Funny thing about chiropractors

I’ve been a chiropractor for eight years, now, and involved in the chiropractic business for another ten.  Over those years, I’ve been both amused and frustrated at the schizophrenic nature of my profession.

You see, there are essentially two distinctly different types of chiropractors.  We’ll call them mechanists and vitalists.

Mechanists generally consider themselves a drug-free, non-surgical alternative to the practice of medicine.  These folks generally focus on back pain, headaches and other neuromuscular conditions.  They also tend to rely heavily on third party payment like health insurance, workers’ compensation and personal injury settlements
The other end of the chiropractic spectrum are the vitalists who work from the premise that you were designed to be healthy and their job is to remove a significant source of interference in how your body works.  The folks typically accept almost anyone seeking care regardless of their physical condition.  While many of these doctors do accept insurance, they usually offer longer term wellness plans that reflect that emphasis in their approach.

My frustration (and amusement) with these factions is that both end up doing to some extent what the other intends to do yet has nothing but contempt for each other.  The mechanist (unintentionally) improves whole body function as he/she treats a specific condition while the vitalist improves neuromuscular conditions as he/she helps improve whole body function.

I’m a vitalistic chiropractor.  I fully embrace the fact that you were designed to be healthy and that by removing a source of stress on your nervous system.  Yet, I am delighted when someone comes to me with a a NMS condition.   It simply means that I’ve been able to help someone live life a little more fully.  Yet, I appreciate (somewhat) my mechanistic counterparts.  They, too, help many people deal with specific problems.  But, I just wish they would be open to wholeness of chiropractic for themselves and their clients.

You’re supposed to be healthy!

The design of the human body includes all the parts and pieces necessary to be a thriving, person. You weren’t born with a medicine cabinet on your back or with too many organs or other parts. By removing those things that interfere with your body’s normal function, by you will absolutely improve your health. Your progress depends on your own commitment to healing and doing those things that restore and maintain health.

Partisan Politics

I’ve watched with interest during this Presidential primary campaign at all the partisan bickering. During the last 12 years, at least, that’s all we’ve seen. Actually, I think it really started during the Clarence Thomas hearings. Many people see to think it’s time for partisan politics to come to an end. I disagree.

Personally, I think partisanship is a GOOD thing. When the people’s interest is promoted in a partisan way, usually principle wins out. When compromise rules the day, only the politicians and/or bureaucrats win. I’ve always believed that NO solution is better than a compromised Government solution.

We all talk about. Funny, all things were designed to adapt to change, even the human body and the entire ecosystem. It’s only when systems can NOT adapt that they get sick and die. The same applies to every aspect of life, including families, churches and political parties. BUT, change for the sake of change is not healthy.

Republicans worship Reagan for what he accomplished. But, it wasn’t necessarily Ronald Reagan that made those things happen. It was the principles of freedom and smaller Government that made them work. Reagan, The Great Communicator, simply stood fast on those principles and the rest is history. The same can be said for Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America in ’94. Somehow, we’ve confused personality with principle.

I encourage voters to find the ONE person that most supports those principles that are dearest to them, NOT just the person they think can win in November. When the American voter finally (and inevitably) decides to vote for principle over personality, there will be a return of power to the people like WE have NEVER witnessed. That’s when the lines will be so clear that party affiliation will not matter.

Stay engaged. Make them work for your vote. When you step up to that ballot box ONLY you (and the computer hacker) will know for whom you voted. Make it count and let the chips fall where they may.

Performance Enhancing Drugs

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been treated to the so-called Mitchell report identifying several Major League stars that had used performance enhancing drugs. The report was received with a collective yawn by most Americans. Many were shocked by the seeming apathy at what many consider “cheating” by using steroids or human growth hormone.

But how could we be surprised by the public’s “so what” reaction to the allegations. For years, owners simply turned their back while MLB was enjoying growing fan interest with the home run race between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa. Better hitters and faster pitchers are good for the game, right? And, what would the player’s union say? After all, more fans and more revenue for MLB mean bigger salaries and prolonged careers for its members. As a fan of Aaron, Mays, Rose, Koufax, Clemente and so many other greats of the past, I’m disgusted and have decided to all but ignore professional sports altogether.

In a society where children from the age of two are given the equivalent of cocaine (Ritalin, Adderol, etc.) supposedly to help them do better in school by suppressing “symptoms” of ADD/ADHD. As adults, we take pills for potency (Viagra, Cialis, etc) or pills to sleep or for depression and anxiety. In fact, our society seems to be based on the premise of “better living through chemistry”. “Whatever it takes” is the mantra of today’s American athlete. Heck, maybe that’s one of the problems facing our entire culture. We’re so bent on winning that we’ve cast aside corny virtues like integrity, hard work and sportsmanship.

There was a time when Americans ridiculed Eastern Bloc countries for using steroids to boost their performance in the Olympics. But then again, that was before the USA decided to use professional basketball, baseball and hockey players to ensure winning Olympic medals. I wonder how many Americans relish the specter of American amateur athletes winning the gold medal in hockey or basketball, any more. I hardly even watch the Olympics these days.

But, unless we’re willing to clean up the rest of society, why the double standard for MLB players? Professional sports in some ways merely reflect social mores. Maybe we’ll eventually get the idea that how we play the game and how we live our own lives are more important than the instant gratification of hollow victory. Real victory is an expression of who you are deep inside and reflects the training, dedication and endurance of one who really loves who they are and what they do. Honor, principle and the game itself are far more important any statistic or season.

Posted by Tim Langley at 11:28 AM 0 comments

Labels: ADD/ADHD, Adderol, Alternative health care, athletes, Cialis, drugs, Mitchell Report, MLB, Ritalin, sports, Steroids, Viagra

Stop giving antibiotics for colds and coughs, doctors told

I can’t tell you how much grief I’ve caught over the years about my opinion on the overuse (even abuse) of antibiotics. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that the medical world is finally realizing that building immunity is better than fighting germs.Here’s the link to an interesting article: Stop giving antibiotics for colds

Can chiropractic cure…?

One of the questions I always get about what I do is “Can chiropractic help my problem?”  One of the objections I’ve heard for years, even before my real introduction to chiropractic is “Chiropractors believe chiropractic can cure anything from the common cold to cancer”.

Well, I’ve been a chiropractor for eight years now.  And, I’ve been around it for 19 years.  And, I’ve learned two things.  Sure.  Chiropractic can help.  And, no chiropractic can’t cure you.  Now let me explain.

Chiropractic is not magic.  It’s not voodoo.  And, it’s not Medicine.  It’s unique in a wonderful way.  Chiropractic is based on the premise that the body  is organized to always seek its own highest good.

Your nervous system controls and coordinates all your body’s functions to make sure that happens.  Stress on the nervous system can affect how well your body functions.

All the chiropractor really does is remove (or reduce) one source of stress on your nervous system.  When that happens, your body functions better.  When your body functions better, health improves and, usually, symptoms go away.

Yesterday, a business associate told me that he didn’t believe that chiropractic could help his problem with seizures.  I thought that was a little ironic since the reason I am a chiropractor today is a little girl (Rockie) who suffered from seizures until she began to see a chiropractor.

But, can chiropractic cure seizures, cancer or even the common cold?  Of course not!  The first chiropractic adjustment cured a man of his acquired deafness, yet not every deaf person who’s gotten adjusted has had their hearing restored.  Having said that though, let me say that I would NEVER refuse to adjust someone because they had cancer, seizures or a common cold.

In my practice, I accept ALL cases regardless of their condition because I know that the human body is capable of far more than I (or science) can even imagine AND that if I can remove a source of interference in how their body functions there is no telling what might happen.

I learned long ago that miracles DO happen only when we step out of the way and allow them to.  Really, the real miracle is that we ever allow the body to function as it was originally designed.

So, back to original question.  Can chiropractic help my problem?  Yes, of course.