Rockford Chiropractor - Help for Musicians

I had a car accident about 40 years ago that crushed my shoulder and some ribs, said David...

I was in pretty bad shape. It got to the point where I could not shave with my right hand, I had to use my left hand. I am an amateur cellist, and my shoulder and arm were sore quite a bit, to the extent that I couldn’t play continuously through long rehearsals. But then I got under care at 1^st Step Chiropractic in April, 2003. Over the first year of my recovery, I had a lot of quiet changes that I only noticed during a rehearsal. It boiled down to how long I could play without pain. This time gradually grew longer and longer, so that I regained my confidence that I could keep playing.

Dr. Schalow has impressed my with the thoroughness of his exams. He is the one who spotted the fact that I had a new shingles outbreak, and so I got it taken care of with the right drugs before it got too advanced.
Oh....... another thing. Actually the last right shoulder/arm pain I experienced to any extent was last August (2005) in Austria. This was not a surprise though, because, after not playing cello for a few weeks I participated with long hours of playing cello again, this time in the Classical Music Festival orchestra in Eisenstadt. After playing about 5+ hours in the first day the pains started to return to the extent I was not playing all of the time. The next day of rehearsals?...... almost no pain after 5+ hours of practicing. Then that was all.

I recommend upper cervical care in Dr. Schalows’ office for any serious musician.

Our very first patient, still getting checked, still having benefit as the correction holds and does its work. "Don't ever give up!" as my piano teacher always told me...The same thing holds true with your health and maintaining your correction. The NUCCA procedure helps your body heal from the inside,  and if there are other problems going on requiring separate modalities, that's okay. Just be sure they don't interfere with the correction!

Three weeks ago, when the weather warmed up and the pollen came out, a majority of my patients began showing signs of reaction to allergens. So, better late than never, we get to present information on food supplements helpful in allergy season.

1^st Step is always to get the atlas corrected with the NUCCA procedure. Often, the atlas subluxation complex is the only thing standing in the way of your eliminating allergy symptoms, and that was the case for me back in 2001 (which took me 8 months to realize). On the other hand, lots of extra material in the air (pollen, dust…) creates a toxic load on the body that stresses the liver. Picture this, you breathe in lot of gunk, which goes into the sinuses and lungs, through the lymph tissues, then blood stream, then liver to be cleaned out. It’s like John Candy’s character in the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” who uses up all the towels, eats all the food, messes up the place, and you have to tidy things up.  How can you help your liver?

Many people respond to the food supplement called Antronex, which is from the beef liver. There is an enzyme discovered in the ‘20s by Japanese researchers which helps the portal vein relax and flush the liver. About three years ago, I had a very surprising week when 90% of my patients who were experiencing allergic symptoms (and holding the correction) responded favorably to Antronex. It’s not the only one that can help…

Body organs that help with allergies (think immune alliance) include the spleen, stomach, lungs and adrenal glands. Allerplex can also be useful, depending on the level of support you need. It has Antronex in it, so can be more useful for people who require support not only of the liver but other organs in dealing with allergens. Check with Dr. Schalow to see if one of these supplements might be helpful.

Instantaneous Relief? You Should Hope NOT, Here's Why...

One of the reasons why I encourage people to be patient with their healing process is that the body is very wise. Here is what researchers have found when they look at joint and ligament damage. When motion stops at a joint, one side effect of the out-of-balance spine, the ligaments lose their strength. The fibers that make up the ligament begin to shrink and vanish altogether. Not only that, but the connections between the ligaments and bones begin to dissolve, and the bone becomes weaker. Now what would happen if we did a fine NUCCA correction, restored mobility to that joint and took away all the pain at once? You would jump back into activity with weaker structures and become high-risk for serious damage. I often remind patients who have had pain for several years along with joint fixation, swelling and ligament damage, to pretend you are horribly crippled for the next several weeks, even if the pain is gone! It is because we have to wait for those bones and ligaments to rebuild strength and ability.

When we restore the communication between the brain and the body, your own body selects a time frame for healing of those deteriorated joints. Motion is restored gradually as normal kinematics of the spine returns. Bone and ligaments develop their strength as good forces come back into play. As the old saying goes, “slow and steady wins the race!”

One of the ways you can help that process is to learn some safe movements, such as taught in one of our workshops. “Swimming without Water,” and “Introduction to the Alexander Technique,” are offered just about once a month. If you have not yet attended one of them, or even if you have, give yourself a treat and sign up for one or both. These are fun activities that help people constructively relax and restore healing motion. And of course, it goes without saying, the other way is to be sure you are holding your adjustment.