Chiropractic and Blood Pressure

A recent study has just shown how a specific chiropractic treatment can help reduce blood pressure. WebMD did a great article on it.

Click to access WebMD.pdf

You can also view the Good Morning America, GMA, clip on youtube.com.

The specific type of chiropractic treatment that was used in this study is called NUCCA. NUCCA stands for National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association. This treatment specifically addresses the top vertebra in the neck, which is called C1 or the first cervical vertebra, and is positioned at the base of the skull. X-rays are used to determine the exact position of C1 and where the best position of C1 should be to balance the head over the body. There are many nerves, especially the end of the brain stem and start of the spinal cord, as well as many blood vessels passing through C1. The idea is when the C1 area is balanced, the blood flow and nerve pathways through and around C1 are optimized and working properly. Chiropractors call this being at ease. This ease or relaxed state allows the nerve signals or messages and blood flow to get to the brain without interference. The body needs a certain amount of blood pressure in the blood vessels of the body and especially in the blood vessels of the brain in order to get nutrients and oxygen to cells. The brain has sensors throughout the body to make sure the brain and body get what they need through the blood flow of the body. If the body is not getting enough oxygen to the brain, then there are processes in the body that can increase the blood pressure so the brain can get what it needs. The problem being a blood vessel only has so much strength and if your blood pressure gets too high, worst case scenario, a blood vessel can burst. If a burst vessel happens in the brain it is called a stroke. If the C1 is in the wrong position and causing pressure in the base of the skull, the brain must raise the blood pressure to get what it needs. When the C1 is in the right position, the blood pressure doesn’t need to be as high to get nutrients and oxygen to the brain.
So, don’t throw out your blood pressure medications just yet. People who are on blood pressure medications need to be taken off of them slowly and a person’s blood pressure must be monitored consistently to make sure the blood pressure stays in the normal range. Changes in the body take time and may need a period of transition to stabilize.

This is a great study to show how chiropractic can influence many aspects of health. I saw a great chiropractic shirt the other day saying,”Health – now available without a prescription.” Chiropractic and Blood Pressure, great job NUCCA.

Taking out the Trash!

Have you ever detoxified your body? It’s not fun, but you feel better afterward. Generally, the body will detoxify itself eventually. Kind of like having a hangover the day after drinking. Eventually you feel better. There are many types of toxins though. The problem is the body can’t get rid of them all and most of the time there is an accumulation or backlog of toxins in everyone. So, to help with the process there are many different methods. There is the clean each organ method, ie. colon, liver, kidneys. This method is the least expensive, but it can take a lot of time and effort. There are herbal recipes to clean out each organ. The idea is to clean from the outside in so, colon, liver, kidneys, in that order. Another consideration is timing. Sometimes cleansing slowly is the best method. Too fast can make you feel ill, like the hangover thing. The next method is fasting. No eating or just drinking juice for 5 to 10 days. This method is the most challenging. When was the last time you missed a meal? The idea is that if the body is not processing your food then it is cleaning house. From what I’ve read, it takes at least 72 hours to get to the point where your body is starting to process the wastes that have accumalated in the body, in other words,”taking out the trash.” You can also get help from a therapist. Colon Hydrotherapy treatments along with a soft food diet including colon cleansing drinks can detoxify you in as little as 10 days, but it can cost $1000. If you have silver amalgam fillings in your teeth, your body likely has an accumulation of mercury or heavy metals in the cells of your body. To detoxify heavy metals you need to bring out the power tools, just kidding. It does require some more extensive treatment though. Chelation is one method of detoxifying heavy metals. Contact your closest natural medical doctor for this one, an HMD or OMD possibly. If you want to make a go at it yourself, there is a company called Kelatox that has a great product. It takes at least 30 chelation treatments or at least 90 days of the Kelatox product to eliminate heavy metals from your body. Good luck! Taking out the trash can bring about more energy and clarity into your life. It takes some time but, you won’t be sorry.

Not tonight I have a headache

Someone asked me what causes headaches. Depends on what kind of headache. There are six common kinds 1)vascular, 2)cervicogenic, 3)hormonal, 4)toxic, 5)traumatic, and 6)sinus. 1)Vascular headaches, meaning they have to do with the blood vessels or blood pressure within the vessels, are the migraine or cluster type. Vascular headaches are sharp or pounding usually on one side of the head. This is caused by the blood vessels inability to expand and contract properly. Vascular headaches can be triggered by many things like allergies, stress, or misalignment. 2) Cervicogenic, meaning originating from the neck, are what I see a lot. This is what causes tension headaches, in my opinion. The neck becomes more unbalanced with misalignment, stress, or injury. This unbalance causes asymmetric muscle tension where the neck is tighter on one side compared to the other. The tight side is working much harder than the relaxed side which creates pain and discontent. The body is meant to be symmetric with equal tension on both sides. 3) Hormonal headaches occur more often in women. The pain is usually in the back of the head. Chiropractic can help with these, but it always best to be checked for estrogen/progesterone/testosterone/cortisol imbalances. 4)Toxic headaches are the ones that feel like a hangover. Toxicity can come from your kidneys, your liver, your colon, or anywhere that your body accumulates toxins. Toxins include chemicals, heavy metals, food material stuck in your colon, or anything that accumulates in your body that isn’t being used or can’t get out. 5) Traumatic headaches are caused by a blow to the head or even a whiplash injury. A person may have a mild concussion from an injury. This is where the brain has hit the inside of the skull and is bruised. Concussions can cause a headache but, also include difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and memory loss. This is also called a MTBI, mild traumatic brain injury. 6) Sinus headaches are caused by colds or allergies. The pain is usually behind both eyebrows or in the cheek bones, and can also cause your teeth to ache.  Headaches can take a lot of energy. Don’t let headaches get you down. Chiropractic can benefit all types of headaches. It helped me.

What The?

Have you ever had one of those pains. You know what I mean. The ones that might go away if you wait long enough. I saw a quote the other day. The five most dangerous words, “It will probably go away.” People get pain for many reasons. If you think you have enough awareness in your body to determine whether the pain is not bad, beware. If you have a sudden shooting pain you are in trouble, so get it checked out. If you have a gradually increasing pain, get it checked out. If you have a pain that you have never had before, get it checked out. Most of the pain that can be ignored comes from having done more physical work than you are accustomed to, Weekend warriors and Home Improvers you know who you are. If the pain comes with movement it is most likely a muscle, tendon, or ligament strain/sprain. Use ice or heat and your favorite over the counter pain-reliever or anti-inflammatory. If you have pain without movement you better get it checked out. Evaluate whether it is getting worse or better and rate the pain from 0-10 with 0 being no pain and 10 being screaming. Anything above a 5 get it checked out immediately, anything under a 5 for more than a few days get it checked out. Remember pain is sending your body a message. Don’t try to suppress it if it is getting worse find out what’s wrong. What The?

The Shoulder

Yep! We are talking about the joint where your arm attaches to your body not the non-verbal communication someone gives you when they are mad at you. Did you know there are 50 different muscles that attach the shoulder girdle to the torso. This makes for a complicated mechanical system. That’s why it is imperative to have all the bones that make up the arm, shoulder girdle, and neck be in the right alignment or proper groove for motion. The arm can move in multiple combinations of front, back, out, in, rotating out, and rotating in. If the joint is out of alignment one area of muscles may be working harder than another area which will cause soreness. The muscles around the shoulder that you probably have heard of are the rotator-cuff muscles. The rotator cuff muscles attach the upper arm to the socket on the side of the scapula (shoulder-blade). If you can’t move your arm in a certain direction then it is most likely caused by a damaged rotator-cuff muscle. If you have just done something you don’t normally do, ie. painting, hammering, swimming, or any other forms of swinging your arm with something in your hand, and now you have some pain, this may be overuse. If you have fallen on your shoulder and it is not moving right or pain is there even without movement there may be some joint damage. Either situation can be helped with chiropractic. At least a proper evaluation would be in order. If the pain is so extreme 10 out of 10, then there may be a fracture. Get it checked at the ER.

The Knees Have It

You ever wonder if your knees have it? Is pain in the knees or is knee pain a secondary thing which is being created from something else? Well, knowing the history and stresses of your knees, evaluating your posture and movement, evaluating x-rays or an MRI of a knee, as well as the positioning of your pelvis and low-back would be the best way to start determining where the pain is coming from. The knee joint is comprised of the ends of the femur and tibia coming together. The anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments connect the femur and tibia in the interior or middle of the joint and the collateral ligaments on the inside and outside of the knee, also called medial and lateral.
There are also meniscus pads located inside the knee joint that the femur literally rides on when in contact with the tibia. Each of these structures can cause pain if damaged. If there is stress on these structures caused by an imbalance in the body at the knee, or in the pelvis, or low back you can get pain as well. Start by getting checked by a chiropractor. They’ll let you know if your knees have it.

Walking in Circles

People always tell me they have a short leg. I say, “have you broken one of them?” Usually the reply is no. There is no reason to have a short leg unless you have broken or fractured a leg and it didn’t heal at the same length. Of course there are congenital reasons or things you are born with, but they are rare. When a person lays down on the table with their face down you can usually see a leg length difference. Does everyone have a short leg? No! The key is to bend the legs at the knee and see if the leg stays short or becomes longer. This tells me there is a rotation occurring in the pelvis, causing the legs to be different lengths. I once treated a guy who had one leg at least an inch short. I asked him if he walks in circles all the time. After I corrected his pelvis his legs were even and they stayed even after about four treatments. The only complaint he had was that he had to pay a tailor to hem all of his suit pants since one leg was short on every pair.
So, if you are walking in circles you’ll come to the same conclusion, get your pelvis adjusted.

It’s the fiddler

“An old advocate of golf, the late Harvey Pennick, once said, ‘It’s not the fiddle, it’s the fiddler,'” To put it another way, sports enthusiasts spend thousands of dollars for the best equipment and read or learn about how to improve form and function in there sport. The problem is there is rampant neglect of the most important piece of equipment, the human body. There is a missing link that more athletes are becoming aware of, body function is closely related to body symmetry and incremental movement of each joint in the body.

If the symmetry of the body is altered or the joints in the body are not moving like they are supposed to, you are more prone to injuries and joint damage. An analogy would be the alignment of your car’s tires that when misaligned will wear out quickly. In the body, muscle usage is supposed to be as symmetric as possible and both sides of the body must do their share of the work. If there is a difference in strength of one side of the back compared to the other or one arm/one leg compared to the other, you are setting yourself up for injury on the most used side. Somebody is not doing their share of the work! So, how can we correct this situation? Through chiropractic adjustments, stretching and specific types of strength training you can get your body back to symmetry and on the top of form and function. Remember, look to your most important piece of equipment , the fiddler, to make the most improvement in your sport.

6 serious chiropractic symptoms

There are many feelings you might experience throughout the day. Some are questionable feelings that could indicate that there is something wrong with your body’s structure. Here are six examples of when you are due for an adjustment.

1. PAIN. Pain while doing something you normally do. The area of pain is not always the area of the problem.

2. Numbness. Numbness occurs if there is compression on a nerve.

3. Weakness. Weakness usually comes after numbness. Unless you have injured some of your muscle tissue, you could be experiencing a prolonged nerve compression.

4. Range of Motion Limited. If you can’t move at your waist equally in opposite directions or move your head equally in opposite directions.

5. Soreness on ONE side. If you experience soreness on one side consistently after a workout or even while walking or sitting.(ie. one leg or one arm.)

6. Low Energy: If you just don’t feel right or your energy level is feeling lower than usual at the end of the day.