Theme for March

So many of our patients frequently comment that they have friends battling “this,” a family member who has “that,” or co-workers who are always calling in sick with some ailment or illness. Our patients frequently state that chiropractic could help them. However, those words are sometimes not listened to or acted upon. So, our team developed a fantastic community health program to make it SOOOO easy for them and SOOOO easy for you!

Your Voice Can Heal

Ever listen to people’s conversations on the street or in restaurants? So much of it is about the drugs they are taking. So much of it is about diseases that don’t go away or suffering that will not end. A few words from you might change their lives.

Who Told You About Chiropractic?

What would your health be like if your spine was never adjusted? If someone never told you about chiropractic? Would you be living on drugs? Facing surgery? Fortunately, someone did tell you about chiropractic, and you were introduced to the world of natural health care and subluxation correction. In doing so, you’ve joined the many millions of people who have found relief from dis-ease and regained their health under safe, natural, drug-free chiropractic care.

Why Live on Drugs?

When chiropractic enthusiasts see others – friends, relatives, perhaps even strangers – living on pills and other medicines, they ask, “Why live on drugs? Why live in pain? Aren’t you frustrated with not getting better? Aren’t you tired of being sick and tired? Why don’t you see my chiropractor?”

Van Family Chiropractic Commitment

Our team is committed to improving the education, health and future of our community. Each month, we will feature a specific health concern and will provide an accurate and researched article for you to pass along to someone you know. These articles will address the causes of the problems and will explain the chiropractic connection and the validity and benefits of chiropractic care.

In addition, our team will make life more convenient for your friend/family member/co-worker and super easy for them to make an appointment. We are willing to contact them directly, whether via a call, email, letter or fax to provide them with any further information they may need. And, if they are sick of putting up with their health problems and are ready to make an appointment, their spinal check-up will be only $45!! So, they really have nothing to lose, and only the possibility of great health to gain.

This Month’s Theme

Do you have friends, family members or co-workers who suffer from lower back pain? Then tell them, “You’re not alone!” Millions of people all over the world suffer from lower back pain practically every day. In fact, many people are faced with back pain so severe that they are practically incapacitated. With conventional medical care, the only options for trying to relieve this pain are to take pain medication (which simply masks the pain rather than doing anything to cure the cause of the pain) or to have an expensive, painful and potentially dangerous surgical procedure. In most cases, however, it turns out that the source of this lower back pain is actually vertebral subluxation.

A Gentle, Accurate and Efficient Checkup

A thorough examination can determine if the lower back pain your friend is experiencing are a result of misalignments in their spine. The tests performed during this examination are gentle, accurate and efficient. Our highly trained and experienced team will then provide your friend with a thorough report to explain what has been found in their case. Again, this checkup is only $45.  Help your friends make 2010 healthier and better than 2009. They really have nothing to lose.

Breakthrough research reveals the importance of your head position in relationship to your health. It’s critical that the position of your neck allows your head to sit directly above your shoulders. Unfortunately, the effects of gravity, poor posture, the weight of the head, or past trauma can cause neck and skull misplacement, leading to a condition called “Forward Head Syndrome.” This syndrome, which is often accompanied by the loss of the normal neck curve, is when the chin juts out in front of the shoulders and chest and causes pathological (disease-causing) tension on the spinal cord and brain stem.

In his prize-winning book, “Rejuvenation Strategy,” Dr. Rene Cailliet, director of Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of California, wrote this description of the deadly forward head syndrome, as well as the humpback syndrome:

1) Incorrect head position leads to improper spinal function. (It is a major and complex form of vertebral subluxation).
2) Forward Head Posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal load on the cervical spine.
3) Forward Head Syndrome results in loss of vital capacity. Lung capacity is depleted by as much as 30 percent. Loss of lung capacity leads to heart and blood vascular problems. (Try it yourself – Stick your chin out and then tuck it into your chest; now, try to take a big breath in through your nose. You can barely do it!
4) The entire gastrointestinal system is affected, particularly the large intestine. Loss of good bowel peristaltic function (regular bowel movement) and evacuation is common to people how suffer from Forward Head Syndrome and loss of neck curve.
5) Forward Head Syndrome causes an increase in discomfort and pain. Freedom of motion in the first four cervical vertebrae is a major source of stimuli that causes production of endorphins. As a result of this loss of endorphins (hormones that reduce pain and affect emotions), many otherwise non-painful sensations are experienced as discomfort.
6) Forward Head Syndrome causes loss of healthy spine-body motion. The entire body becomes rigid as the range of motion becomes diminished, and the person’s body becomes hunched.
7) In an October 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, forward head syndrome was found to significantly increase the likelihood of death. Further studies found humpback syndrome to both increase Uterine Prolapse and decreased physical function and mobility, respectively.

Nutrients essential to the brain for survival – such as oxygen, glucose, and others – are transported from the body to the brain through the fluid that flows inside your spinal canal. This fluid is called the Cerebrospinal Fluid (brain-spine) fluid, or CSF. Forward Head Posture and other subluxations will lead to abnormal and reduced flow of oxygen, glucose and other important nutrients to the brain.

That is why the spine-brain connection is so important for the entirety of your life.

A bad back or a bad neck will literally give you a bad brain!!! Correcting and maintaining your spine not only gets you functioning better, it gets you thinking better!

Dr. Roger Sperry, the 1980 Nobel Prize recipient for brain research, has demonstrated that ninety percent (90%) of ALL the energy output from the brain is used for posture alone – keeping the body upright under gravity. Only ten percent (10%) has to do with thinking, metabolism, and healing.

The poorer your posture, the harder your brain has to work to keep you upright, leading to a lifetime of chronic fatigue, impaired concentration and a virtual ‘trance-like’ state.

The better your posture, the more usable energy your brain has for other things, such as thinking, metabolizing, healing, digestion, reproducing ……OH, AND LIVING!!!

This is yet another great reason to be 100% committed to reducing your Forward Head Posture through maintaining your originally scheduled adjustment (OSA) and doing your traction as per your doctor’s recommendations.

Forward Head Posture robs your brain and body of life…the more Forward Head Posture you have, the less energy your brain and body have for living. Reduce it, correct it, maintain it for life!

THIS IS THE LAST WEEK FOR FATIGUE AND LOW ENERGY SUFFERERS TO RECEIVE A FREE SPINE AND POSTURE CHECKUP! IT’S AN EASY, GENTLE AND ACCURATE CHECKUP….AND, BEST OF ALL, IT’S ONLY $45!! New patient Welcome Packs are available from our team this week. Grab one today for your friend, co-worker or family member!

Abnormalities of posture are a common cause of fatigue and low energy levels.

Good posture is that state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects your nervous system and supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity.  Under such conditions, your spine and muscles will function most efficiently and the optimum positions are afforded for your heart and lungs and abdominal organs.

A lot of practitioners talk about the importance of having good posture.  They know that poor posture is bad and good posture is, well, good.  However, few can offer assistance towards the long-term correction of poor posture.  From the side, normal alignment  is defined as balance between the ear hole, the middle of the shoulder, the middle of the hips, the middle of the knee and the middle of the ankle joint.  From the front, there should be a straight line that moves down from between the eyes, nose, chin, middle of the collar bones, the sternum, the belly button, the pubic bone and down evenly between the knees and ankles.  Any deviation of one or more of these points is abnormal posture and could ultimately lead to the development of repetitive fatigue issues and low energy levels.

Bad posture is a lifetime scenario for most people.  If your head weighs ten pounds and is aligned directly above your shoulder, the effective load on your spinal tissues is 10 pounds.  However, if your head has moved forward, the load is increased by a factor of ten with each additional inch of forward posture.  So, if you are carrying your head 2 inches forward of where it should be, your head is loading 30 pounds to the supporting tissues, if you are carrying it 3 inches forward of where it should be, then 40 pounds of pressure is being stressed through your neck and shoulders.  As a result, your spine, muscles and ENERGY LEVELS SUFFER!

Research proves that when the normal loads are changed, the bones of the spine get damaged.  In fact, when the head is carried forward for many years, there is a greater incidence of developing arthritis in the spine.  Bad posture also affects the soft tissues and can change the blood flow to the spinal cord itself.  Forward head posture has also been associated with disc damage. Sustained poor posture robs the muscles of oxygen and causes tissue damage.  Tendons, ligaments and discs

undergo changes that can become permanent.  This is probably why many individuals who have abnormal posture cannot correct it by themselves!

Having your mother or father yell at you to ‘stand up straight’ is all well and good, but what if you can’t?

Undetected and uncorrected postural abnormalities can be extremely draining.  Having a hump at the base of your neck and looking like a turtle from the side is not only ugly, it can be the beginning of many different diseases.

Nobel prize winners, brain researchers and leading neurosurgeons have stated that “ over 90% of the brain’s energy is tied up in relating the body to gravity.  Forward Head Posture stretches the spinal cord by 5-7 cm and causes disease.  The more postural problems that exist, the less energy one has for thinking, metabolizing and healing.”

Other researchers have found that “just the weight of a dime pressing against a nerve can shut down that nerve’s function up to 60%.”

Low energy levels and fatigue do not go away by themselves, nor do they go away with warmer weather.  They are an indication that the body is not functioning properly.

LOW ENERGY AND CHRONIC FATIGUE MONTH.

Anyone you know who is battling with these problems (and NO, they are not Normal) is entitled to a $45 posture and spine checkup this month!

*Checkup includes x-rays, postural analysis and a complete report of findings.*

Tell your friends and co-workers today to do something about their fatigue or lack of energy….it’s a simple, accurate and gentle checkup that could give them the answers they have been searching for!

Could you use more energy in your life? The key isn’t found in sugar or caffeine – these provide temporary, unhealthy energy boosts, then leave you feeling tired shortly thereafter. The real key to sustainable energy is having a fantastic nerve supply, hydration and healthy eating.

GET ADJUSTED FOR LIFE

Since vertebral subluxation robs the body of focus to think, organization to metabolize and power to heal, it makes sense to have your spine and your family members’ spines regularly checked for subluxation throughout your lifetime. After all, your nerve supply is your life supply. So, if you want more energy in 2008, continue to get adjusted!

“Subluxation robs the body of focus to think, organization to metabolize and power to heal.”

DRINK MORE WATER

Did you know that, along with vertebral subluxation, dehydration is one of the leading causes of fatigue? If you find yourself feeling tired in the middle of the day, drink a glass of water! In time, you’ll likely begin to feel more energized.

What about the times you find yourself hungry, or craving a snack, even though you recently ate a meal? That might actually be thirst you’re feeling, but your mind is telling you it’s hunger. Instead of snacking, drink a glass of water. It will fill you up and eliminate thoughts of unnecessary hunger.

To help yourself stay on the path that keeps you feeling energized all the time, you’ll want to avoid drinking soft drinks and coffee. Sure, both might taste good; but, the caffeine and sugar work to deplete water that’s in your body and mess with your blood sugar.

EAT A GOOD MEAL

The United States has become a nation of energy–deprived over-eaters and people obsessed with their weight. The good news is that most people don’t have to eat less to reach and maintain a healthy weight – they just need to eat “better.”

Did you ever notice that junk food doesn’t fill you up? It works to ward off your appetite for a little while, but before you know it, you’re hungry again. That’s because junk food has low nutritional value, which means there’s not enough nutrients to keep your body energized. This is why you start to feel hungry again so soon after eating junk food. It’s your body’s way of saying, “I’m hungry for something rich in vitamins, minerals and protein.” That’s the type of food that satisfies your body and keeps your energy levels up all day.

What’s the connection between your spine and energy levels?

A common cause of fatigue is a subluxated spine. “How can my spine make me tired?” you may ask. Here’s how: Your head being carried forward of your shoulders and torso is like carrying a bowling ball away from your body instead of by your side. It can exhaust you! Your body uses energy to simply keep you from falling forward when you have forward head posture (loss of curve in your neck), and this is a detriment to your other body systems and parts. A modest deviation from normal posture can and does translate into a massive amount of wasted energy.

Plus, that’s the result of just ONE postural abnormality. Stop to consider how much energy you waste if you are walking around with two or three postural imbalances, such as a high shoulder and dropped pelvis…. It’s easy to understand why filling up on coffee and sugar isn’t the answer!

FEBRUARY is the month for you to help your friends, family members or co-workers regain their energy and eliminate fatigue. Grab a ‘New Patient Welcome Pack’ from our team today. It really is easy to feel great again!

$45 checkups for people you know struggling with no energy and fatigue.

Do you have friends, family members or co-workers who suffer from a lack of energy or fatigue? Then tell them, “You’re not alone!” Millions of people all over the world face each new day without the energy they need to be their best as a mother, an employee or a student. Unfortunately, to combat this lack of energy, most people turn to unhealthy foods or beverages that are filled with caffeine or loaded with sugar. While these “solutions” might provide an energy boost, it is short-lived and is always followed by a “crash.” What your friends need to understand is that having maximum energy requires maximum nerve supply, and this is only available when your spine is aligned properly.

A Gentle, Accurate and Efficient Checkup

A thorough examination can determine if the ear infections your friend’s child is experiencing are a result of misalignments in their spine. The tests performed during this examination are gentle, accurate and efficient. Our highly trained and experienced team will then provide your friend with a thorough report to explain what has been found in their child’s case. Again, this checkup is only $45. Help your friends make 2010 healthier and better than 2009. They really have nothing to lose!

How do you spell relief?

Do you spell it A-S-P-I-R-I-N, V-A-L-I-U-M, M-O-T-R-I-N, or T-Y-L-E-N-O-L?  There are literally thousands of ways many people spell relief, but most boil down to D-R-U-G-S.  People take a lot of drugs: billions of pills, powders, potions and lotions.  Why shouldn’t we?  We’re exposed to thousands of TV and radio commercials, newspaper and magazine advertisements, soap operas and prime time shows all saying the same thing: “Just take a little pill; everything will be alright.”  Is relief important?  Of course it is.  If you’re in pain or suffering, that’s all you can think of: “Let me get rid of this headache,” “If only the pain would go away,” “I wish I could find a position that’s comfortable,” “if only the fever would break,” or “if only I could breathe freely.”  There are times when medication is necessary and desirable.  The accident victim, the burn victim, the terminally ill and others should receive the relief they need.  We want ease, not disease.  Medicines are sometimes seen as little gems to those who know only agony and distress without them.

But what of Grandma?

But what of the grandma who gulps down a dozen aspirin tablets a day for her arthritis?  What of the person taking drugs for “everyday” headaches?  What of those who take blood pressure or cholesterol medication for years?  What of the woman who runs to the medicine cabinet every month for menstrual discomfort?  What of the person who regularly swallows Prozac, Valium or alcohol to get through the day?  The amount of drug use in society is staggering and has been increasing for decades.  As early as 1974, the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain revealed that every 24 to 36 hours, somewhere from 50% to 80% of adults in the United States and the United Kingdom swallow a medically-prescribed drug.  All this drug taking might spell relief, but does it spell health?  Do drugs correct the cause of your problem or do they just temporarily relieve and suppress symptoms?  Drugs don’t get to the cause; as soon as their effects wear off, the symptoms return and it’s back to the medicine cabinet.

Do drugs make you healthy?

If drugs made people healthy, then those that take the most of them should be the healthiest on the planet!  But aren’t they the sickest?  In part, that’s because drugs cause health problems.  According to one study, 106,000 people (on average) die each year in the U.S. from properly prescribed medications in hospitals.  Another 2.2 million are seriously harmed and require additional hospitalization due to adverse drug reactions (ADR).  Since hospital drug use accounts for just half of all prescription drug use, the numbers for the entire U.S. population are at least double: 212,000 deaths and 4.4 million hospitalizations per year.  Malpractice and medication mistakes cause an additional 180,000 deaths per year and hospital infections kill 103,000 people per year.  That’s a total of 495,000 deaths each year!  Is it any wonder that modern medicine is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and quite possibly kills as many people as the second cause of death – cancer?

Drugs Lie

Drugs lie to you.  They make you think you are healthy when you are feeling no pain.  The bodily malfunction, however, still exists.  Drug use often takes your attention away from correcting the physical, emotional and spiritual causes of your illness or condition.  Symptoms are often warning signals telling you that something is wrong with your body, mind or spirit.  While you take medicines to feel better, your physical and emotional health may continue to deteriorate.  More importantly, it has long been recognized that suppressing symptoms or acute disease may in fact cause chronic disease. 

“The greatest part of all chronic disease is created through the suppression of acute disease by means of drug poisons and through the destructive effects of the drugs themselves.” – Sir William Osler

“Cancer, tuberculosis…and all chronic diseases were once innocent colds.” – J.H.Tilden, M.D.

“Diseases are crises of purification, of toxic elimination.  Symptoms are the natural defenses of the body.  We call them diseases, but in fact they are the cure of diseases.” – Hippocrates

The world’s greatest drug store

Your body manufactures antibiotics, insulin, painkillers, blood pressure and heart drugs, hormones, chemicals and hundreds of other drugs (many still undiscovered) to regulate your brain chemistry and mood, digestion, elimination, growth and blood chemistry.  The greatest drug store in the world is your own marvelous body, as long as your body is functioning properly – that’s where chiropractic care helps.  Chiropractors help you keep your body/mind functioning properly by locating and correcting a very common condition that causes dis-ease or body/mind malfunction.  That condition is called a vertebral subluxation.

Correcting Subluxations

Chiropractors correct your subluxations with a special procedure called a chiropractic adjustment, which releases subluxations from your system.  The removal of this severe stress permits your body to function better.  When your doctor of chiropractic corrects your vertebral subluxations, your natural, internal “drug store,” your inner healer, is activated.  Correcting vertebral subluxations turns on your body’s natural internal drug store without side effects, adverse drug reactions or “external” dependency.  If you know someone living on medication, please tell them there may be a better way; tell them about chiropractic.  They’ll thank you.

Otitis media (middle ear infection)

Ear infections are affecting children in epidemic numbers.  By the age of three, over two-thirds of all children have had one or more episodes of otitis media or middle ear infection.  Does chiropractic offer a drug-free, less invasive alternative?

Case study

“An upset father brought his 9-year-old son with chronic ear infections to my office.  Five years prior, tubes were put in his ears.  The child was scheduled for another ear surgery and to have his swollen tonsils and adenoids removed.  He had been on and off antibiotics for the past six years.  The boy stopped complaining about his ears after the first (chiropractic) adjustment.  At a six-week evaluation there was no ear effusion in either ear.  Tonsils and adenoids were normal size.  The ENT doctor cancelled surgery.  After 5 months, this child has had no ear infections, no sore throats, no colds, no flu and has been on no medications.”  More parents are discovering chiropractic for their children with ear infections, often after first exploring medical care.

Antibiotics and surgery

The most common treatments prescribed for ear infections in children are antibiotics, oral decongestants and tubes in the ears.  The value of these treatments is controversial.  In one double-blind study, 171 children with acute otitis media were divided into four groups.  One group had surgery, the second group had antibiotics, the third group had surgery and antibiotics while the fourth group received no treatment at all.  Recovery time was about the same for all of the children.  Another study showed that “88% of patients with acute otitis media never need antibiotics…In those treated with antibiotics, risk of recurrence is high…administering antibiotics does not imply shortening of the disease.”  According to E.J. Cantekin, Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “There is no evidence that antibiotics are effective in treating acute otitis media or chronic otitis media with effusion (fluid in the ear), and there is clear evidence that antibiotics are harmful.”  There are numerous problems associated with antibiotic usage including allergic reactions, destruction of intestinal flora leading to yeast proliferation, and antibiotic resistance.  Ear infections have been reported to recur more often in children given antibiotics.

Tubes in the ears (tympanostomy)

Do tube operations work?  In controlled studies performed in Europe, children with bilateral chronic ear infections had a tube placed in one ear, with the other serving as a control.  The results for both ears were just about the same: “No benefit from the placement of tubes…and actually created some complications such as scarring and permanent perforation…”  Tubes in the ears have a large recurrence of infection rate while up to 25% of those with tubes have been reported to suffer from some hearing loss years later.

Dr. Mendelsohn on ear infection

According to pediatrician Robert Mendelsohn, “In the future,

we doctors may have to consider whether the enter panoply of therapy for simple ear infections (antibiotics, antihistamines, insertion of tubes, tonsillectomy) does not represent overkill for a condition that, except in malnourished children, is almost always self-limited.”  (In accordance with his philosophy of always doing the most conservative thing first, Dr. Mendelsohn would prescribe heated olive oil, dropped into the ear canal, and whiskey (by mouth) to alleviate the pain and allow everyone, patient included, to get some sleep while the infection cleared up all by itself).

The chiropractic approach

Chiropractic care is one of the best things you can give a child suffering from an ear infection.  Restoring the spine to its proper alignment through chiropractic care should result in the return of normal nerve supply…and ultimately normal function.

Research

In one study, 332 children (ages ranging from 27 days to 5 years) suffering from recurrent bouts of otitis media had been on repeated doses of antibiotics.  They were finally given chiropractic care.  After spinal adjustments, the children healed quickly, without antibiotics, and experienced few repeat infections.  In another study of 211 infants examined five days after birth who suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and sleeplessness, chiropractic care frequently resulted in the immediate cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness.  The authors (who are medical doctors) wrote that an unhealthy spine “causes many clinical features from central motor impairment to lower resistance to infections – especially ear, nose and throat infections.”  They assert that all newborns should have their spines checked by chiropractors as “the success of adjustment overshadows every other type of care.”  In another case study, a 4 ½-year-old girl with chronic ear infections, a 50% right ear hearing loss and adenoiditis received chiropractic care.  “A follow up visit to her pediatrician and ENT specialist found no sign of ear infection or inflammation, but her adenoids, which were the worst the ENT had ever seen, were perfectly normal and healthy…the family was told to continue chiropractic care because it had obviously worked.”

In conclusion

It is essential that a child with an ear infection has a chiropractic spinal check up.  Keeping your child’s spine free from spinal subluxations will help your child’s natural defenses against disease.  This will help you avoid using drugs (with all their side effects).  Give your child the great advantage of safer, more natural, drug-free chiropractic healthcare.

By the age of 3, over two-thirds of all children have had one or more episodes of otitis media or middle ear infection.  There are numerous problems with antibiotic usage for children with ear infections such as: allergic reactions, GI upset, destruction of intestinal flora leading to yeast proliferation and antibiotic resistance.  Tubes in the ears have a 98% recurrence of infection within two months while 25% of those with tubes suffer from hearing loss years later.

Ear infection: A retrospective study examining improvement from chiropractic care and analyzing influencing factors (1996)

This was a study of 46 children aged 5 years and under.  Typical care was 3 adjustments per week for one week, then two adjustments per week for one week, then one adjustment per week.  Interestingly, children with a history of past antibiotic use were associated with a less favorable outcome.  “93% of all episodes improved, 75% in 10 days or fewer and 43% with only one or two treatments.”

Chronic recurrent otitis media (1996)

The author has presented a case series of 5 patients (ages 0 to 5) with chronic otitis media who had previously been under regular medical pediatric care for this condition.  These children all underwent a program of chiropractic case management, including specific spinal adjustments.  All patients had excellent outcomes with no residual morbidity or complications

The response of a patient with otitis media to chiropractic care (1995)

This paper discusses the case of a 19-month-old female with a chronic history of acute episodes of suppurative otitis media.  Treatment consisted of four series of antibiotics over a six-month period with no improvement; antibiotics were stopped and then began a four-week course of intensive chiropractic care, with complete resolution at two weeks.

Reviewer’s Synopsis:  This patient presented with glassy eyes, a runny nose, and apparent discomfort evidenced by continually tugging at both ears.  The mother reported that the child had been like this consistently over the previous six months.  In addition to the antibiotic therapy noted in the abstract, medical treatment also included weekly steroid injections and inhalants to control asthma…no improvement had been noticed by the mother and several emergency room visits had been required due to asthmatic attacks.  Diversified adjusting at C1, T1 and right sacroiliac joint every day for two weeks.  Pulling at the ears, runny nose, and glassy eyes were resolved by the second visit.

The atlas fixation syndrome in the baby infant (1987)

18-month-old boy, recurring tonsillitis, frequent enteritis, therapy resistant conjunctivitis, suffered from colds, rhinitis, ear infections and sleep disturbances.  “Immediately after (spinal adjustment), the child demanded to be put to bed and, for the first time, slept peacefully to the next morning.  Previously disturbed appetite normalized completely.  Conjunctivitis cleared completely.”

Vertebral subluxation and otitis media (1992)

This is the case of a 23-month-old female with chronic otitis media who had orthodox medical treatment with no relief of symptoms.  She had sustained improvement with chiropractic care.

A mechanism for the etiology of chronic otitis media is suggested.  From the paper: “Conventional medical treatment had been administered, including numerous regimens of broad-spectrum antibiotics.  6 months before having been seen, bilateral myringotomies with tympanostomy tube placement were performed.  The tubes were still in place on presentation.”  Three days after initial adjustment (at C1), the patient’s ear drainage and pain were noticeably reduced.  Child was soon free of all symptoms.

Sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, and alternating diarrhea and constipation (1996)

Patient presented with a history of sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, and alternating diarrhea and constipation.  She was also suffering form ear pain and ear discharge related to chronic otitis media of 17 months duration.  This condition had resisted several regimens of antibiotics as well as surgery to insert tympanostomy tubes.  Three days after the first adjustment, the ear pain and discharge were substantially reduced.  Continued correction of C1 eventually resulted in both ears being clear of exudate.  At the time of this report, the patient has been symptom-free for approximately four years.

Chronic ear infections, strep throat, 50% right ear hearing loss, adenoiditis and asthma (1995)

4 ½-year-old female with chronic ear infections, strep throat (on and off for 4 years), 50% right ear hearing loss, adenoiditis and asthma.  Had been on antibiotics (Ceclor), developed pneumonia, on bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory for asthma.  Also give steroids.  ENT diagnosed child with enlarged adenoids.  Surgery to remove child’s adenoids and to put tubes in her ears was scheduled.  Chiropractic history: cervical (C2) and thoracic (T3) and right sacroiliac subluxation.  Numerous enlarged lymph nodes and muscle spasm.  Chiropractic care of two times per week for six weeks scheduled.  After three or four adjustments, mother noticed “a changed child, she has life in her body again…acting like a little girl again for the first time in 4 years.”  After six weeks, pediatrician and ENT noticed no sign of ear infection or inflammation, “Her adenoids, which were the worst the ENT has ever seen, were perfectly normal and healthy.  Hearing tests revealed no hearing loss.  Family told M.D.s, ‘all medication was stopped six weeks ago when chiropractic care started.’  Shocked and confused by this answer (because medication was the only solution the MD knew), the family was told to continue chiropractic care because it had obviously worked.”

Do you have friends with children who battle with ear infections? Then tell them, “You’re not alone! Ear infections are affecting children in epidemic numbers. By the age of three, nearly two-thirds of all children have had one or more ear infection.”

And what is the typical course of action for children who are suffering from ear infections? Either the children are given antibiotics or they are put through surgery to place tubes in their ears. Sadly, neither option tends to be very effective. In addition, both can result in potentially dangerous and long-term side effects.

A Gentle, Accurate and Efficient Checkup

A thorough examination can determine if the ear infections your friend’s child is experiencing are a result of misalignments in their spine. The tests performed during this examination are gentle, accurate and efficient. Our highly trained and experienced team will then provide your friend with a thorough report to explain what has been found in their child’s case. Again, this checkup is only $45. Help your friends make 2010 healthier and better than 2009. They really have nothing to lose!

The number of children diagnosed with depression has more than doubled from 1995–2003 (according to an article in the Journal of Adolescent Health). Worse still, the use of antidepressants to treat children diagnosed with depression has increased, while the use of non–chemical forms of treatment (chiropractic, exercise, nutrition changes) has decreased.

“The number of children labelled as depressed and prescribed antidepressants has doubled in a few years.”

Between 1995-1996, 1.44 million kids aged 7-17 visited a doctor with symptoms of ‘depression’, such as inability to concentrate, fatigue, abnormal appetite, headaches, poor memory, poor athletic performance, altered sleeping patterns, poor posture and bad attitude (sounds like a stressed nervous system and spine to us). That number more than doubled to 3.22 million by the end of 2003. As diagnosed adolescent depression increased, doctors started to prescribe antidepressant drugs more and more, while recommending mental health counselling, nutritional improvements, chiropractic and other non-chemical forms of care less and less. These findings point to possible cases of inappropriate prescribing to children, since accepted guidelines call for children to be treated without drugs first.

Reports published in the beginning of February 2006 found that women who take Prozac, a common anti-depressant drug, during the second half of their pregnancy are about six times more likely to give birth to a baby with a rare, but potentially fatal, heart and lung condition.

“Women who take Prozac during the second half of their pregnancy are about six times more likely to give birth to a baby with a rare, but potentially fatal, heart and lung condition.”

The FDA held a news conference on February 8, 2006 and is expecting to issue a public health advisory based on the finding. According to reports, the FDA is also considering asking the drug’s maker to add warning labels to the anti-depressant’s packaging.

What’s even more troubling is that a 1996 report concluded that researchers had found evidence that anti-depressants could cause fetal damage – yet the drug industry pushed these pills anyway.

“In 1996, researchers had found evidence that antidepressants could cause fetal damage – yet the drug industry pushed these pills anyway.”

The anti-depressants in question are called SSRI’s, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They include: citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine and sertraline, which are sold under 19 brand names, including: Celexa,

Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.

Babies born with the lung disorder Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (PPH) often require mechanical assistance to breathe. Between 10 and 20 percent of these newborns will die soon after birth, while others will have developmental delays, hearing loss and other serious brain abnormalities.

As time goes on, it appears that the drug industry is delivering more harm than good to depression suffers and their families. It’s clear – happiness and health can not be found in a pill, especially if you are pregnant! The answer that so many people are looking for is simple – take responsibility for your own health. Stay informed and take care of yourself through regular chiropractic care, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and loving relationships. Seek out the BEST BATTLE PLAN to attack the cause of your health concerns!

Thought Of The Week

“Men and Women occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.”
- Winston Churchill

Remember This Month’s Theme: Depression

This is the last week for your friends and family members to take advantage of our complimentary checkups for depressed individuals!

Don’t stumble over the truth – you know that a simple subluxation checkup might be the answer to their problems. Talk with a member of our team today to pick up a “New Patient Welcome Packet” for your friend, family member or co-worker today!