A nurse practitioner came into our office and talked to me about the differences between chiropractics and our present healthcare system with medicine. He said that their approach was more of a reactive type of approach to healthcare as opposed to a proactive type of approach to healthcare. The reactive type is when your body’s breaking down, you’re starting to get symptoms, and you need a first-aid situation, like medication or surgery. This course of healthcare is the most expensive and the least effective, because it doesn’t really get to the cause. This was pointed out by the nurse practitioner, which I believe is an accurate portrayal of our present form of healthcare with medicine.
What we do here at Bates Chiropractic is more proactive, because we practice corrective care. Corrective care is designed to correct the cause so that the body can self correct and heal on its own.
More on that later, but for now, just a friendly reminder that our Nutrition Talk will be held @ the Manhattan Beach Library on Tuesday, April 20th @ 6:45pm. Call us @ (310) 545-4188 to reserve a seat for you and your loved ones.
Chiropractor Manhattan Beach Talks About Posture!
Dr. Rob here! I want to talk to you all about Forward Head Posture, or FHP. FHP can be linked to many problems, including neck pain, upper back pain, low back pain, fatigue, headaches, and even carpel tunnel syndrome. Your head weighs approximately 10 pounds, and when your head is set forward, your posture follows. This causes tremendous pressure on your back. For example, every inch forward causes about 20 pounds of added pressure on your upper back. Essentially, your ears should align with your shoulders, and corrective care can help you achieve this! If you have any questions, or concerns about Forward Head Posture, contact me at www.chiropractormanhattanbeach.com.
How You Can Dramatically Reduce Healthcare Costs and Save Lives!
Last week we talked about Drug Awareness Week that was being held in the local schools. Actually, there are a few schools that are having it this week. So, we’re going to continue on the D.A.R.E or drug awareness week. As you remember, last week we talked about the legal drug cartels.
This week, I want to talk about this interesting survey that came out about prescription drugs:
The National Health and Nutrition Survey was done over the course of ten years.
According to the study, over the last decade, the amount of Americans that took one prescription drug in the last month statistically went from 44% in 1999 to 48% today.
Those people that used two or more drugs increased from 25% to 31%.
The use of five or more drugs increased from 6% to 11%.
In 2007-2008, one out of every five children, as well as nine out of ten American adults, had taken at least one prescription drug in the last month.
Interestingly enough, the business of prescription drugs is actually booming right now, which is part of our drug mindset culture that we were talking about last week. The total spent on prescription drugs in 2008 was 234 billion dollars, which is double from 1999.
Another interesting study came out with a potential solution to the over-spending: The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics revealed that after 4 years, 22,000 patients demonstrated a 51.8% reduction of prescription costs when care was directed by a doctor of Chiropractic.
If you extrapolate that 51.8% reduction of prescription drug costs that would have saved the U.S. Healthcare System 121 Billion in the last decade! It’s really amazing to think that by redirecting the focus away from drug therapy, such a huge change can happen on just the cost of healthcare.
I wanted to really bring that up, I’m not trying to say that medical doctors should be booted out of the primary care position; I think they should stay on as primary care physicians, but I think the way it should be thought of when we see our primary care physician is that when we have a certain complaint, the doctor should look at the complaint, and we should take those medications in an emergency situations, because that’s what they’re designed to do. Then, if the doctor rules out a medical emergency, then just go and see your chiropractor. That way you build your health through receiving adjustments that allow the internal mechanism of the body to enhance and work the way it’s designed to. The body works at its best, like it should, with no interference. So, when you correct spinal subluxations, the body can work at its optimum level.
If we can just get the word out where people start changing their attitudes on how they’re taking care of themselves, we can really affect the whole healthcare system. So, if you can spread the word to other people, you can probably save a life (and a lot of money).
Refer people to our website: www.chiropractormanhattanbeach.com and forward them this health blog.
We appreciate serving you!
Kids and Chiropractic Tests
Every chiropractor you meet will say that kids shouldn’t suffer from backaches, period – that is unless they suffer from back conditions. Those who deal with kids and chiropractic services will agree, which is why most medical specialists often carry out the following tests to determine why a child who is in the prime of his youth shouldn’t yell every time he bends over to pick up his favorite toy.
X-Rays – A doctor might recommend an x-ray of the child’s spine in order to make it possible for him to examine it from all angles. The exam will show any potential deformities, vertebral displacements or any other problem that might be causing discomfort to the child.
CT Scans – A CT, or Computed Tomography, scan will be necessary if the medical specialist needs to see a full 3D scan of the child’s spine. CT scans allows doctors to analyze anomalies that might not be visible on 2D x-ray scans. This is also why CT scans are so valuable in assessing complex structures in the spine or any small fractures that will not show up in an x-ray.
Bone Scans – Kids and chiropractic practices also use bone scans to diagnose any issues with a patient’s spine. This test uses a special substance that is injected into a vein. A special camera is used to see where it is picked up. The test is successful in detecting a number of spinal anomalies such as tumors, infections, inflammations and fractures. Medical specialists will also recommend bone scans if the cause of a backache cannot be determined by an x-ray.
MRI – MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a very valuable technique in diagnosing back issues in kids and chiropractic cases in children. Since MRI scans show both tissue and bone this doesn’t come as a surprise.
Professional chiropractors are of the opinion that pediatric backache does not normally carry a diagnosis so parents need not worry about making their kids go through a plethora of imaging tests. Special tests such as the ones mentioned are only necessary if a child’s condition worsens or if he/she was involved in an accident.
It is also best that parents care about their kids’ well being by educating them on better ways to take care of themselves. Kids and chiropractic practices can only go so far to ensure that your child’s back is healthy enough to facilitate his growth.
Image used under Creative Commons Licensing: Teenagers at Play (6768191473).jpg
Life is Motion, Motion is Life
Life is motion and motion is life, and the same goes for your spine. What we find is that when you lose motion in your spine, the body begins to lose health. That’s why it’s really important to keep exercising, doing yoga and whatever types of stretching exercises you like to do, because it keeps global motion in your body.
When it comes to individual segments of your spine, the spine needs to move segmentally to work properly. If the spine begins to lose proper motion, it starts to create problems. The brain sends out messages and data to all of the organs of the body, but there are also messages and data that feed back up to the brain. When the vertebrae are moving properly, it actually sends out electrical impulses from the spine and nourishes the brain and allows the brain to regulate the physiology of all your organs to keep you healthy.
When the spinal vertebrae are not moving properly, the electrical impulses and data of those particular segments are no longer feeding into the brain. Now the brain is no longer receiving the electrical nourishment and is not able to regulate the physiology, meaning your health will suffer. That is called a subluxation.
That’s why we have whole families that come in, the children and grandparents get checked on a regular basis. Your body needs to have regular motion in the spine, that’s why we look for the subluxation. It’s very important to get family check ups. If you aren’t doing so, give us a call and we’d be glad to check you, your kids, and your whole family. If you have questions about this, don’t hesitate to contact us at Bates Chiropractic (310) 545-4188 or www.chiropractormanhattanbeach.com