The low back can withstand tremendous forces without injury. However, if the low back is out of adjustment or has weakened supporting muscles, something as simple as taking a bag of groceries can cause a low back injury. Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Back
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It has been documented that thoughts and emotions have a powerful influence over our physical health. There was an interesting study conducted at UCLA in the early 1990s where 14 professional actors were recruited to study the effects of emotion on the immune system. During the study, the actors were told which mood state they would be experiencing.
They then read the appropriate scenario, which was about 100 words long, and were told to create and experience a realistic mood by developing the scene and verbally and behaviorally acting it out while seated. Actors were encouraged to use their own personal memories to intensify the experience. Once the actors were in a particular emotional state, the researchers drew blood to measure any physical changes that may be associated with particular emotional states. What they found surprised everyone. Simply by shifting from one emotional state to another, the actors could stimulate or suppress their immune function. Subsequent studies have measured all kinds of physical changes that result from emotional states, such as changes in hormone levels, brain chemistry, blood sugar levels, even the ability to heal properly. In fact, the mind-body connection is so strong that an entire field of science has emerged called psychoneuroimmunology.
More and more scientific studies are published on a daily basis proving the idea that thoughts and emotions have a powerful influence over our physical health. This is one of the reasons why people are much more likely to get sick during job changes, holidays and other stressful times; or why people who are depressed have a much higher risk of developing cancer. How can emotions affect our immunity or resistance to disease? Research shows that the brain can release hormones and other chemicals that affect white blood cells and other parts of the immune system. Though the chemicals also have other functions, they are a link between our thoughts and our ability to resist diseases.For example, when people react to stresses with fear, their brains send a "danger" message to the body. Hormones are released to raise blood pressure and prepare muscles for quick action, as if to fight or flee from danger. The stress hormones also depress the disease-resistance system, and over time, can damage the brain, heart and digestive tract.Thoughts can cause physical abnormalities such as ulcers, indigestion, nervousness and high blood pressure. Thoughts can also depress the immune system, which leads to a wide variety of diseases. Whether a person experiences poor health, and how soon, depends on that person's heredity, environment, diet, and behavior.
An Australian study in the late 1970s showed that when one spouse dies, the other experiences a weakened immune system. This helps explain why grieving spouses have more diseases and a higher death rate than others of similar age. Other studies have shown that heart patients who are depressed have more heart problems than happier heart patients; depression was a better predictor of problems than physical measurements were.
Cancer is more common in people who suffer a major emotional loss, repress anger and feel helpless. Cancer patients who express their emotions rather than denying them seem to recover more often. The link between emotion and cancer is so strong that some psychological tests are better predictors of cancer than physical exams are. This does not mean that everyone who has cancer or some other disease has simply thought it upon himself. There are many factors involved in disease; even the best attitude is not going to prevent ill effects from genetic malfunctions and some chemical and biological hazards. A new study shows physical proof how one of those aspects - a strong and happy marriage - can be a boon to your health. According to the study, physical wounds take much longer to heal in marriages marred by hostility and conflict than those in which couples build a more pleasurable home life.
As our thoughts and emotions have such a powerful influence over our physical health, we must take proactive steps to regain our health through healthy thinking, relaxation, and positive affirmations. Explore this section for more on how to calm your mind and improve your health.
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Back Pain-Lower
Category: Common Conditions Treated, Back and Shoulder Pain
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Spinal Kinesiopathology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Spinal kinesiopathology is the unusual positioning or motion of the spinal bones, to the point where the patient’s ability to turn and bend is restricted. It is one of five components of vertebral subluxation complex — a set of symptoms and signs that affect the spinal column — and it puts the
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Pathophysiology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Pathophysiology means the function in an individual or an organ is disturbed due to disease, leading to a structural defect. In chiropractic care, it often presents when unusual bony growths, such as bone spurs, attempt to fuse malfunctioning joints, causing the spine to degrade, joints to become altered,
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Neuropathophysiology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Neuropathophysiology refers to pathophysiological conditions that affect the nervous system. A more recognizable term may be neuropathy. Neuropathy is not a single disease; rather, it is an umbrella term used to describe a host of disorders that affect various nerves in various ways, in various areas
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Myopathy
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Myopathy refers to a group of muscle diseases that are caused by muscular dysfunction that results in muscle weakness and waste. It is important to recognize that while some myopathic conditions can be caused by reduced nerve supply or excess nerve supply, the disorders do not stem from a neurological
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Histopathology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Following a car accident, the bones of the spine may shift out of their original position or lose their normal motion, in what’s called vertebral subluxation complex. This condition is characterized by a set of signs and symptoms that affect the spinal column. Histopathology is one of its five major
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Myths & Facts
Category: About Chiropractic Care, How Does it Work
Myth #1 - Chiropractors are not real doctors. A chiropractic college grants a D.C. or Doctorate of Chiropractic degree. Chiropractors are licensed as health care providers in every U.S. state and dozens of countries around the world. While the competition for acceptance in chiropractic school is not
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Chiropractic Objective
Category: About Chiropractic Care, How Does it Work
What truly differentiates doctors of chiropractic from any other healthcare professionals is the fact that chiropractors are the only professionals who are trained to diagnose and treat what are called spinal subluxations. The word "subluxation" comes from the Latin words meaning "somewhat or slight"
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Effects of Chiropractic Care
Category: About Chiropractic Care, How Does it Work
Wellness requires you to be a proactive agent for your body. You need to treat it well and not wait until you hurt before you decide to take care of it. As we've said before health is not merely the absence of disease any more than wealth is an absence of poverty. Let's remember health is not simply
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Scoliosis
Category: Common Conditions Treated, Chronic Condition Relief
Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine that causes stiffness and pain. People with scoliosis have a sideways curve in their spine that makes an "S" or "C" shape. Scoliosis is a sideways curve of the spine that causes stiffness and pain. It is called an idiopathic disease because the cause of it
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Pinched Nerve
Category: Common Conditions Treated, Body Pain
When nerves become 'pinched', injury, spasm, and inflammation of the surrounding muscles causes the nerve to become compressed, resulting in pain. The term "pinched nerve" is somewhat of a catch-all phrase that is commonly used to describe the pain associated with a variety of conditions from subluxations,
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Osteoporosis
Category: Common Conditions Treated, Chronic Condition Relief
Although most chiropractors don't directly treat Osteoporosis, chiropractic care directly addresses spinal misalignments, which in turn directly impact proper functioning of the nerve system.. Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease involving loss of bone tissue and the disorganization of bone structure.
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Carpal Tunnel
Category: Common Conditions Treated, Repetitive Use Injuries
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) has become one of the most widespread occupational health problems we face today. It affects millions of people a year, and with our growing reliance on computers there seems to be no end in sight.The syndrome is caused by pressure on the median nerve just above the wrist.
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Auto Accidents
Category: Common Conditions Treated, Auto Accident Injuries
Numerous studies have shown that years after auto accident victims settle their insurance claims, roughly half of them state that they still suffer with symptoms from their injuries. If you have been involved in a car accident, your injuries need to be taken very seriously. Because symptoms of some
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