Chiropractic for Pets

Patients and visitors are often surprised that I perform chiropractic adjustments on small animals and horses. It really shouldn't be surprising, all mammals have similar skeletal structures and nervous systems and all mammals can benefit from chiropractic adjustments. The reasons that chiropractic therapy works well in humans are the same reasons it works well on animals.

Any time a mammal sustains an injury, whether it is chronic or acute, there is a pain signal sent to the spinal cord from the injured area. This signal splits and part of it goes up to the brain to give you a sensation of pain. The other part of the signal gets magnified by a factor of 10 and goes back down to the injured tissue to tell it to make inflammatory biochemicals. These biochemicals cause the area to swell, become red, and more painful. Thus another pain signal is sent back to the spinal cord, gets magnified, and goes back down to the tissue to make more chemicals. This can become a self-perpetuating feedback cycle locking in a state of chronic low-level inflammation in the tissues of the body.

Chiropractic adjustments delivered by hand or via instrument stimulate a type of nerve ending called a mechanoreceptor. These mechanoreceptors tell the brain where your limbs are at in relation to the rest of your body. By stimulating the mechanoreceptors we can inhibit or slow down the pain signal coming from the injured tissue. This breaks the cycle of inflammation and allows the body to heal itself.

This is why chiropractic care worked so well in humans and why it works so well on animals. All mammals have the same type of neurochemical response to tissue injury and as a result all mammals can glean the same benefits from chiropractic care.

On a more practical note, I have found that animal adjustments helped tremendously with jumping and running problems in dogs and even large document dysplasia. It works wonderfully on the digestive system of cats and has even helped a poodle with bad gas problems. Many horses are adjusted before races because of the competitive advantage chiropractic treatments give. Working on animals is very rewarding because of the very fast results we see using chiropractic care.

Step Two: Balancing EM radiation

Step two on the road to total health is to balance your body's electromagnetic field. Your body produces multiple interlocking systems of electrical and magnetic fields. These are generated by all the organs and cells in your body. The most commonly known of these is the electro-cardiac field. This is measured with an EKG.

The heart, because it's a big muscle, uses electricity to contract. There is a complicated set up to ensure that the timing and pattern of contractions in the heart is correct. We can measure the flow of electricity by placing EKG electrodes your chest. We need the electrodes directly on your skin because electricity doesn't leave your body.

What most people don't know is that magnetic fields are always generated by electricity, and they do extend outside the body. Your heart's magnetic field extends some 10 to 15 feet out from your skin in all directions. This same principle is true for all your body's electrical systems - including the brain.

So now we have these overlapping magnetic fields extending from your body into your environment. These can be acted on by all the other electromagnetic fields around you.

Since this is an internet blog, you're probably reading this in front of a computer, which is outputting electromagnetic fields. Florescent lighting, WiFi, cell phones, printers, fax machines, radios, microwaves, and the TV can ALL have a direct influence on your body's electromagnetic field.

Now the good news is that not everyone is sensitive to this kind of environmental EM radiation. Many people have no issues at all in dealing with the sea of EM radiation, but there are many people who do have problems. Those who are sensitive can have a bad day just by being under florescent lighting or having an active cell phone on thier person.

There are also several ways of dealing with EM problems, the easiest being to avoid the use of a lot of ectrical gadgets. If that's unacceptable or unavoidable, then passive multipolar magnets or active broadcasters can help protect sensitive individuals. They are a small price to pay for continued good health.

Step One: Structural Integrity

The first step in health is reestablishing structural integrity of the body. This includes joints, muscles, and other soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments. By reestablishing structural integrity we remove interference to both the natural flow of nervous system information and to the free flow of vital energy. There are both active and passive therapies that can be used to reestablish structural integrity including: chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, stretching and exercise.

The foundation to good health is found in maintaining structural integrity of the body. If a poor foundation is present, it is very difficult for the body to heal. The central nervous system sends information to the spinal cord to govern the function of every muscle and every organ in the body. If this information is absent or garbled, then the brain has poor or little control over these muscles and organs. Even something as simple as blood flow to your intestines is regulated by your brain and central nervous system.

Blood flow to our internal organs is provided via capillary beds. These capillary beds are regulated by single cell smooth muscles called sphincters. When these muscles are tight, they restrict flow of blood into the capillary bed. When they are relaxed, they open up, and more blood is able to flow into the capillary bed. The single cell smooth muscles are controlled via the central nervous system through the spinal cord. If we eat a large meal in the disputed digestion, these sphincter muscles will relax and allow more blood to flow into our organs of digestion allowing them to kick into high gear to process the meal.

If this information telling the muscles to relax is interfered with, then not enough blood is able to get to the organs for proper digestion causing stomach upset, intestinal problems, constipation, diarrhea and other digestive problems. When that nerve flow has been fixed allowing the brain and the muscles to communicate again, proper function of the digestive organs is restored. This is why chiropractic adjustments can have a profound effect on all kinds of problems including those dealing with internal organs and not just simple low back or neck pain.

And this is why it's critical to establish structural integrity first. Taking antacids and other medications will not ever fix the problem with digestion. They will simply cover up the unpleasant symptoms that are generated by improper nerve function. It's almost like putting a piece of tape over your oil light so the light doesn't bother you. It gets rid of the unpleasant symptoms but does nothing to fix the actual problem.

In addition to correcting nerve flow to the spinal cord via chiropractic adjustments, special attention is usually needed for the other soft tissue structures like muscles and ligaments. This is because muscles and ligaments affect joint function. So the muscles in the joints really should be worked on at the same time for the best therapeutic results. Massage, myofascial release, trigger point therapy, exercise of all types, and stretching are all critical components to proper spinal care.

By establishing structural integrity, we can lay the foundation for true healing to begin.

6 Steps to Wellness

Nearly all health problems are complex and have multiple causes. This means that nearly all health problems do not have a single simple solution. In other words there is no magic bullet, no magic cure for any health problem. You can treat symptoms very easily with one or two drugs, but don't be fooled, this in no way fixes a health problem.

In order to properly treat diseases and health problems, a multi-faceted approach needs to be used. One way to do this is to use what I call the six steps to wellness.

The first step is reestablishing structural integrity of the body. This includes joints, muscles, and other soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments. By reestablishing structural integrity we remove interference to both the natural flow of nervous system information and to the free flow of vital energy. There are both active and passive therapies that can be used to reestablish structural integrity including: chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, stretching and exercise.

The second step to wellness is to rebalance the body's electromagnetic field. We are literally bathed in a sea of electromagnetic pollution coming from power lines, appliances, computers, TVs, microwaves, etc. Over time, sensitive individualscan be very adversely affected.

The third step is proper nutrition. Surveys show that 20% of the US population never eats vegetables, and 40% rarely consume fruit or fruit juice. 80% of the population never consumes whole-grain or high fiber foods. Refined sugars lower the immune system's function and interfere with with the ability of white blood cells to destroy bacteria and viruses. In addition, a large portion of our diet comes from food grown on depleted soil lacking in many essential nutrients important to health. Eating properly and supplementing where needed is absolutely critical to good health and wellness.

The fourth step is to rid the body of allergens and reprogram the body to get rid of sensitivities. There are basically three causes of allergies: substances in the environment such as dust, mold, and pollen; foods and food additives; and metabolic byproducts. Allergic reactions can mimic a wide range of diseases and disorders. This can lead to a confused nervous system that responds by killing off friendly bacteria in our gut, or even the cells of our own body. Finding allergens and eliminating them from the environment can have a tremendous positive impact on health and wellness.

The fifth step is to reevaluate emotional patterns and remove limiting belief systems. Perceptions and beliefs affect the way we think, and the way we think affects not only what we do but how we feel. Negative emotions can have a devastating effect on overall health and even lead to death.

The sixth and final step in the journey to wellness is to remove heavy metals and other toxins from the body. During the course of our lives, we can accumulate various heavy metals and other toxins in our bodies. These come from the food we ingest and from the environment we live in. Often these toxins will be locked away inside the body as a protective mechanism to prevent further acute damage from occurring. The problem occurs over time when these toxins will eventually cause severe diseases and even cancers. Getting rid of these heavy metals and toxins is also vital to true health and wellness.


Over the next week or two I'll be discussing the six steps in more detail. If anyone has any specific questions, place them in the comments section and I will try to address them.

Personal Responsibility & Health

Good health should be one of everyone's top priorities. Poor health limits us in almost everything we do. It limits our financial choices, it limits our physical choices.

Good health, in large part, is our own personal responsibility. Sure, genetics and environmental factors play a part in our health, but so much of our health is under our direct control.

When you purchase a new car you don't expect it to run for years and years without maintenance, yet that is what a lot of people expect out of their bodies. It's absolutely vital to do proper maintenance and care for our bodies if we expect them to last very long.

Step one: Proper nutrition
Throw away your junk food, eat more greens and fiber, and stay away from processed foods. The old adage, "you are what you eat" is absolutely true. The normal biochemical processes of the human body cannot function without vitamins and minerals. The average American diet is lacking in many essential nutrients. Be sure to supplement with good quality natural products if needed.

Step two: Daily exercise
A combination of weight lifting, aerobic activity, and stretching exercises will not only help you live longer but also live happier and with far less pain. Proper daily exercise helps you feel better and gives you more energy throughout the day.

Step three: Meditation
Mental and emotional balance are also critical for proper health. Unless you're taking a break from the cares of life and having little downtime, just like a motor that never gets maintenance, you'll eventually have a breakdown.

Taking a few minutes every day and working on the maintenance of your body will pay off in the long run with better health, less pain, and far fewer visits to the doctor.

Headaches 101

Headaches are very common, just ask the person next to you if they've had a headache in the last 30 days. The thing is, headaches while common, are not normal. They are a warning sign that something is wrong in the body.

The most common type of headaches (roughly 75% of all headaches) are tension headaches. These are caused by tense bands of muscles in the neck and scalp. The base of the skull can be very problematic. There are a series of three very small muscles that make a triangle between the skull, the side of your top neck bone (vertebra) and the rearmost part of the second vertebra. This little suboccipital triangle is less than an inch on any side, and the open central part is even smaller.

One of the nerves that caries touch and sensation information from the side of your scalp goes right through the small central part of the suboccipital triangle of muscles. When stress, injuries, or improper joint function make those muscles tense up, they squeeze down on that nerve and interfere with it's function. Your brain interprets this as a problem and lets you know the only way it can - with pain.

Since the path of the nerve goes from the base of the skull, up and over the ear and near the eye, the pathway the headache seems to take will follow this same course.

Aspirin and other over-the-counter meds will kill the pain, but will do nothing for the original problem. Massage helps for a short time in getting the muscles to relax. But - if the joints are restricted, those muscles will flare up again, sometimes within hours triggering another headache. Chiropractic care helps with the joint function, but unless the muscles are worked on at the same time, they will pull the joints right back out of function.

The best results in tension headache treatment come from utilizing both chiropractic and muscle work together.

Case Study #1: Upset intestines after antibiotics

"Dr Jensen,

I had an abscessed tooth that came on suddenly. It went from a tingle to full blown abscess in three days. Of course, this happened Friday evening, Saturday, and Sunday.

I called my dentist Saturday, but he was out of town, so I went to Primary Health. The doctor there put me on an antibiotic. The pain was evil and my face was very swollen.

On Monday, my dentist did the first phase of a root canal on my tooth and told me to stay on the antibiotic.

I went home and by Tuesday I was feeling a lot better, the swelling that had almost covered half of my face had all but disappeared, and I was convinced that I could go back to work on Wednesday.

Last night, one of the common side effects of taking Amoxicyllin, lower gastro-intestinal track distress, started to kick-in.

I called my dentist at 7:30 this morning, when his office opened. He said to just stop taking the Amoxicyllin and call him if the swelling started to return to my face. I said that I would and headed out for work.

I got to work and found that the severity of the side-effects would prevent me from being able to [work] today.

So, now I really need help in getting my digestive track back to normal health. I had been eating yoghurt and taking the supplements, as you suggested. However, now do I need to do something extra to undo the side-effects of the antibiotic?

Sincerely,

[Patient]"

Patient,

Sorry about your tooth, those root canals are no fun but are a piece of cake compared to the agony preceding them.

You're already well on your way to feeling better. In the past few months you've removed allergens and sensitive foods and toxins, and you've replaced your gut flora. (Supplementing with extra yogurt and gut flora is particularly important for women taking antibiotics to prevent vaginal yeast infections.) Proactively doing these things will go a long ways to speeding your recovery.

As the flora that you're taking begin to reassert themselves your intestines should normalize. If things don't calm down in the next 2 days we may need to look at replacing enzymes for a week or 2, or possibly adding a little hydrochloride to the mix. Doing an in house test will tell us quickly if those will help or not, should the need arise.