Friday, December 31, 2010

Sharing Times at 1st Step Chiropractic


I can't wait for the next opportunity to share our gifts with people in need! January 20, 2011, from 6-8:30 is the next event! Call your Rockford Chiropractor to find out more...815-398-4500.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Helping TMJ Syndrome


If you were to come to me for violin lessons, I wouldn't start you playing the violin! I would begin by making sure you can stand, or at least sit properly, and hold the violin.
After specific foundational principles are established, then we can be successful in learning the violin. Got it?
By analogy, when there is a problem with the jaw (TMJ syndrome), we can only be successful when setting up the proper foundation for the jaw to connect with.
This foundation includes balancing the joint between the head and neck (the atlanto-occipital joint), which is where the top jaw (the skull) articulates.
This foundation also may include the bones of the skull, including the sphenoid bone (the origin of the sphenomandibularis muscle to the mandible). If you have had a head injury, this bone may be pulling painfully on the poor jaw.
If you want a good foundation, you have to include the skull, the bones of the skull, and even the collarbone (attachement of the sternocleidomastoid muscle - it can throw off the jaw by tractioning the temporal bone out of position), but especially you have to observe that the nerves running the muscles of mastication are sending out the right signals.
Where can you get this thorough examination of the foundations of proper jaw alignment?
TMJ solutions at Rockford Chiropractor: 1st Step Chiropractic.

Monday, December 20, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Sports Injuries


People who are heavily involved in sports come to me for the following reasons:
1. When the spine is out of balance, the body twists and creates an environment unsuitable for exercise.
2. This unsuitable environment has some muscles that are tighter than others. In fact, one hamstring is going to be tighter than it should be. Anyone for the agony of a torn hamstring?
3. Sometimes the joints of the knee or ankle can become malpositioned. This causes pain and sometimes reflex contraction of other parts of the body. Nobody wants to be wasting energy on a muscle that doesn't need to be engaged.
4. They feel more comfortable when they are in alignment!

This Rockford Chiropractor is on your side!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Helping Blood Markers

Dr. Rosner has a good article here detailing the effects of various types of chiropractic care on specific blood markers for specific disease states. Good job assembling this, but, really, what would you expect? If the nerve system controls and coordinates all systems of the body, then it follows that if you improve nerve system function, you are going to support normal physiology. Do you think normal physiology is going to extinguish disease states?

I won't answer that for you...

My only point of contention is Dr. Rosner's conclusion; "The conceptual limitation of spinal manipulation to vertebral fixations without this broader view (of its influence on blood markers) is an impediment to the potentials of chiropractic as an integrated approach to heath care."
That statement reveals two areas of deficit- first, that the stance of the "straight" chiropractor (all we do is adjust the spine) is a backlash from the problems created by the insistence of the Medical Doctor that only Medical Doctors can "cure" diseases.

I'm with Georg Groddeck here, when he criticizes the narcissistic doctor for being more interested in HIS diagnosis than he is interested in the patient.

The other deficit is seen when Dr. Rosner assumes that the lack of an integrated approach is the fault of the chiropractor (Unless he has written this article for Medical publications also).
Oops! Chiropractic has been saying this is important for over 100 years. Now Medical institutions are officially recognizing it. Just look at the conclusion of the Rush University Hypertension Study of the NUCCA procedure; "Correction of the misaligned atlas can reduce hypertension."
Meanwhile, this Rockford Chiropractor forges ahead, delivering foundational care to suffering people, and enjoying watching their blood markers improve over time.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Balancing the Brain

Rockford Chiropractor on Massage Therapy. After correcting the balance of the body and brain, are there other things that can help enhance health?

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Health Care Timelines

ARE YOU PREPARING FOR 5010?
This is a real heading on an email received today from Medicare.
I know there's a lot of discussion on changes in health care administration, and we have seen some interesting events at Medicare this year, chiefly due to Congress' slow action, but giving us 3,000 years to prepare for changes at Medicare seems a bit much.
Oh, but it turns out 5010 refers to a format by which information is sent to Medicare from health care practitioners.
This Rockford Chiropractor is relieved...

Friday, October 1, 2010


Here are a few comments from one NUCCA doctor, and three NUCCA patients who have enjoyed the results of this approach. Neck pain, muscular dystrophy, motivation, short leg phenomenon are some of the things that get better with upper cervical NUCCA chiropractic in Rockford.

Rockford Chiropractor: Rescue, Recover, Restore

With Autumns' compelling colors, we look up and reach out to help those who need rescuing. Help us to help others. New Patients receive a $125 initial exam at no charge in exchange for a food donation to benefit the Rockford Rescue Mission. The week of October 18, 2010, is reserved for this event. 815-398-4500.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Friday, August 27, 2010

Donna Van Fleet has been a chiropractic patient for many years. A busy realtor, she has found that staying in adjustment, keeping her spine balanced has given her the ability to stay active. Listen to the story of this NUCCA fan!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Helping Encopresis

Finishing a fine week of adjusting the atlas subluxation complex with new experiences! A child diagnosed with encopresis is getting better.
Also, people coming in with symptoms, or some with no symptoms yet (Wellness care is the wave of the future), are getting great corrections on their misalignment patterns and starting on the road to better health and function.
You see, since the nerve system controls and coordinates all the other systems of the body, we all need to look after that as best we can. One level that is very important is the top of the spine, where the head and neck meet. If it's not exactly right, you have a misalignment that is messing with your nerve system.
It is like being "a little bit pregnant."
Signs can be a short leg, postural distortions, and symptoms of any kind.
One strapping youth came in this week for his first adjustment, and among the signs were less muscle mass on the lateral thigh, just above one knee. After the correction, the muscle mass really quite suddenly was there again. You know how that works? Just look at the anatomy and physiology, quite simple.
Lots of people taking the 1st Step back to health.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Wellness Care: What's In It For Me?


Rockford patients get checked every six months - like in a dentist's office - to make sure that everything stays corrected and the signals from the brain to the body are clear.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Helping the Feet, Legs and Back!

Upper Cervical Chiropractic is a fascinating area to work in. Where else can you affect so many systems of the body - blood flow in the brain, hypertension, cardiac rhythms, back strength, sleep, leg pain....and if I write more, you really will go to sleep...
But what if there are symptoms and the upper cervical region tests clear of interference? Taking a look at the feet is a good thing to do.
Today, I found a person whose atlas was clear, but foot pain and back stress were an issue. I don't expect you to believe this, but I just report what is present, okay?
The left leg had decreased motor nerve supply.
The low back had a segment tractioning off to the right, (L3).
The right foot had several bones out of position (Navicular dropping medially in relation to the talus, Cuneiform 2 & 3 and of course, Metatarsal 3). I corrected the relationship between those bones and that removed the stress from the low back, and by doing so, restored motor control to the left leg.
Awesome system we have, don't we? And it is correctable when it gets out of sync!
But what is the first step to take?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Children's Behavior and Chiropractic


Rogan on left, brother Vaughn on right.

“You gave me a new child!” Those were a mother’s joyful words after she brought her eighteen month old son Rogan for his first NUCCA adjustment with Dr. Barbara Read.

“My son has always been rather angry-spirited in his temperament,” Kim explained. “He would wake up in the morning and instantly—if he didn't get his way, he would lie down and bang his head against the floor, and give other outbursts like that constantly...all day-everyday.”

There were also other signs that Rogan was having problems. “He wasn't babbling or making speaking sounds. I always thought, through my mother's intuition, that something was not right with my son.”
But Kim and her doctors were not quite sure what was wrong. She sought answers to Rogan's problem development in the family's nutrition, her son's vaccine history, and environmental factors.

“I have friends who had talked about their great experiences at the chiropractor and I had heard that they adjusted babies, but I never considered taking him to the chiropractor,” Kim said. “But my mother sees Dr. Read, and she was telling about her practice and how much it has made a difference for her. My husband was completely opposed to the idea, but I thought it was worth a try.”

After one upper cervical adjustment with the NUCCA protocol, Kim reports that Rogan began babbling. And in the month after the adjustment, she identified 10 words that he had learned. “He still has temper tantrums,” Kim reports. “He still has a strong personality, but he is a totally different kid. You can actually get through to him and reason with him.” Those episodes of screaming and slamming his head against the floor have completely been eliminated.

What does Rogan's father think about the trip to the chiropractor now? Kim reports that after the first adjustment, she and the kids spent a week with her parents. When they returned, her husband spent 20 minutes with Rogan and realized he had a new son—a change he attributes to NUCCA care.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Community Service Projects

I told my wife that I was involved with a community service project, and she wondered who my parole officer was.
"No," I said, "not Community Service, but Community Service Project!"

The Blackhawk Bicycle Club has a ride every year attended by avid cyclists from all over the USA. Winding over 60 miles through the Northern Illinois landscape, some adventurers can opt for shorter circuits as well. At the end of the ride, the Club offers a nice lunch at the Rockton Community Center...and this Rockford Chiropractor offers "muscle flushing" for rapid recovery of the tissues from all the exercise.

It's relaxing, people like it, and it gives us a chance to study the effects of simple procedures on the well-being of the community.

In fact, I noticed that those people who received this gentle work that helped move lactic acid through the muscles had a more energetic look about them within five minutes.

Being a notorious question asker, I wondered if that was a result only of the muscle flushing, or if there was a lucky convergence of forces that included diet, overall health and the muscle flushing responsible for this change.

Wondering what the agenda is here? To see the community looking well, doing well.
We begin with restoring communication between the brain and the body with upper cervical care. Using the NUCCA procedure, we can balance the spine and set up conditions favorable for all systems of the body to normalize.
Then, on the weekends, we get involved in other things...

Monday, May 17, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor on Vaccines

This Rockford Chiropractor spotted a surprising (or not depending on your level of trust in the CDC) article culled from the website of the International College of Integrative Medicine...
Thorsen Disappears!
submitted by ICIM member Lambert Parker MD:
A central figure behind the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) claims disputing the link between vaccines and autism and other neurological disorders has disappeared after officials discovered massive fraud involving the theft of millions in taxpayer dollars.
Danish police are investigating Dr. Poul Thorsen, who has vanished along with almost $2 million that he had supposedly spent on research.
Thorsen was a leading member of a Danish research group that wrote several key studies supporting CDC's claims that the MMR vaccine and mercury-laden vaccines were safe for children. Thorsen's 2003 Danish study reported a 20-fold increase in autism in Denmark after that country banned mercury based preservatives in its vaccines. His study concluded that mercury could therefore not be the culprit behind the autism epidemic.
His study has long been criticized as fraudulent since it failed to disclose that the increase was an artifact of new mandates requiring, for the first time, that autism cases be reported on the national registry. This new law and the opening of a clinic dedicated to autism treatment in Copenhagen accounted for the sudden rise in reported cases rather than, as Thorsen seemed to suggest, the removal of mercury from vaccines. Despite this obvious chicanery, CDC has long touted the study as the principal proof that mercury-laced vaccines are safe for infants and young children. Mainstream media, particularly the New York Times, has relied on this study as the basis for its public assurances that it is safe to inject young children with mercury -- a potent neurotoxin -- at concentrations hundreds of times over the U.S. safety limits.
Thorsen, who was a psychiatrist and not a research scientist or toxicologist, parlayed that study into a long-term relationship with CDC. He built a research empire called the North Atlantic Epidemiology Alliances (NANEA) that advertised its close association with the CDC autism team, a relationship that had the agency paying Thorsen and his research staff millions of dollars to churn out research papers, many of them assuring the public on the issue of vaccine safety.
The discovery of Thorsen's fraud came as the result of an investigation by Aarhus University and CDC which discovered that Thorsen had falsified documents and, in violation of university rules, was accepting salaries from both the Danish university and Emory University in Atlanta -- near CDC headquarters -- where he led research efforts to defend the role of vaccines in causing autism and other brain disorders. Thorsen's center has received $14.6 million from CDC since 2002.
Thorsen's partner Kreesten Madsen recently came under fierce criticism after damning e-mails surfaced showing Madsen in cahoots with CDC officials intent on fraudulently cherry picking facts to prove vaccine safety.
Leading independent scientists have accused CDC of concealing the clear link between the dramatic increases in mercury-laced child vaccinations beginning in 1989 and the epidemic of autism, neurological disorders and other illnesses affecting every generation of American children since. Questions about Thorsens's scientific integrity may finally force CDC to rethink the vaccine protocols since most of the other key pro vaccine studies cited by CDC rely on the findings of Thorsen's research group. These include oft referenced research articles published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the New England Journal of Medicine and others. The validity of all these studies is now in question.
Citations
1. http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/48229-researcher-accused-of-cheating-uni-out-of-millions.html 
2. http://www.safeminds.org/news/pressroom/press_releases/20040518_AutismAuthorsNetwork.pdf
3. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/opinion/06sat3.html
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/time-for-cdc-to-come-clea_b_16550.html
5. http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/03/poul-thorsens-mutating-resume.html
6. http://www.rescuepost.com/files/thorsen-aarhus.pdf
7. http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/48229-researcher-accused-of-cheating-uni-out-of-millions.html

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Chiropractic and Chiari Malformations

This Rockford Chiropractor attended a seminar today that covered some interesting issues in the joint between the head and neck. One of them has to do with a nasty problem known as "Chiari Malformation," of which there are several types, according to how bad it is.
Here's the problem: The cerebellar tonsils, parts of the hind brain, slip down and through the hole at the bottom of the head. Nobody knows how this occurs, but research points to whiplash injury as a likely cause.
When this is present, the brain pushes against the back of the spinal cord and prevents proper flow of cerebral-spinal fluid (CSF). This "precious bodily fluid," is keeping your nerve system fed and working. You brain makes about 500 cc's per day, and it HAS to keep moving down the spinal cord to your tailbone, back up to the head, then draining into the proper drains in the top of the skull. If you put a cork in the bottle, which is what a Chiari malformation does, you have problems.
These problems can include headaches, abnormal pressure on the brain tissue causing Multiple Sclerosis, and something called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (the medical remedy so far is to install a relief valve in the head).
Oh, by the way, the same trauma that caused the malformation also knocked the atlas bone (C1) out of position. So what's the easiest thing to do?
Find a NUCCA doctor and get a precise, controlled adjustment of the atlas to get it back in position. This can take all the pressure off the brainstem and reinstate normal CSF flow.
I was interested to find that Medical practitioners are finding that this type of patient can get better with upper cervical chiropractic help.
Patient-centered care. What we all want!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Tooth Extractions


There's my tooth. Specifically, number 12, or bicuspid #1 on the upper left. I have had an abcess in it since January. Other means to correct it, including immune support remedies, were effective in only alleviating the pain. I came eventually to agree with my Rockford dentist, who barked at me, "You can band-aid this all you want, but you still have to get it out!"

The experience was not fun. I guess I would rather play a violin recital in my underwear, on music that I was sight-reading, than have to go through this again. But I learned some valuable lessons with the experience!

The cranial osteopaths were right when they specified how certain motions in extracting a tooth would separate cranial bones in predictable ways. I could feel the forces pushing and pulling through my upper jaw, face, back of the head and neck. I could feel the strain on the atlas, my first cervical vertebra as I pulled my head backwards and resisted the pressure of the extraction procedure. I could feel the strange reluctance in the tooth, as though it was saying, "No, we have to work together, we're stronger as a team!"

("Thankyou for your service - you're fired!" I thought)

The dentist chair is a favorite place for a person to lose the all-important relation between the neck and the head. It's not your dentists' fault. The forces going into the head can be brutal to the tissues supporting the head and neck. What can you do about it?

First, make sure the head support is properly positioned, neither placing pressure on the neck nor forcing your head down.

Second, if you don't have an upper cervical doctor who can monitor your atlas' relationship to the head, you need to find one! When this relationship goes out, your nerve system cries "ouch!" and pulls up one leg, creates postural distortions and other havoc with your body systems.

So remember, if you must have dental work (you have my sympathy if it is an extraction), be sure to get checked by your upper cervical doctor afterward.

Oh, by the way, I didn't lose my head/neck alignment, and I feel a lot better after a gentle cranial adjustment.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Being the Best


Conference Time! What do we do at NUCCA conferences? Why does it take so long to analyze films the first time? Why do NUCCA doctors take post-adjustment x-rays after the first adjustment?

We have discovered that the better the initial correction, the better patients are able to heal up. We calculate the percentage of correction, examine the adjusting vector and determine if everything did was it was supposed to do.

In this video, we see some rehashing of some cases that were very challenging. We see people practicing the adjusting stance. These are not rookies doing the practice. As with any high level performer, getting coaching is essential to developing the best skills.

When you are looking for a NUCCA doctor in your area, check and see if they go to the conferences. If not, keep looking!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Helping Menopause Symptoms

In this famous painting, we see a cubist rendition of a woman's face.

But the interpretation seems to also tell us something about this woman. Do you think she's having a bad day? Do you think, "hot flashes," "irritability," "menopause?"

Aside from the well-known imbalances in hormone production (attributable to ovaries, adrenal glands, thyroid, pituitary and hypothalamus getting out of sync), did you know that one of the most significant causes of hot flashes and menopause symptoms is loss of the brain signalling component of that balance?

If the head isn't on straight, exactly straight and on top of the atlas (first bone in the neck) the entire signalling system from the brain to the body can fail.

This condition is called the atlas subluxation complex. Only chiropractors are trained to detect and correct this problem. The NUCCA procedure exists to train doctors to do this at a very high level of precision.

About 60% of the time, women who suffer with menopause symptoms and get a successful correction of the atlas subluxation complex, get better within two months.

Isn't that nice?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Correcting Chocolate Cravings


I have not seen this before! Usually we have to do the Purification Program, a whole food supplement 21-day course, before a person loses chocolate cravings. But in this case, the incredible power of the central nerve system worked first on the abnormal chemistry that creates chocolate cravings!
Using the NUCCA procedure, the brain and spinal cord return to normal relations. This enables all the cells of the body to refresh and behave better. With time, we see healing ensue.
You can be sure that Kathy did not come into Rockford's 1st Step Chiropractic with the goal of eliminating chocolate cravings. I will never state that we can "cure chocolate cravings," but what IS true is that the body cannot heal anything if the spine remains out of balance.
So that's what we do - restore the balance of the spine.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor - Helping Posture, Back Pain and Headaches

You should have seen Ben when he first came into my office. Couldn't sit up without pain, looked a lot like a teenager (fancy that!) except that he had some other symptoms.
Got the atlas subluxation complex cleared out and stabilized after a few weeks, and now look! We see a classic example of someone getting back on the normal development time line. Any time you see someone who cannot stand up straight, has lost health, you must ask if spinal balance is lost. This is correctable.
Why watch people suffer? It is a principle of our society to make things better for people. We can do that by correcting the imbalanced spine.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Knee Pain and NUCCA

I had an interesting experience last week when I was able to witness how correcting the atlas subluxation complex fixed a knee problem of short duration.

The patient had twisted her knee a few days before and it was swollen and painful as a result. The tibia was twisted under the femur. She had a brace on it to keep it stable. When I checked it, there was palpable swelling, heat and tenderness below the kneecap. She was out of adjustment due to the presence of the indicators that show up when there is spinal cord pressure at the brain stem.

I adjusted the atlas subluxation complex and re-checked the knee. The swelling had vanished, the heat and tenderness had vanished, and the twisting of the tibia was gone. Everything had straightened out!

Isn't that nice that the body was able to correct the knee problem right away, once the underlying cause of the failure-to-heal had been eliminated!

But can you see that it is all a matter of communication between the brain and the body? This was fixed before the joints had time to wear out.

Knee pain - it can get fixed with upper cervical care!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Rockford NUCCA Adjusting

Here is a fun video out of the office of my colleague, Dr. Goffe, in Ohio. He uses the NUCCA procedure too (National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association)

Notice that the hands are linked together (the better to create the adjusting force), the table is low (so the adjuster's body can get to the correct angle), and the tape measure is out to define the correct angle of the adjustment.

The only thing missing is a heady discussion of complex lever mechanisms, but did you really have that much trouble getting to sleep?

NUCCA, in Rockford, it helps.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tonal Music and Chiropractic

After playing some of Chopin's Etude in F#, I was struck by the surprising twists and turns that the harmony plays. In music, what makes it interesting is described as tension moving to resolution, at least that's how Hindemith distills it.
Tension/Resolution, a tonal system that has logic and organization. This is much like the nerve system keeping the vertebrate mechanism in balance. When there is a peaceful balance in the muscles, you could say that there is tonal harmony. When there is tension you could say there is discordant assymmetry.
How can you restore balance in the tissues, in the muscles, in the "sound?"
Upper cervical chiropractic restores communication between the brain and the body. The nerve system controls and coordinates all the other systems in the body, and it relates us to the outside world. If you begin your piece in F#, you want to end it in F#, after wandering through other tonal centers. That gives the music balance and harmony.
Now all we have to do is get that same balance and harmony going in YOU!
Rockford Chiropractor, here to help you restore spinal balance and nerve system harmony.

Friday, March 26, 2010

What is the Cause of these Awful Symptoms?

As we consider the scope of knowledge about health, it is good to be aware of how too much information obscures the picture. In this article about an interaction between Dr. Palmer and Dr. Mayo, we see how important it is to "get to the main issue," which is establishing the criteria necessary for the body to heal.

In the early 20th century, Dr. Charles Mayo, physician, surgeon, and co-founder of the famed Mayo Brothers Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, brought his wife for treatment to the Dr. B.J. Palmer Chiropractic Research Clinic in Davenport, Iowa.
Dr. Mayo had taken his wife to other physicians, including doctors in Europe, all distinguished diagnosticians and specialists. Dr. P.L. Poulsen of the BJPCC staff informed me that those medical specialists had agreed upon a diagnosis - osteochondromatosis of the knee joint. They had tried everything medical to heal Mrs. Mayo, but all treatment had failed.
Dr. Mayo brought his wife to Dr. Palmer for his chiropractic professional services. He addressed Dr. Palmer as Mr. Palmer. To this Dr. Palmer replied: "This is a case of Greek meeting Greek; a test of steel against steel; a test of our simple chiropractic principle and practice against your complex medical theories and experiments."
Dr. Palmer ordered spinographs taken of Mrs. Mayo's spine.
"Mr. Palmer, why are you only taking spinal x-rays?" queried Dr. Mayo.
"Because, we are going to locate the vertebral subluxation cause of her sickness, so we can correctly adjust it." replied Dr. Palmer.
Dr. Mayo rejoined, "There is no such thing, and if there were, you couldn't adjust it by hand only."
"Dr. Mayo," Dr. Palmer said to the world-renowned clinician, "while you are here, we are going to ask you to keep your mouth shut."
Dr. Palmer performed readings with the neurocalometer and neurocalograph, then analyzed the patient's spinographs. Afterward, he gave her an upper cervical chiropractic adjustment to release spinal cord compression from the vertebral occlusion in her spinal canal.
After the chiropractic adjustment, Dr. Mayo asked, "Is that all you are going to do? What is wrong with my wife? Where is she sick? What is your diagnosis?"
Dr. Palmer replied, "We don't know. What is more, we don't care."
"You are a very ignorant man," retorted Dr. Mayo.
"We are ignorant of everything you think we should know," countered B.J.
After a pause, Dr. Palmer spoke again. "You, too, are a very ignorant man. You are ignorant of everything we think you should know about the cause of disease in the backbone of sick people. We know cause; you know there is a difference or you wouldn't be here. That's the difference in your approach, which has done your wife no good, and our approach, which will get your wife well."
"That remains to be seen," Dr. Mayo replied.
Dr. Palmer continued: "I am ignorant of everything you think I should know about disease of the sick. You know all this, and what good has it done your wife? The fact that you brought her here proves your methods have failed. Because of reports of the success of our methods of vertebral subluxation and adjustment, you brought your wife here to us."
Mrs. Mayo received chiropractic care for several months and went home well. Dr. Mayo stated it was impossible for her to get well with what Palmer did, yet he also admitted she was well.
Dr. Palmer expounded: "Medical doctors are concerned in knowing everything about effects, while chiropractors are vitally concerned in the cause in the backbone and how to correct it. What a difference between medical care and chiropractic care! A patient can come to the B.J. Palmer Chiropractic Clinic and be deaf, dumb, and blind - not telling or indicating anything - and we could and would locate the cause of whatever, wherever he had it; we adjust him and send him home well. It is as simple as that."
I was on the staff of the B.J. Palmer Chiropractic Clinic in 1953-54. Although "Dr. Charlie" had passed away in 1939, during that time, 60 to 80 percent of our patients were referred by "someone" on the staff of the Mayo Clinic.
References:
1. BJ Palmer,DC,PhC. Volume XXXII.
2. PL Poulsen,DC,BJPCC. Personal account.
L. Ted Frigard,DC,PhC, Beverly Hills, CA
For more articles like this, visit revolutionhealth.com

Dr. Schalow's comments: Interesting picture of an interaction between two strong personalities, both of whom did fine work (in their own way) to help suffering humanity. Moral of the story - pay attention to CAUSING health, and then give it TIME!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Living in Pain is NOT Living

"I literally got my life back!" says Richard Farmes, a 54 year old NUCCA patient living in the Chesapeake Virginia area. He explains that he had been in so much pain for so long, he was seriously considering spinal surgery when he heard Dr. David Packer on the radio discussing the fact that if you're living in pain, you're not really living. Richard felt immediately that NUCCA was his last hope for relief without surgery and promptly scheduled an appointment.

Like many people, Richard had suffered a head injury as a teenager, but never gave it much thought. Later, in the Navy, he hurt himself lifting a heavy weight and from that incident forward, slowly began a downward spiral into unrelenting pain for 35 years. In addition to the pain, he also suffered from sinus infections, mild hypertension, irritable bowel syndrome, and prostate problems, all of which eventually vanished after he began NUCCA care.

"After the first treatment, I felt like my neck was on fire and I had pelvic pain for about a half hour. But then, it stopped and I had no pain at all for the first time in 35 years!"
The pain returned after a while and Richard was diligent about maintaining his program with Dr. Packer which began at first with corrections two times weekly and gradually reduced to once every three months or longer intervals.

It's now been four years since Richard initiated NUCCA care. As a result, he was able to get back to his weight lifting program, lost 50 pounds, and he's active, happy, and pain-free. "NUCCA" he says, " is a remarkable technique. We just have to continue getting the word out so more people can be pain-free!"

Two comments from the Dr Schalow - - Unpleasant initial response from the adjustment, wasn't it? (We see that often in the healing process as spinal tissues move back into correct relation, not to worry)
Four years! It takes time to heal properly doesn't it? Stick with the program to see the best benefit.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Children's Health

News from a fellow NUCCA doctor...

"Recently I had a new patient named Jayden. She is 5 months old. At about 2 months old, her parents noticed that something was wrong. She wasn't moving very much and it became difficult for her to swallow. She was suffering with dysphagia, central hypotonia, esotropia, development disabilities, and a history of aspiration. Conventional medicine could not place a specific diagnosis on her and she ended up on Prevacid. This had been going on for about 3 months when someone referred her to my office. She was being fed through a tube that stayed in her nose all the time. I have now seen Jayden 3 times over the last month and I have adjusted her twice. Her parents have about a 3 hour drive to get to my office. Her mother reported that she is more active than she has ever been since the first adjustment and she is beginning to swallow. They are introducing juices to Jayden slowly. She cries every time she sees me. She does not like to get on my table. "

Now the big question is, "If upper cervical care can help this child regain normal function, can it help other children?"
Another question is this, "If the child does not want to be there, should we let the child call the shots?"

Since the NUCCA adjustment is not painful, since the adjustment is very light, since the treatment is proven to set into motion normal developmental processes, should we allow our children to be under this type of care?

I vote for my kids a BIG YES!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Success with Upper Cervical Care

I am often disappointed in results, given my perfectionist nature. It is easier to deal with it if we're talking about how the lawn looks, or if the garden is producing well. These are things that don't really matter after all. There's always the store if the cucumbers don't yield.

But where it really hits me hard is when my patients don't get better the way I think they should. Sometimes it takes more time than I think it should, and sometimes strange symptoms ensue as the healing process unfolds. What is going on in these cases and should we give up?

Recalling that we are working with the upper cervical region, however, reminds me that we must be concerned with those details first. If everything is in order in the relation between the skull, the atlas (C1), the axis (C2) and the neck below, then we can rest assured that the process is working the way it should be.

More times than I can count, the case has resolved well after taking new x-rays and finding out that the misalignment pattern changed. The details of the adjusting vector cannot be underestimated, and if those details are not right, we have to get them right to see success. Those patients who share the same interest in the details as I do are those patients who see success.

How can we be most successful? Commit to excellence in upper cervical care so that healing can progress.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor @ St. Bernadette

Several years ago, during the annual health fair hosted by the St. Bernadette Seniors, I looked out over the crowd of people enjoying the day. I saw some people who were patients already and some people who I had screened in past years who were not interested in getting under care, and suddenly my eyes were opened.

Have you ever had a moment when it is like you wake up from a stupor and can now see what is right in front of your face? This was one of them.

I recognized for the first time that upper cervical care is not just about getting the spine balanced and it is not just about healing from pain and other syndromes. As I looked at those who were patients, I realized that they looked younger, more relaxed, had better looking skin. As I studied those who never committed to care, I realized they looked older, more pinched, stooped, and had less color.

I realized that this is about turning the clock back, putting more life into your life, doing something for yourself that no insurance company can do...

Upper Cervical health care - at St Bernadette this Saturday, March 13, 2010, from 9-1. Come and find out if you have a balanced spine!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Rockford Chiropractor: How to Adjust NUCCA Style

One of the most common questions in my office is, "How does this work? I cannot feel the adjustment?" Vocab for today - complex lever mechanism, adjusting vector, Laws of physics, atlas, Long Head of the Triceps muscle. And does the doctor have a back ache by the end of the day? Yes, but not from bending over, it's from the pulling of the shoulder muscles. No problem! Lots of people hold their adjustment (that's the goal) and the doctor has learned how to exercise and rehab the shoulders well.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Foot Problems in Rockford


I had an elderly patient mention as an aside that her feet hurt all the time. Now, I like to know things, especially about my patients. She had never told me that before, so I was surprised! I suggested that we take a close look at them.

I found that there were a number of bones out of position in her feet. Her mother had experienced painful feet, as had her grandmother, so it seemed to be hereditary. But we decided to give the feet four weeks of special attention. Since everything else had cleared up, it seemed appropriate.

Sure enough, by the end of the second week, things were beginning to feel better, and by the fourth week, feet were stable and there was no more problem. So for three generations, there were sore feet waiting for the right person to come along and recognize the problem.

Interestingly enough, that's one foot case that didn't respond directly to the spinal correction. Sometimes, when we correct the balance of the spine, the foot bones move right back into position. When they do not, chiropractic has the right tools for finishing the work.

So, next time you see someone with foot pain, ask, "What's the status of your atlas?"

Monday, February 8, 2010

Shoulder Problems in Rockford


Some health care practitioners specialize in particular body parts, like feet, knees, shoulders. I like to look at how the painful body part fits into the whole body. When you look at the whole body as a complete unit, you can see how dependent one part is on another to feel good.

Look at this artist's rendering of some of the 'ropes' and 'pulleys' that support and move the shoulder.

Can you see how dependent the shoulder is on the neck and the ribs? What would happen to the shoulder if the system that supports it is out of alignment? Do you think the shoulder would suffer abnormal tensions and starts hurting?

One remedy for shoulder pain is simply bringing balance back to the head/neck/back. One of the most efficient ways to do this is through correcting what is called the atlas subluxation complex. That means the relation between the head, the atlas, and the neck below has gone off, so it's called a subluxation complex. When we correct that, the entire body will balance better. Can you see that once the body is balanced, the shoulders will move back into position?

One patient had a car accident that, among other things, shoved the entire shoulder down the back, so that it was about two inches below the other. When we corrected the atlas subluxation complex, the shoulder moved itself right back into position, even with the other.

Next time you see someone with shoulder pain, ask them the question, "What's the status of your atlas?"

Monday, February 1, 2010

Vocal Problems in Rockford


Aside from the usual speech impediments brought on by a 6 A.M. alarm clock, or the trouble one feels when the child asks, "Where do babies come from?", there are some causes of voice problems that are simply structural.

Look at this picture of some of the muscles that suspend the vocal apparatus! Can you see that some of these muscles begin up in the head, and some of them attach to the ribs below? What would happen if the bones in the head are not balanced and in position? What would happen if the ribs have been pushed out of alignment? Do you think it could affect the voice?

It sure can, and I have an interesting story to tell about how this happened to one person and how we got it fixed.

For the past ten years, her voice was getting worse. All the medical treatments were exhausted, including vocal therapy. But from the perspective of the upper cervical chiropractic world, we had a serious problem affecting not only the neck, but the entire body musculature.

We call it the atlas subluxation complex, and it involves the head and neck being off line - in short, the head isn't on straight. It is measurable and in most cases, correctible.

Which is what we did. The muscles relaxed, everything went back into position, and now the voice is returning.

Next time something is found to be wrong, ask the question, "What's the status of the atlas?" It might shed some light on the problem!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Back Pain in Rockford

When people come to me for help, I accept only those patients who I know I can help. The main set of criteria that tells me I can help include the presence of the atlas subluxation complex. So what's that?
The atlas subluxation complex is a big problem that happens when someone has their head knocked crooked. Essentially, it's the "head not on straight" problem. Some people are even told by the medical doctor that, "it's all in your head."
And, well, it is, because the head isn't on straight and that squeezes the brain and plugs up the blood flow and reduces the ability of the body to heal.
So does that fix back pain? It depends...
Look at this article I found from 1960. These researchers were trying to reduce the incidence of Hepatitis occurring in patients receiving blood transfusions. The obvious problem is that sick people were giving blood.
One of the most useful statements in this paper states, "lesions in the liver have been found to manifest electro-dermal points on the dermatomes coresponding to the spinal segments D3-D12, especially D7-D9."
That means the upper back is going to get pain and measurable changes in blood flow to the skin, causing "dead zones" of skin that show abnormal electrical flow. And that is all caused by a disease such as Hepatitis.
That means that correcting the atlas subluxation complex will lift the body's ability to heal, balancing the spine and eliminating muscle spasms, but it won't make the Hepatitis go away and it won't make the Hepatitis-caused back problems go away either. But what do you think the first step would be in bringing the healing process into play? Do you want the whole system to heal, or do you want just the Hepatitis to vanish? Do you want just good enough, or do you want to reach the top?
If the first step is correcting the atlas subluxation complex, what is the second step and third step? Well, if there is Hepatitis involved, that's not too hard, if the brain is back in control of the body's healing system. But that's for another day...
Oh, and by the way, they figured it out and screened out people who had bad thermal scans in the region of the spine running the liver, and were able to drastically cut the incidence of post-infusion hepatitis. (Naito, Morisue, 1960)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Hope for Illness in Rockford Illinois

The Big Question is..."What are we doing and why do diseases such as fibromyalgia, optic neuritis, congestive heart failure and pain respond to this type of care?" Ponder the info and discuss the events producing improved health. One thing to keep in mind is that the answer is rooted in High School Biology.


Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Attention Deficit Disorder

Expensive instrumentation is the hallmark of Academia, but we love it. How else can you show objective data that confirms improved brain function? The first case described here of attention deficit disorder has a couple of interesting points; the initial injury was probably a birth injury caused by forceps or harsh twisting of the neck, although any childhood injury could have done it; the RAND 36 study showed a gradual improvement to 100% in all eight health categories measured. That is beyond the national average! The NUCCA world is the only branch of chiropractic that has been using this Medicare-developed measurement tool.

Moral of the story; birth injury is real and attention deficit disorders can vanish without drugs. Have your children checked by a Rockford Chiropractor as soon as possible to make sure there is no injury festering there.

The second study is of a young lady with bipolar disorder. She gets better. (I wish Dr. Dickholtz hadn't squeezed all of this into one video, it gets overwhelming). Moral of the story; it's so exciting to do this work that you lose a sense of proportion as the immensity of the need by society becomes apparent.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Help for Chiari Malformation

This discussion of a succesful and complicated case may confuse the layman unfamiliar with spinal anatomy, but it does give a good idea of the detailed care that we give each case, no matter how complex. The goal is to remove pressure at the base of the brain, which for the vertebrate is a very important thing. I mean, the French pretty well proved that the head is important by showing that 100% of their attempts at altering a person's politics during the French revolution resulted in a dead body - separating the head from the body is fatal for animals with spines.

In this video, we see that Shirley's head was not on her neck straight. Three degrees translates to about two and a half millimeters of linear displacement. That's about twice what most people suffer with. Her symptoms were bad, and she truly had "Chiari Malformation," which was symptomatic with the atlas subluxation complex present. Remove the atlas subluxation complex and you have no problem with the unique structure. Shirley got her head on straight!

Interesting case!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Help for High Blood Pressure

Here is one of my mentors, Dr. Dickholtz, who was the adjusting doctor in the famous high blood pressure study done at Rush University Hypertension Center. When the announcer mentions that Dr. Dickholtz only adjusts the atlas at the top of the neck, you might think it is just a single segment that is being worked...

Actually, the atlas in relation to the skull, the second cervical vertebra and the entire neck below are figured into the equation. The goal is to correct a misalignment complex involving an entire system, and do it with one adjusting vector. So there's some fancy physics involved determined by radiographs of the upper cervical spine.

It's a good, concise video. And if you live in the Rockford, Il area, you don't have to go far to find this exact type of work!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Upper Cervical Adjusting: What Happens?

Many of my patients wonder what is happening during the adjustment. They cannot feel anything and yet, their family member watching observes me working hard and tensing my shoulders and getting out of breath.
The NUCCA adjustment involves a complex lever system. This system includes the doctor's foot, hip and back (constituting the first lever) and the upper back, shoulder and wrist (constituting the second lever). Each of these levers contains a point of resistance, a fulcrum and a force. You might be able to see that the hip is one fulcrum, the shoulder joint is the other fulcrum.
That's not all, because the patients' atlas is another part of the lever system. It continues into the relation between the patients' skull, the headpiece of the table, and the neck - and it's all part of the lever system!
Now that everyone's sleeping...
If we have taken the films correctly and analyzed the films correctly, all that needs to be done is adjust the patient correctly. It will not take much force to move the atlas back into position if everything is set up correctly and the lever system is moving from the right plane.
So you cannot feel the adjustment because the entire system is moving in the right direction just a little bit, about 3/4 of a millimeter on average, and up to 2 millimeters in the worst cases.
Once that is done, the body can begin healing from all kinds of problems, including speech impediments, pain syndromes, poor posture, and many others.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Hope for Posture

One of the enjoyable moments in the study of anatomy and physiology is discovering that there are nerves in the spinal joints that carry information to the brain about where you are in space. That's how you know what to do when you slip on the ice - all that flailing around is your brain's rapid processing of where you are in space and how to keep you from a punishing meeting with the planet.
But what if those joints are in abnormal alignment? Do the signals transmit wrong information?
That is one of the theories describing why upper cervical care works. The cervical spine of the neck is where you will find the greatest concentration of these receptor nerves. Does that suggest the neck is an important part of your brain's processing? If you were a factory, would that neck represent the office staff that is giving you updates on all aspects of the operation?
Each spinal segment has an axis of rotation that is altered when the spine is out of balance. This alteration causes abnormal pressures out on the joints at the edge, the facet joints, where the proprioceptor nerves live. Not only does this abnormal pressure alter the nerve signal, but it also creates conditions favorable for osteoarthritis, technically called the piezoelectric effect, in which calcium is attracted to the site of pressure.
In summary, it is not only important for spinal health, but it is also important for postural health to have a balanced spine.