Many new patients go into a chiropractic clinic because their back hurts or neck hurts. Often the patient is led to an X-ray room and receives 3 or so X-rays of the affected area. Many times the patient is told to return home for a day or two so that the Doctor can review the X-rays and “see” what’s really going on with the spine. Upon the next visit the chiropractor may show the misaligned spine, or a deviation of curvature that should be there, to the patient. Then possibly a series of other x-rays taken of someone who “continued to have poor posture and misalignment” until the joints became arthritic and deformed.

With this idea, that something is horribly wrong in their body – that they’re broken, the chiropractor proceeds to inform the new patient that they are in the right place; that through their chiropractic care, they can restore normal curvature in the spine and reverse degeneration of the joints. Then, the patient is given a care package or a treatment plan that includes coming in for adjustments 2-3 times per week, for 2-4 weeks, then 1-2 times for another 2-4 weeks, then 1 time per week for another 2-4 weeks. The patient is again taken to the X-ray room and the chiropractor shows the progress that they made with curvature of the spine, increased range of motion in the joints and so on. After which the patient is possibly told to come back about 1 time per month for maintenance.

This is a common scare tactic that many doctors use – that something is horribly wrong with the patient, and that the doctor is here to save them from their inevitable future debilitation. Is this a good business model? Are there benefits in going to the chiropractor for that many treatments? Are there cons to going to the chiropractor that often? These are questions that we will look into in our next blog posts.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

“Life is but the expression of spirit through matter. To make life manifest requires the union of spirit and body.” 

~ Daniel D. Palmer

This is often talked about in casual conversations with others. People say to “follow your heart” or “get out of your head” somewhat frequently. Well, what does that mean? The “…union of spirit and body…” spoken about by Dr. Palmer is just that – to follow your heart. Spiritual things that are good often come through our hearts and, if followed, our spirituality increases regardless of what faith or religion you may be in.

Often times we get thoughts coming to our minds to do something that might help somebody else, or promote something good. Do we then have the courage to do that good thing? Our hearts are telling us to do it. Will we choose to do it? If we do, we often feel lighter and better inside that we just served somebody or ourselves and a feeling of satisfaction comes into our being. If we choose not to follow those feelings from our heart, it becomes harder to feel them again when they come. If not followed time and time again, then over the course of years and decades we begin to lose sight of what our hearts are speaking to us.

To keep the sanctity of life and to receive more life and health, why not unify our spirit and body and listen to our hearts? What is the worst thing that can happen when doing something good?

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson

…

A large part of my practice can be echoed further with what Dr. D.D. Palmer said:

“I feel it my bounden duty to not only replace displaced bones, but also teach others, so that the physical and spiritual may enjoy health, happiness and the full fruition of our earthly lives.” 

~ Daniel D. Palmer

This is also what the word “doctor” means; to teach! I feel that if a doctor isn’t teaching, he or she is missing something in their practice. A great part of healing comes from the knowledge of how or why things are working the way they are. It can also be said that this life is all about chasing our ignorance – to be rid of it! If we have a problem or an issue in our life, then there is ignorance involved with it. Whether it’s not knowing what to do, or struggling to listen to that inner voice, or a lack of understanding; in all cases, there is a lack of knowledge.

As a wholistic practitioner, I desire and feel that it’s vitally important for all people to receive knowledge, and from that knowledge receive greater capacity to heal and live a better more fulfilling life.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

This innate intelligence spoken of before also goes through the nervous system; bringing information and instructions to all parts of our body. The original thought of an adjustment was to move the partially dislocated joint, or subluxation, and thereby freeing the innate intelligence to communicate without interference to the affected area. From this, healing can occur, mobility can be restored, and a patients overall health can be greatly helped!

Some Chiropractors and Medical Doctors alike often try to scare a patient into buying into the idea that they are broken and that their body is going to be crippled down the road if they don’t get treatment from them. This is not the basis or the original idea of why chiropractic or traditional medicine began. It was meant to help others to heal. The body knows how to heal, and we can find it within us! Sometimes we do need a little nudge with the help of nutritional or herbal supplements or even pharmaceuticals if necessary. However, we can manipulate that light energy within us to also receive great healing and enlarge our capacities for good in all areas of our life.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

One of the foundational beliefs embedded in chiropractic care is the idea that we all have innate intelligence. This innate intelligence knows how to keep things functioning within the body. These things, for example, can be heart rate, hormone regulation, fear responses, and experiencing love. 

Daniel D. Palmer was very metaphysical in his beliefs behind him finding Chiropractic as a profession. In his belief he stated: 

“That which I named ‘innate’ is a segment of that intelligence which fills the universe.” 

~ Daniel D. Palmer

He goes on to say: 

“The philosophy of chiropractic is founded upon the knowledge of the manner in which vital functions are performed by innate in health and disease. When the controlling intelligence is able to transmit mental impulses to all parts of the body, free and unobstructed, we have normal action which is health.” 

~ Daniel D. Palmer

Whether it’s innate intelligence, light, energy body, chi, ki, or life-force energy, we all know that something else is at work other than our physical body. There is a noticeable temperature change in the body when a person passes away, so something leaves us! That something is what gives us life and “intelligence.” I think D.D. Palmer had some truth in what he claimed.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Subluxations, or joints partially dislocated, can come from acute injury to the joint, sitting too long, laying down for too long, overstretching from hyperextension, or repetitive movement that is damaging tissues. Other things can cause a subluxation as well such as arthritis, or pregnancy. All of these things can compromise integrity of ligaments. 

I often get patients coming to me who tweak their back by bending over to pick up something small such as a pencil or another small item. This happens not because they are weak, but because of a lack of stability. Many times when bending over it is easy to lose good posture, and when that posture goes out the window, there is an increased risk to injury. Also, the lack of keeping the stomach tight (to guard your movements) can greatly influence the risk of injury.

When bending down, bend with your hips and knees while sucking in your stomach. Do NOT bend with your back with your stomach relaxed!

Yours in health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

You may hear the term “subluxation” being thrown out there in the language of chiropractors. Chiropractors are taught in school that a stuck joint, or a restricted joint is a subluxated joint. A subluxation means a partial dislocation of the joint or bone which can alter physiological functions. This can be treated by joint resetting, physical therapy or chiropractic care, pain relief and sometimes surgery. 

You can know that a joint is subluxated or “out of place” if the joint is painful or swollen, feels unstable, or there is a loss of mobility. If a nerve is being affected there may be some numbness that can occur. Most people know if they have a “bone out of place” because it’s painful! Seeking out care can be very important if symptoms are not getting better. If you find yourself in pain with your joints, seek your local chiropractor, physical therapist or massage therapist to receive treatment and get better!

Yours in health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Cavitations are just bubbles that are formed within a fluid space when a force is applied to it. This force can be from waving your hand or arm under water and seeing the bubbles form, or a quick stretch being applied to a joint causing bubbles to form in and around the joint – it’s the same thing. The “pop” sound that so many have become addicted towards hearing upon receiving an adjustment is nothing more than just bubbles forming.

Can a restricted bone or joint move without having the cavitation present? Yes! It happens many times. There are many ways to adjust a persons bones or joints. Maybe I’m just a softy, but I like to provide the least amount of trauma possible to a patients body, and if I don’t have to, I won’t put the body under unnecessary stress. My hope in writing this post, is to open the mind to other possibilities in how we view Chiropractic and getting our bones “cracked.” ☺

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

Many people look at Chiropractic and other alternative reports of healings as being placebo. If it is placebo and it works, then that’s great! Embrace the placebo! Although, hundreds of thousands of people report to have received benefit from Chiropractic with various ailments, the placebo can be an integral part in a persons healing.

The belief of an individual also plays an important role in that persons healing process. If a person doesn’t believe they can be healed or if they don’t love themselves, then it is often very difficult to heal; they may have many doctors for different problems and overbook their calendars with appointments to try to spear head issues with all angles. Yet somehow they don’t seem to get better from their issues. Every doctor is different that is true. Though, I believe as human beings, it is vital for all of us to look inward at ourselves and ponder on our problems; ask questions to our consciousness and wait to see what answers come to the mind. As answers come, we become more aware why we are experiencing what we are experiencing which gives us greater capacity to overcome our obstacles.

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…

A lot of people believe that Chiropractic is controversial in that it’s based off of pseudoscience. It is true that if Chiropractors only practiced evidence based medicine, then we would only be adjusting the low back.¹ That being said, more than half of all medical treatments are not validated by proper clinical trials in mainstream medicine and even up to 85%.² Looks like there is a lack of evidence on both sides of alternative and conventional medicine! 

Both practices of medicine have seen countless times where a patient defeats the odds and may be miraculously healed. These healings can’t be explained by science. If it comes down to deciding which form of medicine to try, follow your heart and you will be guided to what is best for you.

References:

[1] Ernst E (May 2008). “Chiropractic: a critical evaluation”. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. 35 (5): 544–62. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2007.07.004. PMID 18280103.

[2] Michael L. Millenson, AB: “Demanding Medical Evidence: Doctors and Accountability in the Information Age.” The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Issue 2, September 1998. http://www.amazon.com/Demanding-Medical-Excellence-Accountability-Information/dp/0226525880

Yours in Health,

Dr. Josef Patterson…