Health Chat

Fear of Chiropractic &That Cracking Sound

2011-03-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

      Today I want to address some of the issues of why many people don't try chiropractic therapy or continue chiropractic treatment when they need it. Naturally, most people do have a healthy aversion to someone else putting their hands around their neck.   It requires a lot of trust.   It doesn't help either when we see action moviestars, these big guys, who kill people by quickly twisting, cracking and breaking their necks. ( It is really not as easy as they make it look. Not that I have tried.) We do, however, see them crack their own neck to loosen up before they get ready to fight and kick some ass. But those guys are usually pretty self destructive, right?
      Then the there is the issue of having one's " bones cracked " or joints "popped". We are told in childhood by our our moms, "don't pop your knuckles they will get big and cause you to get arthritis when you're older." After all who do we trust more, our moms or a bone cracker?
     Some think that it "just isn't natural" to have your bones moved, cracked or popped. That the spine will get injured. Yet most of us play harder and cause more stress to the spine than what a normal chiropractic adjustment delivers. We seem to think that, as we get older we get stiffer and get arthritis. My question is, is That normal? To age, yes, but how fast and how much aging is normal? When is it natural to lose normal range of motion, ROM. The ability to, turn your head and twist the spine to look behind you, stride evenly when walking, or bend down to pick up your shoes without restriction or pain, is natural. When you either suddenly or over time start to have restriction and shortening of these ranges, it is not normal. It happens because the joint spaces have compressed and locked down. When the spine or other joints stay this way for very long it causes inflammation and chronic inflammation leads to arthritis. That leads to premature aging and degeneration. The leading minds in preventative medicine now believe that 80-90% of the major diseases are caused by inflammation. So inflammation can have a great impact on overall health.    Though not the only cause of inflammation, it contributes to the overallburden on the body contributing to overall aging .

When a Chiropractic adjustment is done correctly it releases the locked down restrictions. Immediately enhancing nerve function previously limited due to immobility. The adjustment opens the joint making more space for movement and fluid flow. In the process gas releases from the fluid in the joint due to pressure changes. That is the "popping " sound. Also, endorphins are released that add to the relaxing of the soft tissue. Most people notice immediate relief in, improved ROM, decreased pain and increase sense of well being. Some say they even feel taller!

These adjustments are often no less insulting to the body than when your knees pop when you bend down.   Knuckle cracking like your mom warned against, is bad because you are forcing the joint together causing more compression, thus more inflammation. When you turn your head and your neck releases a "pop" it is, releasing naturally, a restriction. This is normal. But when the body gets over extended, as with an accident, fall or too much strain, it can get beyond the ability of the body to integrate, dissipate and otherwise adapt to and handle. That is when pain can start and when help is often needed. The body then has to work harder to do normal daily activities. We will start to feel an increasing soreness and stiffness after doing activities we have been able to previously do without a problem. It makes it more likely that you will injure yourself too. These signs are often dismissed as "getting old."   I have heard this excuse from 23 year olds!!

Sometimes people are afraid that it will hurt to get adjusted especially if something already hurts. I won't lie, it can hurt for a moment but usually just a moment and then you may feel a little sore the next day. This is more common with the first adjustment. And especially if you are really in pain and have been for a while. So it is best if you can, to address these things before they incapacitate. However, massage, rolfing and physical therapies are not without some degree of discomfort and do work for some issues.    However, when the joint is locked down and restricted it is necessary to restore mobility and balance by chiropractic adjustment therapy before these modalities have any lasting effect. Often they work well in-coordination with each other to enhance the therapeutic effect.

I do know that the bottom line often comes down to trust and it should. You should find someone who you are comfortable with, who is knowledgeable and explains your issues to you, takes the time to treat you like they care. Someone that can be thorough and gentle when needed and uses the right amount of finesse to restore function. Someone you can express your concerns to and feel you are being heard. It is common, but I am always surprised when someone who has been in pain for a while and has resigned to it, says that they tried chiropractic and it didn't work for them. When I ask further, it is more often either because they tried it one or two time and the pain was still there, or they had a "bad experience." These "bad experiences" range from being hurt, feeling like a number, too hard sell or they just didn't like the doctor or a combination. This to me is frustrating because these people often don't get the help they need. Maybe try another doctor. All Chiropractors are not the same! Do most people that are unsatisfied with their medical doctor say " well I don't believe in medicine or it didn't work for me because I had a bad experience with one doctor. No, they go in search of another doctor. And yes there are exceptions. Chiropractic doesn't work for everything. But have your issue looked at by a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic before you decide it doesn't. Eight years of professional training in spinal function, structure, bio mechanics and correction give the chiropractor the unique knowledge to assess your issues. And don't let someone else tell you their story of a "bad experience" stop you from getting help.
Sometimes people wait too long and we can't help. But it is the same with medicine. I know I am on the proverbial soap box but all the needless suffering saddens me.
I have helped so many people who have been in pain for years, have their pain gone in just a few visits. I know it works. So don't wait if you feel out of balance, in pain, feel like your getting old before your time or just want to prevent these things.   Do not fear the under dogs are here!! ( Sorry couldn't help myself.) We are trained number one in safety and CORRECTING these issues not just medicating the pain away.

Happy spring and playing!!

www.drbeckylaird.com

How do I know if Chiropractic can help me?

2011-02-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

Your nervous system controls and regulates every cell of your body. It maintains and monitors all processes and actions of every system in your body. When your nervous system doesn’t work right, you don’t work right. And when you don’t work right, you can moreeasily get sick or injured. It is as simple as that.

Nerve compromise can result from postural distortions that are easily revealed with a few simple tests. We’ve simplified them so you can conduct them at home with a minimal amount of time. Naturally, they aren’t a substitute for a professional evaluation!

Simply study the pictures, look at yourself in the mirror or have a friend look for you. You can look for them too!
Neglected, spinal problems may worsen and make correction more difficult and expensive later. Not to mention more painful and stressful!

A great place to begin is to notice postural distortions that show up in the head, neck and shoulders:

Notice if one shoulder is higher than the other or if the head tilts to one side. Both could be indications of the types of problems that respond nicely to chiropractic care.

A common problem is a forward leaning head. Besides a source of fatigue, this is a common sign of neurological compromise in the neck, shoulders and into the arms and wrist. We feel it as tight, sore neck and shoulders because the neck muscles are working harder than they are supposed to when the head is this far forward.

If you find you have these conditions please have an evaluation before the problems become a hindrance to you fully enjoying your life !

the warmest of regards! Dr. B.

Nauseous Neckaches ??

2011-02-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

Good afternoon,

I was going to continue with the GERD info and will later but, I was talking to a client at the office yesterday about blogging. I was saying how I did like it because I had always wanted to have a way of sharing more information with more people. One on one is satisfying but can be repetitious for me and has a limited reach.. Her response was " you should blog about me"! Andwthen she explained why it made sense. She said, in the past she would get chiropractic adjustments for her neck but only when it was really hurting. She said, that this time she had gotten to the point where she was nauseous too and knew it was her neck. And said " that is what brought me here." That and a referral by a good friend of her's. Chiropractic adjustments had not really worked well for her because the adjustments never lasted very long, though they did relieve the pain for a time. As I worked with her I found this very active women was also having her life and activity limited due chronic lower back pain. She initially didn't even mention it because she was resigned to the pain. I explained to her that sometimes adjustments "don't hold" because there may be a past injury to a lower extremity or have a gait deficiency due to foot issues. I went on to tell her that the chronic neck pain leading to nausea could also be due to this process traveling up her spine. The body tries to adapt and find the most balanced posture it can. If the foundation is off then the whole body has to shift to accommodate. It will not stay realigned if the strain from the out of balance foundation is not corrected.
My patient was living on pain medication just to function at work. She loved to play tennis and work in her yard but had been having to refrain or limit these activities for a long time. She never thought she could really improve, to heal her chronic pain. But when we talked yesterday, she said this explanation of how the extremities can influence the success of the treatment process, made her keep coming back once the neck pain was better.

Well I have been working with her for a few months and she is markedly improved. She still has some pain but usually after playing tennis for a few hours or sitting, in her awful work chair for many hours. But she can play and enjoy tennis and yard work more and more with less and less discomfort. And yes, she did have issues with both her knees and one of her ankles. This is why it is sooooo important to have the extremities thoroughly evaluated when you begin a chiropractic regime, especially if the adjustments are not "holding" well. When the body is able to stay in balance it is able to heal. Though pain is often a great motivator, as with any health issue, it is better to correct the imbalance before it progresses to pain. Just as the measure of health is not just the absence of disease, the measure of what I call biomechanical balance is not the absence of pain. Pain arises often after the body has done it's best to adapt to the stresses and strains of imbalance and is now failing .
It is very satisfying to help someone recover their pleasures in life.
thanks for your time!! Hope it has been a great day!

Dr. B.

Why so much Gastric Reflux?

2011-02-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

good morning,

My question, " why is there so much Gastric reflux in the population" or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) is a great place to start this morning. I believe, as many practitioner do, that the digestive system is the foundation of health. When the GI System balance is upset it starts a snow ball type effect toward poor health. Again, in this case there is a lot of conflicting information about causes and treatment.
To answer my question though is to say we are a society that loves to eat but we often don't take the time to eat. We hurry around in our lives and rarely take the time to relax going into our days, during and at the end of our day. At breakfast we are thinking about what we need to do and then off hurrying to work or school. At lunch, we may again not have much time and still be mentally in the middle of what we have been doing. Then at dinner we are tired and often are not able again to decompress before starting the evening meal. All this hurry also leads to poorer choice for meals, fast foods, packaged processed foods, easy and quick to make. Furthermore, not being mentally present while eating leads to overeating which is in and of itself stressful to the digestive tract. These actions when they become habit take their toll on us. Because we are eating under stressed conditions.
Stress and really secondarily food choices, though important, is the most common underlying cause of GERD. Here is how it works. We have 2 parts to our nervous system that function involuntarily. That is we don't have to think about it for it to work, like heart beating, breathing while sleeping, temperature regulation and digestion. The part that is activated while we are stressed is what many people know as the " fight or flight" response. Were the heart and respiration pick up, blood flow is shunted to muscle and brain in preparation for survival action. The blood and stimulation is shunted away from relatively unimportant tasks such as digestion. Thoughts of anything else but immediate survival is secondary. Thus the second part of this involuntary system is dubbed the "feed and breed" part. When we are relaxed feeling less stress, we are in that mode for good digestion. Digestive juices flow and the body is prepared to repair and restore.
When we are eating during stress, the acids we need in our stomachs to digest are not being pumped out in sufficient amounts. Food stays in the stomach until it gets to a stage of digestion where it is ready to move on down the track. It has to reach a acidic pH. If because of stress we don't make enough digestive enzymes the food sits in the stomach until it starts to ferment, until the acids of fermentation reach a high enough acidity to signal it is time to move on. Fermentation takes longer to start and so causes irritation to the upper stomach valve leading to the esophagus. When this valve is irritated it retracts allowing the contents to escape causing reflux. Sometimes this is diagnosed as Gastric Paresis and therefore the cause of GERD. Fermentation is not good, it also causes gas and bloating, gastric irritation and you don't get the nutrients out of your food. It can also lead to constipation and or diarrhea as well. So it is caused by not enough digestive acids not too much stomach acids as over the counter medication ads would have you believe. They show the guy running around stressed with their stomach spewing acid everywhere. But if you remember, what is your body's natural response to stress? It is to decrease digestive function. The medications work because they are neutralizing the acids of fermentation. This does nothing to improve digestion. These medications in fact stop digestion and promote stomach emptying, so decreasing food assimilation and promoting food to be passed through the digestive tract that is not in its proper state. No wonder we feel more tired, irritable and just don't feel good which leads to feeling more stress.
Although there are other complicating issues that perpetuate GERD, especially long stand GERD, stress is often the instigator.
So, you ask what can I do about my stress, it is my life?? Well, start by just being present with your food. Take one minute before you eat to take a couple of deep breaths, look at your food, be grateful for your food, taste your food, chew your food. Take a deep breath on your way to eating and during your day is a very easy thing that can have great impact. We live in a fast paced society that expects alot of us but we always have our breath.
Next time I will talk more advanced causes and cures for digestive dis-ease.

hope you have a great day!!!

Dr. B.

drbeckylaird.com / Life Source Healing Center

New On Health Blogg

2011-01-31T06:06:00.000-08:00

From the desk of Dr. Becky Laird DC At Life Source Healing Center

Hi folks, Health is a subject no one is much interested in unless you lose it or are afraid of losing it. Often once it is lost it is hard to find it again because there are so many conflicting ideas about health and healthcare. As an Athens, Georgia Chiropractor I have studied many years to find the most updated information on causes of many chronic illnesses. We use some of the best diagnostic testing available to discover these underlying causes of issues like, chronic pain and fatigue, digestive disorders, hormone imbalances, thyroid disease, allergies, obesity, blood sugar imbalances, immune system dis-regulation, heavy metal toxicity and many more.
We also of course align the spine so that it and the nerves function optimality to restore function and enhance health and performance. Without the brain in good communication with all parts of the body through the nerves, many therapies would have limited affect.
Once the underlying cause of your dis-ease or disease is discovered regaining the health often is a matter of what we call the 3 R approach, Remove the irritant, be it food allergy, heavy metal, improved diet or other. Repair the damage through the use of specially formulated nutritional formulation or vitamin, supplement protocols. And finally Restore, often this is done with repair but depending on the issue may extend longer than the repair stage. Restoration of health and balance.
Through years of post graduate training and clinical experience I feel we truly have a Holistic approach to health care not just disease care and symptom reduction. For more info go to drbeckylaird.com.

wishing you a great day!! Dr. B.