Chiropractic..."Built-In" Healthcare

built-in

adj 

        1. made or incorporated as an integral part 

        2. essential; inherent

When I was a kid growing up in Miami there were two kinds of swimming pools - above-ground and built-ins (for some reason we didn't call them "in-ground" yet). And all built-ins were concrete...no vinyl and no fiberglass. I remember my neighbors putting in a built-in as we watched from our circular, four-foot-high, above-ground, vinyl-lined "pool' with a rickety wooden deck.  I always wanted a built-in.  Built-ins had slides and diving boards and underwater lights and you never had to worry about falling out of them. They looked so....permanent.  I recently looked at my old neighborhood on Google Maps and found it interesting that the houses that had built-ins when I was a kid still have them 40 years later.

It's kinda like that with health too. When we make our health habits "built-in" they just seem so effortless.  So permanent.  When eating right and exercise are part of  a lifestyle, we don't have to try so hard. It's just normal to do these things as healthy behaviors.  Being a membership practice has allowed our patients to see Chiropractic this way, too. Weekly adjustments to remove nerve interference for a greater expression of life. Integral. Essential. Built-in. I like that.

Babies need Chiropractic too

I love being a Chiropractor! What an honor and privilege it is to help another human being express their God-given potential.  

This week we were blessed with not only one, but two newborns from two different families getting their first adjustments. Let's face it birth is messy. And traumatic!  Both of these little ones came into the world under less   than ideal circumstances.  One was an emergency C-section and the other one just took rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy long. In both cases the added stress caused subluxations in their spines which leads to less than normal life expression. Both sets of parents knew this and made it a priority to get their newbies checked and adjusted right away.  If you've never seen an infant get adjusted it's way different that you'd expect.  There are special techniques designed specifically for these little guys. One of my favorite ways of checking for an atlas subluxation (the atlas is the very first bone in the neck and when subluxated can have devastating effects on nerve function) is to gently hang the baby upside down and look at their neck movement. This is being demonstrated with Baby Leah below. No, don't worry...this isn't that crazy baby yoga stuff you see on Youtube.  This is very gentle and very precise.  Once I see which way the baby's neck is misaligned I use my instrument to tap the bone into alignment, as you can see with Baby Ethan.  

Thanks again to both moms and dads for allowing us the opportunity to help. A healthy nerve system should always be a priority and these 2 little munchkins have parents that understand this and want their children to start life at 100%. 

Like I said...I love being a Chiropractor.

Flat Dr. Chris Contest Winner!

Flat Dr. Chris' Vacation To Gatlinburg, Tennessee

with Josh, Sarah and Baby Aurora!

It was a sunny July day and Flat Dr. Chris, Josh, Sarah and Baby Aurora were packing up the final things for their trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. "I'm so excited to see the mountains!" Flat Dr. Chris said.  Baby Aurora squealed in excitement.  Once everything was packed and in the car, they set out for adventure.  With a few stops along the way, they arrived at their cabin in the mountains. "It's beautiful!" Flat Dr. Chris said.  Josh and Sarah agreed.

 

After settling into their cabin, the four of them admired the mountain view.  “I wonder what kind of adventures we will have on our vacation!,” Sarah said with excitement.  Flat Dr. Chris smiled.

 

As they were relaxing on the deck of their cabin, they suddenly began to hear noises.  “It sounds like a bear!”  Josh exclaimed.  After searching the grounds of the cabin, they came across a bear wincing in pain.  “I hurt my back digging in your neighbors trash can,” Mr. Bear said.  “I’m so sore!”  It was then that Flat Dr. Chris remembered that he had thought to pack his portable Arthrostim. “That sounds like a subluxation to me!” Baby Aurora proclaimed.  Flat Dr. Chris then began to check Mr. Bear's alignment for a crisis.  “Oh this is an easy fix!” Flat Dr. Chris said.  After a “tap tap tap”, the bear sighed with relief.  “Thanks Flat Dr. Chris, your adjustment really helped!” said Mr. Bear. “Glad I could help!” replied Flat Dr. Chris as Mr. Bear went on his way.

The following day, Josh, Sarah, Baby Aurora and Flat Dr. Chris explored the Forbidden Cavern in Sevierville, TN.  The beautiful caverns were filled with flint and other unique calcite formations.  They were even able to see the largest wall of rare cave onyx known to exist.  As they made their way deeper and deeper into the cavern, they heard what sounded like panting.  They turned the corner to see an obviously very tired bat resting on a ledge.  “I'm so tired!" Mr. Bat huffed.  "I flew into this cavern to look for food but I'd now like to fly back to my family.  I took a nap earlier but I seemed to have slept wrong and now my wing is sore.  And we’re 650 feet below ground-level you know!" he panted.  “That sounds like a subluxation to me!” Baby Aurora proclaimed.  Flat Dr. Chris then began to check Mr. Bat's alignment for any priorities.  “Well it's good you mentioned your lack of rest, chiropractic care is known to help with this!  After all, you don't always have to be in pain to need an adjustment!" Flat Dr. Chris said.  After a “tap tap tap”, Mr. Bat sighed with relief.  “Thanks Flat Dr. Chris, your adjustment really helped!” said Mr. Bat. “Glad I could help!” replied Flat Dr. Chris as Mr. Bat flew out of the cavern.

Later that day, Josh, Sarah, Baby Aurora and Flat Dr. Chris headed to Ripley’s Aquarium.  The shark tunnel was Aurora’s favorite part of the Aquarium; she loved looking at all of the fish swimming around her!  Upon coming to the jellyfish area, they began to hear lots and lots of splashing.  “I hurt one of my tentacles,” Ms. Jellyfish sadly stated.  "It hurts to swim!"  “That sounds like a subluxation to me!” Baby Aurora proclaimed.  Flat Dr. Chris then began to check Ms. Jellyfish's alignment for a crisis.  “Well it’s not your spine because you don’t have one!” stated Flat Dr. Chris.  “But don't worry, chiropractic care can help anyone!” he stated as he manually adjusted Ms. Jellyfish.  After a quick “stretch" and a "bend”, Ms. Jellyfish sighed with relief.  “Thanks Flat Dr. Chris, your adjustment really helped!” she said. “Glad I could help!” replied Flat Dr. Chris as Ms. Jellyfish swam away.

As they were preparing to leave the aquarium, Josh, Sarah, Baby Aurora and Flat Dr. Chris began to hear awful cries of pain.  They followed the noises and found a Dinosaur exhibit that they hadn't yet seen.  As they entered they immediately came across a very large Tyrannosaurus Rex who was clearly in pain.  "I'm so hungry," Mr. T-Rex exclaimed.  "But I hurt my jaw eating dinner yesterday and now it hurts to chew."  "That sounds like a subluxation to me!” Baby Aurora proclaimed.  Flat Dr. Chris then began to check Mr. T-Rex's alignment.  “Oh this is an easy fix!” Flat Dr. Chris said.  After a “tap tap tap”, Mr. T-Rex sighed with relief.  “Thanks Flat Dr. Chris, your adjustment really helped!” he said. “Glad I could help!” replied Flat Dr. Chris as Mr. T-Rex began to eat his food.

The following day, Josh, Sarah, Baby Aurora and Flat Dr. Chris were driving down the strip of Gatlinburg.  Flat Dr. Chris and Aurora were gazing out the window when all of a sudden the car came to a stop.  “Guess what we’re doing?!” Josh happily said.  “Oh my gosh!  I’ve been here before.. I love this place!” Flat Dr. Chris stated.  “We’re going indoor skydiving!”

Flat Dr. Chris, Baby Aurora and Sarah had so much fun indoor skydiving.  However afterwards they were all very sore.  “My back hurts!” Sarah said.  “My ankles hurt!”  Flat Dr. Chris said.  “That sounds like a subluxation to me!” Baby Aurora exclaimed.  "It seems as though I've been so busy helping all of our new friends, that I haven't checked any of us all week!" Flat Dr. Chris announced.  "Baby Aurora, it looks like you are definitely out of alignment since we just went indoor skydiving!"

“Routine chiropractic care is very important to our overall wellness.  Let’s go home and get back to our regularly scheduled adjustments,” Josh said as they all got back into the car to go home.  “Well thank you for letting me come with you on vacation!  I had so much fun!” Flat Dr. Chris said.  Sarah and Josh just smiled as Baby Aurora and Flat Dr. Chris played games on their brand new iPad mini all the way home.

THE END

Repeat after me...Running is Fun!

I have to admit that some mornings I have trouble saying that. Yes, I've improved immensely.  And yes, I can now run 28 minutes without stopping to walk, which is an absolute miracle.  And let's not forget the sense of accomplishment is probably the most rewarding thing I've ever experienced.  Really, no kidding. But I just haven't gotten to that point that I can say I'm actually enjoying myself.  The feedback I get from other runners is that I may never get to that point. Turns out it's a giant conspiracy; nobody actually likes running.  They just like the benefits.  I'm ok with that because I'm seeing some of those benefits and I like what I see.  Like the 5 lbs that I lost even though I'm really not eating that much better.  The increased energy and improved muscle tone is also nice. And how about walking up a flight of stairs or a hill and NOT sucking wind. Very nice.

So, have there been any negatives? A few, but the positives far outweigh them.  I overdid it in week 7 and my knees got sore so I took a week off, but that's common and not a big deal. Of course, my wallet's a little lighter after buying custom fitted  running shoes for myself, my wife and my daughter. Then again, show me another sport or activity that you can get away with as cheap as running. And really the only other negative has been the accountability this blog has created. My patients keep asking me about my progress so I couldn't quit if I wanted to.

Because of my knees we're going to redo week 8...three runs of 28 minutes with no walking (besides the warm up and cool down).  Week nine will be our last of the Couch-to-5k program which will consist of three 30 minute runs.  After that we'll continue as part of an exercise routine but we'll focus more on increasing our speed. I'm really not sure that I need or want to run more than 3 miles. Nor do we have any aspirations to compete in a formal 5k event.  Then again, things change and after reaching our goal a new target might be nice for motivation.

Check back next week as we wind up the challenge.  It may have taken longer than 9 weeks, but we stuck with it and are in the final stretch. I would encourage anybody who thinks they just can't be a runner to follow in our steps and take the Couch-to-5k challenge. I can't emphasize the point enough...if I can do it anybody can do it.

Feel free to leave comments and/or questions...your participation is appreciated!

Week 5 Triumph!

As mentioned in my last post I promised to give an update on our C25k progress.  For those of you who haven't been following along, my wife and I started a running program called Couch-to-5k.  Its available online at c25k.com and there are multiple iPhone apps to help you through it.  We're using one called Get Running.  The basic premise is to implement short intervals of running and walking to build stamina and endurance without all the pain associated with beginning running.  And I can tell you, it really works! Keep in mind I HATE running.  Or should I say hated. I think I'm actually starting to enjoy it now.


Week 5 brought us up to our first long run. Earlier in the week we were doing combinations of 5 and 8 minute intervals.  Remember, just a few weeks ago I could hardly run 3 minutes and just a few weeks before that I struggled to run just 1 minute. By the end of week 5 we were faced with our first 20 minute run with no walking.  Up to this point 8 minutes was the longest we had gone, so I was skeptical. But the most amazing thing happened...at about the 8 minute mark I had a "break through".  I can't really explain it but it was if I finally got into a rhythm and I was no longer thinking about my legs or my breathing.  Before I knew it we had completed our 20 minutes and I have to say it was one of the most exhilarating feelings I've ever had.  I can't even begin to explain the sense of accomplishment I felt. Coming from a mindset of hating something because I wasn't good at it and now actually enjoying it is an amazing feeling.  I'm telling you, if I can do this anybody can!

Of course, we still have a few weeks to get to a complete 5k and week 6  brought us an unexpected challenge.   We felt so good about ourselves after completing the 20 minute run in week 5 that we got a little confident. By not following the prescribed C25k rest period, we ran again too soon and really struggled with the next run.  I felt like I had concrete blocks tied to my feet. And it was only 5 and 8 minute intervals! We learned our lesson....follow the program!

Day 2 of week 6 will bring two 10 minute intervals with walking in between, then a 25 minute run on day 3.  We're in the home stretch now and I can see my first 5k on the horizon. If you haven't started yet, what are you waiting for?  If I can do it you can too. Comments and/or suggestions are welcome.  I would love to hear about your experience

Wow...It Must Be The Shoes!

It's been a month since I've updated and no, I haven't quit the Couch-to-5k program. I did have a few minor setbacks, but  recently had some major breakthroughs also. Before I get to that I have to share with you an experience I had at a  local store called Run For Your Life. Several of my patients told me about them (thank you Darcy!) and I have to say I was very impressed. They specializ  in custom fitted running shoes. Honestly, I didn't really know much about the subject, but being a Chiropractor I'm obviously interested in proper bio-mechanics. Mackenzie, the most-awesome Fitologist ever,  walked me through the fitting process and after analyzing my gait, prescribed a "stability" shoe best suited for my mild pronation. After having me try and run in several shoes, I could actually feel the difference immediately.  Turns out, the shoes themselves aren't "custom"; they're off the shelf with lots to choose from. But the process of deciding which shoe is best for your needs is the custom part.  I was  so impressed that I had my wife get fitted also.  She had been experiencing some knee pain that we chalked-up to being a new runner.  After one run in her new shoes the pain was gone.  It was the shoes! Again, I highly recommend these people, they really know their stuff.  They're located on Mallard Creek Church Rd next to Trader Joe's. You can also find them here: www.runforyourlife.com.

In my next post, I'll tell you about the HUGE progress we're making and why ANYBODY can do the C25K program.

This C25k running thing just might be working

After three...yes three!, attempts to complete Week 1 of the C25k Program, we finally made it through Weeks 1 and 2 and are making huge progress. The first time we started by the third day the whole family had contracted a stomach virus. I won't explain, but a stomach virus is not compatible with running.  That was the week of Christmas. After a week of rest, we tried again and succeeded at completing the first week. Unfortunately, the "Ice Blizzard" of  2011 struck and prevented us from starting Week 2.  I won't explain but, icy, hilly roads are not compatible with running. After another week off, we decided to GO BACK to Week 1 and start over.  Argh!! But, alas success!

Week 2  called for a 5 minute warm-up, and six runs of 1.5 minutes alternating with 2 minutes of walking. Monday was tough, but by the third day we had significantly increased our distance covered.  Remember, each week consists of 3 workouts with rest days in between. Each workout is about thirty minutes if you include the warm-up and cool down and included only 9 actual minutes of running.

Week 3 will be our first real challenge.  Each work-out will start with the usual 5 minute warm-up and progress to another 1.5 minute run/walk interval.  But then things get tougher. We'll run and walk 3 minutes each, then repeat both intervals.  Still only 9 minutes of running, but now we're increasing our stamina.

That's the whole beauty of the C25k program; it really does build your stamina.  My legs feel stronger each week and I'm sucking less wind.  We have consistently increased the distance covered and haven't once experienced the kind of pain that would make me want to quit.  And remember...I hate running.  Sure, I've had a few moments that I questioned my sanity.  And I'll admit there have been mornings that I really didn't want to get up that early, especially since it involves running. But I'm really starting to see the benefits in my overall well being and my sense of accomplishment.  And the fact that my wife and kids are doing it with me has been a tremendous help.

The Get Running iPhone app has also been instrumental because it keeps me on track. At each interval a pleasant British female voice fades over my music and reminds me that I have 30 seconds left, or that I'll start the next run in 10 seconds. I've named her Victoria, it just seemed to fit.  Of course, we have a love hate relationship; I usually love the sound her cheery, upbeat voice at the beginning of a run and find myself hating her cheery, upbeat voice by the end of the run. The app just makes it easier to implement, but the program has worked for thousands of runners before there even were apps.

The bottom line is this: If I can do it, you can do it. If you haven't started yet, what are you waiting for? Go to C25k.com and check it out.  If you don't have a smartphone, just time yourself and do it the old-fashioned way, but do it. And leave comments and feedback.  I want to hear about your success as we do this together.

Until next time....