Communicate with Your Chiropractor

Over thirty years of practicing I have found that I am often asked "What makes a Perfect Patient"? My answer is simple. I build a partnership with trust and mostly communication. It is very important that you communicate with your chiropractor and work together in making yourself healthy and ensuring that you stay healthy. I am encouraging my patients to take advantage of the added benefit of "health awareness mentoring" they receive as a chiropractic patient in my office. Since at the present time the insurance industry does not reward us for being proactive in taking care of ourselves, the journey to health is truly about shouldering the responsiblity ourselves. Learning about self awareness and taking responsiblity for our own health and health issues empowers us to have much more control over our lives. The issues to be discussed and the opportunity to learn about ourselves is endless. Whether you're fighting through traffic, paying the monthly bills, dealing with the noisy next-door neighbor or struggling with illness or disease, it can all add up to a considerable amount of stress. Stress is basically what we feel whenever we are faced with a difficult, unpleasant or challenging situation, and the way we deal with all this stress can substantially influence our overall health and well-being. If stress is affecting your life, it's time to make an appointment with a doctor of chiropractic. Here's why: A study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) examined the contribution of stress as a potential disease trigger among 138 chiropractic patients attending one of 10 chiropractic clinics. Patients completed two questionnaires that asked about how their current stress affected their ability to function emotionally, mentally and physically.
Results showed that nearly one in three patients viewed their lives as moderately to severely stressful, and more than 50% felt that stress had a moderate or severe impact on their current health problem. Nearly three-quarters (71%) of the patients said that it would be helpful if their chiropractic care included strategies to help them cope with stress.
Chiropractic care might be just what you need to help relieve some of that stress in your life. And remember, evidence suggests that low back pain, a condition that chiropractors are experts at managing, may be caused or worsened by stress. So talk to your chiropractor about stress and about all of your health care needs. Trust and communication are important in any relationship, but perhaps no more so than in the relationship between patient and doctor. After all, you're placing your health and wellness in their hands.

"GET YOUR ADJUSTMENT TODAY"

How To Reduce the Need for Chiropractic Adjustments

I am frequently asked by my patients and others why it is that my patients seem to need more chiropractic adjustments than I do (the doctor). It is a very legitimate question and one in my opinion that deserves a response. The answer is simple and at the heart of health awareness mentoring....do it for yourself!

No, I am not being sarcastic. The essence (at the core) of physical health is movement. I am sure you all get endlessly fatigued, even annoyed at times by me asking what kind of exercise are you doing. The bad news is that this kind of questioning is not going to go away. The good news is that is worth repeating endlessly because it is a universal principle that health, energy, alertness, and a positive attitude are directly linked to the quality and consistency of movement in our life.

When you add in movement (i.e a regime of walking) into your daily routine, you are doing yourself a huge favor. You will discover that the additional tissue circulation and oxygenation will brighten your outlook on life, reduce your stress (actually give you alone time and an opportunity to decide how to better manage your stress), improve digestion and elimination and stimulate breathing capacity (just to name a few of the health benefits you’ll receive).

Now for how that applies to reducing the need for chiropractic adjustments. That is accomplished by taking the exercise commitment to the next level. The Chiropractic adjustment again is about movement of the individual segments (vertebrae) of the spine and the associated soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments). On a weekly basis I participate in a variety of physical activities that may surprise you. I understand the necessity of a varied exercise particularly as we age to accommodate our bodies’ need to maintain strength, flexibility and stamina to be able to do all that we have to do individually in a day. Other than walk, I bicycle, occasionally swim, take an energetic step aerobics class, lift weights, do resistance band exercises, take yoga and pilates, and participate in high energy dance exercise classes such as Zumba and Nia to strengthen ligaments and maintain musculoskeletal and neurological balance. These types of exercising and fitness dramatically reduce my need for chiropractic adjustments because they bring mobility to every aspect of my being. Try it yourself...I guarantee as you become familar with the concept it will not only add a wonderful new dimension to your health, but it will also reduce the frequency you will need to visit any health care practitioner.