What is Chiropractic?

What's the first thing you think of when someone mentions the fact that they have been to see a Chiropractor? They must have a bad back? Or neck? Or maybe they are having headaches? Or maybe you have heard from a parent that they took there 6 week old baby who had colic?

Chiropractors adjust misalignments primarily in the spine. So when they do an adjustment what affect is it having on the body.

Our body is constantly sending and receiving messages, up and down via nerve impulses up to and from the brain. These messages go via the spine. Put simply the body perceives something, it might be a smell, a sight or a painful stimuli, and nerve impulses take that via the nervous tissue to the brain for interpretation, via the spine.

This is a diagram of the nerve pathways travelling up and down the spinal cord.

A reflex, such as the knee-jerk reflex when the patela is hit, does not travel up the spine to the brain, but goes as far as the level of the spine, and reflexes back. This is why you pull your hand away from something hot before the brain has registered the heat involved. It is a reflex. Again we see the spine involved, but only at one bone level, or vertebra.



And what covers the spinal cord? The spinal column!

So maybe you are beginning to see the effect that Chiropractic may have on all sorts of processes within the body, if it inolves a message going up or down the spinal cord? And that covers most things!

There have been many studies to show the effects of Chiropractic on performance, testing reaction time, vertical power jump and numerous other bodily functions.

So next time someone tells you that they have just seen their Chiropractor and they say that they always feel so well after being adjusted, you can tell them about the affect that adjustments have on their spinal cord and brain, the Motorway and "Central Control" of nerve tissue.

Ask yourself this question. Is your "Nerve Highway" a straight and wide, free from kinks and bends, or is it a country road, with twists and turns every way you go? Do yourself a favour and give your local McTimoney Chiropractor a call.

Health and Exercise

I regularly find myself giving the advice "I think it would be beneficial if you increased the amount of exercise that you do!" Unfortuantely I have not been taking my own advice for several years now, so yesterday 1st October, the "International Day of the Older Person" I decided to do something about that, and went along for my first Pilates class with Deborah  Higgins. I went along to one of her classes in Prestwick, as I had done Pilates before, but would recommend that you have a one-to-one with her before joining in a class.

Why do I recommend Pilates? Well, my work as a McTimoney Chiropractor is all about aligning the spine, so that you can be the healthiest individual that you can be, as the "nerve highway", the spinal cord, is cleared of any blockages, traps or impingements that having a misaligned spine can bring, this results in the body becoming ill at ease with itself, or dis-ease. For the body to remain in alignment, the muscles need to be toned, especially in the region that we refer to as the "core". Core stabilty is important, and this is where Pilates comes in. But are there any other benefits to exercise?

A study published in the Lancet, (the peer reviewed publication of the medical profession) showed that just 15 minutes exercise a day had significant health benefits, and that it added 3 years to the average life. Researchers have studied the changes that occur in the body at the chemical level when you exercise, and noted that many metabolites change when you exercise. These changes alter the blood sugar level, helping to maintain a healthy weight and prevent  heart disease and diabetes, it can also lower oestrogen levels which has an effect on breast cancer. The MacMillan Cancer Support suggests that moderate exercise for two and a half hours a week,be part of the treatment plan for those diagnosed with cancer, but always one to preach prevention is better than cure (or at least it is better than the treament offered by the health care systems of today) I suggest you don't wait until you have the diagnosis, GET OUT THERE AND EXERCISE NOW!

So this morning "how do i feel?" Well a bit stiff and achy as I might have expected, but also positive about the step that I have taken to ward off the common complaints of being an Older Person (not that I consider to be one yet, but it is a label that has been applied to people of my age) "Wear and Tear consistent with age" is a common diagnosis that my clients have been given by the medical profession. I love it, because it means that I can truly demonstate the abilty of the McTimoney method of Chiropractic in returning them to better health!

If reading this has made you think that you would like to get out there and exercise more, then please discuss any health issues with the person that is providing the class. As you can see from the research that is being done, having a diagnosis of any kind should not be a reason not to exercise, but do so within your own limits. We should all take the responsibilty for our own health, get to know what our bodies can and cannot do, but you may be in for a surprise that yours can do more than you thought given some daily exercise.

As for me,I look forward to a long and happy working association with Deborah J Higgins Pilates. I shall be there again next Monday morning, and I am happy to say that there were no "Tena moments", (for me at least, I cannot speak for Deborah!: ))