Whiplash and Chiropractic...

With all the slips, falls and auto accidents that occur this time of the year we should tell a little about whiplash. Whiplash is not really a disease like arthritis or high blood pressure but a description of how an injury occurred. When a person suffers a whiplash injury he or she is telling you that their spine, usually their head and neck, were unexpectedly thrown very quickly in one direction and then rebounded in the opposite direction.

Their head was "whipped around" on their neck usually front to back, but it can also happen from a side to side motion of the neck as well. (3) To complicate matters, if their head is rotated even a slight bit to the right or left during the accident the effects of the injury are increased.

Where is Whiplash Damage? The vast majority of whiplash sufferers misalign their neck's spinal bones (cervical vertebrae) and cause nerve, joint, ligament, tendon, muscle and disc stress, irritation or damage. Chiropractors have a special name to describe this type of condition – a vertebral subluxation.

Research is revealing it to be the most common source of pain and discomfort from whiplash injuries. (4) Not too long ago a respected medical journal finally stated what chiropractors (and chiropractic patients) have known over a century: “Chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment in chronic cases.” (5)

Ever Hear the Words...

"You Should Have Been Here Years Ago?"...

We chiropractors often see people for the first time after they’ve been living in unhealthy bodies for many years. How often we wish that we could turn back the clock for patients who needed chiropractic care years or even decades ago but who first began care only today.

The admonition “you should have come here twenty years ago” might hold truth but it doesn’t really help the latecomer to our offices. Hopefully this person will bring his/her children and grandchildren in for chiropractic spinal checkups so that in another 30 or 40 years they won’t be hobbling in to see the next generation of chiropractors and hear the same sad words of wisdom.

Why don’t more people come in for spinal health maintenance? Why do they live with uncorrected spinal nerve stress for years on end?

Because they don’t know. If their parents had brought them to a chiropractor for periodic spinal checkups they probably would have been spared much suffering and illness. Please bring in your children for care so they’ll be healthier for the rest of their lives.

Your Parts are Connected to Your Spine...

Most of your internal organs, muscles and glands receive a nerve supply from your brain and spine. To stay at your healthiest, your spine needs to be balanced and free of spinal distortions that cause nerve stress. Do you have spinal nerve stress? Chiropractors are especially trained to locate spinal nerve stress (called vertebral subluxations) and to correct subluxations using the science and art of the chiropractic spinal adjustment.

In order for all your body parts to work at their fullest, for your resistance to disease to be high and for you to have the energy and strength to heal yourself fully, bring in your spine for a chiropractic spinal checkup. It’s a great thing for everyone to do – young and old. We adjust spines while you wait!

Chiropractic and Spinal Research...

Asthma. A 9-year-old girl was on asthma medication and inhalers for 7 years. Her medication was causing headaches and stomach pains and was causing difficulty in school. After 3 months of care, she was off 5 of the 6 prescribed drugs. Her teacher remarked about how the change had been so remarkable and the girl, when asked about her care said, “Chiropractic is awesome.” (6)

Congenital torticollis. A two-month-old female presented with obstetrical brachial plexus injury (Erb’s Palsy) who had been under the care of several medical pediatricians without resolution. The condition showed complete resolution under chiropractic care without any complications or residual impairments. (7)

Attention deficit disorder. A 12-year-old boy was diagnosed as ADD, with asthma and seizures. Positive personality change had been noted almost immediately at the beginning of spinal care and after 8 adjustments his parents had withdrawn all medication with the cooperation of their doctor. (8)

Noah's Ark Wisdom...

One: Don't miss the boat.

Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.

Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.

Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six: Build your future on high ground.

Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.

Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.

Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.

Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.

Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Bone Density Increases with Chiropractic Care...

Can chiropractic make your bones stronger? There was a recent study that looked at bone mineral density (BMD) in patients under chiropractic care for a year or more. In this 34-month study, 33 patients, all over the age of 21, had their bone mineral density measured before care and after 1, 6, and 12 months of care. After 12 months of care, "Significant positive changes in BMD were noted in the majority of cases," including 3 cases that started with low BMD moving to the normal range. (2)

Events Calendar

Jan. 16 - Stretching class with Dr. Dan

Jan. 20 to 24 - 'Maximize your health' week

Jan. 20 - Patient Orientation... Educational lecture about the ways to get results quicker from Chiropractic and other means of maintaining your health.  Pizza is provided at these orientations.

May this be a time for renewal, health, healing, peace and insight.

Thank you for joining our practice and letting us introduce you, your friends and family to the wonders of chiropractic and the world of natural healthcare.

If we haven’t seen you in a while please stop by for a checkup. Your body will thank you.

Have a heart that never hardens, a temper that never tires, a touch that never hurts.

We shall not cease from exploration, And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started...

And know the place for the first time.

You are part of a growing trend. More people are visiting chiropractors and non-drug healthcare providers than ever and its use has especially caught on with younger people. For example, a Harvard Medical School study shows that non-medical and holistic healthcare is becoming a permanent part of our society.

By age 33, 7 out of 10 people born between 1965 and 1979 used some form of drug-free healthcare. For people born before 1945, the number is 3 out of ten. Of the people who had tried a drug-free care, nearly 50% were still using it 11-20 years later. It’s not a passing fad. (1)

Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.

1. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2001;135:262-268.

2. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research. Sept. 2002.

3. Cailliet R. Neck and Arm Pain. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Co. 1979:64.

4. Lord WM, Barnsley L, Wallis BJ, Bogduk N. Chronic cervical zygopophysial joint pain after whiplash: a placebo-controlled prevalence study. Spine. 1996;21:1737-1745.

5. S Kahn, J Cook, M Gargan, G Bannister. Asymptomatic classification of whiplash injury and the implications for the treatment. The Journal of Orthopedic Medicine. 1999;2(91).

6. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter. June 1993.

7. Hyman CA. Chiropractic adjustments and congenital torticollis with facial asymmetry : a case study. ICA Review. September/October 1996;41-45.

Please write and let us know what you think of our newsletter. Stop by the office to keep yourself free from Subluxations and remember to bring your friends and loved ones – everyone needs a spinal check-up. Bye! We hope to see you soon.