disease Archives - Damron Chiropractic & Wellness

Goodbye, Germs. Hello, Immunity. (How chiropractic care can support your immune system!)

July 22, 2020 By Susan 1 Comment

a daughter enjoys her apple with her mom by her side

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but your body’s health is a little more complicated than that.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Wouldn’t it be nice if life and health were really that simple? In today’s mask-wearing, social distancing, can’t-hug-your-loved ones-for-fear-of-making-them-morbidly-ill times, staying healthy has become more complicated. But Mother Goose, in her infinite wisdom said these words, For every ailment under the sun, there is a remedy, or there is none, If there be one, try to find it; If there be none, never mind it.

And that’s where chiropractic comes in—to find simple and effective solutions to healthier living.

Chiropractic medicine? What is this sorcery?

woman riding a bike on a beautiful spring day

Chiropractic care can help you stay active, but – bonus! – it can also boost your immune system.

Chiropractic medicine is a holistic approach to health that focuses on the diagnosis and treatment of neuromuscular disorders through manual manipulation or adjustment of the spine. The spine protects the spinal cord, which is kind of a big deal because it controls your body’s central nervous system.

Let that sink in a minute. That ropy little column running down the center of your back is what lies between your skin, and the short circuitry of every single function of the human body. Whoever said the spine is your lifeline wasn’t kidding.

The goal of a chiropractor is to reduce pain, improve patient mobility, and make you feel better overall. But chiropractic medicine isn’t just about cracking your bones to help you move better after an accident or sports injury. It’s one of the simplest, most useful ingredients to being sick less often and living your best life.

How does being able to more easily touch my toes make me sick less often?

Yes, chiropractic care makes it easier to touch your toes, but there are sooo many other benefits that affect your overall health.

Easy. Studies shows that regular chiropractic adjustments increase the number of antibodies in the bloodstream. Just like it’s difficult to maintain a healthy lawn with a kink in your garden hose, a spine that’s out of line can’t properly communicate to your brain when a virus is on the attack. The production of hormones and white blood cells are then restricted and fewer antibodies are available, leaving the immune system deficient against fighting off hundreds of infections and diseases, including the common cold and flu.

Body, heal thyself!

When your immune system is strong, you’ll spend less time being sick and more time doing the things you love.

Like most people in the 21^st century, we want what we want and we want it now. That includes taking medicines that make us feel better fast. While most OTC pharmaceuticals eliminate symptoms quickly, they leave the body with the inability to fight off attacks on their own. That’s where chiropractic comes in. Through a series of adjustments that focus on optimizing the function of the whole, your body is able to gain the opportunity to learn how to combat illness, quickly, effectively and completely. And in no time, before you even realize you were sick.

It’s like muscle memory.

man in 60s doing physical therapy with a resistance band

Consistent chiropractic care can increase antibodies. More antibodies = an increased ability to fight off sickness. It’s kind of like physical therapy for your immune system.

Seeing a chiropractor doesn’t mean you’ll never be sick again. The focus is on optimal health. That means fewer and less severe illnesses and faster recovery times when you do fall under the weather. Remember those antibodies? Consistent chiropractic care has been shown to elevate the body’s antibody levels, which is super important to maintaining good health. The more antibodies we create, the more we can use to fight off sickness when it occurs.

Proactive vs. reactive care

african american family on grass with cute dog

Chiropractic adjustments provide a total body approach to healthcare that can both minimize sick days and maximize your immune system function.

Back pain, neck stiffness and joint issues are only a surface scratch in the practice of chiropractic medicine. And while adjustments are effective in reactively treating injury or degeneration, there are a plethora of benefits that come from a total body approach to healthcare that serves to minimize sick days and maximize your immune system function. When you’re ready to become intentional and proactive about optimizing your health, the team at Damron Chiropractic & Wellness are here to help!

You’re one call or click away from boosting your immune system! To schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Damron, call 513.770.3434 or go here.

Are Health Scares Required for Change?

June 14, 2017 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

Imagine what the world would be like if everyone was healthy, without any health scares. There is no cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Could this world ever exist? If it did, what would happen to the pharmaceutical industry, the weight loss clinics, diet fads, bariatric surgeons, and oncology practices. The world as we know it would be vastly different. Multi-million dollar companies would fail to exist. If only this could be a reality. Life would be easier and without pain.

Unfortunately, society is filled with individuals who have choices on how to live, what to eat, drink, and smoke. Choices about exercise, work, and entertainment. All choices. Many of the choices we are making today lead us down a path of disease and a lower quality of life. Whether we realize it or not.

The question that perplexes many healthcare professionals is why. Why is this the trend today? It’s like sitting on a train track as the train is quickly approaching and not moving. Companies can claim they are doing their part to build awareness regarding this epidemic through advertising campaigns, new product development and charitable giving. However, just because a fast food restaurant adds skim milk and apples to their kids meals, does that make it healthy? Is that enough to make us change our eating habits?

What about the NBA and the NFL encouraging kids to get healthy through their specific initiatives? While this is certainly commendable, why does either organization need to tell us how to raise our children? Isn’t this something we should already be doing? Meanwhile, we continue to attend games and eat the processed foods served there. And our obesity trend continues to climb. Perhaps the extra weight people are carrying is now seen as the norm? We look around and this is what we see.

We need to realize that a company that advertises a campaign for healthier living is just that. An advertisement. Yes, it is talking about being healthy, but it is about the company itself and it’s own visibility among its target audience. Much like a corporation sponsoring an event. The corporation does it for visibility and branding purposes. Unfortunately, human nature typically requires an ultimatum to change, like significant health scares tend to bring. You just need to watch “My 600-lb. Life” to realize that.

In the end it comes down to choice. Our choice. Every day, making the right choices for ourselves to live healthier. It means taking awareness and doing something with it. Action. Deep down we know we are hurting our body when we smoke, drink in excess, eat processed foods, stay sedentary. The real question we need to ask ourselves is why don’t we care to stop when we see the train barreling down the tracks at us? Do we really need health scares to take action?

Combating Cancer With Food

May 19, 2017 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

As of January 2016, more than 15.5 million Americans were cancer survivors. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that 20% of U.S. cancers are the cause of poor lifestyle choices. These choices led to excess weight, sedentary lifestyle, alcohol over-consumption, and poor eating habits. In other words, many cancers are preventable. In our quest for survival after diagnosis, a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry is thriving with drugs that end up destroying the very body we are trying to save.

We trust that the Western diet will feed us yet also be friendly to our wallet. Food that is convenient, fast, and easy is our expectation today. There is a false belief that if the food is available for purchase it must be okay to eat. Doesn’t our government protect us from things that can harm us?

The reality is that cancer a disease where abnormal cells develop and grow out of control. If left unchecked, it results in death. Chemotherapy, surgery and radiation are the three primary means to destroy cancer. All three have debilitating side effects associated with them. But what more can a person do to either prevent it from happening in the first place, or make sure it never returns? Turns out that there are certain foods that can actually help us do just that.

In 2007, a book was published titled, “Anticancer: A New Way of Life” by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, a two time brain cancer survivor. After his second diagnosis he began his quest to determine how foods can help our body fight cancer. As not only a doctor but a researcher as well, he used science to uncover the truth. A truth that explains why the traditional American diet aids in creating the ideal conditions for disease. How and why stress and sugar fuel cancer. Plus the foods that reduce the risk of developing certain cancers. For example, leafy greens reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 75% or green tea reduces the risk of colorectal by 57%. Additionally, the book explains how certain foods affect the body and why we either want to eat them or not.

No one wants to hear the words “you have cancer.” But whether you have or haven’t there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your family with not only the food choices you make but how you life your life each day. Nutrition plays a much larger role in our lives than we think.

Gout and Chiropractic Care

May 2, 2017 By Pam Rezai 1 Comment

When cells die, which happens at a rate of millions per second, they release substances called purines. Purines are broken down into uric acid which is then removed by the kidneys. Sometimes there is more uric acid than the kidneys can eliminate. When this happens, the uric acid content in the body steadily increases. This condition, called hyperuricemia, can lead to the development of crystals in the joints and tissues. It is these crystals that cause the pain and inflammation associated with gout.

It is common for the pain to register at a 9 or 10 by those who suffer from this condition. This pain can last for several days, too. In addition to pain, other symptoms of gout include:

stiffness
swelling
redness
tenderness

The occurrence of gout has been documented for over 4,000 years. It was once considered a king’s disease due to the foods that triggers its onset, which are all high in purine as well:

alcohol
red meat
shellfish
organ meats

Gout is a form of arthritis that typically manifests itself in the joint of the big toe. Other areas include the joints of the knees, feet, and ankles. The first common sign is pain and swelling of the big toe, with men over the age of 45 more likely to suffer from this condition. However, other health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart or kidney disease are present first. But gout does not discriminate. Both young and old, male and female can develop it.

Chiropractic care is an often overlooked treatment option for gout sufferers to alleviate pain with adjustments, therapeutic medical massage, and dietary supplements. Unfortunately, many of the medications prescribed to treat this condition come with serious side effects. These include stomach pain, headache, nausea, diarrhea, rash, elevated blood pressure, and decreased kidney function.

A chiropractor can help a gout sufferer manage their symptoms holistically and without side-effects. Including help with diet and exercise. The ultimate goal is improving quality of life, minimizing or eliminating pain, and improving mobility.

Fatty Liver Disease

February 7, 2017 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

Not many of us think about fatty liver disease. In fact, most of us make the assumption that only alcohol and drugs contribute to this disease. Fatty liver disease is increasing because of the Western diet, which includes highly processed foods, fast food, and sugary drinks. However, a precursor to this disease is an increase in obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and liver inflammation. In 2004, to prove this epidemic, Morgan Spurlock created a highly controversial documentary called Super Size Me. In it, he chronicled his month-long journey, consuming only McDonald’s food and the effect it had on him.

When we choose convenience with food, we typically sacrifice our health. At first, the impact is unnoticeable. Yet, as time goes, on our body becomes less equipped to handle the nutritional deficiencies offered by convenience. Over a period of 30 days, Morgan watched himself change. His body mass increased by 13%, his cholesterol spiked, he experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and a staggering increase in his liver enzymes. All that from convenience food!

Unfortunately, just because food available to purchase it does not mean it is good for you. While it probably tastes very good, that does not make it good for your body. We must stop equating good taste and convenience with healthy. Fast food companies and processed food manufacturers are in business to make money. That means they must sell. To do that means convincing you to purchase the food they make with creative advertising, gimmicky promotions, convenience, and attractive prices. What we choose to eat is up to us.

Most alarming to Morgan and his doctors was the effect this diet had on his liver. Often, fatty liver disease has no symptoms. However, it is common for a person to have insulin resistance, extra weight, and type 2 diabetes. These should be viewed as symptoms. Regular eating of a Western diet increases the likelihood of developing fatty liver disease. Morgan’s diet created an overabundance of fat cells in his liver which then began to leak into his bloodstream. The speed at which this happened to his liver concerned his doctors because many Americans eat a Western diet every day.

It is time to stop making excuses as to why we need that donut or why we need to hit the drive-thru. It should not matter what advertisements say to us or what the latest promotion is. We need to value our health more than we value saving a dollar. The obesity trend can be reversed, but it is up to each individual to do our part.

Avoid the “Perfect Storm” of Disease-Care

January 5, 2017 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

In 2000, George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg starred in the movie “The Perfect Storm”. It is based on the true story of a commercial fishing vessel lost at sea during a storm. This storm was exceedingly rare due to the combination of adverse weather factors. In the chiropractic world, we see a lot of people who got caught in a perfect storm. Negative and unpredictable factors affect their lives in such a way that their quality of life is significantly diminished. Factors such as:

a sedentary lifestyle
car accident
work related injury
smoking
poor diet
diabetes
obesity
chronic pain

Some factors can be self-made, others can be simply bad luck or hereditary. Either way, these factors can create a perfect storm that equates to illness. At Damron Chiropractic & Wellness our goal is wellness for life. We take a person’s perfect storm and work with them utilizing chiropractic, rehabilitation, massage and nutrition.

We hear a lot about disease care with people suffering from chronic conditions. Rarely is there any press on wellness. Wellness means that a person is feeling good and looking good. In our world, being well means the perfect storm is over and that person can get back to doing what they love with a higher quality of life.

Life can give us lemons, and lots of them. But we do have a choice. We can choose to settle for what life hands us or decide to seek help. This does not mean using a band-aid approach either, as tempting as that might be. Rather, it means finding a resolution once and for all by ignoring disease-care. Disease-care actually cares for the disease and not finding out what is causing it in the first place. The presenting symptoms may appear to be coming from the leg, but it is really nerve interference in the spine. Treating the leg pain with disease-care does not address the nerve interference in the spine. Consequently, the leg pain will return. That is not wellness.

If you suspect a perfect storm in your life there is a solution. Life happens, but wellness does not, unless you decide to seek it out.

Chronic Conditions and Chiropractic Care

December 1, 2016 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

There are many conditions that the general public does not associate with chiropractic care. While the reasons are varied, it essentially boils down to a lack of easily found information. For example, grab a magazine or newspaper and you will likely find it filled with ads from larger companies. If you turn on the radio or television, whose commercials do you hear? Again, sizable companies that can afford to purchase the airtime plus the production of a commercial. Even online, those who spend the most, get the most views.

Big business has deeper pockets to literally infiltrate every media outlet. In fact, studies show that the average adult is exposed to over 5,ooo messages – per day! Business is in business to make money. As a result, an advertisement or commercial needs to be convincing and compelling so you buy. But, does that mean the ad is the best option available to you?

History tells us that many products and services have come and gone as more information became available to the general public. Take cigarettes, saccharine, flame retardants, bisphenol A (BPA), and parabens (found in make-up). The public took these products at face value and believed what the advertisements stated. In addition, we even trusted that our government was protecting our best interests. The lesson learned here? That we need to actively advocate for ourselves and not let those who have the deepest pockets win our vote. As a result, we owe it to ourselves and our children to do our homework.

When it comes to our health, advocating for ourselves will reveal that what we thought we knew is actually wrong. Wrong, because we let mainstream media and big pharma tells us what was right. Chiropractic care has faced an uphill battle in proving its tremendous value in better health. Yet countless studies, testimonials, research and historical data prove that it has countless benefits. A chiropractor does far more that successfully treat those suffering from back and neck pain.

Due to this misinformation, below are several chronic conditions that many people do not realize can be treated with chiropractic care :

tinnitus (ringing of the ear)
vertigo
fibromyalgia
Meniere’s disease
chronic fatigue
rheumatoid arthritis
multiple sclerosis
lupus

The next several articles will address these chronic conditions in further detail, in addition to how a chiropractor can help those who suffer from them.

Healing With Functional Medicine

October 18, 2016 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

Functional medicine is similar to bringing your car in for service when there is a problem. A mechanic will perform various diagnostic tests to determine the cause of your problem, looking under the hood, checking valves, and fluid levels. What would you think if the mechanic simply walked around the perimeter of your car and did nothing else to determine the problem? How accurate would the assessment of the true problem be?

Many times a doctor does just that with us. We make an appointment due to a symptom we are experiencing like a fever, coughing, rash, or sore throat. The doctor “walks around our perimeter” by taking vitals, asking a few questions, making a diagnosis, then prescribing antibiotics, if necessary. Problem solved. However, shouldn’t seeing a doctor be more like how our car is treated at the mechanic?

Functional medicine is much like the approach a mechanic takes. The doctor looking to identify and correct the root cause, or the underlying mechanisms, of the problem. The result is that symptoms improve and the disease process is halted or reversed. Overall health is improved, as well.

Three factors are involved in the development of disease:

Antecedents are precursors that set the stage for illness. These can include asthma, antibiotics, previous injuries, irritable bowel syndrome, and childhood stress.
Triggers are what sets off an illness such as a virus, suffering a loss, and a lack of exercise.
Mediators are what contributes to an illness such as low hormone levels, inflammation, stress, and poor nutrition.

The goal of functional medicine is to look at the entire patient picture and including as many facts and data as possible. This information allows for the development of clear road map for treatment by the doctor. The goal is to ensure good health is recovered, not simply masked.

At DCW, we take a functional medicine approach to each and every patient we treat. Because success should mean resolving a person’s health problems once and for all, shouldn’t it?

Do You Have Metabolic Syndrome?

October 14, 2016 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

You know there’s a problem when a new syndrome is created because of the society you live in. In other words, a particular lifestyle makes a person more prone to developing a life threatening disease. One such syndrome with this association is metabolic syndrome which is found right here in the U.S.

Living in the Western world offers tremendous advantages from individual freedoms in speech, religion, and race, to opportunities in education, work, and healthcare. However, with these freedoms also comes choices in how we live our life. Modern day conveniences offer countless benefits in terms of time, effort, and cost, but the trade-off can be at the expense of our health. So, what exactly is metabolic syndrome?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines metabolic syndrome as, “a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.” These risk factors can be traits, conditions or habits that increase your chance for developing these diseases. The Western diet and a sedentary lifestyle play a significant role in the development of metabolic syndrome, which requires three risk factors to be diagnosed with it. These risk factors include:

Excess fat in the stomach area.
High levels of triglycerides which is essentially fat in your blood.
Low levels of the good cholesterol (HDL).
High blood pressure.
High blood sugar, especially while fasting.

The good news is that metabolic syndrome is preventable with a commitment to a healthy diet and an active lifestyle. Working with a team of healthcare professionals can help treat this condition effectively, too. Treatment begins with education to fully understand the implications of this disease, then a structured plan to achieve weight loss through diet and exercise. Many times the assistance of a rehabilitation specialist is needed as well. Other steps include re-balancing the gut bacteria by eating probiotics and supplementation.

B12 Benefits Your Brain

August 16, 2016 By Pam Rezai Leave a Comment

Getting older is a fact of life, even if we don’t necessarily like it. It doesn’t need to be a bad thing either, especially if we know there are things we can do to slow it’s progress and maintain a higher quality of life in the process. Mounting evidence is revealing that vitamin B12 actually slows the shrinking of the brain that commonly occurs after the age of 60. This is truly exciting news!

Brain shrinkage, also know as atrophy, results in a higher incidence of cognitive impairment. It is this mental decline that sets the stage for an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The evidence is revealing that if we can prevent brain atrophy, then perhaps we can also prevent this cognitive decline, too. A study published by JAMA Psychiatry in June of 2016 focused solely on B12. The results of this study indicated that “high blood levels of vitamin B12 can slow the shrinking of the brain” which is very common once a person reaches the age of 60.

Vitamin B12 provides another benefit, as well. It also lowers a chemical found in the blood called homocysteine. Homocysteine is found in high levels in individuals who eat a lot of animal protein with little fruits and vegetables. This chemical is thought to contribute to heart disease, brain atrophy and Alzheimer’s. The higher levels of vitamin B12 is overwhelmingly positive. It is the only supplementation that is able to slow brain shrinking, or atrophy, in human clinical trials. And, to date, there have been no drugs that have been able to do this at the same level. That feat is truly amazing.

Goodbye, Germs. Hello, Immunity. (How chiropractic care can support your immune system!)

Chiropractic medicine? What is this sorcery?

How does being able to more easily touch my toes make me sick less often?

Body, heal thyself!

It’s like muscle memory.

Proactive vs. reactive care

You’re one call or click away from boosting your immune system! To schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Damron, call 513.770.3434 or go here.

Are Health Scares Required for Change?

Combating Cancer With Food

Gout and Chiropractic Care

Fatty Liver Disease

Avoid the “Perfect Storm” of Disease-Care

Chronic Conditions and Chiropractic Care

Healing With Functional Medicine

Do You Have Metabolic Syndrome?

B12 Benefits Your Brain

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