Cooties

One day while having lunch with a friend I was asked skeptically..."So like...do you believe in germs? Because I knew a chiropractor that doesn't..." This got me thinking. I'm sure this quack believes there are germs out there, right? We all had biology class, we even got to see them under a microscope. So what's his deal? Most likely he was talking about the Germ Theory, which is popularly under scrutiny with chiropractors. 


What about you? Do you believe in the germ theory? For those of you that aren't sure, the germ theory basically states that germs are the cause of disease and sickness. Sounds pretty believable right? I mean...you wash your hands before you eat, and you don't want someone sick to sneeze in your direction. And we all know that germs are fairly slow because it takes 5 seconds for them to grab onto food that falls on the floor...


I'm betting you actually don't believe in the germ theory! Lets back away from the health part of it. Lets talk about...your roof. What causes a roof leak? Rain of course! I mean, if it doesn't rain...it doesn't leak. So what do you do if you have a roof leak? These aren't hardball questions, you put a giant umbrella over it, silly! Stop the rain...stop the leak. What better way to stop the rain than to get rid of the rain! The Chinese are already looking into ways to disperse rain clouds with rockets. How great would that be? Just get rid of the rain and no one would have a roof leak! 


In all seriousness, you can't stop the rain. There are too many rain drops out there to fight. Just as there are too many germs out there to fight. Germs are on your fork, your door handles, your cell phone, in the air you breath and...ew...I don't even want to think about your key board. I bet right now you can probably see a colony of them building up on the raised dot on letter "F" and "J" now! So how are we all not dead, or at least sick all the time? If the germ theory were true, we probably wouldn't be around to talk about it. 


So why get antibiotics? Well, even during a rain storm you probably don't want to do a lot of roof patching, so it'd be smart to get some help with a tarp or something to block the rain temporarily. But in the long run it's better to actually fix your roof. This goes for your body too. Sometimes we need help fighting them off, they can gain the upper hand because we aren't functioning at our best. But in the long run, fix your roof! Make sure your body has the defense to fight off the germs themselves. 


So in defense of that poor nut that doesn't believe in the germ theory, yes there are germs. But sickness and disease comes from your body not being able to defend itself, which is the primary problem you need to get fixed. Good nutrition, exercise and mobility will help keep you healthy enough to do this. Chiropractic care has been shown to boost immune function and may help resolve the original weakness that lead to getting sick in the first place! 

That's personal!

How much information is too much? In today’s hi-tech world, personal identity has become a major concern. And while try to become more and more careful with who you share your information, it seems more and more companies are demanding it. Businesses all over have keyed in to your shopping habits on line and at the store with your key tags. It’s hard to buck the system when they promise such great savings for just a little bit of your personal information.

Many high tech companies, like Facebook and some cell phone makers, have been questioned recently about how much information they are getting, and where that information is going. Some cell phone applications record a history of where you go and the time of day you are there. Great for checking up on your elusive teenager, bad for criminals who want to learn your daily habits.

What about your health care provider? How much information do they need? The government has made some laws to protect the information you give your healthcare provider. Assuming they follow these rules, your information can not be sold or distributed without your approval. Not even to a family member or another medical provider. But does your eye doctor really need to know about your cholesterol problem? Or does your chiropractor need to document your cosmetic surgery? In general…yes.

While many health issues do not concern one another, there are many things that do, as well as treatments for those health issues. For some of us we become our own judge when deciding the important issues regarding our back pain or poor eye sight. But some problems and treatments do cross body regions. For example, did you know that certain cholesterol medications have shown to weaken and even cause rupture in ligaments. This is important when dealing with joint injuries. Medications alone have a long list of side effects that are made up of body aches and pains. And while you’re seeing your podiatrist for a bunion on your foot, that problem may lead to limping, which affects your hips and low back.

Generally people understand that medications can cause side effects, but your supplements may have some important unwanted side effects as well, especially with medications you might be prescribed or other treatment such as surgeries. Just because they may be all natural doesn’t mean they aren’t important to tell your doctor about.

In a day in age where identity theft is rampant and personal information is all too easily available, be sure that you aren’t hiding anything from your doctor. Let them decide if it’s relevant or not so they can make an educated diagnosis and treatment plan for you.  It’s not a bad idea to have your medical records shared between offices as well. As far as the computer goes, I wouldn’t trust your great uncle’s attorney in Somalia with your bank account number and pin, I’ve already been mailed the $50 million he left…I’m just waiting on it to get here.

Crack Addict

For those of you who have been adjusted before, you are very familiar with the “crack” of relief that often comes from an adjustment. To some this sound brings feelings of relaxation and pain relief, to others the sound causes them to cringe. So what is this crack noise? And how does it help? Is it dangerous to do on my own?

Let’s start with the basics. The noise you hear is called a cavitation. It occurs when there is a negative pressure on the fluid in your joint, which allows the nitrogen gas to expand to bubbles. It’s very similar to releasing the pressure on a bottle of Pepsi and watching the carbon dioxide bubbles appear and rise to the surface.  The negative pressure comes from moving your joint to its end range of motion, or stretching it as far as it will go before any damage is done.  This pop you hear has nothing to do with bones crunching, nor will it lead to arthritis in your knuckles (sorry moms).  After about 15 minutes the nitrogen gas dissolves back into the fluid in your joint and you can do it again.

So how do these bubbles help you feel better? The truth is they don’t. But the movement from an adjustment helps restore motion to the vertebrae or joint, taking pressure off the surrounding tissue, sometimes nerve cells, and also creates some feel good chemicals that your body makes on its own.  Joints, unlike muscle tissue, do not have a lot of vascularization, or blood flow. So a vertebra that isn’t moving well has irritated tissue around it, which brings in inflammatory cells that sit and can be very destructive. This can create a painful spot, as well as lead to nerve irritation which will affect where ever that nerve ends up going.  The adjustment restores normal motion and helps flush out this ‘inflammatory soup’ that has been sitting there.

One of the most common questions I get from people is “(so and so) cracks his back all the time, is this dangerous?” I think all of us have stretched at one time and felt that pop that brings some relief. In general this is not bad for you at all. What it does tell you is that you may not be moving to your maximum range of motion due to a restricted joint, and other joints around it might become hypermobile, creating the cavitation you hear. What can be dangerous is applying a lot of force to your back to get that pop. Chiropractors go through a lot of training to learn the proper direction a joint should move, and also the accepted amount of force it can take to move that direction. So leave it up to the professionals to help you restore movement back into your spine, and avoid ‘self-adjusting’ when you can.