Posted tagged ‘nervous system’

Waiting for Pain

January 31, 2011

Just as the dip stick tells us when it's time to add oil, so too the spinal check tells us when its time to adjust. Of course, in both cases we always have the option of forgoing these proactive checks and waiting for breakdown!

[originally published in KCN, February 2011]

If you are waiting for pain to dictate how often you should see your chiropractor —or whether or not to see one in the first place — you’re waiting too long.  Because without a spinal check from a chiropractor, you simply don’t know if your spine needs to be adjusted — as  there is no reliable way to truly know.  Spinal misalignments often crop up and cause little to no pain.  And while this might not seem like a big deal, it is when you realize that these off-kilter vertebrae are slowly sapping the health of the body by robbing its effectiveness to function correctly. (more…)

Steak n’ BandAids

November 19, 2010

[originally published in KCN, December 2010]

“If you cut a piece of steak, put iodine and a bandage on it and even give it a shot of Penicillin… will the piece of steak heal itself?”  That’s the question my Mississippi chiropractic colleague recently posed in an article of his.  The answer, of course, is obvious enough for a child to answer.  The answer is no.

And yet as obvious as this answer is, as a society we don’t take it to heart.

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Off Label Chiropractic

October 29, 2010

[originally published in KCN, November  2010]

Every day in the practice of medicine doctors prescribe their patients “off label” medications.  And while some might confuse the term “off label” with “generic,” it really is quite different.  In fact, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, as many as one-fifth of all drugs are prescribed off label.

Basically, what this means is that the doctor has found a use for the medication other than its “on label,” or intended, purpose.  Examples of this include antiseizure medications to treat migraines, antidepressants to treat certain types of pain, and antianxiety medications to treat nausea.  A classic example of off label drug use is that of Rogaine.  Many are unaware that Rogaine is actually a blood pressure medication — a blood pressure medication that doctors (and their patients) soon found had an interesting side effect:  hair growth in balding men.

As common as the practice of off label prescribing is in medicine, it’s my contention that something very similar is practiced in chiropractic.  And while “off label chiropractic” isn’t actually a term… it should be. (more…)

Spare the “Spare Parts”

August 20, 2010

[originally published in KCN, August 2010 / cartoon provided by TomLamarCartoon.com]

Listen to Dr. Lamar’s Podcast on this subject!

Tonsils.  Appendix.  Gallbladder.

Quick!  What do these three body parts have in common?

This was the question I recently posed to my patients.  I heard many answers:  from “These are organs I no longer have,” to “They are all vestigial body parts.”

Here’s my take.  Apparently, some healthcare providers consider these “spare parts,”  and they are often removed by surgeons as an extreme form of symptom treating. And while I’d never argue against removing, say, an appendix that was ready to burst, I do wonder why it escalated to a point in which its removal became medically necessary.

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Anything But Spare

June 4, 2010

[originally published in KCN, June 2002]

We have 12 pair of them.  Two of the pairs “float.”  They are essential for breathing and the protection of our heart, lungs, and other vital organs.  God took one from Adam to create Eve.   Restaurants serve them:  short, spare, baby back, and prime.  And some condoms are accentuated by them.  Oh, did I mention, chiropractors adjust them.  What am I talking about?  I’m not “ribbing” you, I’m talking about our ribs.

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Stomach Doctors

May 21, 2010

[originally published in KCN, May 2002/ cartoon provided by TomLamarCartoon.com]

Chiropractors are back doctors.  Right?

Well, while it is true that we place our hands on backs every day, calling us back doctors really misses the mark.  As a matter of fact, calling chiropractors “back doctors” makes about as much sense as calling medical doctors “stomach doctors.”

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10% Dead

February 19, 2010

[originally published in KCN, May 2001]

Ten percent dead?  What?  Now before you stop reading, hear me out.  It’s interesting if you stop to think about it:  dead or alive.  Pretty much an all or none proposition.  Right?  Well, maybe not.  What about instead of being completely alive, you were partially dead?  What would that feel like?  What might some of your symptoms be? While we all can understand the concept of being alive, and  all have a firm grasp on the concept of being dead, the notion of  being somewhere in between might be a new one for us.

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Seed or Soil?

November 20, 2009

[originally published in KCN, December 2000]

Seed or SoilWith the Holiday Season upon us comes its not so welcomed compadre: the “Cold and Flu Season.”  And with news reporters telling us that our nation’s drug companies are running a little low on the Traditional Flu Shots that we have come to expect, many are being forced to abandon these “shots” of artificial “immunity” for, perhaps, as some new studies are suggesting, something that will ultimately benefit them more in the long run:  bolstering their body’s immunity, naturally.

Louis Pasteur reminds us that “the microbe is nothing” and that “the soil is everything.”  In other words, if germs (microbes) were seeds, in order for them to grow and “germinate” into viable disease states, they would need fertile soil in which to do so.  The question we need to pose to ourselves is “What is the condition of our ‘soil’?”  Are you a “Disease Gardener’s Paradise”, or are you actively doing things to make your “soil” an inhospitable residence for “seeds?”

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