Tag: Health care

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What is True Health?

Have you ever thought about what True Health means to you and your family? What is your definition of True Health? Dorland’s Medical Dictionary states that True Health is a state of optimal physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease. In other words, health is not limited to how you feel, but rather refers to your level of function and performance as a whole individual.

In simple terms, the premise of chiropractic is that, if the body’s frame is in alignment, then the nervous system – the brain, spinal cord and the millions of nerves extending throughout the body – can function at its best. And the nervous system, medical science now readily admits, is the master controller of all other bodily organs and systems. Having known that since 1895, chiropractors have always had a holistic approach to health care.

As Peter Senge, the leading exponent of systems thinking, says about the “crisis state” of today’s health care: “The need in health care is very simple. We need to think about health. Health is a systemic phenomenon. What makes you or me healthy is not just what diseases pop up. We need to think about the totality of health – how we live, how we work, what we eat, it’s our exercise – the totality of how we live.”

Chiropractic care views all areas of life as equal contributors to promoting or detracting from optimal health. So, we incorporate practical help and education about “how we live, how we work, what we eat” and how we exercise. Spinal alignment coupled with a healthy lifestyle means that body is the best it can be to throw off potential illness. That’s prevention, pure and simple. But that optimum condition of the body also means the best chance for optimum development – in the mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of our lives. The chiropractic perspective even heightens a person’s awareness of the critical importance of environmental health because if the environment is sick – we will be too.

In short, chiropractic offers the systemic, holistic, broad-view approach that facilitates getting better, staying well and realizing one’s full potential in life. Now that’s True Health.

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True Health Insurance

Are you one serious illness away from bankruptcy? Many are.

Those of us with “health” insurance policies think we’re protected from the burden of huge medical bills. You may be surprised to learn that’s just not true. In a Harvard University study of almost 2,000 Americans in bankruptcy court, half said that illness or medical bills drove them to bankruptcy. Every 30 seconds in the United States, someone files for bankruptcy because of a serious health problem. Surprisingly, more than 75 percent of those filing for bankruptcy had insurance, losing their coverage during the course of their illness. Thus, they face the double disaster of illness and bankruptcy.

“If you’re sick enough, long enough, you’re likely to be financially ruined,” cautioned Dr. David Himmelstein the lead author of the Harvard study.

Bankruptcy is increasingly accompanying serious health problems. In fact, people who go under from medical debt are mostly middle-class or working-class people who own their own homes. The solution? Don’t get sick, of course. But how?

Keep in mind, health is our normal, natural state. Many people neglect their health, paying attention to it only when their symptoms become unmanageable. By then, problems can become severe, often becoming irreversible. 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.

This is not simply my opinion. As we’ve discussed before – Chiropractic saves you money in the long term. A 7 year study conducted by an independent physician association found that patients’ regular utilization of chiropractic care reduced the need for: hospitilization by 60%, hospital days by 59%,pharmaceutical usage by 85%, outpatient surgeries & procedures by 62%, and overall global health care costs by 50%.

Visiting our office when you’re feeling great, may sound a little strange to your health insurance provider. It may even sound strange to you. But preventive measures may actually provide more “insurance” than your insurance.

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Check the Neck

What does the research say about Chiropractic care and neck pain? Lets find out:

“Neck pain is often caused by mechanical disorders associated with gradual changes due to aging, or strain of the neck or arms. Pain can be localized to the cervical spine or may radiate down an arm.”

– D. Borenstein, MD & American College of Rheumatology (2006)

“A seven-year study found (chiropractic) neck adjustments to be a better choice for managing most common neck pain than many current practices. Also included in the short-list of options for relief were massage, exercise, education and neck mobilization.”

– The Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders, Spine. (2008)

“Chiropractic care is better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics. Even a year later, there were differences between the chiropractic adjustments and medication groups.”

– Gert Bronfort, MD & The Annals of Internal Medicine (2012)

You see, if the body’s frame is in alignment, then the nervous system – the brain, spinal cord and the millions of nerves extending throughout the body – can function at its best. This postural balance leads to better body-weight distribution which improves the position of internal organs and helps protect those structures that stabilize the spine. This leads to you having more energy to think, function, heal and maintain yourself. Oh, and it will help your neck pain.

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Breastfeeding Is ‘Health, Not Lifestyle’ Choice

New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics presented in the March 2012 issue of the journal Pediatrics say that every infant should begin life with six months of exclusive breastfeeding, followed by a minimum of another six months with other foods being gradually added to the child’s diet.

“Recently, published evidence-based studies have confirmed and quantitated the risks of not breastfeeding,” the authors stated.

“Thus, infant feeding should not be considered as a lifestyle choice, but rather as a basic health issue. As such, the pediatrician’s role in advocating and supporting proper breastfeeding practices is essential and vital for the achievement of this preferred public health goal.”

Estimates have suggested that more than 900 infant deaths per year in the United States could be prevented if 90% of mothers breastfeed exclusively for six months, the authors wrote. Other positive outcomes linked to breastfeeding include: Continue reading “Breastfeeding Is ‘Health, Not Lifestyle’ Choice”

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“You Can Heal It, We Can Help…”

The Home Depot attributes its success and growth (nearly 2,000 stores in the US, Canada and Mexico) to one simple concept…INDEPENDENCE. Their motto, “You can build it, we can help” celebrates that spirit. They’ve discovered when given the choice to pay someone to do a project or to just ‘do it yourself’ many people choose the latter because of the sense of accomplishment, satisfaction and pride they from completing the job themselves. Not to mention, saving some money in the process!

Our principled, chiropractic philosophy inherently shares the same concept.

True Health comes from the inside out. When given the choice to have a doctor heal you with drugs or surgery from the outside or to ‘heal it yourself’ from the inside, most people would rather choose INDEPENDENCE and heal on their own. When we tell our patients, ‘you can heal it, we can help’ we connect with an, innate truthful understanding that healing is a do-it-yourself job and all we do as chiropractors is open the lines of communication to help get you well. Plus, you can save a lot of money in the process!