Our wonderful patient Chris discusses how we first helped her with her excruciating back pain with chiropractic care. Edit Edit date and time Chris has recently trained for and completed her first marathon at age 51. Great job, Chris!
No matter how old you are, if you hope to be energetic and healthy later in life, you need to commit to some anti-aging habits now. Health conditions that coincide with age — such as joint pain, stiffness, immobility, gastrointestinal issues, weight gain, energy and memory loss — can be anticipated and bypassed, sometimes literally, with consistent preventive care. While research supports these theories, the most profound endorsement about the effect that wellness has on aging is a real-life scenario. Just think about people you know that really takes care of themselves. They’re more energetic, resilient and upbeat — naturally. Joe and I met when his wife became my patient. She, like many modern-thinking moms-to-be, was getting massage and chiropractic adjustments to help offset the discomforts of pregnancy. Joe and I started talking about the upcoming birth of their first child when he mentioned that it caused him to take stock of his life and health. Suddenly, he was concerned about what his health might be like during the next 10 to 15 years and beyond. That’s a normal, human response and a realistic fear. So, we sat down and I explained the role that chiropractic could have on maintaining his good health, instead of waiting for symptoms associated with age to occur. I also urged him to commit to a few, but important, lifelong habits and to consider them his “prescription” for long-term health. Chiropractic Care And Long-Term Health Chiropractic care focuses on the detection and correction of misalignments of the spine and its related structures. The bony segments, also known as vertebrae, are stacked on top of each other and make up the spinal column. The nerves, or central nervous system, control the entire body and are located in the center of the spinal column all the way up to the brain. Consider what happens if any segment of the spine is damaged or misaligned from a car crash, diving into a pool or an everyday slip-and- fall accident. The damage limits the signals from the brain to other areas of the body, resulting in impaired function of organs such as the bladder and bowel. Symptoms can include numbness, headaches, ringing in the ears and more. Logically, it can be concluded that a spine that is aligned will enable the central nervous system to function properly and keep the body working at its optimum level. The additional benefits include limber joints, better function of all major systems and organs, adequate range of motion and freedom from pain. Routine chiropractic care is no different than regular cleaning and check ups for your teeth. That said, utilizing chiropractic care to preserve your health is like driving with a seatbelt. It will protect your life, but it does not give you a license to drive recklessly. You’ll still need to eat right, refrain from alcohol and tobacco use and exercise frequently. Not surprisingly, I share the benefits of chiropractic care with nearly everyone I meet. I do so because I have personally enjoyed its benefits and have witnessed its impact on the lives and health of many. It’s truly inspiring to see how the body responds to consistent, basic care, proper nutrition, adequate movement and rest.
You’ve just had your first baby. All 10 fingers and 10 toes joyfully counted. Becoming a parent is a life-changing event and perhaps the single greatest responsibility you might ever have. By design, this triggers one of the most powerful human instincts — the overwhelming desire to protect your child. Through the years, I’ve learned family health care choices are often driven by cost and further influenced by the experiences of those around us and our belief systems. Simply put, if you believe “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” then you might take the wellness route for your family. Whereas if the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” adage suits you better, you’ll only be making doctor visits when you can no longer cope with symptoms. Whichever you choose, health care and wellness options for children run the gamut. Consider the upsurge in both pediatric medical specialties and health information resources during the last two decades. While helpful, they also have created some confusion about what is best, dangerous or optional. One aspect of health care that hasn’t changed is the need to establish two of your child’s primary health care professionals, starting at birth. Ideally, those relationships will be long-term, so ask around, do your homework and trust your instincts. A general pediatrician is central to your child’s health from 0 to 18 years of age. General pediatricians manage children with chronic conditions such as asthma, perform annual school physicals, oversee childhood immunizations, conduct developmental screenings and administer acute care. A chiropractor is the other primary health care professional to establish for your child early on in life. In fact, a growing number of mothers receive chiropractic care throughout pregnancy to help maintain energy and reduce a variety of discomforts. While your child’s health care will transition from a pediatrician to a general practitioner after age 18, some people have the same chiropractor throughout their lifetime. The chiropractic approach to health centers on the detection and correction of misalignments of the spinal column, which is made up of bony vertebral segments that are stacked on top of each other, forming the spine. If there is any doubt about the correlation between the nervous system, spinal column and optimal health, consider what happens if any segment of the spine is damaged or injured. From the point of injury and below, the spinal cord nerves cannot send messages between the brain and parts of the body like they did before the injury, resulting in functional disorders of organs, limbs and major systems. Start Early Children are unique creatures, with ever-changing physiology. What was a health issue last year is no longer on the radar screen, as it is replaced by something new. Each stage of their life offers unique opportunities to keep them healthy with chiropractic care, starting at birth. During the delivery process, any twisting, pushing or pulling on the baby’s head, neck, shoulders or hips can cause subluxations or trauma to any segment of the spinal column. That increases the chance for damage to the infant’s spine and nervous system. Many of those traumas go undetected until symptoms and conditions occur later on such as colic, ear infections, eating and digestion. An infant’s spine will grow 50 percent in length during the first year of life, a rate unmatched at any other phase in a child’s growth and development. Checking a child’s spine is vital to ensure small, easily reversible subluxations are corrected before they present health issues down the road. By age 6, all motor and sensory functions we use as adults are already fully developed. Therefore, damage at any stage prior to the preliminary development of those functions will inhibit optimal capability for the rest of a child’s life. When a doctor really knows your child — not just his or her complete medical history, but his or her temperament, personality, how he or she reacts to pain and even what your child is like at school and at home — it helps the doctor pinpoint health problems. The advantages of establishing your child’s primary health care professionals early on are ones that are built through many years of seeing a pediatric and trust.
ACA Presses Federal Government to Encourage Conservative Forms of Pain Management The American Chiropractic Association (ACA), in recent comments submitted to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Office of Pain Policy on the draft National Pain Strategy, strongly urges the agency to include recommendations encouraging patients and health care providers to first exhaust conservative forms of pain management, when appropriate. “Doctors of chiropractic practice a hands-on, drug-free approach to health care that has been shown to alleviate neuromusculoskeletal complaints. When other medical conditions exist, chiropractic care may complement or support medical treatment by relieving the musculoskeletal aspects associated with the condition,” writes ACA Acting Executive Vice President Richard Miller as part of ACA’s formal comments. ACA specifically urges the federal government to change outdated, statutory language in Medicare to allow chiropractic physicians to practice and be reimbursed for the fullest extent of their licensure, training and competencies; appoint doctors of chiropractic as officers in the commissioned Regular Corps and the Ready Reserve Corps of the Public Health Service; make clear the intention of Section 2706(a) of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to allow patients to see providers of their choice when seeking treatment for pain and other musculoskeletal conditions; expand access to chiropractic services in the nation’s military and Department of Veterans Affairs health care systems; and expand access to chiropractic services in all other federal health programs, including research programs related to pain management. The comments submitted by ACA are part of the profession’s ongoing efforts to educate the public about the value of exhausting non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical treatments for pain management and health enhancement before moving on to riskier options. ACA’s annual observance National Chiropractic Health Month this October will promote the conservative approach to care with the theme #PainFreeNation. A conservative model of care encourages, when appropriate, the use of more cost-effective and safer approaches over potentially addictive medications, surgery and other invasive procedures for pain management. For example, conservative management of painful conditions may include spinal manipulation combined with exercise and stretching prior to moving on to treatments involving higher risk, such as opioids. The comments received by NINDS from ACA and other groups will be used to create a comprehensive population health level strategy for pain prevention, treatment, management and research. The American Chiropractic Association based in Arlington, Va., is the largest professional association in the United States representing doctors of chiropractic. ACA promotes the highest standards of ethics and patient care, contributing to the health and well-being of millions of chiropractic patients. Visit us at www.acatoday.org.
10 North Virginia St
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(Corner Rte. 14 & Crystal Lake Ave.)
Phone: 815-459-3860
Email : info@strelcheckchiro.com
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