Category Archives: Chiropractic

I had the opportunity to work with a patient yesterday who presented with neck and mid back pain that he attributed to “too much time at the computer.” In talking to and examining this gentleman, I also discovered that he had been previously diagnosed with GERD (acid reflux for which he had been on Nexium for 5 years), suspected hiatal hernia (when the stomach protrudes into the chest through an opening in the diaphragm, for which he was just left to deal with), suffered transient bouts of dizziness (resembling benign paroxysmal positional vertigo), and had previously undergone a thyroidectomy due to cancer. While I felt bad for the man I couldn’t help but to feel motivated. Here was a man who had run the gauntlet of traditional allopathic modes of treatment and has now wound up in front of me due to the quintessential chiropractic back pain. The excitement was generated due to the fact that many of these issues can be neurologically explained, and intelligently treated through the application of functional neurology.

For this post we will look closer at the issue of acid reflux aka heartburn. The current mainstream approach to treating this problem not only makes it worse, but can lead to a wide array of additional problems. When someone presents with that burning pain in their chest especially after meals, the Doctor proceeds with the seemingly slam dunk diagnosis of acid reflux and prescribes some more powerful antacids than the individual was already taking. The over the counter medications (including Maylox and Mylanta) work by neutralizing the stomach acid. When these don’t seem to do the trick, more powerful drugs (including Zantac, Prilosec, and in this man’s case Nexium, etc.) are prescribed to stop the production of the acid altogether. As you will soon see, both of these methods can be problematic, but first let’s review what goes on when you chow on some grub.

After chewing your food and swallowing, it is sent down your esophagus and into your stomach. Separating your stomach from your esophagus is a door like structure called your cardiac sphincter. This structure opens to let food in and closes while stomach acid is secreted and break down occurs. Stomach acid is absolutely necessary in order to continue the breakdown of your food into smaller parts, which can then be further handled and dismantled by pancreatic enzymes secreted in the small intestines. It is in the small intestines that you absorb most of your vital nutrients. However, these steps must occur in order and for the most part, one cannot make up for a previous skipped step. Meaning, if you do not secrete proper stomach acid, your food will miss a crucial step during digestion that enables you to absorb and take advantage of the life sustaining nutrients which you consume it for in the first place. This can also lead to larger, intact proteins that can embed in and damage the intestinal wall, opening the door for gut permeability and a leaky gut. This mechanism was described in https://clarkechiropracticwellness.com/2013/01/15/why-gluten-free/ .

Another critical aspect of the relevant physiology is the nervous system’s control of the various mechanisms of digestion. As mentioned in previous posts, much of your body’s organ function is due to the proper balance between the sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PSNS) nervous systems. (See: https://clarkechiropracticwellness.com/2013/01/18/chiropractic-not-just-for-back-pain/ to review) A basic way to remember the two is sympathetic = “fight or flight” and parasympathetic = “rest and digest.” Being that the PSNS is responsible for digestion, it prompts the secretion of stomach acid and digestive enzymes necessary for proper breakdown as well as the smooth muscle contractions that take place to gently propel food down your digestive tract.

The issue comes into play here when there is an imbalance between your PSNS and SNS. When the SNS is dominant (and thus PSNS inhibited) it leads to dysfunction of the cardiac sphincter. This leads to the sphincter being open and stomach contents (bathed in acid) are permitted to come in contact with and irritate the esophagus. And now you have your burning chest pain.

Sick care mode of attack: be lazy and treat the symptom.

We have burning due to stomach acid irritating the esophagus, so let’s neutralize or outright turn off the production of stomach acid. Pain goes away (as long as you continue to take the medicine) and you are seemingly good to go. Never mind the fact that you are no longer producing the necessary stomach acid to properly digest your food, leading to malnutrition and a potential leaky gut. Never mind that by turning off the production of stomach acid (a function of the PSNS) you are further inhibiting the PSNS as a whole and thus creating further imbalance in favor of your SNS. Other issues that go along with an overactive SNS: high blood pressure, elevated heart rate, decreased blood flow and subsequent function of ALL your organs. This is due to the fact that the SNS is your “fight or flight” mechanism. If you are in an emergency and need to escape or throw down, the body redirects the majority of blood flow to your skeletal muscles in order move swift and strong, and as a consequence, your organs are neglected.

True health care mode of attack: take time to identify the cause, correct the imbalance and prevent the problem from reoccurring.

Through the application of function neurology recognition of SNS and PSNS imbalance can identified and corrected. Many times an overactive SNS is due to one side or hemisphere of your brain functioning at a lower level than the other side. This side of reduced cortical function or “hemisphericity” can be identified and treated accordingly though manual methods, including the adjustment. There are countless reasons that this imbalance can occur, but rest assured it can be checked and corrected.

The other frequent linkage made to heartburn is stress. When you are stressed the balance of your nervous system tends to shift more to the SNS. This would make sense as your body interprets stress as a fight situation and thus the “fight or flight” SNS kicks in. This can lead to sphincter dysfunction, but not excess acid production. Remember, stomach acid production is a function of your “rest and digest” PSNS. Being stressed out and activation of the SNS actually inhibits the digestive process, which includes the production and secretion of the hydrochloric acid in your stomach. So by adding an external source of stomach acid inhibition, you actually further perpetuate the imbalance in favor of the SNS through feedback mechanisms. Remember, it’s all connected. Do you see how the lazy sick care method of masking symptoms can actually cause even more harm?

As I stated in this and an earlier post, this comprehensive, holistic approach provides such a sense of optimism. It takes more time to conduct a thorough history and examination, but to accurately diagnosis the cause and eliminate symptoms by way of addressing that primary cause of the body’s dysfunction in the first place should be the preferred, primary mode of healthcare delivery in this and any other country. And while it is unfortunately not yet the mainstream, it is one that is already available to you all through chiropractic in combination with fields like that of functional neurology. So break the cycle of symptom masking drugs, which cause more symptoms, to be masked by more drugs, and go get checked out today.

CHIROPRACTIC…NOT JUST FOR BACK PAIN

If you ask most Americans about what chiropractic is, you will most likely get one of three responses. Number one: they have never been.

Number two: they know the chiropractor to be a ‘back-cracker.’

Number three: an even smaller section of the population that swears by chiropractic due to being fortunate enough to have been treated by a knowledgeable chiropractor. These people have not only been healed, but have been effectively enlightened as to the remarkable mechanism behind how chiropractic works. Of course chiropractic can work for your headache, neck and back pain, but the potential extent of its reach goes so far beyond that.

To truly appreciate and take advantage of the healing power that chiropractic possesses, we must have a firm grasp on the all-encompassing governing body of our existence; the nervous system. We are speaking of your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves (the nerves that extend from your spinal cord to virtually everywhere in your body, from all your organs to your big toe.) This interconnected chain is an astoundingly complex and intricate system that allows you to function properly in all aspects of life. Movement, pain perception, digestion, sleeping, proper immune function, all the way down to subconscious function of your heart pumping blood; all governed by the nervous system.

When everything along this interconnected chain is flowing properly, we are at our best. However, for countless reasons, the proper reciprocal flow between brain, spinal cord and all the tissues in our body can become dysfunctional. This can lead to a lack of flow causing things like numbness, imbalance or overstimulation causing things like pain or tingling. Even worse, when the proper flow of the nervous system to your internal organs becomes disrupted, vital functions that we take for granted can be compromised.

One of the most appealing things about chiropractic to me is the many different techniques and avenues that can be utilized in order to stimulate the nervous system. Functional neurology is an approach which I have been drawn to that has amplified my excitement about this chosen career path. It utilizes the known anatomy and physiology of the nervous system to accurately diagnosis and purposefully treat with intentionally delivered stimulation, including the most powerful, the adjustment.

It is based on the concept that the brain is divided into two highly connected, but separate hemispheres. These hemispheres have the ability to function on different levels. For a seemingly countless number of reasons, the level of function of one hemisphere can actually become decreased. This decreased level of functioning of one side of the cortex (or hemisphericity) can then manifest itself in a variety ways throughout the human body. On one level, this is a good thing because it provides us with the ability to assess using observation and by having the patient perform various tasks. On the other hand, this can be troublesome because suboptimal function at any level in your nervous systems can lead to undesirable signs and symptoms.

To more clearly elucidate the havoc this hemisphericty can wreak on your body, it must be understood that there are two main nervous systems at play that, when balanced, enable life. The sympathetic (responsible for the “fight or flight” response), and the parasympathetic (responsible for rest and digest) nervous systems each serve their own vital purposes and are necessary for proper function. They are generally responsible for producing opposite effects throughout the body. However, when one becomes uninhibited or overstimulated, a domino effect can begin to occur in the body that can lead to minor to catastrophic consequences. When there is decreased function in one hemisphere of the brain, the sympathetic nervous system is left unchecked or uninhibited and begins to run wild. Well, that seemed like a mouthful, but a foundation of understanding is necessary to appreciate the following examples.

I was recently performing an exam and treatment on my Pops. He had a blood pressure reading on the left that was significantly higher than the right (130/78 compared to 110/68). After concluding the examination, it was determined that his left cortex was operating at a lower level than his right. We went through a serious of therapies, including the adjustment, utilizing the right side of his body. All stimulation was done to the right, based on the fact that almost all sensory information from one side of the body crosses over and provides stimulation to the opposite hemisphere. This stimulation now has the potential to increase functioning in that hemisphere. Increased function in a hemisphere now puts the sympathetic nervous system back in check. Remember, one of the outcomes of decreased cortical function is an uninhibited or overactive sympathetic nervous system. Amongst other things, an uninhibited sympathetic nervous system leads to vasoconstriction in the blood vessels. Vasoconstriction means the space in the blood vessels is now constricted, leading to higher pressure, as he had on the left. After the stimulation, we did a post check of the left blood pressure and guess what? It was now down to 122/72. That is an 8 point swing in blood pressure after a brief, all natural, manual treatment that can be intelligently explained due to increasing left cortical function, thus inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system (inhibiting vasoconstriction which = higher blood pressure) and allowing greater expression of its counterpart the parasympathetic nervous system (which leads to vasodilation = lower blood pressure).

Imagine if people where to be checked regularly and this mechanism was used (along with dietary modifications and exercise) to keep blood pressure at a healthy level. This could eliminate much of the overuse of blood pressure medications and all the detrimental side effects they bring with them.

Another example of utilizing this knowledge and pathways can be illustrated by a recent treatment I performed on my Mother. She is similar to most these days and feeling a little under the weather. She listens to her son and refrains from a flu shot and from the all mighty Z-pack the doctor prescribed to her after diagnosing her with bronchitis. (It is straight from WebMD that acute bronchitis is mostly caused by a virus, and rarely bacteria, THUS other than attacking her already compromised immune system, the anti-biotics would be useless. I maybe would’ve understood this doctor’s rationale if a lab test was performed to determine the origin of the bronchitis, but this was never done. We’re getting off topic here but legal drug dealing doctors and overprescribing to a trusting public needs to also be addressed). In her case we wanted to do something to open up her airways which were restricted due to the bronchitis. Utilizing the knowledge of nervous system, I took advantage of the fact the sympathetic nervous system causes broncho-dilation (open the airways to make more oxygen available to your body, as you would want in a “fight or flight” mood to fight or run away) and parasympathetic causes broncho-constrcition. Having this knowledge I was able to purposefully deliver an adjustment, which in this case, was intended to increase sympathetic function and assist her in opening up those airways. The same principal could be utilized for an asthma patient.

Last example also pertains to my Mama. Last fall she was in the hospital for a “routine” surgery when she suffered complications and required a second surgery. The complication was a bowel obstruction and she required surgery to remove that obstruction. However, due to the blockage in her bowel, her body went into protection mode and decided to shut down all bowel function in order not to complicate matters worse. Normally, the bowel resumes function shortly after surgery, but hers seemed to be stalling for whatever reason. Needless to say, it would be natural to sit there and feel helpless. Even with traditional chiropractic training, what could I do? “Crack” her neck in an attempt to ease some of the discomfort of being bed ridden for two weeks? Utilizing what little knowledge I had obtained from my fairly recent venture into the field of Functional Neurology (and with a consult from my man and colleague Joe Bova), I decided to at least try. The rationale here is again, being based upon decreased cortical function leading to an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Bowel function and digestion are a function of the parasympathetic nervous system which was obviously being overpowered by the sympathetic nervous system due to the traumatic stresses of back-to-back surgeries. After diagnosing the side of decreased function, treatment by way of stimulation and an adjustment was applied. I left the hospital around 11:30pm.

Upon awakening the next morning, I called my mom in the hospital. She had big news for me. (And she’s going to kill me for this, but this is for educational purposes. Love you mom.) She told me that she finally passed gas for the first time in a week and a half at 2:30am. Even better, she had a solid bowel movement for the first time in a week and a half when she woke up in the morning. Obviously thrilled by the news, I was also amazed that the bowel literally woke up hours after treating her. Was this directly attributed to the treatment I applied? Was it just a coincidence that her bowels finally came around when they did? There is no way to know for sure. The point of this is that the knowledge enabled me to purposefully treat her in an attempt to directly stimulate the nervous system and thus a desired function. It provided hope.

These examples are so much more than back pain or headache cases. These are examples of providing a drug free, hands on approach by way of external stimulus to produce a desired internal effect. I’ve heard of many people claiming to have delivered or have witnessed a “chiropractic miracle” when in fact it wasn’t a miracle at all. These people simply happened to hit a bulls-eye with a blind fold on. Meaning they delivered an adjustment and happened to dial up the appropriate nervous system pathway in order to remedy a seemingly unrelated problem. Was it repeatable? Probably not. Could they explain it? Doubt it. Recognizing the potential power that the adjustment has to deliver to the nervous system and understanding the subsequent anatomical pathways removes that blindfold and opens the door to intentionally treat so much more than just back pain….oh, but we’re pretty good at that too.