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Stop Chasing Symptoms

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Isn’t it time you stopped chasing symptoms? These signals that you get from your body are frequently misunderstood. More importantly, treating symptoms without getting to the cause of a problem can lead to mismanagement of your health and more severe health problems as you age.

When you get sick, for example, and your temperature goes up, your body is naturally fighting off the infection. Bacteria thrive in a climate that is 98.6 degrees so your body’s Innate Intelligence raises your temperature to help fight off the infection on its own. The symptoms of this elevated temperature can be muscle aches, fatigue, weakness and general malaise. At the first sign or symptom of a fever, many people will immediately panic and try to bring the temperature down with medication, treating the symptoms rather than letting the body do its job and heal itself.

The medications that are used to treat these symptoms can lead to side effects and even weaken the body’s natural immunity. In recent years, the overuse of antibiotics has created an epidemic of superbugs within individuals that are untreatable and pose a serious threat to our long term health.

The CDC states, “If antibiotics are used too often for things they can’t treat-like colds or other viral infections-they can stop working effectively. Antibiotic resistance has been a concern for years and is considered one of the world’s most critical public health threats. Widespread overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics is fueling an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In the U.S., antibiotic-resistant infections are responsible for $20 billion in excess healthcare costs, $35 billion in societal costs and $8 million in additional hospital days.”(1)

A report commissioned by the Canadian Coordinating Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance estimated that infections caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms increased direct hospital costs in Canada by $15-25 million annually(2).

Many experts say that it is better to give the body a chance to heal itself with rest and fluids along with chiropractic adjustments that remove pressure from the nervous system. Unless there is an extreme elevation in body temperature, and depending on other symptoms, allowing your body to heal itself naturally helps your immune system build the resistance it needs to keep you healthy and fight infections more effectively.

Consider the case for “referred pain.” This means you can feel a symptom in one part of your body while the cause or the origin of that pain is somewhere else. For example, very often the cause of arm, hand or finger pain is in the neck. Leg and foot pain will often originate from a problem in the back. Problems with the gallbladder will often refer pain to the spinal nerve roots in the middle part of the spine and vice versa.

Because chiropractic works to restore health and vitality to the nervous system, we are always amazed at how the entire body often becomes free of symptoms through our work with the spine. Since nerves control every cell, tissue and organ of your body, problems in the nervous system can cause or mimic nearly any and every symptom imaginable.

It is very common to hear our practice members say things like “I know I came because my neck hurt, and my allergies and headaches are gone too.” or “I didn’t even tell you about my menstrual cramping but since I’ve been getting adjusted, my cramps have been reduced dramatically.” or “I sleep so much better since beginning my care.”

The list goes on and on. Isn’t it time you stop chasing symptoms and get to the cause? You will enjoy a much healthier life when you do.

Tired of Chasing Symptoms?

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Symptoms are Signals

Isn’t it time you stopped chasing symptoms? These signals that you get from your body are frequently misunderstood. More importantly, treating symptoms without getting to the cause of a problem can lead to mismanagement of your health and more severe health problems as you age.

When you get sick, for example, and your temperature goes up, your body is naturally fighting off the infection. Bacteria thrive in a climate that is 98.6 degrees so your body’s Innate Intelligence raises your temperature to help fight off the infection on its own. The symptoms of this elevated temperature can be muscle aches, fatigue, weakness and general malaise. At the first sign or symptom of a fever, many people will immediately panic and try to bring the temperature down with medication, treating the symptoms rather than letting the body do its job and heal itself.

The medications that are used to treat these symptoms can lead to side effects and even weaken the body’s natural immunity. In recent years, the overuse of antibiotics has created an epidemic of superbugs within individuals that are untreatable and pose a serious threat to our long term health.

The CDC States

The CDC states, “If antibiotics are used too often for things they can’t treat-like colds or other viral infections-they can stop working effectively. Antibiotic resistance has been a concern for years and is considered one of the world’s most critical public health threats. Widespread overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics is fueling an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

In the U.S., antibiotic-resistant infections are responsible for $20 billion in excess healthcare costs, $35 billion in societal costs and $8 million in additional hospital days.(1)

A report commissioned by the Canadian Coordinating Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance estimated that infections caused by antibiotic-resistant organisms increased direct hospital costs in Canada by $15-25 million annually(2).

How Your Body Heals Itself

Many experts say that it is better to give the body a chance to heal itself with rest and fluids along with chiropractic adjustments that remove pressure from the nervous system. Unless there is an extreme elevation in body temperature, and depending on other symptoms, allowing your body to heal itself naturally helps your immune system build the resistance it needs to keep you healthy and fight infections more effectively.

Consider the case for “referred pain.” This means you can feel a symptom in one part of your body while the cause or the origin of that pain is somewhere else. For example, very often the cause of arm, hand or finger pain is in the neck. Leg and foot pain will often originate from a problem in the back. Problems with the gallbladder will often refer pain to the spinal nerve roots in the middle part of the spine and vice versa.

Because chiropractic works to restore health and vitality to the nervous system, we are always amazed at how the entire body often becomes free of symptoms through our work with the spine. Since nerves control every cell, tissue and organ of your body, problems in the nervous system can cause or mimic nearly any and every symptom imaginable.

It is very common to hear our practice members say things like “I know I came because my neck hurt, and my allergies and headaches are gone too.” or “I didn’t even tell you about my menstrual cramping but since I’ve been getting adjusted, my cramps have been reduced dramatically.” or “I sleep so much better since beginning my care.”

The list goes on and on. Isn’t it time you stop chasing symptoms and get to the cause? You will enjoy a much healthier life when you do.

References:
1 Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/features/getsmartGet Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work: Dangers of Antibiotic Resistance

2 Birnbaum D, Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance. Antimicrobial resistance: A deadly burden no country can afford to ignore. Can Commun Dis Rep. 2003 Sep 15;29(18):157-64.

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

Learning From Symptoms

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There’s a lot we can learn from symptoms. If you have been suffering from symptoms for any length of time, I’m sure you are tired of the learning process. However, the more you learn about them, the better you are able to make choices that get your body functioning at a higher level of health.

Lesson 1: Symptoms don’t always mean your body is broken. If you have ever had food poisoning for example, you know that the symptoms are extremely unpleasant and can cause incredible discomfort. When your body is working properly, it responds by violently eliminating the toxins as quickly as possible through the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting. This is an example of symptoms that occur in a person whose body is working properly.

Fever is another example. The ideal temperature that bacteria enjoy is 98.6 degrees, which we all know is the normal body temperature. However, when we are under a lot of stress, over exposed to toxins in the environment or bacteria, the body will cause the symptom of raising its temperature to fight off the infection. This is another sign that the body is working the way it is supposed to.

Lesson 2: Symptoms can notify you of an area of your body that’s been injured. Injuries can occur in an area of the body that can cause you to feel it differently than normal. Pain in your back, neck, arm or leg can indicate that you have been injured. If the injury is not related to an underlying condition, like a cut or a bruise, the body’s self-healing, Innate Intelligence goes to work and within a few days or weeks, the symptoms usually disappear.

Lesson 3: Symptoms can notify you of an underlying condition, but not always. Waiting for symptoms to present before taking care of yourself is not a good idea. Underlying conditions can range in severity and variety, and absolutely must be addressed whether there are symptoms present or not.

Lesson 4: Treating symptoms with drugs can make you feel better while worsening the underlying cause. This is often true with people who take pain medication on an ongoing basis without addressing the cause of the pain. It’s also true for people who take ulcer medicine to alleviate their stomach pain while not addressing the ulcer’s cause. Athletes who take shots so they can feel better for the game run the risk of doing more severe damage to their body. People who get adjustments often feel better quickly, which may be great for today but the underlying subluxation still needs to be addressed.

Lesson 5: True health care is not about treating symptoms. Webster’s defines health as “the condition of an organism with respect to the performance of its vital functions.” To be truly healthy, your focus should be primarily on how your body is functioning rather than just how it feels. When you understand this approach, the health of your nervous system becomes your top priority.

The purpose of your nervous system is to control and coordinate the function of every cell, tissue and organ of your body, and adapt you to your environment.

Chiropractic examinations are essential to a healthy nervous system. They can reveal underlying problems in your spine that can lead to all types of health problems. Additionally, having good posture, getting plenty of rest, eating nourishing foods and exercising can also keep your nervous system healthy.

Don’t wait until you feel symptoms to get checked. Make Chiropractic Lifestyle Care a part of your “Lessons Learned” and enjoy a great quality of life to 80, 90, 100 years and beyond.

Treating Symptoms and Conditions

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Every day we turn on the television or read an article online to find out there is a new treatment for our condition. The list of treatments that temporarily alleviate the uncomfortable symptoms we are feeling such as back pain, neck pain, headaches, stomach aches, fever, skin rashes, etc. is endless.

While these treatments may help us feel better in the moment, all too often the symptoms return right after the treatment is stopped. Many people are told they must take a medication forever, yet over time their body adapts to the medication and the uncomfortable symptoms return with a list of serious and life changing side effects that can even be worse than the original problem.

What if you began to look at your symptoms and conditions in a different light and took a different approach? What if your body is trying to tell you that it’s time to resolve the underlying cause of your symptoms and empower your body to heal itself?

When you are ready to address the cause of your condition, it is wise and effective to look to the master control system of the body first, the central nerve system.

Your central nerve system controls and coordinates every function of the human body, including every organ, tissue, and cell. It is essential that your nerve system communicates properly with the body to promote healing, ensure health and adapt you to the environment. Whether it’s digesting your lunch, getting rid of a seasonal cold, or reaching your fitness goals, your central nerve system must be on the job and functioning at optimum levels.

Dr. Irvin Korr holds a PhD in Neurophysiology and dedicated five decades of his life to understanding the central nerve system. Dr. Korr found that areas of the spine not properly functioning create interference in the central nerve system. This interference caused decreased immunity and malfunctions in digestion, infertility, focus, attention, and energy.

Too many people, and healthcare providers for that matter, address symptoms without taking a deeper look at the cause of your problem. We understand and use a state of the art approach to address the function of your nerve system.

If you have a nagging symptom, chronic condition, or are looking to improve your health and reach peak performance levels, today is the day to make an appointment for a chiropractic evaluation. And when you do, don’t just take the symptom treatment approach. Make the Critical Transition to Lifestyle Care so you can begin living your best life every day instead of wondering how your symptoms will disrupt your life down the road.

If someone you know is struggling with unresolved symptoms and they are ready for a more permanent solution, refer them to us. We’d be happy to meet with them and discuss how chiropractic may help them heal and live their ideal 100 Year Lifestyle too!

Contributed by David Lutz, DC and Dr. Eric Plasker

Explaining Unexplainable Health Problems

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Unexplainable health problems can be very frustrating. Often times, the answers can be traced back to your childhood.

Think about this! How many times a day do young children fall? According to Introduction to Infant Development, fourteen-month-old toddlers can fall an average of fifteen times per hour while playing, up to 100 times a day.

These cumulative and repetitive bumps on the bottom can cause problems in the spine and nervous system that alter development, posture and the function of the nervous system contributing to unexplainable health problems immediately and down the road. Similar problems can be caused by birth trauma, poor sleep patterns, smart phones and sports injuries, as well as chemical and emotional stress.

In fact, “Medically Unknown Symptoms” [MUS] is a common term used to explain many unexplainable symptoms such as pain, irritable bowel, non-cardiac chest pain and fibromyalgia for which there are no medical examination findings [Hatcher, S, Arrol B. Assessment and management of medically unexplained symptoms. BMJ 2008; 336:1124].

Some studies have even found the prevalence of MUS to be in the range 25 to 75 percent [Smith RC, Dwamena FC. Classification and diagnosis of patients with medically unexplained symptoms. J Gen Intern Med 2007; 22:685].

Explaining the Unexplainable

The nervous system controls and coordinates the function of every cell, tissue and organ of the body, and adapts you to your environment. Injuries to a child’s spine and nervous system can be subtle and are often missed during traditional medical examinations. The symptoms can mimic the most common childhood diagnoses such as ear infections, colic, allergies and growing pains, or they can lie dormant and asymptomatic for decades leading to decay and deterioration down the road.

While toddlers are young and flexible, the sheer quantity and variety of these microtraumas can injure the spine and nervous system causing uneven growth and developmental patterns that lead to lifelong problems and unhealthy aging.

Chiropractic examinations can uniquely assess the health of your child’s spine and nervous system and, in many cases, explain the unexplainable. Every person should have one regardless of their age.

These non-invasive evaluations can determine alignment, locate inflammation and identify nervous system pressure, dysfunction, imbalance and interference that can affect a child’s health, development and emotions, as well as their ability to focus and function normally.

Immediate and long-term solutions to unexplainable health concerns may be more readily available than you think. If you are an adult with unexplainable health problems, chances are that your childhood may be catching up with you today.

Avoiding unexplainable health problems with Lifestyle Care is an even better, more proactive approach. Don’t wait for a crisis to force you to act. Schedule your examination today.