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Motivation for Lasting Change

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“Happy New Year!” How many times have you said these words to family, friends and coworkers? How many times have you said it over the past decade or two? How many times has it been said to you? Every one of us wants to have a happy, healthy New Year.

To ensure that this is your best year ever, there may be some things that you need to change and you probably already know what they are. Are they the same things you were thinking about last year? This time, let’s make these changes your new lifestyle.

To make changes that last, you will need to determine what your primary motivation for change has been in the past. Has it been crisis or quality of life?

Crisis motivation is caused by pain or suffering that has become so bad it forces you to take action. Crisis motivators include a health scare such as a heart attack, herniated disc or being diagnosed with a disease. For too many people, crisis motivation is their reminder to go to the chiropractor for a series of adjustments. Crisis motivation can also come from not being able to wear your clothes because they don’t fit anymore. Divorce, bankruptcy and a job lay-off are also crisis motivators that may get you moving and motivate you to make the changes that are inevitable. Crisis motivation does not lead to lasting change.

Quality of life motivation is inspired by the desire to live your best life today and every day. Think about what you want and the kind of life you want to live. Do you want to be healthy? Do you want a healthy relationship? Do you want to perform well at work or in sports? Quality of life motivation will lead you from survival to a life where you are thriving and living your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

Too many people live from one crisis to another crisis and never make the Critical Transition to the quality of life they deserve. We see this in some people who return with the same or similar condition year after year only with more deterioration and chronicity because they have not made the Critical Transition to Lifestyle Care. How many years will you let pass by before you make your health a priority and make quality of life your primary motivator?

People that have made the Critical Transition from Crisis Care to Lifestyle Care are enjoying a much healthier quality of life and are optimizing their potential with their choices. They get their spine checked as a lifestyle. They make healthy eating a lifestyle. They make being fit a lifestyle. Are you ready to make the transition?

When it comes to health care choices, any person at any age can benefit from chiropractic care as they make changes towards a healthier lifestyle. If you or a loved one are in the middle of a crisis or you are ready for lasting change, contact us to find out how we can help you on your journey to living your best life every day starting with today.

Summertime, Recommitment Time

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We all know the power of commitment. Think about the last time you committed yourself to something that was significant to you. Was it your family, your health, your job, or learning a new skill? Commitment is energizing because you block out the world, focus your energy, and create meaningful results for yourself and your loved ones.

Too many people make a commitment, get the results they want, and then become complacent or back off of their commitment. When this happens, the results you created when you were committed mystically vanish into thin air leaving you wondering what went wrong, what happened, and why did it all come to a stop?

The answer is simple: it is not enough to commit once to something that is good for you, you must recommit every day. This daily recommitment makes those areas of your life that are important to you a part of your lifestyle which leads to tremendous fulfillment and lasting results.

Stop wondering what you need to do to get your health back on track. Recommit. Recommit to eating healthy, exercising, getting your spine and nervous system adjusted on a regular basis and making choices that bring balance to your life. Recommit to spending quality time with your family and listening to your spouse or significant other. Recommit to the hobbies, passions, and activities that bring you joy. Recommit to your job, nurturing your talents and abilities, and building your skills.

Commitment is a one-time action. Recommitment, every time you are faced with a choice, is ongoing and is how meaningful lives are built. In addition to recommitting to the things you know you need to do, say no to the things you know are destructive to your health, vitality, and lifestyle. These usually include things like saying no to unhealthy foods, to prescription and over the counter drugs, or to mindless television and internet surfing.

We see the power of recommitment in our practice every day through the people who have made Chiropractic Lifestyle Care their top priority. Since this type of care is not based on symptoms, people who participate in Lifestyle Care typically feel healthier and younger every day even as they age. They get off the symptomatic rollercoaster ride that comes with being committed one day and not staying committed the next.

The New England Centenarian Study indicates you are more likely to live an active, healthy, long life if you avoid sickness in the first place. According to The Health Care Hierarchy of The 100 Year Lifestyle, you must make Self Care and proactive Health Care your top priority.

The power of daily recommitment will optimize the expression of your Innate potential for a lifetime.

Recommit.

Why would you want to live any other way?

The Interference Principle

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Much of our health care system has been based on the Germ Theory, which simply speaking says that germs cause disease and if we kill the bad germs we will get healthy. We now know that this theory is flawed. Our attempt to wipe out “bugs” has created an assault on our immune systems, leads to a minimum of 10,000 deaths per year, according to The Telegraph and has created a generation of dangerous “Superbugs” that threaten the well-being of society.

The Interference Principle brings a different and realistic perspective to health, sickness and dis-ease and affirms that everyone deserves to be healthy and express their full potential from the time they are born through their last breath of life. This includes you!

Understanding The Interference Principle will help you maximize your ability to heal from injuries and health problems and achieve optimum health and peak performance levels. The Interference Principle is comprised of the following scientific and philosophical premises that should be applied to the health care and lifestyle of you and your loved ones.

1. Innate Intelligence

You have within you an Innate Intelligence. Present from the moment you were conceived, this intelligence grew you from 1 cell into over 80 quadrillion cells that were organized and specialized to keep you healthy and functioning at your highest level throughout your lifetime. This Innate Intelligence guides the processes in your body that turn food into cells, eliminate waste products, coordinate muscle contraction and communicate with or without your conscious thought to every cell, tissue and organ of your body via your nervous system.

As long as there is no interference to this system, you have the capability to heal, feel great, be healthy and function well for a lifetime. Nurture this Intelligence for the development of your human potential and you will set personal records in all areas of your life

2. Interference

Unfortunately, there can be interference to the communication and expression of this intelligence within your body. This interference causes dis-ease, weakness, and imbalances within your nervous system that can cause all types of immediate health problems. Or, this interference can lie dormant and asymptomatic for decades, leading to severe health conditions, chronic pain, deterioration and disease down the road.

Nerve Interference in the spine is called a vertebral subluxation. Lifestyle Interference is a result of poor health habits such as overeating, poor nutrition, excessive drinking, taking prescription or non-prescription drugs, or sitting too much. Environmental Interference is caused by toxicity from air, food, water, or chemicals, as well as accidents or natural disasters. All three types of interference can cause pressure in your spine and nervous system and affect your health on every level.

3. Adjustments to Remove Interference

Adjustments to remove interference from your spine, nervous system and lifestyle can improve your health and quality of life dramatically. A chiropractic examination can determine if you, or your loved ones, have interference in your spine and nervous system – whether symptoms are present or not. Keeping your body free from interference as a part of your lifestyle can help it heal quickly, stabilize, regenerate and achieve optimum health and peak performance levels for a lifetime.

Children and Chiropractic Check Ups

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Recent research has shown that chiropractic care is extremely safe for babies and children. As a result, more children and families are having their spine and nervous system examined by chiropractors.

The Journal of Science and Healing reported on a study of 577 children under the age of 18 receiving chiropractic care. The study showed that parents reported a high rate of improvement in their children presenting with health issues with the most common symptoms of muscular conditions, ear, nose, throat, respiratory and digestive issues. They also reported better sleeping patterns, improvements in behavior, and stronger immune systems while under chiropractic care.

While there are many conditions that respond to chiropractic care as indicated in this research, chiropractic care does not treat these conditions. The conditions respond because of the increase in the body’s ability to fight infection, resist dis-ease and heal itself when the spine is aligned and the nerves are working properly.

At the same time many parents who used to give prescription and over the counter drugs routinely to their children are stopping to think twice before doing it again. Why? Here are a few reasons to consider.

Children’s bodies process medication differently than do adults. During debate and discussion about off-label prescribing, which is the practice of prescribing medications to children and extrapolating from an adult does to a pediatric dose, The Director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Pediatric Therapeutics stated, “We found out that you can’t predict how kids are going to handle things.” The Government Accountability Office concluded that only about one-third of the drugs prescribed have been studied and labeled for pediatric use. This is a very dangerous practice.

According to a CDC Report in November 2013, “Every year as many as 10 million U.S. children risk side effects from antibiotic prescriptions that are unlikely to help their upper respiratory conditions. Many people have a misconception that, since antibiotics are commonly used, they are harmless. Taking antibiotics when you have virus can do more harm than good.”

The families that are choosing chiropractic care and opting for alternatives to medication as a first response to symptoms and conditions are enjoying both short term and long term perks of their positive choices. Regardless of who in the family is seeking relief from conditions, everyone in the family benefits from improved immune systems, better digestion and restful nights. Lifestyle Care can make a huge difference.

Our office offers Chiropractic Care to people of all ages and sizes including infants and children. We are trained to provide you and your family with great, quality care. The adjustments are specific to the individual. The adjustments given to a newborn are not the same as the ones given to a 4 year old sibling and the adjustment for a 12 year old will differ from the one the parent just received.

Everyone in your family could benefit from a chiropractic check-up. Through your examination, we will determine if you are a candidate for care and if your spine and nervous system has been compromised. Contact us today to schedule your appointment.

Get Your Kids Back on Track

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School is about to begin which means that families are gearing up for busy schedules, homework, after school activities and the hectic pace of our 21st century lifestyles. To insure that your child has a healthy and successful year, it will be important to have their back aligned, balanced and on track.

Every activity affects the spine. Contact sports, playing an instrument, sitting, studying, and paying attention in class are all important for a successful school year and they all require a healthy spine and nervous system. When your child is sitting in class listening to a teacher, they listen through their ears, process the information in their brain, and a signal is sent down their spine to their fingers so that they can write their notes which they will later study. If a child is playing an instrument, the instructor often tells them to sit up straight. A healthy spine with good alignment and nerve supply is essential to performance in the classroom and activities.

When we watch our kids participating in sports, we often cringe at the intense beating that their spines take when they are hit by another person or twisted through their activities. Keeping their spine aligned and balanced is crucial for them to be able to enjoy a healthy and successful year and have a healthy spine for a lifetime.

Children make 775,000 visits to the emergency room each year because of sports-related injuries. Every 2 and a half minutes a child is injured on a playground. 150,000 kids are treated in the emergency room for football injuries. These injuries are often accompanied by trauma to the child’s developing spine and nervous system. More than 40 Million students carry school backpacks. Backpacks that are too heavy or worn incorrectly can injure your child’s back, neck and shoulders, which can lead to other health problems.

Heavy backpacks, playground and sports injuries can cause non-structural or functional scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine that typically appears in early adolescence. This type of scoliosis develops as a result of misalignment and pressure on the spine and nerve system. Functional scoliosis can often be corrected by addressing the underlying condition through chiropractic care. Kids can injure their spine and remain symptom free until later on in life when the damage becomes more permanent. This, too, can be avoided with regular chiropractic care.

British medical researchers have found through MRI technology that nearly 10% of children show signs of disc degeneration before reaching puberty.

Disc degeneration is a condition in which a damaged spinal disc wears down unevenly causing pressure on the nerves and limiting activity levels, stamina, and quality of life as we age. We tend to think of disc degeneration as a sign that we are getting older but this is not true. It is a sign that the spine has been injured which can happen at any age.

There are so many things to do to prepare for the upcoming school year. As you make your list remember to make an appointment for a “School’s Back” Spinal Exam. This simple examination can determine if your child’s spine is on track or off track. Chiropractic care can keep your child’s spine and nerve system healthy and insure your best school year ever. Get them started on the right track today!

The Core of Your Core

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Everyone in the fitness world is talking about the importance of a healthy core. Your core, which is the center of gravity of your body, consists of numerous muscles, organs, ligaments, nerves, and of course, your spine and pelvis. Too often a fitness professional will reference the core or abdominal area and only focus on the muscles. If you want to be healthy and have a strong core, that’s simply not enough.

The muscles are only one component of your core and they are not the most important. Muscles are attached to bones and they are controlled by nerves so they depend on spinal alignment and proper nerve supply to have a chance at being strong and healthy. When the spine is not aligned properly it can place unnecessary stress on the muscles, which can lead to injuries and limit performance. When a muscle does not have the proper nerve supply it will begin to weaken, while other areas of the body controlled by those nerves will also be adversely affected.

Research in Spine reported that “nerve root compression can exist without pain,” and The JMPT reported in a study by B.I. Rydevik that five to ten millimeters of pressure can interfere with the nutrition of the nerve, starving it of necessary nutrients. Researcher Seth Sharpless at the University of Colorado found that on spinal nerve roots, where the nerves exit the spine, it only took eight to ten millimeters of pressure, about the weight of a dime, to reduce nerve transmission. Another study by T. Videman, M.D., from the Institute of Occupational Health in Helsinki, Finland, found that “after two weeks of immobilization, the first signs of scar tissue appear.”

Underestimating the importance of good alignment, a healthy spine and nervous system as it relates to the core is a mistake. Too many people only take care of their spine when it hurts and they ignore their spinal alignment until they have pain. This is not a good choice. Chiropractic Lifestyle Care can help keep your core strong and it is not symptom based. In fact, many athletes at both the professional and amateur level participate in Lifestyle Care so they can get the most out of their workouts and reach peak performance levels.

Don’t wait for a crisis to make your core as strong and healthy as possible. Get to the core of your core and call our office for an appointment today.