Headaches…

At some point, everyone is susceptible to the headache.

But what puts the “ache” in our headaches? Unfortunately, for about 20% of the population, frequent stress can lead to chronic, recurring headaches. So what causes this unwelcome visitor?

Mostly, headaches are caused by stress that the body has been unable to properly adapt to. These stresses might include:

• chemical stress (like caffeine withdrawal)
• emotional stress (like excessive busyness)
• physical stress (like muscle tension)

Each year Americans spend in excess of $2.5 BILLION on acetaminophen (Tylenol), aspirin and ibuprofen. These drugs, apart from their numerous side effects, treat only the symptoms while ignoring the root cause of the headache. Though certain foods, alcohol and stress may be the culprits, a frequently overlooked cause of headaches actually stems from your nervous system. The root cause of that headache of yours often stems from nerve interference (subluxation) and spinal misalignments in your upper neck.

Subluxation? What in the world does that have to do with headaches?

We know that a headache is not a “brain” ache. The real culprit is the pain of sensitive structures of the head. As spinal nerves and associated tissues and structures are compressed, stretched or irritated, they can produce abnormal body function. Hopefully you’ve guessed it…Headaches are a common effect of this abnormal, stress-induced state.

So next time you reach for the over-the-counter drugs, just remember that while they may cover up these warning signs that the body is malfunctioning, they do nothing to correct the underlying cause or the associated bodily malfunction. These days many people are inclined to believe that headaches are to be accepted as a normal part of life due to their common occurrence. However, headaches are your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong.

A Trip to the Farm

Of all the supplements available on the market, people ask me why we use Standard Process supplements.  First off, why do we need supplements at all?  Studies have shown that 99% of the American population is mineral deficient.  These minerals help chemical processes occur in our body, and without them hormones and other processes can’t happen. This leads to greater deficiencies and possible illnesses.  Our food today does not offer enough vitamins and minerals that our body needs to function optimally on a daily basis.  Most of us are eating dead food that has no nutritional value, and this is why we need supplements.

But why Standard Process?  I had a chance recently to visit the Standard Process farm in Wisconsin and see how the supplements are prepared.  After the trip I have a new appreciation for the quality that goes into each SP product.  Each product Standard Process makes starts with whole food, grown on certified organic farmland and never sprayed with herbicides or pesticides.  The vegetables and herbs grow in a high mineral rich soil, and then the whole plant is pressed to get all of the minerals, vitamins, and enzymes we need from our food.  With that process our body can use the whole food based supplement more readily (feeding the body at a cellular level) versus a synthetic supplement made in a laboratory.

Seeing first hand the quality and care they put into each product, I know with Standard Process you are getting a whole food based supplement that your body needs.

Wellness Chiropractic

What's the difference between the Medical Model and the Chiropractic Model?

We're glad you asked!

Medicine focuses on symptoms, their effects and how to treat them. It is a symptom and disease oriented approach. For example, if your child gets an ear infection, the Medical Model says to treat the pain and the infection with medication. The cause is never addressed.

The Chiropractic Model focuses on developing a normal, healthy nervous system by eliminating interference from within. Since the nervous system controls every organ and cell in your body, the chiropractic model believes that developing a healthy nervous system will consequently make a healthy individual. In the previous example, if your child gets an ear infection, the Chiropractic Model focuses on the underlying cause of the ear infection, not simply the symptoms. What's the goal of Chiropractic?

The goal is to free your nervous system of interference (this interference is referred to as subluxation) so it can more clearly perceive your changing needs. Consequently, it restores your self-healing capabilities for increased vitality. Chiropractic also seeks to improve your lifestyle and reduce emotional, chemical and physical stress.

We believe that medicine does have its proper place. However, we are convinced that a holistic approach that focuses on causes rather than symptoms is exactly what people need to unlock life's potential in them.

By Dr. Christopher Kent

Many people have a misconception about chiropractic and the critical role it plays in health and well-being. The misconception is that chiropractic care is limited to treating back and neck pain. Although many people have experienced relief from back and neck pain through chiropractic services, the foundation, intent, and vision of chiropractic is far beyond simply helping to reduce symptoms.

Chiropractic is the largest licensed, non-medical health-care profession in North America, with approximately 60,000 practitioners in the United States. Chiropractors are doctors. They earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree after completing three to four years of undergraduate study, and a four-year professional course. After graduation, they must pass further exams to obtain a license to practice.

There are basically 2 styles of chiropractic practice. One type of chiropractor is what we refer to as limited scope practitioner. These chiropractors choose to limit their practice to dealing with back and neck pain only. Such doctors provide specialized care to patients with musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

The other type of chiropractic doctor is a wellness chiropractor. This wellness chiropractor focuses on your general health and well-being, and that of your family. The objective of the wellness chiropractor is to work with you in maximizing your life potential.

Chiropractic has two basic principles on which it's philosophies are based.  The principles are very simple.

#1 The human body is designed and created to be a self healing and self regulating.

If I were to cut a live person's hand as well as a dead person's hand, the next day, a week from now, a month from now...what's going to be the difference between the hand of the live person and the dead person's hand? It is going to be healing.  The healing process is going to be occurring because that is what we're designed to do. We're designed to be a self healing organism.

What is happening to your heart rate right now? If you were to begin jogging in place, what would change? Your body regulates how many times it needs the heart to beat in order to pump enough blood. It is also regulating the digestion, the breathing, the liver function, the kidney function-all the organs, blood vessels and glands, but the you're not thinking about those things.  It's self regulating - it does it automatically.

#2 The nervous system is the master system and controller of the body.

In other words, the nervous system is telling your body how to self heal and regulate. In essence, it's communicating between the brain and the body and the body and the brain as to how much digestive enzymes are needed to be produced, how many times your heart needs to beat, even how many white blood cells or how high of a fever you need to fight an infection. But what's important is that every cell, tissue and organ is regulated and controlled by the nervous system.

This is why wellness chiropractors focus on the nervous system.  We all have what you call an innate intelligence, an inborn intelligence. All it means is that it's not taught.  No one had to teach our bodies how to breathe, the heart to beat, how to digest, how to filter out toxins, how to heal a cut, fight an infection, how to grow and develop or how to handle every experience in our life. Our bodies just know - they have an innate, inborn intelligence in order to do that. Again, all of which is controlled by the nervous system as it communicates between the brain and the body. This is why the nervous system is the first system to develop for babies in the womb. It then regulates and coordinates the development of all other systems.

So, why do people get sick? People get sick as a result of damage to the nervous system that interferes with the communication. This, in turn, no longer allows the body to be self healing and self regulating, leading to a downward spiral of our overall health and well-being.