healthy brain. Our jobs and schools require us to sit for hours limiting the amount of activation our brains receive. Technology forces us into positions that work against our natural breathing mechanics, and it has become exceedingly difficult to find high quality foods. To top it all off, there has been a marked increase in the amount of mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) due to falls and accidents to the point that public agencies have declared mTBI “A Silent Epidemic.”

We all experience these forces to varying degrees, but the only time we can truly appreciate it is when our brain’s functioning declines to levels that make every day life more difficult. Headaches, pain, confusion, fogginess, vertigo, sensitivity to light and sound, anxiousness, dizziness, and light headedness are just some of the many symptoms that people can begin to experience as their brain cells decline in health.

Fortunately, modern science has discovered that there are strategies and activities that you can perform on your own to mitigate the deleterious influence of modern life on your brain. The one constant in most of these brain-healthy activities is movement. When you move your body, receptors in your spine, joints, and muscles send powerful signals to your brain that help to drive growth, forge new connections, and enhance the ones already in place. That’s why most people feel more alert and energized after exercise.

Study after study has shown that regular purposeful movement whether it be weight-lifting, running, yoga, dancing, or Tai Chi can help keep your brain functioning at high levels and even lower your risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dementia, and more.

There are many times that the insult to our brains and nervous systems require professional intervention. Chiropractic examinations and protocols can assess the function of your nervous system and the movement in your spine to correct the cause of imbalances and restore proper function.

Don’t wait for a crisis to force you to take action. Be proactive, schedule an examination, and keep your nervous system healthy throughout your lifetime.

Article Contributed by Dr. Jacob Plasker, 100 Year Lifestyle Affiliate Chiropractor in Bend, Oregon.