Tag: Chiropractic

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Be Your Own Guru

When it comes to your health and happiness, YOU know best.

We often forget this especially when it come to our health – turning to every expert we can to find the answers. But remember, we are all born with an innate ability to heal. In fact, that’s what chiropractic was founded on back in 1895 – the idea that your body needs no help, just no interference to it’s own healing ability. In short, that we all are designed to function, heal and re-create from the inside out.

Today that interference comes from many sources: external stressors (physical, chemical, emotional), poor nutrition, lack of movement, environmental toxins to name a few.

So what can you do? Look at all aspects of your lifestyle.

Are you getting enough sleep? Is your work fulfilling and do you have time to relax, or are you stressed out and overworked the majority of the time? What foods may be causing an imbalance? Are you moving your body enough each day or are you sedentary for endless hours?

You’ll be surprised at how quickly you can diagnose yourself and prescribe positive changes that will lead you towards optimal health.

Nowadays, there are so many books and blogs and supplements. Too often we get caught up in rules and restrictions that leave us unable to follow our own body’s wisdom. Teachers, guides, mentors, they’ve all got value – so yes – by all means, focus on the teachings – but not so much the teacher.

At True Health – we want you at your best. Engage with us (read our blog, like our facebook page / instagram page /twitter page for health tips and articles) and we will walk you down the path to your best life. It is only getting better and better.

And remember, the greatest guru is your inner self.

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Healing Takes Time

With time comes progress, even if it doesn’t feel like it sometimes.

And the truth is, healing — change of any kind — isn’t linear. Whether it’s quitting smoking, starting an exercise routine, or leaving a toxic job or relationship, positive transitions are full of setbacks. Physical healing is no different.

Sometimes, a setback happens because of something external – as in something happens to re-aggravate an injury or condition. Often times patients will rush the healing process and do too much, too soon. But it’s also an inherent and important part of the healing process itself. We often see healing occur in alternating cycles of repair and recovery, and it’s common to see symptoms flare up during these cycles.

Occasional visits back to the old pattern are actually a normal and important part of healing that helps solidify the new, healthier pattern. Reversing structural abnormalities using specific customized chiropractic care gets to the underlying cause of many conditions – but it also takes time.

It’s also really important how you handle setbacks. 

Take this as a time to step back and focus on you. Often times when we begin to get better we forget about self care. Let’s remember that true health isn’t just by design – it’s also by choice. Caring for your adjustment is not just your chiropractor’s job. You, too, need to take responsibility and do what you can to maintain the adjustments you receive. Doing so will help expedite the spine’s retraining process, but it’s also just good practice for your body.

After all, a backbone and spinal cord that are in the proper position provide optimal performance for your entire body, enabling you to live a healthy, happy, pain-free and productive lifestyle.

Take note of what might have triggered the setback, so that you can understand and avoid what may aggravate your condition. In addition, sometimes when symptoms are milder and more intermittent, it’s easier to notice what provides some relief. Put that in your set of tools for the future, so you can continue learning how to recover more quickly and completely when you do have setbacks.

This is also a good time to keep the lines of communication open with your health care provider. Together, we might decide together to change your care or increase frequency for a while, to support your healing. Often a visit at the first sign of a flare-up can help stop you from going all the way down that path again.

Keep in mind, it’s only a matter of time before your body begins healing properly and true health and vitality can be achieved. Once the foundation has been fixed, then we’ll teach you how to keep it that way through customized recommendations designed for your spine, so the problem does not come back.

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What We Don’t Do

There is a lot of confusion when it comes to what it is that Chiropractors do in their offices, which is mostly the fault of the profession not doing a great job educating the public. Because of that – we often have patients assume we do something at True Health that couldn’t be further from the truth.

With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of things we don’t do at True Health Chiropractic (and like Steve Jobs, we’re proud of it):

Have You Sign a Contract

You will never have to sign a contract when you come to our office – why would you? The last time I checked, your health was up to you.

You should receive customized chiropractic care based on YOUR individual needs. This way, you have a direction where you are going, a time frame to achieve your results, and all the costs associated with your care.

Everyone is unique and has different issues affecting their care, which is why a cookie cutter approach doesn’t work. Sometimes people respond right away or may be longer depending on how long the cause has been there. Every patient does not need a 1 year care plan, nor do they all need to be seen 3x/week, then 2x/week, etc..

Use Physical Therapy Modalities

Although chiropractic school taught us how to utilize physical therapy modalities I can honestly tell you that I don’t even remember how to operate one. Furthermore, I respect the physical therapy profession enough that I’d be stepping on their toes by providing physiotherapy services that I wouldn’t even perform well. Instead, I like to focus on what I know – structural correction.

However, we do understand the importance of protecting and stabilizing  the spine – and exercises may be recommended to increase strength, flexibility, and balance, and to improve structure.

Push Supplements

While we may occasionally recommend a nutritional supplement to get you the best results in the quickest amount of time – be wary of an office that “pushes” products on you – especially ones that utilizes multi-level marketing and/or want you to sign up with their company. In fact, the products offered in our office are the same ones that are used by Dr. Braglia himself and/or by his family.

Badmouth Medicine

Working collaboratively with other healthcare providers for the benefit of the patient is enriching for both the patient as well as practitioners. Our own work is often done in concert with pediatricians, midwives, surgeons, naturopaths and physical therapists.

This team approach offers patients an opportunity to get a second opinion as well as provide a different set of eyes in case there are other structural problems that need to be addressed. In addition, there are times when the issue is not a chiropractic one, and in those cases we would refer you elsewhere instead of waste your time and money by having you continue care.

See You as a Number

Are you a number or a patient? It doesn’t take long to figure this one out. Are you rushed through your appointment without the time to address questions or concerns? At True Health – we routinely monitor your progress and ask for feedback. Progress assessments give the doctor feedback as to how you are progressing and allow the doctor to adapt your care plan to how you are responding.

Tell You to Come Forever

The goal we have for each and every patient that begins care in our office is to get them to the point where they don’t need an adjustment. After all, and adjustment is such a powerful procedure when done correctly – but can delay someone’s healing if not done properly or is done too often. Following your initial phase of care, we offer recommendations to protect the investment you’ve made – but it’s up to you to continue care.

We Don’t Guess

An initial history and examination are great, and will help the doctor to form an understanding of what is going on, but it doesn’t allow you to see everything. Objective tests help monitor your care and specifically identify areas of concern. These can include spinal analysis, postural assessment, digital neuromyographic scan, and structural radiographs. These tests allow us to identify any damage, the degree of damage, and any underlying structural changes that need addressing.

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From Birth and Beyond

 

In today’s world of infant carriers, sitting for hours at school, hunched forward on tablets and cell phones, television watching and driving in cars, kids are breaking down their spines faster than ever.

Postural patterns can begin in the womb, especially towards the end of pregnancy when there is less space to move. This reveals itself in the way a baby may keep their head turned, or legs crossed one way. If left uncorrected, this can turned into a stuck or locked posture. However, if we can correct these learned patterns at a young age it requires much less time and effort to make a change. When a child is only months old as opposed to years – we do not see the muscle memory and learned behaviors/postures that work against what we do in the office. This means that something that would take 3-4 months to correct on a 10 year old could potentially be corrected in 3-4 weeks on a 10 month old. Sounds better, right?

In addition, when there is strain, tension, pulling and stress placed on the child’s head and neck during the birth process, it very commonly leads to a structural shift in the spine. This will often times lead to secondary conditions (colic, constipation, difficulty feeding) that we see resolve when these misalignments are corrected in infants.

We’ve talked previously about the safety of chiropractic care (A 2011 literature review found that no serious adverse events have been reported in the scientific literature in the last 20 years) – given the research, it’s quite reasonable to conclude that modern pediatric chiropractic care is safe. But does it work?

Data from the ICPA’s ground breaking study, The Safety and Effectiveness of Pediatric Chiropractic: A Survey of Chiropractors and Parents in a Practice-Based Research Network, was recently published  in the biomedical journal, Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing. The most common reasons for parents seeking symptom relief care were muscles conditions, ear, nose, and throat, respiratory and digestive disorders. Both parents and doctors indicated a high rate of improvement with respect to the children’s presenting complaints. In addition to these improvements, respondents reported better sleeping patterns, improvements in behavior and, improved immune system function while under chiropractic care.

In our office, kids who get adjusted tend to be more comfortable, have stronger immune systems, and reach developmental milestones appropriately…and they love getting adjusted.

As a reminder, those who receive advanced training and are active members of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) are the most qualified to examine and care for children and pregnant patients. NOT all chiropractors adjust kids (nor should they). If you need help finding a chiropractor in your area, check http://icpa4kids.org/Find-a-Chiropractor/

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Does Common = Normal?

When it comes to health, what has become “normal” in our society is not necessarily the way our body is intended to be. Let’s face it – the world is getting sicker. Many people neglect their health, paying attention to it only when their symptoms become unmanageable. By then, problems can become severe, often becoming irreversible.

All you have to do is look around on your next shopping trip and you’ll see people are more overweight, diseased, and stressed out than ever before. I encounter people on a daily basis whose health is suffering in one way or another, and whose quality of life is suffering due to sickness. Somehow, this commonality has altered our belief of what is normal; we have forgotten that healthy is “normal”.

We have to realize that no one is coming to save us – this is our life, our responsibility. We are the product of our lifestyle choices. As you’ve heard me say time and time again, we are designed to heal – that is our default state. However, due to our current nutrition, movement (or lack thereof) and alignment habits – we’re seeing a huge increase in certain ailments (headaches, forward head posture, poor digestion, etc…).

Pain is not normal. Headaches are not normal. Poor posture, poor digestion, difficulty sleeping are not normal.

The main reason to understand that these things are common but not normal is so that you can get help. If we see them as normal, that infers that we need to suck it up and live with it. When we understand that it is common, but not at all optimal functionally, we can then decide to do something about it.

So, what can you do about it?

Your spine is the foundation of your body, and all of the organs, muscles, and connective tissue are built around it. Therefore, it is easy to understand the critical nature of maintaining structural alignment throughout your life. That is why I sometimes sound like a broken record, constantly suggesting preventive and wellness visits, instead of coming in only when pain is present. I realize that not everyone can afford to due that (side note: as we’ve discussed before – Chiropractic saves you money in the long term.)

Normal structural alignment coupled with a healthy lifestyle means that body is the best it can be to perform optimally. So, at True Health we we focus on the relationship between the nervous system and the spine, as we as incorporating practical help and education about “how we live, how we work, what we eat” and how we exercise. That’s prevention, pure and simple.

It is time to begin expecting health.