I was in practice for about five years, before I figured out that all the patients I used to do nutrition and supplements counseling with, did significantly better when they were getting adjusted.
After that, I never did any counseling for any patient, that was not getting adjusted, even if they traveled a long distance.
So, for the first time in more than 10 years I stopped doing that, and of course the results are mediocre at best. The patient had never been adjusted, and because of who he was, and where he lived, I let it slide that I would just do nutritional counseling with him.
Never again.
So, you might be wondering why are the results exponentially better when people are getting adjusted?
The actual neurology of how chiropractic adjustment helps people, is fairly complex, so I'll do my best to make it easy to follow.
If you get a chance, watch the video of this super-nice mom, talking about how chiropractic has helped her seven-year-old daughter get better from asthma attacks. Asthma is not what you typically think of when you think of chiropractic, most people think pain in the neck pain, or pain in the low back, etc.
This is a good representation of our goal for the year. We are trying to focus more on health and wellness, so that you can start living a life like a chiropractor.
When a nerve does not work right, it becomes supersensitive and will behave erratically. This is a universal law of the nervous system that is highlighted by the world authority on chronic pain, Dr. Chan Gunn.
How does a nerve become supersensitive? Almost always from a trauma. Could be anything from an auto accident, birth, falling on the ice, or just slipping down the stairs.
Then what happens? The muscles that are in the area start to shorten.
Interestingly, Dr. Gunn also states that any form of stress, whether a emotional or physical, can cause muscle shortening.
Now, we have a problem. As a muscle starts to shorten, it starts restricting the motion of the segments around it.
That's bad, because your brain requires feedback from your body to let it know what's going on and how to best perform.
For example, the girl with asthma can have a local nerve interference at the site of the nerves that go to the lungs. She can also have an indirect interference of the nerves that travel to the brain and control health and wellness.
This is how crazy, cool a chiropractic adjustment can be.
The adjustment will stimulate motion that can influence the brain in sights that are supersensitive. These messages from the adjustment, will eventually pass through the hypothalamus of the brain.
The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, important aspects of parenting and attachment behaviors, thirst, fatigue, sleep, and circadian rhythms.
The main function of the hypothalamus is homeostasis, or maintaining the body's status quo. Factors such as blood pressure, body temperature, fluid and electrolyte balance, and body weight are held to a precise value called the set-point.
This is the very reason why I saw patients that were getting adjusted do so much better in their nutrition programs, their supplements and their general daily health, than the ones who were not.
This is the same reason, that 20 years ago, I got adjusted 3 to 4 times a day when I started getting sick. By the next day, I was mostly better.
Chiropractic is obviously very good at decreasing peoples pain, but I thought you should know that it is extremely good at increasing your wellness and health.