Happy Birthday!!!

Chiros (hand) + practos (practice) = Chiropractic and literally means “done by hand”.   Chiropractic was founded in 1895 by Daniel David Palmer (known as D.D. Palmer) in Davenport, Iowa.  D.D. Palmer was an interesting fellow.  He had several different careers but he was always interested in health and he was a voracious reader, especially about anything scientific.  One day while in his office, a janitor named Harvey Lillardstopped by.  Harvey told D.D. about an incident 17 years earlier.  Harvey went deaf after he felt something “give” in his upper back while working in an awkward position.  D.D. then examined him and felt what he believed to be a vertebra in the wrong position.  He performed an adjustment on Harvey and the next day, Harvey observed that his hearing had returned.  Chiropractic was born!

    Intrigued by Harvey and his hearing, D.D. used his extensive knowledge of human anatomy and physiology to hypothesize that the nerves emanating from the spine could become irritated and that irritation could result in disease or dysfunction.  How right he was!  D.D. went on to further develop the science, art, and philosophy of chiropractic and opened the first chiropractic college.

    Chiropractic has continued to grow and evolve into the healing profession it is today.  We have much to be thankful for.  To celebrate the birth of chiropractic 123 years ago, we have a special offer in our office.  Dr. Stan, Dr. Justin, and I have each set aside 10 new patient appointments through the end of September.   Starting Monday, August 20 and ending Friday, September 18, any current patients can buy a certificate for $18.95 (remember, chiropractic was founded in 1895…aren’t we clever?).  The certificate can be used by whomever you choose (family, friend, etc.) to reserve one of these 10 new patient appointment times.  A new patient appointment usually costs $205 so this is a great opportunity for someone important to you to start care.  We just ask that if you buy a certificate, please be sure your family member or friend will use the certificate and schedule an appointment because thereserved times are limited.

    Oh, and you didn’t hear this from me, but to add some fun to our celebration, I’m told that whoever sells their 10 certificates first wins a prize!!  So, buy early and buy often, especially from me. 😀

Dr Paul Aalderink

Is your child's backpack a problem?

     August has arrived.  That means fall is just around the corner, and with it, the start of school.  Soon, parents will be flocking to stores to buy back-to- school supplies.  Notebooks, binders, calculators, iPads, etc., will all be thrown into backpacks.  Backpacks are certainly a convenient way to lug around all of the necessary gear for school, but they can present a health risk if several precautions are not followed.

     The first precaution to follow is to make sure the backpack isn’t too heavy.  It is recommended that the backpack not exceed 15% of the student’s body weight.  For a 50 pound child, that’s only 7-8 pounds.  It doesn’t take much to exceed that recommendation.   Even the 22.5 pounds that a 150 pound high school student could be allowed to carry can quickly be exceeded.  If the backpack is too heavy, remove the heavier items, and have your students carry them the old-fashioned way, in their arms.  Going over the weight recommendation tends to result in students hunching over and altering their posture and gait, which can lead to back and neck pain.

     To help with lugging all of the weight around, look for a backpack that has padding on the shoulder straps and on the back.  Please encourage your children to wear both straps to distribute the weight more evenly.  Also, I know it’s not a great fashion statement, but if you can convince your children to use the waist strap too, that is beneficial as well.  I understand that it is unlikely they will want to comply with that request, so do your best to help your children keep the pack light and use both straps.

     If your child complains of back pain, that is definitely a warning sign that something is wrong.  Often times we tend to ignore or dismiss such complaints because we think the pain will eventually go away and everything will be fine. The pain may go away, but that doesn’t mean that everything is fine.  Pain of any duration is a signal that something isn’t right.  If not addressed, postural changes may occur and ultimately, premature degeneration of the spine may result as well.  So please, if you children are complaining of neck or back pain, check their backpacks.  Then call us, and we will check their backs!

Annual Food Drive 2018

This month I want to let you know about our annual food drive here at Balanced Health.  Historically, this food drive has resulted in well over 1000 pounds of food being donated to Harvest Stand Ministries every year.  It is a great event that helps many people and families right here in our local community.  This year it will run from July 16-July 21.

Here is how it works.  If you are an existing patient of the practice, you may schedule an appointment for Saturday, July 21 for a regular adjustment.  If you bring in a bag of non-perishable food items for donation to His Harvest Stand, your visit will be at no charge.  If you are not currently a patient of the practice, you may schedule your initial visit with us Monday, July 16 through Friday, July 20.  Similarly, your entire initial visit (consultation, exam and x-rays) will be at no charge if you bring in a bag of groceries for Harvest Stand Ministries.

Please know that you do not need to schedule an appointment to participate.  If you would like to, you may simply drop off afood donation anytime during our office hours July 16-July 21.  There is one caveat to this event…If you have a Federal health insurance plan like Medicare, you would be ineligible to participate.  Unfortunately, Federal guidelines do not allow us to extend this offer to anyone with Medicare.  You may, of course, still drop off a bag of groceries for donation. 

Please call the office at 772-9255 if you have any questions or if you would like to schedule you food drive appointment.  Thank you!!!

Dr Paul Aalderink

Keeping appointments and college

This month I have a quick thought and then an answer to a question I was asked a few times in the past several weeks.  First, the quick thought…

Spring is a busy time…yards to clean up, flowers to plant, lawns to mow, school activities to attend, and just getting outside to enjoy the nice weather.  It’s easy to put things on your “to do list” ahead of taking care of yourself.  Please do yourself a favorthough, and don’t allow that to happen.  Get your rest, eat well and keep your chiropractic appointments.  You may be feeling well and have 5 things that you would rather do than drive across town for an appointment, but please don’t neglect your spine.  A lack of pain is not a good indicator of your spinal health.  Please don’t assume that just because you are not feeling pain that your spinal health can be put on the back burner.  Bending over to work in the yard, sitting on bleachers, going for a run, etc., all put a stress on your back.  You may not feel it right away, but eventually that stress tends to show up as pain if you neglect your spine.  Keeping your appointments, even when you are feeling well, is a great way to help your spine stay healthy and avoid injury.  

Next, the question I was asked a few times recently was how many years of college did it take to become a chiropractor and what was it like.  Well, most chiropractors have 4 years of undergraduate studies and then approximately three and a half years of Chiropractic College.  The undergraduate studies focus on the sciences.  Essentially, we take pre-med classes; chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, physics, biology, anatomy, physiology, etc.   Chiropractic College starts with a lot of those same classes again as well as several spinal anatomy and neurology classes.  There are also many x-ray classes that teach how to take and read an x-ray of any part of the body.  After we learn seemingly everything you could possibly imagine about the body, we spend the next year learning how to perform an exam and how to adjust the spine and extremities.  The final year of school then focuses on adjusting people while under supervision at the college clinic.  The whole process is a lot of work, but it is definitely worth it.  There is nothing more rewarding I can think of than helping someone with their health!

Dr Paul Aalderink DC

Allergies, allergies, allergies... Happy Spring!

Spring is here…at least the calendar says it is.  Although it has been slow in arriving, spring will eventually get here.  That will mean warmer weather, planting gardens, daffodils and tulips, and the first smell of freshly cut grass.  Unfortunately, it may also mean some misery if you suffer from allergies.  You won’t be alone.  Some 50 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies.

In a nutshell, allergies are an overreaction by the immune system to what is really a relatively harmless substance.  Pollen is by far the largest offending substance in the spring.  The pollen comes from all the various grasses and trees that are coming out of their winter slumber.  Most release pollen for only a couple of weeks.  Some, however, may release pollen for more than a month.  Not all grasses and trees release pollen at the same time either.  Consequently, depending on what you are allergic to, you may suffer from allergies early spring, mid spring, late spring or all spring. 

Many people will turn to antihistamines, nasal sprays, allergy shots, etc.  There are also many herbs and supplements to try as well as dietary changes.  You may recall back during cold and flu season, I talked about the importance of your gut in regards to your immune system.  In fact, about 80% of your immune system is in your gut.  A diet high in sugar and processed grains can interfere with the proper functioning of the gut and therefore, contribute to a malfunctioning immune system causing an allergy.  So take care of your gut by watching what you eat and consider prebiotics and probiotics too.  

Another consideration is to get your spine checked.  Every spring, Dr. Stan and I have many patients comment about how much better their allergies are when they get adjusted.  We don’t have some special “allergy adjustment” and we don’t “treat” them for allergies.  We simply look for the subluxations (refer back to previous blog posts if you don’t know what that is) and adjust them.  Remember, everything is controlled directly or indirectly by the nervous system.  So, if we can improve the nervous system by reducing subluxations, we can improve the immune system and potentially help with allergies.

Happy spring!!!

Dr Paul Aalderink

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