Chiropractors help to solve problems in the body by working on the quality of the fascial matrix within us. Tight fascia leads to blockage of energy. Energy bodywork can have great significance to the body even if there is no problem evident. A healthy person will be happier and less likely to have an injury or disease. If a problem does come up, they can recover more quickly.
Atheltic, artistic and intellectual performance is enhanced when all of the bodys' communication channels are open and balanced. This fact is well understood by practioners who give regular maintenance tune-ups. These treatments are not for specific ailments, but help to reduce the future incidence of medical problems, to enhance performance in all activities and to facilitate the progress of people in their personal evolution, or in the achievement of their personal goals or destiny.
Take the time for yourself. Get your Tune on...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Your Health and Chiropractic
Chiropractic is a natural way to help minimize the effects of illness, or symptoms in our bodies. By helping to align the spine, soften the tissues, reduce muscle spasms, and increase bloodflow, our bodies can speed up the recovery process of symptoms we do have and can help ward off future injuries. When you have your health, you have everything! Free yourselves from the race conciousness and allow your body to be the perfect body it is designed to be. Namaste'!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
In the Now!
Our Spirit knows no past and is not affected by the belief in any way. The past is swallowed up by the perfect present, which is filled with Love and Perfection...The future is yours for the making.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Ease into Today
get ready for the mystery of today by preparing for today's adventure by stopping, taking a breath, meditate on creation, resting and then smiling. Take the time to be you. This will make the day lighter and easier...AHhhhh! AND BEGIN...
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Raising a Healthy Family
Good Health is Easy!
Raising a healthy and happy drug-free family in today’s day and age is challenging because of the onslaught of commercials that tell us to use over-the-counter, prescription drugs and other medications for bacterial and viral infections such as colds, flu, sore throat and other childhood illnesses.
Health is easy if you are in tune with the universe and your body. The universe works in specific ways, we are part of this universe, so we work in a specific way. The universe works through natural laws, like gravity, for example. As this applies to our bodies, the body is a self-healing organism, organized by our nervous system which is responsible for our experience and for directing all growth and repair in our body. Balanced interaction with the universe is constructive, healthy, life-sustaining and health promoting. What can we do to be more a part of this universal concept as it pertains to health? The first alternative to the usual recommendations for colds and flu is to not get sick at all. So let’s start there.
We have an active role in maintaining good health throughout our lives. We know that the nervous system controls and coordinates all activities in our body and links our internal world to our external world, so, a normal functioning nervous system is the key to optimum life and health. Since the nervous system is housed inside our body, it is important that our body, posture and spine be checked periodically in order to maintain a healthy nervous system. A doctor of chiropractic takes all that into account when assessing a person’s health.
Let’s take a look at some aspects of our lives and see if there are changes we can make.
Are you getting enough sleep at night?
Rest and sleep allow the nervous system to recuperate from all the daily input which it constantly processes. A firm mattress, combined with the use of feather pillows supports the body unlike soft beds and firm pillows which do not allow for proper spinal alignment. Feather pillows are good because they are moldable. You can roll it up just right for placement under you neck, without pushing your head forward or if you lay on your side, it can help properly keep the head inline with the spine.
Are you eating right?
Our body requires nutrients to fuel growth and healing. The 2005 food pyramid is ideal because it emphasizes more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low fat milk products. Variety is the key. Eat as close to the source as possible, fresh and raw without preservatives, when available. Minimize packaged foods for they have way too many ingredients that do not promote good health. Eat fruits before noon and more veggies afternoon. Eat your biggest meal at lunch, if possible. Take your time and enjoy the meal. Chew your food properly and your body will digest the foods more readily so you will get the nutrition you need to maintain a healthy body. For babies, most of us know that breast feeding is the best source of initial and supplemental nutrition for the first 12-18 months. Introduction of solids should not begin until teething starts at around 6 months. Formula is not a very good substitute for breast milk.
Do you exercise?
Exercise is necessary for the nervous system to rest and recuperate from its daily business of information processing. By way of the nervous system, exercise also stimulates growth, repair and immune function. Strength exercises can be done 1–2 times per week, but aerobic exercise should be done 3-4 days per week. Do things you enjoy and have fun. Don’t forget to exercise your mind by reading, writing, listening to music, enjoying art or other performances.
Are your hands clean?
Wash hands before and after preparing food, going to the bathroom, changing diapers and cleansing wounds. Make sure you rinse your food before you prep them for cooking, especially fruits and vegetables, as well as some cuts of meat and chicken. I’ve never tried to wash a package of ground turkey though!
However, no matter how well informed and well-intentioned we are and given our lifestyles, varied responsibilities and stressors, we do tend to get out of balance. Our resistance fades and we can become susceptible to colds, flu and other illnesses, both physically and mentally.
Steps to take when we get out of balance and become ill.
Get extra rest and sleep. Take naps and go to bed earlier than usual. This is a good time to take a break. Research shows that 90% of our energy is being used for keeping an upright posture and the other 10% is for thinking, healing and growing. Keeping the mental stimuli down will channel that energy into the healing energy that you need. Taking time to meditate rejuvenates the body.
Eat! Grains, legumes, fruit and veggies are good for you. Fruits keep the moisture levels up in your throat and they are soothing, keeping the irritation levels down. Mexican food is good for colds and flu. Studies show that Tabasco sauce actually kills Strep bacteria. When you have a fever, sometimes just ginger ale and saltine crackers are all you can keep down.
Exercise. If you have the energy, work out. Decrease the intensity and duration, but don’t stop. Lymphatic drainage is passive and requires muscular contraction to clear out the waste products from the accumulation of virus and bacteria.
Over-the-counter medications. Try to avoid prescription medications such as antibiotics and pain relievers except in ‘life-threatening’ situations. Research has shown that OTC medications for children are unproven and potentially harmful. Read the ingredients and contraindications.
Medical intervention. Medical intervention is worth the risk for emergencies and crisis management when the limitation of matter is exceeded. Emergencies include broken bones, major cuts, ligamentous, cartilaginous or muscular injuries that require surgery and life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. It is also beneficial for people suffering from birth defects that require surgical correction. In general, medical intervention is warranted for people who are so damaged that they will not positively respond without this intervention. Your medical care should still be coordinated with your chiropractic care and should not be exclusive. Research confirms that chiropractic care offers a wonderful opportunity for drugless, non-surgical healthcare for many conditions.
If these initial recommendations are followed, the risk of disease and injury is remarkably lowered. However, we may have been injured in the past or are getting into the healthcare game later on in life and have already sustained sickness or have ongoing conditions. Children with allergies, asthma, chronic colds, colic, motor vehicle crashes, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, growing and/or back pain all respond well to chiropractic care. In adults, research shows many positive results for back pain, neck pain, headaches, and menstrual disorders.
Even if we do all we can to maintain a positive, healthy lifestyle, we still need some help from time to time. This is where chiropractic care comes into play. Chiropractic care decreases the chances of sustaining these types of injuries and illnesses and that chiropractic care during, if possible, and after such events, should they occur, speeds recovery. Keep in mind that chiropractic care is not a ‘treatment’ for those conditions as such, but chiropractic care can normalize and maintain the nervous system which allows the body to heal itself from illness, naturally!
If you, or anyone you know could benefit from the services of a doctor of chiropractic, then by all means, have them give me, Dr. Vince Overland, D.C. a call at Aspire Wellness Center, located inside the Aspire Fitness Center at 2410 NE Twin Knolls Dr. in Bend, OR at 541-382-3563. I’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have.
Raising a healthy and happy drug-free family in today’s day and age is challenging because of the onslaught of commercials that tell us to use over-the-counter, prescription drugs and other medications for bacterial and viral infections such as colds, flu, sore throat and other childhood illnesses.
Health is easy if you are in tune with the universe and your body. The universe works in specific ways, we are part of this universe, so we work in a specific way. The universe works through natural laws, like gravity, for example. As this applies to our bodies, the body is a self-healing organism, organized by our nervous system which is responsible for our experience and for directing all growth and repair in our body. Balanced interaction with the universe is constructive, healthy, life-sustaining and health promoting. What can we do to be more a part of this universal concept as it pertains to health? The first alternative to the usual recommendations for colds and flu is to not get sick at all. So let’s start there.
We have an active role in maintaining good health throughout our lives. We know that the nervous system controls and coordinates all activities in our body and links our internal world to our external world, so, a normal functioning nervous system is the key to optimum life and health. Since the nervous system is housed inside our body, it is important that our body, posture and spine be checked periodically in order to maintain a healthy nervous system. A doctor of chiropractic takes all that into account when assessing a person’s health.
Let’s take a look at some aspects of our lives and see if there are changes we can make.
Are you getting enough sleep at night?
Rest and sleep allow the nervous system to recuperate from all the daily input which it constantly processes. A firm mattress, combined with the use of feather pillows supports the body unlike soft beds and firm pillows which do not allow for proper spinal alignment. Feather pillows are good because they are moldable. You can roll it up just right for placement under you neck, without pushing your head forward or if you lay on your side, it can help properly keep the head inline with the spine.
Are you eating right?
Our body requires nutrients to fuel growth and healing. The 2005 food pyramid is ideal because it emphasizes more fruits and vegetables, whole grains and fat-free or low fat milk products. Variety is the key. Eat as close to the source as possible, fresh and raw without preservatives, when available. Minimize packaged foods for they have way too many ingredients that do not promote good health. Eat fruits before noon and more veggies afternoon. Eat your biggest meal at lunch, if possible. Take your time and enjoy the meal. Chew your food properly and your body will digest the foods more readily so you will get the nutrition you need to maintain a healthy body. For babies, most of us know that breast feeding is the best source of initial and supplemental nutrition for the first 12-18 months. Introduction of solids should not begin until teething starts at around 6 months. Formula is not a very good substitute for breast milk.
Do you exercise?
Exercise is necessary for the nervous system to rest and recuperate from its daily business of information processing. By way of the nervous system, exercise also stimulates growth, repair and immune function. Strength exercises can be done 1–2 times per week, but aerobic exercise should be done 3-4 days per week. Do things you enjoy and have fun. Don’t forget to exercise your mind by reading, writing, listening to music, enjoying art or other performances.
Are your hands clean?
Wash hands before and after preparing food, going to the bathroom, changing diapers and cleansing wounds. Make sure you rinse your food before you prep them for cooking, especially fruits and vegetables, as well as some cuts of meat and chicken. I’ve never tried to wash a package of ground turkey though!
However, no matter how well informed and well-intentioned we are and given our lifestyles, varied responsibilities and stressors, we do tend to get out of balance. Our resistance fades and we can become susceptible to colds, flu and other illnesses, both physically and mentally.
Steps to take when we get out of balance and become ill.
Get extra rest and sleep. Take naps and go to bed earlier than usual. This is a good time to take a break. Research shows that 90% of our energy is being used for keeping an upright posture and the other 10% is for thinking, healing and growing. Keeping the mental stimuli down will channel that energy into the healing energy that you need. Taking time to meditate rejuvenates the body.
Eat! Grains, legumes, fruit and veggies are good for you. Fruits keep the moisture levels up in your throat and they are soothing, keeping the irritation levels down. Mexican food is good for colds and flu. Studies show that Tabasco sauce actually kills Strep bacteria. When you have a fever, sometimes just ginger ale and saltine crackers are all you can keep down.
Exercise. If you have the energy, work out. Decrease the intensity and duration, but don’t stop. Lymphatic drainage is passive and requires muscular contraction to clear out the waste products from the accumulation of virus and bacteria.
Over-the-counter medications. Try to avoid prescription medications such as antibiotics and pain relievers except in ‘life-threatening’ situations. Research has shown that OTC medications for children are unproven and potentially harmful. Read the ingredients and contraindications.
Medical intervention. Medical intervention is worth the risk for emergencies and crisis management when the limitation of matter is exceeded. Emergencies include broken bones, major cuts, ligamentous, cartilaginous or muscular injuries that require surgery and life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks and strokes. It is also beneficial for people suffering from birth defects that require surgical correction. In general, medical intervention is warranted for people who are so damaged that they will not positively respond without this intervention. Your medical care should still be coordinated with your chiropractic care and should not be exclusive. Research confirms that chiropractic care offers a wonderful opportunity for drugless, non-surgical healthcare for many conditions.
If these initial recommendations are followed, the risk of disease and injury is remarkably lowered. However, we may have been injured in the past or are getting into the healthcare game later on in life and have already sustained sickness or have ongoing conditions. Children with allergies, asthma, chronic colds, colic, motor vehicle crashes, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, growing and/or back pain all respond well to chiropractic care. In adults, research shows many positive results for back pain, neck pain, headaches, and menstrual disorders.
Even if we do all we can to maintain a positive, healthy lifestyle, we still need some help from time to time. This is where chiropractic care comes into play. Chiropractic care decreases the chances of sustaining these types of injuries and illnesses and that chiropractic care during, if possible, and after such events, should they occur, speeds recovery. Keep in mind that chiropractic care is not a ‘treatment’ for those conditions as such, but chiropractic care can normalize and maintain the nervous system which allows the body to heal itself from illness, naturally!
If you, or anyone you know could benefit from the services of a doctor of chiropractic, then by all means, have them give me, Dr. Vince Overland, D.C. a call at Aspire Wellness Center, located inside the Aspire Fitness Center at 2410 NE Twin Knolls Dr. in Bend, OR at 541-382-3563. I’ll be glad to answer any questions you might have.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Enhance your workout
Chiropractic and Workout Performance
In a randomized trial investigating the effects of spinal manipulation and adjustments on athletic ability in a group of 50 completely asymptomatic athletes, 25 people in the control group improved 4.5% overall in 6 weeks. 8/11 test scores improved but only 2/11 tests showed significant improvement.
Of the 25 people in the adjusted group, 11 scores significantly improved. At 6 weeks into training, improvement was 10.5% or 2.35 times better than the control group. 20 athletes were adjusted another 6 weeks and scored 16.7% better than their baseline scores.
Chiropractic quantitatively improved agility, balance, kinesthetic perception, power, reaction time and speed by normalizing proprioception and fine motor skills. Altered biomechanical patterns of activity, if not corrected leads to:
Decreased mechanical efficiency
Increased energy expenditure
Decreased performance
Altered load distribution
Increased risk injury.
Another study took 21 university baseball players, injury-free and placed 9 into a cervical adjusted group and 12 in the non-adjusted group. Evaluations were based on
Vertical jump
Long jump
Muscle strength
Blood pressure
Pulse rate
Microcirculation capillary count
Treadmill stress test
Subjects were tested at baseline, 5 and 14 week follow-ups.
Results: The adjusted group had significant improvement in muscle strength and long jump distance as well as improvement in capillary counts with decreases noted in blood pressure and pulse rate. These same measures showed significant increases in the control group.
Reasons to see your Chiropractor when you workout:
Increases joint range of motion
Retrains damaged muscles
Strengthens and stabilizes spinal structure
Speeds rehabilitation
Lowers blood pressure
Increases mechanical efficiency
Increases performance
Decreases risk injury
If you are here working out and do not feel that you are getting all you can out of your routine, then maybe it’s time to take advantage of your free consult, with Dr. Vince Overland, D.C. to see if your body is in the best position it can be for your body’s ultimate fitness.
Feel free to drop on in while here at the gym or call me at
382-3563 to schedule your free consult or just to ask any questions you may have.
Good Health to all…
Vince Overland, D.C.
In a randomized trial investigating the effects of spinal manipulation and adjustments on athletic ability in a group of 50 completely asymptomatic athletes, 25 people in the control group improved 4.5% overall in 6 weeks. 8/11 test scores improved but only 2/11 tests showed significant improvement.
Of the 25 people in the adjusted group, 11 scores significantly improved. At 6 weeks into training, improvement was 10.5% or 2.35 times better than the control group. 20 athletes were adjusted another 6 weeks and scored 16.7% better than their baseline scores.
Chiropractic quantitatively improved agility, balance, kinesthetic perception, power, reaction time and speed by normalizing proprioception and fine motor skills. Altered biomechanical patterns of activity, if not corrected leads to:
Decreased mechanical efficiency
Increased energy expenditure
Decreased performance
Altered load distribution
Increased risk injury.
Another study took 21 university baseball players, injury-free and placed 9 into a cervical adjusted group and 12 in the non-adjusted group. Evaluations were based on
Vertical jump
Long jump
Muscle strength
Blood pressure
Pulse rate
Microcirculation capillary count
Treadmill stress test
Subjects were tested at baseline, 5 and 14 week follow-ups.
Results: The adjusted group had significant improvement in muscle strength and long jump distance as well as improvement in capillary counts with decreases noted in blood pressure and pulse rate. These same measures showed significant increases in the control group.
Reasons to see your Chiropractor when you workout:
Increases joint range of motion
Retrains damaged muscles
Strengthens and stabilizes spinal structure
Speeds rehabilitation
Lowers blood pressure
Increases mechanical efficiency
Increases performance
Decreases risk injury
If you are here working out and do not feel that you are getting all you can out of your routine, then maybe it’s time to take advantage of your free consult, with Dr. Vince Overland, D.C. to see if your body is in the best position it can be for your body’s ultimate fitness.
Feel free to drop on in while here at the gym or call me at
382-3563 to schedule your free consult or just to ask any questions you may have.
Good Health to all…
Vince Overland, D.C.
Spinal screening for kids
Spinal Screening for Children
What is Subluxation Degeneration?
It is a condition in which the spine misaligns or malfunctions, or in some cases, does both, and has an adverse affect on the nervous system, setting the stage for body malfunction and loss of health, both short-term and long-term. There are 4 stages of degeneration that increase in severity leading to arthritis, fusion of vertebrae and nerve damage, which just might be irreversible at that point.
What are causes of subluxation?
Frequently, a first subluxation may occur during birth. Sometimes the doctor has to pull on the head and shoulders in order to deliver a child. This can be traumatic to the child due to the lack of muscular development in the neck. As kids get older, it’s sporting injuries, falling out of bed, falling off a bike and wrestling around. Sometimes if kids are not behaving like they should, a parent might grab them by the arm and pull on them which results in a whiplash-type of injury to the cervical spine and shoulder. Throwing and infant into the air and catching them, even a couple of inches will produce a whiplash to the spine. Clinically, it has been found that very few children have actually made it through the earlier parts of their lives without on or more subluxations or malfunctions of the spine.
A lot of people ask if the problem is always symptomatic, like a backache or another sign that something is wrong. This may well be the case, but more often than not, initially a spinal subluxation will not be associated with any major symptom or condition. Especially in children, whose bodies not only are very resilient, but where the subluxation process and resulting nerve damage may actually take years or decades before it has decayed enough that it expresses itself as some kind of symptom like a back problem.
A secondary factor is makes this even more difficult to determine in children, and that is they often have a difficult time verbalizing that there is a problem. Some parents do not pay much attention to them due to the fact that children often complain of things that prove to be very minor.
How long does it take to heal?
There are three major forms of care. The first is initial intensive care to provide relief of pain and to begin the process of spinal correction. This could take weeks to months. The second type of care, which follows the few weeks or months after intensive care, is known as reconstructive or rehabilitation care with the goal of producing long-term structural and permanent functional changes back towards normal. Depending on which stage of degeneration they are in, it may take months to years. The third type of care is maintenance care. This care begins once the spine has rehabilitated back to optimum for the individual, and depending on the patients lifestyle, probably should be continued on a monthly basis to maintain optimum structure and optimum function.
Is there any research on this problem?
The medical community has been aware of spinal subluxation degeneration as early as 1929 and there now is a tremendous amount of research that documents that the immediate and long-term effects of subluxation degeneration are extremely dangerous and obviously detrimental to a person’s health and well-being.
Spinal Screening for your Child
To see if your child may have, or be predisposed to a problem like spinal subluxation degeneration, try these simple tests at home and note if there are any concerns in certain areas that you would like checked out.
#1 Worn Shoes…Pick out a pair of hard soled shoes that they have had for awhile, the comfortable pair, and hold them together at the heels and look for wear. If one side is more worn than the other, then it might be indicative of hip imbalance that might in turn affect the spine which means that more stress is being placed on one side of the body than on the other
#2 Leg length…Lay your child face up on a table, with head and face straight up, inline with the body. Go to the childs’ feet, grab the ankles and gently pull down, then with your thumbs on the heels, press towards the head equally with both thumbs and notice if the heels are level or is one side shorter than the other side. Even 1/8th to 1/4 inch can be significant which might indicate problems with hip and spinal alignment.
#3 Hip balance…Have your child stand straight up, then go behind them and place your fingers over the top of their hip bones on each side and look for uneven hip height. They should be level, but if not, it might be an indicator of spinal misalignment.
#4 Shoulder balance…Place your fingers at the top of their shoulders and again look for level. A lot of people will have a slightly lower shoulder on the side that they are dominant. A right-handed person might have a slight drop at the right shoulder. If there is a significant difference, the upper spine might be affected and we would want to check the child for scoliosis, which is an abnormal curvature of the spine, usually side-to-side.
#5 Head Tilt…Check to see that the head is inline with the rest of the spine. If you look at the head from the back can you draw a straight line from the top middle of the head down the spine, or does it tilt to one side? If there is a tilt, then it might be an indicator of neck misalignment and/or muscle spasm.
#6 Head flexibility…The range of motion in the neck should be equal on each side. Note if the child cannot flex their head forward or backward without discomfort. Have them bend their ear to each shoulder as well as rotate their chin to their shoulders. Look for restrictions in motion.
#7 Spinal alignment…Have the child take their shirt off, then feel the protrusions of the bones down their back. Take a washable marker and mark the top of each of those bumps from the base of the skull down to the low back. Stand back and note if there is alignment. Don’t be alarmed if one or two vertebrae seem to be out of line with the others, but look generally at the entire spine. Is it straight? Does it curve to the right or left? Is there an S-curve? You can even use a plumb line from the base of the skull and let it hang down the spine and look to see if there is a spinal curvature to on side or the other. All of these points would be important findings.
If any of these tests have positive findings, then your child might have early stages of spinal subluxation degeneration. At this time, a Doctor of Chiropractic is the only professional that is trained in this type of analysis, examination and correction.
Call Dr. Overland, D.C. at the phone number listed below for a free consultation for your child.
By going over this exam with your child, I think it is an excellent statement of your desire to be the best parent possible and allow your children to grow up to be healthier, better human beings, mentally, physically and spiritually.
There are so many problems in life that cannot be avoided, and it seems a tragedy that when there is a problem that can be avoided, that we not take the steps necessary to correct the situation.
Our children are going to face many more and different problems, in growing up today, than we did. Plus, we, as parents, are passing along problems that have to be solved if they are to survive.
It also seems that, with the problems we do face in the world today, these problems seem too big and too complex, for any one individual, especially you or me, to solve. But in fact, if any of these problems are to be solved, then it is going to happen through individual people recognizing the problems and working together in an honest and productive way to make a difference in the world.
Call Dr. Vince Overland, D.C. if you have any questions regarding spinal screening of your child.
Aspire Wellness Center
2410 NE Twin Knolls Dr.
Bend, OR 97701
541-382-3563
vochiro@bendbroadband.com
Optimum Structure = Optimum Function
What is Subluxation Degeneration?
It is a condition in which the spine misaligns or malfunctions, or in some cases, does both, and has an adverse affect on the nervous system, setting the stage for body malfunction and loss of health, both short-term and long-term. There are 4 stages of degeneration that increase in severity leading to arthritis, fusion of vertebrae and nerve damage, which just might be irreversible at that point.
What are causes of subluxation?
Frequently, a first subluxation may occur during birth. Sometimes the doctor has to pull on the head and shoulders in order to deliver a child. This can be traumatic to the child due to the lack of muscular development in the neck. As kids get older, it’s sporting injuries, falling out of bed, falling off a bike and wrestling around. Sometimes if kids are not behaving like they should, a parent might grab them by the arm and pull on them which results in a whiplash-type of injury to the cervical spine and shoulder. Throwing and infant into the air and catching them, even a couple of inches will produce a whiplash to the spine. Clinically, it has been found that very few children have actually made it through the earlier parts of their lives without on or more subluxations or malfunctions of the spine.
A lot of people ask if the problem is always symptomatic, like a backache or another sign that something is wrong. This may well be the case, but more often than not, initially a spinal subluxation will not be associated with any major symptom or condition. Especially in children, whose bodies not only are very resilient, but where the subluxation process and resulting nerve damage may actually take years or decades before it has decayed enough that it expresses itself as some kind of symptom like a back problem.
A secondary factor is makes this even more difficult to determine in children, and that is they often have a difficult time verbalizing that there is a problem. Some parents do not pay much attention to them due to the fact that children often complain of things that prove to be very minor.
How long does it take to heal?
There are three major forms of care. The first is initial intensive care to provide relief of pain and to begin the process of spinal correction. This could take weeks to months. The second type of care, which follows the few weeks or months after intensive care, is known as reconstructive or rehabilitation care with the goal of producing long-term structural and permanent functional changes back towards normal. Depending on which stage of degeneration they are in, it may take months to years. The third type of care is maintenance care. This care begins once the spine has rehabilitated back to optimum for the individual, and depending on the patients lifestyle, probably should be continued on a monthly basis to maintain optimum structure and optimum function.
Is there any research on this problem?
The medical community has been aware of spinal subluxation degeneration as early as 1929 and there now is a tremendous amount of research that documents that the immediate and long-term effects of subluxation degeneration are extremely dangerous and obviously detrimental to a person’s health and well-being.
Spinal Screening for your Child
To see if your child may have, or be predisposed to a problem like spinal subluxation degeneration, try these simple tests at home and note if there are any concerns in certain areas that you would like checked out.
#1 Worn Shoes…Pick out a pair of hard soled shoes that they have had for awhile, the comfortable pair, and hold them together at the heels and look for wear. If one side is more worn than the other, then it might be indicative of hip imbalance that might in turn affect the spine which means that more stress is being placed on one side of the body than on the other
#2 Leg length…Lay your child face up on a table, with head and face straight up, inline with the body. Go to the childs’ feet, grab the ankles and gently pull down, then with your thumbs on the heels, press towards the head equally with both thumbs and notice if the heels are level or is one side shorter than the other side. Even 1/8th to 1/4 inch can be significant which might indicate problems with hip and spinal alignment.
#3 Hip balance…Have your child stand straight up, then go behind them and place your fingers over the top of their hip bones on each side and look for uneven hip height. They should be level, but if not, it might be an indicator of spinal misalignment.
#4 Shoulder balance…Place your fingers at the top of their shoulders and again look for level. A lot of people will have a slightly lower shoulder on the side that they are dominant. A right-handed person might have a slight drop at the right shoulder. If there is a significant difference, the upper spine might be affected and we would want to check the child for scoliosis, which is an abnormal curvature of the spine, usually side-to-side.
#5 Head Tilt…Check to see that the head is inline with the rest of the spine. If you look at the head from the back can you draw a straight line from the top middle of the head down the spine, or does it tilt to one side? If there is a tilt, then it might be an indicator of neck misalignment and/or muscle spasm.
#6 Head flexibility…The range of motion in the neck should be equal on each side. Note if the child cannot flex their head forward or backward without discomfort. Have them bend their ear to each shoulder as well as rotate their chin to their shoulders. Look for restrictions in motion.
#7 Spinal alignment…Have the child take their shirt off, then feel the protrusions of the bones down their back. Take a washable marker and mark the top of each of those bumps from the base of the skull down to the low back. Stand back and note if there is alignment. Don’t be alarmed if one or two vertebrae seem to be out of line with the others, but look generally at the entire spine. Is it straight? Does it curve to the right or left? Is there an S-curve? You can even use a plumb line from the base of the skull and let it hang down the spine and look to see if there is a spinal curvature to on side or the other. All of these points would be important findings.
If any of these tests have positive findings, then your child might have early stages of spinal subluxation degeneration. At this time, a Doctor of Chiropractic is the only professional that is trained in this type of analysis, examination and correction.
Call Dr. Overland, D.C. at the phone number listed below for a free consultation for your child.
By going over this exam with your child, I think it is an excellent statement of your desire to be the best parent possible and allow your children to grow up to be healthier, better human beings, mentally, physically and spiritually.
There are so many problems in life that cannot be avoided, and it seems a tragedy that when there is a problem that can be avoided, that we not take the steps necessary to correct the situation.
Our children are going to face many more and different problems, in growing up today, than we did. Plus, we, as parents, are passing along problems that have to be solved if they are to survive.
It also seems that, with the problems we do face in the world today, these problems seem too big and too complex, for any one individual, especially you or me, to solve. But in fact, if any of these problems are to be solved, then it is going to happen through individual people recognizing the problems and working together in an honest and productive way to make a difference in the world.
Call Dr. Vince Overland, D.C. if you have any questions regarding spinal screening of your child.
Aspire Wellness Center
2410 NE Twin Knolls Dr.
Bend, OR 97701
541-382-3563
vochiro@bendbroadband.com
Optimum Structure = Optimum Function
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