Cafe of Life

Just another WordPress site

health

Chiropractic Earns “Essential” Breakthrough – Celebrates 125 Years

by Leave a Comment

candles number one hundred twenty five isolated on white background

The Chiropractic industry is celebrating 125 years and has earned “essential” recognition and public relations breakthroughs. During the pandemic of 2020, the Department of Homeland Security officially labeled chiropractors as Essential Service Providers, a distinction that has been a long time coming.

Our profession’s patients, practice members, and friends have known this for over 100 years as personal referrals have been driving our industry growth. Federal courts have made judgments in our profession’s favor and more people than ever are lining up to utilize chiropractic care, not just for back pain or neck pain, but as a holistic solution for living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

As the prehistoric stigmas from chiropractic’s early years completely die off, millions of individuals appreciate the essential nature of chiropractic care as their primary mode of health care. Many companies have embraced Chiropractic care by including chiropractic services for reimbursement and companies like Google, Standard Process, and others provide on-site services for their employees. Professional, Olympic, college, and youth sports teams have chiropractors as key members of their healthcare teams.

It is very common to see chiropractic offices filled with generations of individuals and families. Some people “limp in and leap out” while many others come for weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly Lifestyle Care adjustments to help them stay well and function at a high level.

The Rocky Road to Essential

Getting to the point of Essential has been an interesting journey. Politically, the Chiropractic industry chose not to become a part of the mainstream medical, allopathic, umbrella which resulted in vicious, unfounded attacks against the profession. The chiropractic industry had to overcome…

  • Political battles to achieve licensure in the early to mid-1900s
  • Arrests for “practicing without a license”
  • Smear campaigns by the AMA and pharmaceutical industry
  • Reimbursement inequalities in the 90s to the present day
  • Political infighting between its holistic and allopathic branches

And we did!

Chiropractic Wins in Federal Court – Obliterating the Lies

In 1987, United States District Judge Susan Getzendanner found the American Medical Association (AMA) and its constituents guilty and in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, on the grounds that they intended to obliterate the chiropractic profession. The AMA took insidious action to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession with accusations of being unethical and unscientific, and to position the medical agenda at the forefront of healthcare.

During this famous Chester C. A. Wilk et al. v. AMA et al. case, records revealed that medical doctors were encouraged by the AMA to exploit chiropractors and accuse them of wrongdoings. The plan outlined the “containment of the chiropractic profession” that “will result in the decline of chiropractic,” detailed with action steps. From denying them from being in hospitals to opposing insurance coverage for their care, to even comparing them to dogs.

This epic 11-year battle and chiropractic victory opened the door to new opportunities for holistic healing and drug-free health care led by the chiropractic industry. Now, it is common for chiropractors and medical colleagues to openly refer to each other with chiropractors often taking the lead on the care.

Science is Catching Up to What Patients and Doctors Already Know

Gravity existed long before the apple fell on Isaac Newton’s head! This same concept is true for the healing principles of the human body and its relationship to chiropractic care.

There have been exciting breakthroughs in Neuroscience, quantum mechanics, biology, and the immune system that have given the chiropractic profession a boost within the scientific community. The principle of neuroplasticity, the connection between the nerve system and immune system, the understanding of arthritic changes as they relate to poor posture, and many other findings, have helped give confidence to the public and change their reasons for consulting doctors of chiropractic.

Essential Innervation, Essential Chiropractic

It is now well documented scientifically that healthy nerve supply is essential for a healthy life. This is true for babies, toddlers, kids, teens, college students, pregnant moms, working people, fitness buffs, parents, senior citizens, and everyone else with a spine and nervous system, regardless of their age.

Opportunities Abound in Chiropractic

Opportunities abound with 68,000 chiropractors compared to 1.1 million medical doctors in the United States alone. Chiropractors are graduating at a rate less than the world needs to replenish those chiropractors that have retired or passed away.

Outside of the US, the need is even more dramatic. With only 12 chiropractic schools in the entirety of Europe, many countries do not have a school at all. As an example, the European Union has 700 million people and less than 5,000 chiropractors. The demand is growing and it needs to be filled.

The Largest and Safest Drugless, Non-Surgical Health and Healing Profession

The effectiveness of chiropractic care is exciting and it is also less expensive than allopathic, surgical based protocols. It is also much safer as exemplified by malpractice costs that chiropractors versus other practitioners have to pay to insurance carriers! Like all other medical professionals, chiropractors are required to have comprehensive insurance coverage that prevents them from absorbing liability.

The average cost of medical malpractice insurance is $7,500 annually; for medical personnel, between $4,000 and 12,000 a year. Surgeons pay between $30,000 and $50,000 a year.9 With high levels of risk comes higher premiums on policies.

Chiropractors pay a median premium of about $40 per month, or $500 per year, for a business owner’s policy that protects chiropractors against patient injuries, property damage, and damage to their business property. Non-business owners pay as little as $370 per year.8 With low levels of risk comes lower premiums on policies, and is based on the overall amount of claims against the profession. This is especially important for the public to understand, that chiropractic care is not only effective but significantly safer.

What Everybody Ought To Know About Chiropractic

Chiropractic is modern, chic, and copacetic. It’s a non-invasive, drugless, and non-surgical, very hip way to take control over your own health. You will come to understand and know the power of the chiropractic adjustment and care. When should you start getting checked by a chiropractor?

At birth. Here’s why.

When babies come through the birth canal, there are about 40 pounds of pressure being exuded onto that baby’s neck during delivery. It takes 60 pounds of pressure to completely decapitate a newborn. In nearly 100% of SIDS cases, the infant dies of a torqued atlas. The atlas is the highest bone in the vertebral column and the one that supports the head. When the atlas is out of alignment, it can compress the brain stem which is where the autonomic function is housed.

Not only are chiropractic adjustments essential for babies to grow properly through the lifecycle stages, but it’s also one of the most powerful epigenetic lifestyle activities that has the power to eliminate dis-ease. This is our goal with the generational care and lifestyle care that we provide for the entire family.

Don’t wait for a crisis to force you to act and come in for a chiropractic check-up. Make an appointment for yourself and your family. Keep yourself aligned and balanced as a lifestyle. You will appreciate the care and find it, ESSENTIAL.

Schedule An Appointment Today!

Mastering Your Emotional Brain

by Leave a Comment

Emotions can be disorienting, detrimental, and downright challenging. One moment our life can be peaceful and easy, the next chaos! As we all have experienced, in the blink of an eye, everything can change. 

Whether it be pandemics, political unrest, challenging transitions, the passing of loved ones, or a stuck emotional pattern, our Nervous System is taxed with the responsibility of helping us process what is happening in our life. If we are clear and connected, emotions can become a guiding compass for us understanding ourselves on a deeper level and thriving regardless of the circumstances around us.

Processing

We love seeing many of the people in our chiropractic practice, as their nervous system becomes healthier, find clarity through all sorts of life’s crazy challenges. Processing and learning from our emotions is a journey. As you continue to make decisions with your Ideal 100 Year Lifestyle in mind, it may be beneficial to consider the possibility that your emotions hold more value than you think, and the individual parts of your emotional brain are interconnected!

The Limbic System

Our emotional brain is essential for our body’s ability to process. It is called the “Limbic System.” It is a complex compilation of different nerve groupings. Each with a specialized function. Here is a quick guide to understanding the key aspects of your brain’s Limbic System:

Amygdala: This tiny almond-shaped structure is known for helping the Nervous System evaluate potential threats. It can trigger the “fight or flight” response. And is also responsible for conditional learning (based on reward or punishment).

Hippocampus: Memory formation and storage. 

Thalamus: This is the “Amazon Prime” of the brain. The Thalamus delivers messages coming up from the body to the appropriate processing centers. It plays an essential role in connecting the rest of the Limbic System to other aspects of the Nervous System. 

Hypothalamus: This is the key regulatory center. The Hypothalamus is constantly taking in physiologic messages. Such as breathing rate and metabolism. This is the part of your brain that triggers you into “hanger” when your blood sugar levels have dropped.

Cingulate Gyrus: Associates sights and smells with pleasant memories of previous emotions. It also plays a role in processing our conscious emotional experience. 

Basal Ganglia: Think of this as the “dimmer switch” for the brain’s motor output. It’s capable of inhibiting certain behaviors such as talking out of turn. 

Crucial Role

All of these parts of the Limbic System play a crucial role in directing our Nervous System. We want to respond with the appropriate “fight or flight” response should a big grizzly bear appear during a hike. Sometimes, it is necessary to use this adrenaline-boosting response. But not always. How often is our body stuck in this type of stress pattern when there is no emergency?

When there is interference to the Nervous System, its ability to respond appropriately is distorted. With this distorted signaling, our emotional response may become unregulated and downright dramatic. We may become overly aggressive or act out in a way we later regret. Maybe, we find ourselves in a recurrent emotional loop. And we replay the same pattern again and again. 

A Clear Nervous System

When our Nervous System is clear and connected, it is much easier to step outside of the recurrent loop. With healthy decisions such as receiving Chiropractic Lifestyle Care, our brain and body have a leg up in processing emotions. When the Nervous System is balanced out, the brain and body can work together. They provide clarity and depth to the wisdom our emotions hold. Once we make healthy decisions and take responsibility for our emotions, we truly learn from them. 

Perhaps most importantly, we need community. Reach out to family, friends, and other supportive roles in your life. By reaching out you are taking the first step towards forming a more healthy relationship with your emotions. Also known as vulnerability. This act of bravery goes a long way and can lead us to brilliant discoveries and experiences. When we make vulnerability a regular occurrence in our life, emotions become healthy opportunities to learn about ourselves and move through life challenges.

Create communities that support your 100 Year Lifestyle.

A Lasting Holiday Health Plan

by Leave a Comment

The holiday season has begun and now is the time to commit to a lasting holiday health plan. Enjoy the healthiest holiday season ever and start your new year with a mindset of staying healthy for a lifetime.

The Lifestyle Care Continuum

The three elements of the Lifestyle Care Continuum are Crisis Care, Critical Transition and Lifestyle Care. Too many of us make unhealthy choices during the holidays which results in a crisis, and then use the crisis to motivate us to get healthy again. Every year millions of people begin exercise programs, diet plans, and chiropractic regimens to get themselves healthy. When you choose to live your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle, you will get off the roller coaster ride and enjoy good health without extreme ups and downs and, you will never feel deprived.

The Critical Transition is the transition from Crisis Care to Lifestyle Care! To help you make this transition, remember this acronym for FitNESS every time you are faced with a choice during the holidays or any other time that you feel tempted or get off track.

FitNESS: Neurology, Nutrition, Endurance, Strength, and Structure.

Neurology comes first for a reason. Muscles are attached to bones and controlled by nerves. In fact, your nervous system controls and coordinates all of your conscious and unconscious functions including your muscles, organs, and systems. You must have a spine and healthy nervous system for your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, your brain to work right and your balance to be stable. The transition from Crisis Care to Chiropractic Lifestyle Care will keep your nervous system functioning at its optimum potential and is the foundation for everything else that follows. This is one reason why many of the top athletes in the world utilize chiropractic care to optimize their training and fitness program.

Nutrition comes next. Make healthier food choices this holiday season and as a part of your lifestyle. Learn to love the things that are good for you. It is true, you are what you eat. Consuming a diet filled with organic fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and very low in sugar, white flour, white rice, and pasta, should be your lifestyle and not just as a weight-loss crash. This will sustain you not just while getting into shape but as you stay in shape. It’s making your new shape your lifestyle.

Endurance develops through cardiovascular exercise which includes walking, running, hiking, bike riding, and ellipticals that will increase your heart rate and strengthen your cardiovascular system. Start slow and steady, be consistent and as time goes on increase the frequency, intensity and duration of your endurance training.

Strength gives you confidence and is necessary if you want to be independent as you age. Whether you use weights or you do strength training through yoga, Pilates or other types of plyometric training, it is important to keep yourself strong as a part of a lifestyle.

Structure is also vital, especially when you consider the overuse of technology, cell phones and computers. Even children are developing postural imbalances at a very early age and it is wreaking havoc on their health and posture. When it comes to your 100 Year Lifestyle fitNESS plan, having a healthy, straight, strong spine and posture is vital to your quality-of-life in the short and long-term. This is another reason why chiropractors have become the central figure in the healthcare team for millions of people including nearly every professional and collegiate sports team.

Statistics show that you will probably live longer than you ever thought. If you want to get there in style with health and vitality, you must make your lifestyle fitness a priority. Any time of year is the right time to shift to a lifestyle of fitNESS and enjoy the journey on your way to a sensational century.

Schedule an Appointment for yourself and your family today and give the gift of health and chiropractic this holiday season.

How Long Do You Plan to Live?

by Leave a Comment

One of the fastest growing segments of the population today is centenarians, or 100-year old people. In 1980, there were approximately 17,000 people over the age of 100. Today there are approximately 80,000 people who have reached this milestone. The US Census Bureau estimates that by the time the baby boom generation reaches this landmark age, there will be more than 4.2 million centenarians in the US.

This trend holds true for other industrialized nations including Australia, Canada, and those in Europe. Many of us have noticed this trend first hand by having to cope with the challenges of our aging parents. Unfortunately, many elderly people are unprepared for their extended life.

When today’s centenarians were born in 1905, the life expectancy for a newborn was approximately 50 years. Yet many have outlived their life expectancy by half a century. If these people knew they were going to live this long, do you think many of them would have made better health choices along the way?

We are getting the advanced notice that our parents and grandparents never received. What will you do with this information? Hopefully you will choose to make your health a priority now instead of waiting until it deteriorates to choose a healthy lifestyle. The truth is that we cannot control how long we are going to live.

We can, however, control our health choices. As people age, quality of life choices take on a higher priority. Values turn more toward the physical and physiological standard of living rather than the material standard of living. After all, what good is a nice car if your back hurts too much to sit in the seat and enjoy it? Who cares what your carpet looks like if you don’t have the energy to entertain? Does it matter how much jewelry you have if you are too sick to go out on the town?

Many people spend the first 50 years of their lives ignoring their health while they accumulate wealth, only to spend the next 50 years losing their wealth to buy back their health. Knowing that your longevity potential is 100 years gives you an opportunity to place your health at the top of your value scale.

Every minute of every day we are faced with choices that contribute to our quality of life both now and in the future. We must choose between eating junk food and healthy food, being a couch potato and exercising, stressing out or looking at the bright side, getting regular chiropractic adjustments or living with the consequences of an unhealthy spine and nerve system.

Starting today, make health choices that ensure that each day will be your best, and encourage your family to do the same. After all, 100 years of healthy living is achieved one day at a time.

Preventing Childhood Obesity

by Leave a Comment

Raising healthy children and preventing childhood obesity is an important parental responsibility. Are your children at risk for developing high blood pressure? They are if they are overweight. According to the July 2005 issue of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) News In Health, more than twice as many children are overweight now compared to 30 years ago. In fact, among the 6-11 age group, the number of overweight children has more than tripled.

Approximately 16 percent of American children are currently overweight. In addition to increasing blood pressure, childhood obesity has caused a dramatic increase in Type 2 Diabetes and metabolic syndrome. So what is causing the alarming increase in childhood obesity? As with adult obesity, the answer is a poor diet and lack of physical activity.

The alarming increase has gotten the attention of our nation’s policy makers, as well. Beginning with the 2006 school year, federal mandates now require school systems to develop standards of nutrition and activity for all school children, and establish healthy school nutrition environments. Take a close look at what your kids eat each day and then start to make gradual improvements. Kids today are eating too much high-calorie food that is low in nutritional value, so avoid French fries, hot dogs and doughnuts. Replace soda with water. Eat whole grains (whole wheat bread and pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, etc.) instead of the refined alternatives. To help your children eat an abundant variety of fruits and vegetables, serve raw veggies at snack time instead of chips or cookies. A child who initially dislikes a particular food often tries it again and likes it once it becomes a familiar offering, so continue to serve a variety of vegetables at mealtime. It is also fine to be sneaky: add finely minced spinach, kale or broccoli to sauces, soups and stews. Start each meal with smaller portions of food and then eat slowly, while conversing. Finally, never force your children to eat everything on their plates. Instead, teach them to stop eating when full.

Also, many children are spending too much time watching TV, playing video games, and surfing the internet, so limit their sedentary activities. Encourage your kids to run around outside each day, do chores around the house and dance to music. Get them involved in a sporting activity. According to the National Institutes of Health, children should get at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.

Obese children are likely to become obese adults, so it is important to instill healthy eating and activity habits early on. In addition to your child’s healthy diet and activity level, having their nervous system checked for interference is another important piece of your family wellness program. A healthy functioning nervous system will ensure that your child receives the maximum benefit from their healthy diet and activity as they grow.

Live Longer and Stronger

by Leave a Comment

The US Census Bureau estimates that there over 80,000 centenarians living in the United States today. Statistics show that women usually live longer than men. The truth is, your body has the genetic potential to live to 100 and beyond. Being prepared to age gracefully, healthfully and successfully has never been more important than now. Every day we are faced with choices that contribute to our quality of life both now and in the future. One of the most important steps you can take to begin to live longer and stronger is to. . .

Stop Killing Yourself!
Heart disease, cancer and stroke are the three leading causes of death among women. Interestingly enough, they are also preventable by healthy lifestyle choices and routine checkups. Mark your calendar so you won’t forget mammograms, chiropractic visits, and other annual exams. Many women are more likely to be familiar with their family history. Let your doctor know what diseases and conditions are on your family tree. Being aware of this health history will help you and your health-care team build a plan to incorporate healthy habits in your life and the lives of your children.

Make Your Self-Care a Priority
When reviewing disaster plans of action, flight attendants on airplanes always instruct parents to fit themselves with oxygen masks first before helping their children. The lesson is simple. You can’t take care of others unless you take care of yourself first, at least in matters of health.

Today women are busier today than ever before. Demands are placed on them from every direction. More women are working and raising families, a dual role that invites incredible stress. These overbooked schedules tempt women to set aside self-care to handle other priorities such as families, careers, relatives, and communities.

Taking care of yourself will ensure that you will be strong enough to take care of others. Eating a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and low fat foods along with a moderate exercise schedule will help you maintain your weight and keep your mind and your muscles strong. Schedule regular chiropractic visits, make time for massages, take hot baths (with the door locked and the phone turned off), and consider a vacation getaway with only yourself. Make time to be healthy.

Lifelong Learning is Key
Studies show that maintaining an active lifestyle increases health and quality of life. People in their seventies are earning college degrees, publishing books, and starting companies. Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who at 122 was the oldest person ever documented, fenced, cycled, and rapped! It’s never too late to pick up a yoga mat, violin or paintbrush.

Starting today, make self-care and health-care choices that will ensure that each day will be your best, and encourage your family to do the same. After all, 100 years of healthy living is achieved one day at a time.