Blood pressure out of control? Is your head on straight?

  Blood pressure out of control?  Is your head on straight?

  Last time I discussed subluxations and the importance of finding them and fixing them.  I thought it would be helpful to show a real life example involving subluxations and high blood pressure.  I’m sure you are aware that high blood pressure is dangerous.  It increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, the first and third most common causes of death.  Oftentimes it is asymptomatic…many people don’t even know they have it until a routine doctor visit.  By the time they do find out, they may have already begun to develop heart disease and kidney troubles.

    There are things you can do to help lower blood pressure.  There are, of course, medications.   You can also lose weight, exercise, or change your diet.  Most people are aware of these methods. Have you ever thought, however, of getting a NUCCA adjustment?  Perhaps you should.

    There is a well done randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study that looked at the impact of a NUCCA adjustment on blood pressure.  The study had 50 participants.  All of the participants were taken off of their blood pressure medication for 8 weeks.  Half of them received a NUCCA adjustment, and half received a “sham” adjustment.  The results were quite startling.

    A significant drop in blood pressure was noted in the group that received the NUCCA adjustment.  In fact, the drop in blood pressure was similar to that typically seen in patients given TWO antihypertensive medications simultaneously.  Additionally, the improvement in blood pressure persisted for the 8 weeks of the study.  The hypothesis is that the NUCCA adjustment has an effect on control centers (nerves) near the brain stem.

    This is what I was highlighting in the previous blog posts about subluxations…Subluxations interfere with proper nerve communication which can result in many different symptoms.  Therefore, it is important to be evaluated by a NUCCA chiropractor for the presence of subluxations.   We can then adjust the subluxations, helping the body to function at its optimum potential.

Dr Paul Aalderink

NUCCA Chiropractor

What you don’t know CAN hurt you!

Last time I talked about subluxations.  I discussed what they are, how they occur, what symptoms they can produce, and why it is important to seek chiropractic care as soon as possible when you know you have one.  The problem is, oftentimes, you don’t know you have them!!!  I ended the last blog stating that the only thing worse than knowing you have a subluxation, is not knowing you have a subluxation.  It’s hard to believe that with all the pain and discomfort they can cause, that you wouldn’t know when you have a subluxation.  Let’s talk about that.

    You’ll recall the different components of a subluxation from last time.  NONE of them are good.  To me though, the worst component is the effect a subluxation can have on the nerves.  Certainly the pain produced by a “pinched” or irritated nerve is horrible.  Anyone who has experienced sciatica can attest to that.  Perhaps worse than that, however, are the insidious effects they can have on the nerves.  This is because not all nerves are designed to carry pain.  In fact, most nerves carry some type of information other than pain.

    Everything in the body is controlled directly, or indirectly, by the nervous system.  When you tell your arm to move, it moves because your brain sends a signal down the nerves telling thearm what to do.  The brain is constantly sending and receiving information/messages/instructions through all of the nerves that travel down and out of the spinal canal.  How does your arm move?...Nerves.  How does your pancreas know how much insulin to secrete to keep your blood sugar where it needs to be?...Nerves.  How does your heart rate increase with activity?...Nerves.  How does your body temperature stay at 98.6 degrees?...Nerves.  Why do you develop a fever when you are sick?...Nerves communicating with your immune system.  Think of essentially anything going on in your body right now and it is being controlled directly or indirectly by your nerves or nervous system.  

    It’s a great design.  Just imagine if you had to consciously think about every process in your body at all times; you couldn’t do it.  Your nervous system does it for you on “auto-pilot”.  That’s great!  Factor in however, that most of the nerves that are taking care of these functions do not carry pain signals. That’s fine, until a subluxation occurs.   Without a pain signal, how do you know something is wrong? As an anology, think of a garden.  If the hose supplying water to the garden were somehow kinked or “pinched”, the hose would still deliver water to the garden, just not the usual amount.  There is a good chance you wouldn’t notice right away.  The garden would continue to grow, just not as well as it could grow.  The garden may survive,but not thrive.  It may take you a while to recognize that there is a problem and if you don’t recognize it soon enough, the damage will be done and the effects on the garden will become irreversible.

    So it goes with subluxations.  If the subluxation irritates a nerve involved in the function of your immune system, digestive system, circulatory system, etc., there is a good chance youwon’t know, because there often isn’t any pain signal.  In fact, it is quite likely that this will not result in any immediate perceptible symptom at all.  Your immune system will still function, just maybe not as well as it could.  Your digestive system or circulatory system, etc. will still function, just maybe not as well as they could.  Will you recognize this soon enough?  I hope so.

    One way to help detect these subluxations is to give us a call.  We specialize in finding and adjusting subluxations…ones you can feel, and ones you can’t.  The next time you “pull a muscle” or “pinch a nerve”, think about the last blog…these are signs of a subluxation.  Then think about this blog…subluxations can have insidious effects.  Just because the initial pain from the subluxation may go away, does that really mean everything is OK?  Something else to ponder… it’s commonly accepted as a good idea to get your teeth checked twice a year for cavities, even if you don’t have any pain (toothache).  Perhaps it’s a good idea to get your spine checked for subluxations, even if you don’t have any pain. Encourage those you care about to do the same.

- Dr Paul Aalderink

“I have a pinched nerve.” Well, probably not.

    “I think I pinched a nerve.”  Or, “I think I pulled a muscle.”  We hear this often from patients.  Although it is possible to “pinch” a nerve or “pull” a muscle, more often, the cause of the pain is a subluxation.  What is a subluxation?  Well, it has several components to it.  These include spinal misalignment/altered biomechanics, muscle spasm/weakness, swelling/inflammation of tissue and nerve irritation.  These components all gang up on the body and often create a symptom of some kind.  That could be stiffness, soreness, achiness, tightness, muscle spasm, sharp pain, dull pain, shooting pain, burning pain, headache, etc.  

    The process goes something like this… We get a spinal misalignment/altered biomechanics from any number of things; stepping off a curb wrong, sleeping on our stomach, slips/falls, accidents, poor workstation ergonomics, poor posture and on and on.  The list is nearly endless.  Once the misalignment occurs, now the surrounding muscles, joints and nerves are affected.  This may create muscle spasm or tightness.  It may feel like you “pulled a muscle”.  The joint may become inflamed creating sharp pain in the short term, or a more chronic achy pain/stiffness/soreness, in the long term as the joint degenerates.  The nerve too becomes irritated in some way.  On occasion it may be “pinched”, but more often it is stretched, pulled, scrapedor irritated by surrounding inflammation.  This can result in numbness, tingling or burning down an arm or leg, headaches, or muscle spasms to name a few.

    It’s important to seek chiropractic care as soon as possible when a subluxation occurs. Without care, a cascade of events occurs and things go off the rails.  First, the subluxated joint may heal, but it will most likely do so with fixation (hypomoblity).  This is accompanied by fibrosis and adhesions and eventually, degeneration.  The body then tries to compensate for this, so the joints above and below work overtime, which leads to their eventual degeneration as well.   This is why many people lose flexibility or range of motion after an injury.  It’s also why some people “shrink” as they age.

    It’s also why people may “pull a muscle” or “pinch a nerve” from doing what would often seem to be a simple task or movement.  The subluxation has been hiding dormant, festering for weeks, months or years until it rears its ugly head.  That’s why I think, when it comes to subluxations, the only thing worse than knowing you have a subluxation, is not knowing you have a subluxation.  More on that next time!

Dr Paul Aalderink

Why I'm A Chiropractor AND A Chiropractic Patient For Life

I first experienced chiropractic as a child.  I remember watching my mom suffer from bad migraines and my dad suffer from debilitating back pain.  They met a chiropractor who encouraged them to come in for care to see if he could help them.  They both responded very well to chiropractic care.  The positive changes in my parents’ health made a big impression on me.  By age 12, I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor.  I wanted to help others the same way my parents were helped.   After their success with chiropractic, my parents began to take my sister and me to get checked and adjusted.  We didn’t have any symptoms.  We simply got checked for our overall well-being.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but looking back, I recognize that I was sick much less often than my friends who were not going to a chiropractor.

      During my career as a chiropractor, I have witnessed many patients experience life altering changes.  I have seen colicky babies stop crying and sleep through the night; I have seen allergy sufferers improve; I have seen patients with MS and Parkinson’s function better; I have seen people limp in and walk out.  I have seen all of this and much more.  Chiropractic doesn’t treat any of these conditions.  Chiropractic helps the body to function better by keeping the spine more properly aligned.  The happiness I have experienced from witnessing these positive changes in others, through chiropractic care, confirms for me that the decision I made to be a chiropractor and a lifetime chiropractic patient myself, was the right decision.

    Everything in the body is controlled directly or indirectly by the nervous systems.  A large portion of the nervous systems travels through the spine.  When the nervous system can function free of interference, it allows the body to be as healthy as possible.  By keeping the spine properly aligned, chiropractic helps the nervous system to be free of interference and to function at its optimum potential.  This, in turn, helps the body to function at its optimum potential, too.  I truly believe the reason I am not on any medications, prescription or over the counter, is because I have been a lifetime chiropractic patient since my youth.  I know many others who would say the same.  I would like to invite you (and your friends/family) to join me in choosing chiropractic care for life as well.

Sincerely,

Dr. Paul Aalderink

Cold and flu is not a season

    Cold and flu “season” is nearly upon us!  Dr. Stan and I are often asked what can be done to prevent them.  First and foremost, it is vitally important to make sure you get your spine checked and adjusted.  There is a link between your nervous system and immune system.  Chiropractic adjustments can help the nervous system to communicate better with the immune system, and therefore, the immune system can function more efficiently and effectively. 

Secondly, it is important to make sure your digestive system is healthy.  It is estimated that 70% of the immune system functions through the digestive system.  If we don’t have the proper “good” bacteria in the gut, it isn’t healthy and the immune system will suffer (and ultimately we most likely will then, too).  Antibiotics can destroy much of the good bacteria.   This allows non-desirable bacteria, and other things like yeast, to grow and take over the gut. This is a very unhealthy situation.   Therefore, we would recommend that you take a Probiotic.  Probiotics are the good bacteria that we are supposed to have in our intestinal tract.  Additionally, it is a good idea to take a Prebiotic.  Prebiotics are the food that the good bacteria need to multiply and grow strong so that they can “choke out” the bad bacteria.

Taking Vitamin D3 can also help the immune system.  In fact, Vitamin D is an important vitamin for the immune system to function well.  We make Vitamin D via sun exposure.  If you have spent a winter or two in the West Michigan area, you may have noticed that we don’t have many sunny days in the fall and winter.  We often go to work in the dark and then return home in the dark as well.  Consequently, we don’t get much exposure to the sun from October through March.   So, consider taking Vitamin D3 starting now through early spring.  The common recommendation is 5000 IU’s a day. 

There are other supplements to consider as well and we can discuss those with you at any of your appointments.  I always have some Andrographis (herb) and some homeopathic remedies on hand to take at the first sign of any illness…they work great too.  Following the recommendations above are a good start however, and they should help your immune system to be revved up and ready to go for the upcoming cold and flu “season”.

Dr Paul Aalderink

Stress - Public Enemy Number 1. Part 1 - Emotional Stress

Thank you for stopping by blog. I have been away for quite some time and am making a commitment to keep you up to date on the happenings in and around the office as well as trying to keep you informed on ways of staying healthy.

We all have heard and know that stress is bad for our health. What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word stress? Most people will immediately conjure up a picture of work in their mind or financial difficulties they may be having. Usually they are thinking of an emotional stress that is constantly weighing on their mind.

Emotional stress is a major type of stress but people do not link it with physical health problems which they may be facing. The term is psychosomatic. Issues in the mind which present as an outward physical symptom. What you may notice in your life may not present as a "symptom" to you at all. Have you ever had a "stressful" day at work and when you got home you were physically exhausted even though all you did was sit at a desk all day? Now, sitting for an extended period of time is a physical stress to the body but even if you get up thru the day you got home and you are still exhausted. Why?

When we are dealing with emotional stress it never turns off. Our body is constantly responding to it even if we are tying to relax. We become tense thru our muscles. We start taking short shallow breaths. Blood pressure goes up. Our body is on constant alert. You've probably heard of the "fight or flight" response. It is what our body does in those times of emergency that redirects the blood toward our muscles and lungs. Our adrenal glands pump out adrenaline. It is the very same response that allows the 110 pound woman to lift a car off her trapped son. It has developed from many centuries of avoiding becoming dinner for an animal larger than us.

When we have emotional stress we are constantly in the is "fight or flight" mode. Our body is ready for any emergency situation to arise. The problem is that it never gives our body a chance to rest. We never have that time to repair. We are on constant alert whether we know it or not. That is why by the end of the day we have tension headaches, tight shoulders and we are exhausted. Even when we are trying to do something about the headaches and tension emotional stress can be a barrier to health. It can actually inhibit your body from healing.

There are many ways are dealing with emotional stress. We have all heard of methods such as meditation, yoga, massage, and counseling. Some even go to the lengths of covering it up with drugs and alcohol which just increases the problem. Please understand there can be many levels of emotional stress to deal with and seeking professional help can be the only way of dealing with emotional stress. For other cases it can be as simple as awareness. Being aware of stress gives you the opportunity to deal with it. Awareness allows you to confront the situation which may be all it takes to move past the point.

The part most people do not know is the structural part of emotional stress. We see people nearly every day who are depressed or nearing depression due to a chronic physical ailment. At times they feel, or are told by their doctor, "you'll just have to learn to live with this for the rest of your life." What an emotional bomb that statement is if all avenues have not been covered to help this person regain their life. Nearly everyday we see people who have been dealing with physical ailments for 10, 20, 30, and 40 years be able to turn things around. Not only are they able to heal physically but the emotional release can be tremendous. Some people start crying for reasons which they are not even aware after their first correction.

There is a very strong link between a persons physical being and their emotional being. You cannot have one without the other. Before all else fails check to see if your head is on straight - both physically and mentally. Give yourself a chance to heal. You may be amazed.

Ladies Night of Indulgence

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