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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Common questions, part 1

I'd like to take the opportunity to answer some common questions that I get asked. So with much fanfare, let me present part one in the series of Common questions chiropractors get asked. Please feel free to submit any questions of your own.

Question 1) Why would someone want to have an adjustment (for those skeptics saying: I feel fine)
Well, do you want to be healthy, or just not sick?
If you don't feel bad, does that mean you couldn't feel better?
if you feel fine, why would you exercise? Or take vitamins or supplements? Or eat organic produce? Or meditate, or do yoga?
Well, if you're like me, and I assume that by reading this blog you probably are, you understand that by taking some or all of these actions, you can feel better than you've ever felt, function better than ever, and live a more active, vital, long and healthy life.
Chiropractic fits in with exercise, good nutrition, positive mental attitude, and rest (just to name a few), as critical components of the wellness lifestyle. Why? Because chiropractic focuses on the proper alignment and function of the spine and nervous system, which controls every aspect of how the rest of your body works.

Do you want to survive or thrive? Health is a continuum, with symptom-free being pretty much right in the middle.
Here's the problem with making decisions and taking action based on the presence (or absence) of pain. Pain is very subjective, and incredibly inaccurate. Just because you don't have pain doesn't mean you don't have a problem. Many of the degenerative processes in the body don't register pain until there has been a significant, and sometimes irreversible damage.
Is that what you are waiting for? There's no question that if you feel pain, you should take action. It's been said that Pain is an acronym that stands for "Pay Attention Inside Now". But the pain going away is just the first stage of the healing process.

Not everyone needs the same amount of care, but if you've never been checked out then you have no idea what the state of health of your spine or nervous system is. This is not what your family doctor is looking at or trained in. Yes it's true, your GP is not trained to do everything.
Some people are crisis oriented, and wait until they can't move before they take action on their issues. But in the 21st century, many are wellness oriented and understand that there are things that they can do to prevent problems from happening in the first place.
Which type of person are you, and is it working for you?

Chiropractors don't raise stroke risk, study says

Is it my birthday in January? Nope, but this just makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over.
This is just great news all around, and a great article to see in both the popular press and peer-reviewed journals.
A study conducted through the University of Toronto and the University Health Network found that the risk of a stroke following a chiropractic visit is no higher than a visit to a family doctor.
While this is what chiropractors have been telling their patients and all who would listen for years and years, it is always great to see a study that validates the safety of the leading alternative and complementary healing art in North America.
In my years in practice, I have come upon people who've said that they'd never get adjusted, or who thought that a chiropractor could even kill them! Will this article and study do anything to sway their opinion, or calm their nerves? Hopefully, but pre-conceived notions, beliefs and biases can run deep.

Consider this.
The risk of stroke related to a chiropractic adjustment (a rare type of stroke caused by damage to the vertebral artery) is estimated to occur 1 in 5 million times. Let me repeat that.....1 in 5 million!!!
My office is in a medical building, and I've realized that I am actually the safest doctor in the entire complex! There is no medical procedure or drug which has a safety profile that good. Doctors would love to trade malpractice premiums with me, because the reality is that what they do is far more dangerous and carries far higher intrinsic risks to their patients than any technique I would deliver in my (or any other chiropractors') office.

Medicine is the third leading cause of death in North America behind heart disease and cancer. Number Three.
Maybe we need to take a more realistic and less biased look at risk in healthcare.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Cloned meat and milk?




Really?
Is this a good idea?
I saw yesterday on an all news channel, that the "FDA has determined that meat and dairy from cloned animals is safe".
Well thank god! Where can I get some?
In all seriousness, I was shocked at how ho-hum the anchor was who read this. Especially since every person or parent in my office I've told to about it, or every person who mentioned it to me was shocked and disturbed.
It brings up the question of whether we should do something just because we can.

Here's the bigger question. Will we be told what we're eating?
In Canada, the food industry does not have to tell us (and as a result doesn't) whether the food we eat is genetically modified (GMO). Will the powerful food lobby exert its will again? Will we be force fed cloned livestock?
Will we have to pay extra to get real meat if we want it?

If you oppose this cloned food, or you feel that it needs to be labelled, please contact your local MP, or state representative.
For more information on dairy companies who oppose cloned milk check out:
http://www.mindfully.org/GE/2007/Dean-Cloned-Cows23feb07.htm
To read more about this check out:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080115/health/health_cloned_meat

Please let me know what you think.

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