Let's Talk About Brain Priority

 Don't get mad.  Get glad.   

(Image: Classic TV on YouTube)

If you've been in my office more than a week, you know I say the brain sets the priority and there is no point in arguing with your brain.  Your brain knows what you need at each and every moment. 

Do you return the favor when your body works so hard for you?  How do you pay back what stress takes? We don't have to intervene.  The term "intervene" sounds like you need to take over for the body's mistakes, but that is not true.  The body doesn't make
mistakes, the brain decides what is necessary at each moment and delegates instructions to each organ, muscles, blood vessel, cell.  (It's a very intelligent survival response.)

When your inner and outer environments change, the brain reassesses and updates the instructions.  But, it is smart to replenish the body's reserves.  Replenish with nerve energy (chiropractic), nutrients, and teaching (downgrade your personal triggers that over-stimulates the fight or flight response).   Let's do it together.  See you at the table.   ---The Chiropractic Table

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Brain First / Body Follows

Brain Priority Influences Body Function

Mind-Set	You can properly interpret the nervous system. You can understand how your unique experiences shape your nervous system. (Learned Triggers) Chiropractic stimulates the pre-frontal cortex. (The thinking and discerning part of the brain.)
Mobility	Your mobility mirrors the adaptability of the nervous system. Mobility and strength maintain your independence.  Chiropractic influences your mobility.
Nutrition	Replenish depleted nutrients used up by the nervous system. Chiropractic assists the digestive system for nutrient assimilation.
Sleep	The brain detoxes and refreshes during sleep. Chiropractic supports a rewarding sleep routine.

Why Are You Frustrated by Health Care?

Your health will always be determined by the adaptability of your Fight or Flight Response.

(Image:Researchgate.net)

Regardless of the diagnosis given to you, you should be concerned with how well your nervous system bounces back from stress.

Do you ask your health care provider how well your nervous system is working? It's time to find a chiropractor who focuses on brain retraining.

Chiropractors Are Not Hinge Doctors

Chiropractors Are Not Hinge Doctors

Chiropractors are Body Guards

of the Brain.

Image Courtesy: What Happens When the Brain Looks at Itself?

Because: You Are Not a Machine. You Are a Masterpiece.

Embrace the Masterpiece that You Are

Chiropractic is the Springboard to your Energetic Life

The whole point of chiropractic is to adjust the spine so it can unwind the stress of your life, giving you a refreshed energy to live the whole human experience  --- regardless of pain, whether you are in pain or not in pain.   

The brain is constantly reorganizing itself.  Chiropractic enhances the process.  

You're Not a Machine - You're a Masterpiece - Embrace It - Live Like It

 
The #1 challenge for all of us is to understand how amazing we are and to embrace it.  The sophisticated innate intelligence is always taking care of the body.  But then we stop short and switch over to the disease model.  The body is amazing, yet it can't be trusted.  Not very productive. 

Everything the body does is correct for the situation, even if it makes us uncomfortable. A better understanding of this can reduce the anxiety that makes pain more intense.  I expect inflammation and swelling if the body needs time to repair and replace tissue.  We don't want to interrupt the process.  We want to work with it, in a partnership.  

The nervous system coordinates all body functions, and we must remember that every system is involved with every injury or rebuilding process. Nothing in the body happens independently.  This is the masterpiece.

If you are injured or fatigued, your circulation responds, your heart beat responds, your endocrine system such as the thyroid and adrenals responds,  your lungs respond, your body temperature responds.  Your skeletal system responds. Your digestive rhythm changes.  Even your hearing and eyesight respond.  

When coming to the chiropractor, I hope we aren't compartmentalizing the body.  We do ourselves a disservice.  

I adjust the spine in order to beef up the brain's attentiveness to the situation.   The first step is to calm the fight or flight response so the body can get back to the essential process of repair. That may mean spiking a fever.  It may mean reducing a fever.  It may increase inflammation, or decrease inflammation.  It may speed up the intestines or slow down the intestines.  It's all based on the brain's focus on immediate needs to get the job done. 

Many people come to me and say, "I hurt here," and point.  That's the sensation that gets the most attention, but there's so much more going on in the body that we take for granted.

It may appear that I am a "hinge doctor." Adjusting the spine helps improve motion, but the brain gets a whole lot more information from that adjustment.  

So much happens with your masterpiece.  

You are a Masterpiece!  Live Like It1  Be Proud!  Be Unstoppable!

How the Adjustment and the Brain Work Together:

(Studied and Measured)

The Adjustment Influences the Prefrontal Cortex of the Brain

(the conductor of the whole brain)

movement coordination

thinking focus

behavior goal directed tasks

decision making memory attention

intelligence

pain processing emotional response to pain

autonomic function (just about everything)

motor control eye movement spacial awareness

fall prevention muscle strength

pelvic floor control mental rotation of objects

(www.spinalresearch.au)

*Normalizing Blood Pressure

*Mood and Attention Improvement

*Blood Glucose efficiency– decreases insulin resistance

*Improvements and/or Reversal of neurodegenerative brain physiology (HUGE!)

*Epigenetic Changes – this changes fertility and short & long term offspring physiology

*Increase ATP – which is a “game-changer” for many reasons

*Telomere shortening – one of GREATEST “anti-aging” strategies in health today!

*Heart Disease – #1 contributor to heart disease in men and women is increased sustained sympathetic tone

*Immune System – Radically affects the immune system. Better than any marketable strategy medicine has to offer

Brain Changes

*One study noted the changes made in brain patterns and activity was more in one session than multiple weeks of standard psychological treatment made to brain!(You should know that brain-based neurophysiologists get their mind blown when they get to see the power of an adjustment on the brain!)

*Chiropractic was also shown to improve muscle strength, stability, and fatigue more in one session than 3 weeks of weight training! (Mind-Blowing!!)

Let me throw a few musculoskeletal benefits in here:

*Increases mobility and reduces Spinal Degeneration – degeneration shown to set in within 10-14 days with reduced mobility.

*5x better at musculoskeletal pain reduction than celebrex and vioxx combined (sad part here is that celebrex and vioxx together gross more $ per year ALONE than the entire chiropractic profession….the world desperately needs what we do!)

 (www.chiropracticadvocate.com)

What else happens when you release subluxations with adjustments:

Decrease pro-inflaming cytokines (bad guys)  ***            

Increase neurotensin

Increase pro-regulatory cytokines (good guys)  ***           

Increase oxytocin

Increase CD-4 helpter T-cells (good guys)    ***                

Increase orexin A

Block TNF (bad guys)    ***                                        

Better cortisol response

Decrease CRP (bad guys)   ***

Increase DNA repair with maintenance                    

                                             

**** I don't follow the good inflammation/bad inflammation belief.  Inflammation is a purposeful form of repair.  Higher levels of inflammation indicate the repair has been ineffective  due to higher stress levels, higher toxin levels.           

Doctors Who Jumped Ship (More in 2024)

 I came across this neurosurgeon who entirely left the medical profession.  He gave a long but very insightful explanation.  Much of what he said is relevant to today's ongoing "health care crisis."  I really felt empathy for him and I understand exactly where he is coming from.  

I encourage you to listen to his story.  LISTEN HERE.

He belongs in my Doctors Who Jumped Series that I began writing in 2020. You can revisit the entire series here. 

There are a few take home messages with this gentleman.

#1- There are certain life style habits that help you not need surgery.  Many of his patients who had a date of surgery scheduled managed to do some self care and then cancel the whole thing. 

#2- I would venture to say there are certain personalities that do not need surgery.  Looking at number there are people who have a particular mind-set that helps them get through these kinds of challenges.  And listening this man's story he met a number of folks who quickly adopted this mind-set when push came to shove. 

#3- Watching surgery fail so many people is absolutely disconcerting to health care professionals who went through extensive training.  Imagine being led to believe your education will make a difference but once you are so deep in the time and money you realize it was a mistake. 

This gentleman is now taking a major retreat, time out for himself, so he can rest his brain, and figure out a way to make a come back without the long term effects of trauma.   Now, it does sound dramatic when I say "trauma"  but it is a considerable demoralization when reality did not meet expectations.  I believe we all have a similar experience when something was a huge disappointment.  After all, we want to be optimistic and trusting.  As I mentioned in by book, You Don't Have a Disease You Have A Nervous System, I wanted to show respect to my teachers.  You need a bit of humility when you're learning from those who have been in the field a whole lot longer. 

The beauty of life is that each of us is incredibly different.  We each have our unique dreams, talents, and experiences.  We don't want to be carbon copies of each other.  Innovation comes from creativity and looking at things from a different perspective. 

This gentleman is facing uncertainty, but I bet he'll do just fine. As he has realized that a person's mind-set plays so much more in person's state of health, which most of medicine ignores, he'll make the most of his authentic mind-set paving a new way in the world. 

If you remember from your chiropractic orientation packet that each new member receives on day one, studies have shown chiropractic enhances cognitive therapy, psychological therapy as well as in pain perception, mobility, and endocrine function. 

Read more: 

Chiropractic and Mental Health

Dr. Peter Breggin, Psychiatry Reformer

Chiropractic is a neurofeedback training exercise.  This enhances your ability to rewire how your brain perceives the world and nurtures your body.

Chiropractic as a maintenance practice rewires the brain.  It takes time and repetition, which is how your brain has learned all your life.  This time we are more deliberate. 

Welcome to Empowerment. 

See you at the table....the chiropractic table.

---Dr. Lisa

A May 23, 2020 PubMed article, Medical Error, sites medical mistakes as one of the leading causes of death in the United States.  Statistics from different years show it has ranged from number 6 to the third cause of death.   Choose carefully.  Get multiple opinions.

Accurate Vocabulary -- Better Health Outcomes

 A few weeks ago I wrote about the 2 conditions that worry my practice members the most.  Here is the link. 

However, the above concerns are just superficial and our focus is on the wrong area of health. 

X-rays and blood work are not predictive. 
X-rays show bones, but do not give you any insight to the activity of your nervous system, which changes minute by minute.  Lab work also can be different day by day, as well.  You can't really get a clear picture of the body's deliberate responses to stress.  

I keep emphasizing that a better use of words offers you a better outcome.  Disease labels are only minutely descriptive.  It explains what is happening to certain organs, well, our best guess.  The brain and body are so sophisticated, we have yet to fully appreciate it.  Disease labels do not provide information on the cause or outcome.  With this poorly defined process, we often apply treatments that are actually counter to what the body truly needs. 

Because everything the body does is correct for the situation, we should not rely on a diagnosis label.    I was taught in chiropractic college that the history is much more informative.  Also, we should allow the diagnosis labels to be changed, updated, or modified over time.

I am aware that the electronic medical systems with comprehensive coding systems used in hospitals and clinics is how doctors share information.  However, it is still lacking.  I suppose it is the best there is, but completely relying on it can lead to ineffective care.

My goal is to keep you out of the hospital and chronic care clinics.  My perspective is to assess the nervous system appropriately in order to avoid inappropriate and excessive medical approaches. 

The common denominator often ignored is the state of the nervous system.  After all, the brain detects survival need and appropriately commands the body to go into protect mode.  This is perfect and proper.  Our problem is we are out of the habit to replenish the body before the next stress, depleting event. 

Misinterpreting the body's responses leads us to an overused, overused medical system, particularly hospitalizations. 

When we are more accurate in our vocabulary, we can feel more in control, more confident with less fear.  Fear is a health thief.  Better information is the solution. 

To me the most concerning situation for the body is what I call programmed hibernation.  If you look at all disease labels given to hospital patients, they are are direct result of an overburdened, depleted nervous system.  It is a severe level of freeze or faint.  How someone gets this severely depleted can be traced back to an over-protective, preoccupied nervous system.  

Because everyone's nervous system is uniquely programmed by a lifetime of experiences, no one really fits the medical textbooks' disease labels.  Being herded through a computer system based on statistics robs us of the individual attention truly needed to help  promote empowerment and health freedom.  

We have many steps that can get us away from the programmed hibernation.  

You can't teach a drowning person to swim.  If you are in the hospital, you are drowning.  It is necessary to get discharged and back to the land.  The problem with programmed hibernation is that someone is too depleted of energy to think clearly and adopt an energy recovery program.

Is it too late?  No, but it will take longer to reestablish a vibrant nervous system. 

Are you in a state of programmed hibernation? Let's find out.

Chiropractic is a neurofeedback training exercise.  This enhances your ability to rewire how your brain perceives the world and nurtures your body.

Chiropractic as a maintenance practice rewires the brain.  It takes time and repetition, which is how your brain has learned all your life.  This time we are more deliberate. 

Welcome to Empowerment. 

See you at the table....the chiropractic table.

---Dr. Lisa

When Pain Turns to Brain Fog and Laziness

Brain Fog & Laziness - Your Brain Did It On Purpose

Chiropractic is a neurofeedback training exercise.  This enhances your ability to rewire how your brain perceives the world and nurtures your body.

*  *  *  *  

I came across an interesting mouse study from 10 years ago. 

READ HERE   

     

IMAGE COURTESY: https://neurosciencenews.com/mouse-learning-cognition-23927/  Why Mice Are Cool...

They studied mice who suffered chronic pain after teaching them how to obtain food.  They were good at deliberately sticking their heads into a hole to snatch a food pellet.  When they were induced with inflammation or nerve damage it appeared they lost the will to seek out the food pellets.  The "unnerving" part of the study was when the mice were relieved of the pain they still lacked the motivation to demonstrate the  initiative to feed themselves.  

Does this apply to humans?  Can you relate to the mice in the study?

(I must now recall the Taub Monkey Studies.  Dr. Taub damaged their arms so they couldn't retrieve bananas from the ceiling, yet the monkeys were able to get their arms working again.  So, I hope we can be more optimistic about our own personal growth.  READ A SHORT SUMMARY HERE)

This makes us think about the brain's effort to protect us and sometimes the Freeze/Faint response takes over. 

As humans we tag every event with an emotion so it gets stored in our brains for future reference because the brain wants to work efficiently. However, we can learn how to disconnect the emotional tag and neutralize the response. 

I work with a lot of people who have pain long after an injury has occurred, even years.  I have to help them understand that the brain chose this stuck-ness as a survival response.  The cognitive approach called Pain Reprocessing Therapy has been used help people understand that they are no longer injured, despite the insistence of the memory of pain.  It is a form of PTSD.

Chiropractic helps speed up the process of reteaching the body to down grade pain signals. 

Chiropractic studies have shown it changes how we process pain.  If you want more information, please ask me.  I have a brain training module and a number of good books to help you jump start the rewiring of your brain.

Chiropractic as a maintenance practice rewires the brain.  It takes time and repetition, which is how your brain has learned all your life.  This time we are more deliberate. 

You're not hard headed. You are hard-wired.  But we have the tools to do things better.