Check Engine Light: What your body may be saying
Dr. Amy Spoelstra | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 13 years, 3 months AGO
If you've been following the last few weeks, you should now have a pretty good grasp of chiropractic terminology, what it entails and how we perceive a healthy, functioning body. Now we come to another aspect of the dynamic chiropractor-body-patient relationship - communication. Conveying how you are feeling to your chiropractor will help evaluate your spine during your adjustment sessions; especially if it is something that is not normally checked on your regular visits, such as an extremity, or if something physiological or internal is occurring.
So check in with yourself. How are you today? Are you having any on-going or chronic pain? Unexplained aches? Frequent headaches? Less than normal energy level?
I know this seems like a very broad, all-encompassing list but in all reality, having one of these symptoms could be your body's way of trying to alert you to a small problem before it becomes more. Granted, if you haven't run for months, and ran a few miles yesterday, you would expect to be a bit stiff and sore. But a chronic condition is a sign that something in your body is not working as it should.
As always, our autonomic nervous system is our key to health but there can be multiple factors at work. What you are fueling your body with has its own impact and shockwave value. For example, in a 2006 Surgical Neurology study it was found that 59 percent of chronic pain sufferers can eliminate the need for pain drugs when they consume adequate levels of omega-3 essential fatty acids because these help reduce inflammation.
In addition, in 2002 the Annuals of Pharmacology stated that chronic pain can be eliminated in some just by removing aspartame and glutamate (aka monosodium glutamate or MSG) from their diet for four months. So check in with yourself, make an appointment to have your spine evaluated today and check those food labels!
To find out more about chiropractic or about our nutrition counseling, call us at (208) 667-7434 or see us at our office at 370 E. Kathleen Ave., Suite 600, Coeur d'Alene, to find out more. You can also visit our website at www.CDAHealth.com or find us on Facebook.
ARTICLES BY DR. AMY SPOELSTRA
Focus on ADD/ADHD
You have been seeing the terms ADD and ADHD very often in our recent articles. This is due to the fact that our Focus program is now in full swing and we have begun helping children and adults in managing their sensory integration issues such as ADD/ADHD or patterns of being impulsive, hyperactive, inattentive or exhibit an unexplained lack of productivity.
Chiropractic goes beyond pain
Our bodies are amazing. Think about that statement. As you do, also think about the fact that you probably took a breath, blinked your eyes, moved a limb, moved your head, focused your eyes, digested food, healed a cut, wiggled a toe, salivated and a million other internal operations. Although you were not readily thinking about all of these processes, they were going on without the need for your input. Your brain, while also supplying you with conscious thought, is simultaneously orchestrating a laundry list of functions to keep you alive and well.
How's your resolution going?
As March moves in, the steadfast determination of many people to continue carrying out their New Year's resolutions is no doubt starting to fade. If you are still holding strong to the things you have changed in your life, bravo! If not, well, there's always next year, right?