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Showing posts with label fibromyalgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fibromyalgia. Show all posts

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Chiropractic Saved Me

 

My x-ray in 1995 was similar to this
one.  The curve was reversed from 
a head injury as a child in 1971.  I 
was forming bone spurs in my mid- 
twenties.  I had a 20-30 year head 
start on arthritis.


This resembles the beginning of 

very debilitating fibromyalgia and 

other pain syndromes.  Also, 

studies of mild brain trauma are 

showing a correlation with 
depression and bipolar disorder, 

especially in teens who play sports.


It wasn't back pain or a headache 
that brought me to chiropractic.  In 
fact, I was pain free when I 
received my first adjustment.

I had a condition more painful than a physical injury 
because it was not physically obvious.  I had a certain 
arrogance that would have taken my health away if I 
hadn't been exposed to chiropractic thinking 17 years 
ago.

I was arrogant about health and healing because I 
was young. I took my health for granted because I 
thought nothing would make me sick.  I thought I 
knew how to take care of myself.  Boy, was I wrong!  

I  worked with people who were challenged by the 
label of mental illness. They were told they had a 
brain imbalance and they needed a steady supply of 
brain altering drugs to keep them "normal" by 
society's rules.

No one proved they had brain problems.  No one 
measured brain improvements to check if  the drugs 
really helped.  No one gave them an option to stop 
taking these drugs.   It was all one sided and my 
clients were actually getting worse.
If you or someone you know
has suffered under the psychiatric system
become a member of the 

I started teaching a few of my clients about stress 
reduction techniques and dietary changes.  Much to 
my surprise, they were improving and gaining  self 
confidence.  While I was addressing their physical 
health I began to see how the state of the body has a 
great deal of influence on mental function.

I realized my job as a therapist was a joke. If the 
body isn't healthy, the mind stays stuck (more like 
trapped).

After prayerful consideration to change careers, I 
looked at chiropractic.  I had no pain or health 
problems, but I volunteered in a chiropractor's office 
to learn about this drug free approach.

Not much of a science buff, I was awe struck when 
my new chiropractors (a married couple) taught me 
how the nervous system controls every cell, organ, 
body function, thought and emotion.  The nervous 
system is also considerably affected by the condition 
of the spine.  

It was also a major revelation when I learned how 
damage progresses for years but we don't feel it.

They showed me my X-rays and explained how 
mechanical disruptions of the spine adds incredible 
stress to the brain and spinal cord.  A sample X-ray 
above is very similar to my own X-rays.

This was a big mind shift to me.  I thought spinal cord 
damage was paralysis like Christopher Reeve.  I 
never considered milder forms of damage could have 
such an impact on disease and mental status.

If I never addressed this 17 years ago, I would have 
suffered from a gradual and progressive degenerative 
process. Pain doesn't show up until damage is fairly 
permanent.  Combine it with a stressful life style and  
poor nutrition and chronic disease takes hold.

I also learned chiropractic gave mental patients great 
results in the early 1900's before drug therapy 
became the monopolizing treatment.  It is now 
showing great promise for addiction recovery.

I often think about my therapy clients who felt 
helpless and defective.  Their nervous system/life 
force was stifled and no one offered them the release 
chiropractic can provide.

Chiropractic is not about pain relief.  Pain is  part of 
being human.  Chiropractic is about knowledge, 
personal power and being given options.  


My first interest is in mental wellness.   
Inside the mind are the sparks that ignite great 
ideas.  The body is the engine that allows us to push our ideas forward.  
They work as a team.



In my work as a mental health counselor I saw a serious separation 

between this awesome team.  
When physical health is not properly addressed, it clouds the mind.  
The body often 
gives us important clues.

Chiropractic rejoins the mind and body in an extraordinary 
way as the adjustment  enhances how the nervous system
 fosters innate intelligence.

Thanks for being curious.  
It means you are  looking for something new to try.  
You are in the process of a personal evolution.   
It's a superb journey!

I can't convey much more of it on a website.  Come to a health talk, come in for 
an appointment, or let's chat on a phone-coaching session.

Read more about my journey here.



Monday, May 16, 2011

Want a Head Start? Start with Chiropractic.



This is my latest article published in the Citizen: May 17, 2011.

I had a wonderful time speaking to a group of high school seniors recently. It was very refreshing because they didn’t know anything about chiropractic so I didn’t hear the usual conversations that often come up regarding chiropractic.

When I talk to groups of adults I hear the typical questions about someone’s back pain even if it is not the topic of my talk. People seem to be programmed to discuss their spinal surgeries, carpel tunnel syndrome and whiplash when they meet up with a chiropractor.

While I really feel for people who are struggling with long standing pain, I am trying to share a different message about health. People with poor health are looking for reassurance that it is not all in their heads. I truly believe it is not all their heads, but they need to turn their heads in a new direction.

The high school students I spoke to had a fresh outlook regarding health maintenance. The first thing I said to them was, “All disease is the same, so don’t get bogged down in the details.” I explained why it isn’t that complicated and we can avoid feeling anxious over every breaking news story about a disease.

This gets people’s attention because I am asking people to rethink healing. I had to give up old ideas myself; otherwise my own health would have been a personal struggle. I grew up thinking “things happen to you,” but, now I know why. Patterns are memorized by the nervous system as we experience events and behaviors. The same way we learn how to ride a bike is the same way the nervous system reinforces strength or weakness in the body.

Endocrinologist, Hans Selye, made stress a household word so we could understand how repeated exposures of unhealthy events deplete the body of its survival reserves. Scientists use the term “neuroplasticity” to describe how experiences can positively or negatively change the brain.

Because the spinal cord is an extension of the brain, chiropractic can provide the fastest way to reset nervous system patterns like rebooting a computer. This has been shown in experiments using EEG brain scans before and after chiropractic adjustments. Immediately after adjustments, EEG readings showed a higher state of relaxation, health, and healing.

All disease is the same because the stress response of the nervous system is always the same as it attempts to protect the body. Disease symptoms will present differently from person to person depending on each person’s state of health and nervous system patterns.

During my talk I pointed out the various times in my life when injuries and life style choices repatterned my nervous system. Looking back I realized these events could have spiraled into a debilitating condition had I not used my chiropractic knowledge to make changes.

I wish the graduating seniors much success and good health. They get to start young with this information but anyone can take a different look at their health and use chiropractic to change their healing patterns.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Stress: What the Mind Possesses the Body Expresses

I found this article online and love the title!!! Enjoy!
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Stress: What the Mind Possesses the Body Expresses

Stress is the underlying cause of 85% of visits to the doctor and includes Fibromyalgia, Headaches, and other Chronic Pain syndromes. If this is so and the research shows it to be true then why do we not recognize these stressors? How is it that we let stress create such problems in our lives? These questions are being studied more than ever before as is noted in the latest issues of Time, News Week, US News and World Report, National Geographic and a host of other weekly and monthly magazines including O, The Oprah Magazine.

If we understand that the underlying cause of stress is a mind body connection response to our thoughts and our bodies response to those thoughts then it makes since. Florence Nightingale, in her book Notes on Nursing written in 1859 stated that volumes are now written on the connection of the mind and the body. Even then she declared that if we help the patents to vary their thoughts we help them get better.

So why is the Medical Community so slow in connecting the two. Good Question and not so hard when you think of our fast paced world and how easy and routine it is for a physician to write a prescription to calm our nerves.

As humans we experience daily stress totally different than say a rabbit in the wild. A rabbit while leisurely feeding will respond with all its senses with any sign of danger. However, unlike humans the rabbit will relax and go on feeding as soon as the signs of danger pass. It has no thoughts of what just occurred, or what might occur or what could have occurred.
When humans sense danger we also go on the alert. Our heart rate faster, our blood pressure higher, our blood diverted to our arms and legs so that we can fight or get the heck out of Dodge. On the other hand, we humans unlike the rabbit tend to proceed to worry about the “What Ifs.” What if the danger comes back? What if it isn’t gone and I just I think it is gone?

When the “What Ifs” set in we are beyond the protecting intentions of the stress response and become distressed. We take a thought and turn it into worry, which creates high blood pressure, fast pulse, etc.

Read the following and then try the exercise: Close your eyes take a deep breathe and pretend or imagine that you are in your kitchen. Look around the kitchen and listen for the hum of the refrigerator. Walk over to the refrigerator. Did you hear your footsteps? Now open the door of the refrigerator? Feel the cool air as it flows out.

You notice a bright yellow lemon and you reach in and take it out. Pay attention to the size, color, temperature, and texture of the lemon as you hold it in your hand.

Now take the lemon over to where you would normally cut up fruits or vegetables. Take out your favorite knife and slice through the lemon. Watch the lemon juice as it oozes out onto the cutting area. Now pick up one half of the lemon and smell the scent of the lemon.

Now open your mouth and take a bite of the lemon. Taste the lemon juice as it passes across your teeth onto your tongue. Taste the tangy tart taste of the lemon as you feel it in your jaw. Go ahead and notice and then swallow the extra saliva in your mouth.

If you are like most who try this exercise then you may have noticed a little sour taste with some discomfort in your jaw and/or extra saliva in your mouth. What you created with just your thought was a physiological, biochemical response in your body – yes, just from a though – So the old saying “We are what we think we are is true.” Therefore, change your negative thoughts to positive thoughts and experience the changes in you.

How do I know if I am stressed?

If you are finger tapping, compulsively eating, biting your nails, having repetitive thoughts you might be stressed. If you have increased your smoking, drinking or drug use you might be stressed. If you are absent or being late for work then you might be stressed.

Prolonged stress can result in heart disease, food cravings, insomnia, depression, PMS, obesity arthritis, diabetes, and multiple other conditions that are a direct result of uncontrolled stress.

The most stressful jobs:
1. Teaching
2. Nursing
3. Management
4. Other professionals
5. Social workers
6. Road transport
7. Police and prison officers

On an average workday, an estimated one million workers do not make it to work due to stress. “Health and Executive Magazine,” claims 6.5 million sick days are being taken every year as a result of stress.

Stress Reduction

Stress affects blood pressure, sleep habits, nervousness, and confusion. Whenever our bodies are stressed – whether the stress is real or imagined – our brains respond as if it is real. Stress, by the way, can come in many forms: an impending deadline, an inability to complete work tasks, or even a verbal lashing from another person. The body’s response is the same regardless of what causes the stress.

Ten Ways to Cut Down on Stress
1. Talk it out. Get support from family and friends.
2. Exercise regularly.
3. Avoid false guilt.
4. Set realistic goals and priorities.
5. Avoid perfectionism.
6. Keep a sense of humor.
7. Hang loose. Set aside idle time to relax every day.
8. Live by the calendar, not the stopwatch.
9. Avoid over indulging in drugs, alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine.
10. Think positively

Taking time out of a busy schedule to relax is very important. Everyone experiences relaxation differently so the key is to relax as best you can. The ability to relax is enhanced by finding a quiet place, creating positive self talk, listening to soft music, day dreaming, or taking a walk.

Try this simple breathing technique to relax and decrease stress. Blow your stomach out like blowing up a balloon. This will drop the diaphragm down and automatically create a deep breath. More oxygen is able to enter into the two lower lobes of the lungs, which has more blood vessels to carry oxygen to the cells.

Exercise

Exercise is the most widely recommended form of treatment for relieving the effects of stress and depression. It increases endorphin release (the bodies natural morphine) along with melatonin (natural sleeping pill) and serotonin (natural Prozac) production, and helps level out blood glucose. Exercise helps us sleep better which also decreases stress.

Think Stress Control

Skipping breakfast is a bad idea.

Starting your day on an empty stomach results in DECREASED ATTENTION and POOR PERFORMANCE. Even if your breakfast consists of something sweet or fatty, which is common, it can still help you get a better start on your workday. It is also true that breakfast eaters are leaner, have lower blood pressure, eat less throughout the day, and are in better health than those who skip the most important meal of the day.

In Conclusion

Stress responds well to meditation, Relaxation Therapy, Self-Hypnosis Exercise, a walk in nature, soft music, get 6-8 hours of sleep and a proper diet with the right vitamin and mineral supplements greatly decreases stress and enhance wellness.

(Copyright 2005 by M. Ron Eslinger)
About the Author: Michael R. “Ron” Eslinger, Captain, U.S. Navy, Retired is a Board Certified Hypnotherapist, Advanced Practice Nurse, Certified Hypnotherapy Instructor and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. He has served as Chief Nurse Anesthetist, Assistant Department Head for Administration Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA. and is the Past President, Virginia Association of Nurse Anesthetists. He is Owner/Director of Healthy Visions Wellness Center in Oak Ridge, TN USA. For more information regarding hypnosis as an adjunct therapy, Ron Eslinger can be reached at The Healthy Visions Wellness Center. Go online to http://www.eslinger.net/ for more information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_Eslinger

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Fibromyalgia Book Discusses the Subluxation Connection to Poor Health

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If you do not have fibromyalgia, you still have to be concerned about your subluxations, especially the silent subluxations.

Dr. Whitcomb's book has just been released.
http://www.stopfibro.com/books.html

A while ago I shared the link to Dr. Whitcomb's information on fibromyalgia. He is just one of the chiropractic pioneers who making known to the public how head trauma profoundly changes the health of the spine as well as overall health.

If you look at my website you will find research by Dr. Erin Elster on MS and Parkinson's Disease and she also correlated their subluxations to her patients' health histories of head trauma.

Chiropractors never underestimate the subtle changes of minor head injuries. You may be sore for a little while and then forget about it, but your spine has just absorbed an impact that begins the degeneration process. That is why I ask you about any accident, injury or surgery you remember.

I often talk about subluxation compensation: what happens over time as your body tries to accommodate to these changes. Negative patterns develop and we want to change them before permanent damage takes hold.

If you do not have fibromyalgia, you still have to be concerned about your subluxations, especially the silent subluxations.

Ask me to review this information with you at your next appointment.

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Check out The Numbers Don't Lie Diet
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