Matthews Chiropractic Center wants you to stay well. With the upcoming cold season creeping closer you need to be at your best so your downtime is little and recovery swift. We welcome October and the spreading of National Chiropractic Month!

Staying Well is Staying in Flow

Chiropractic is an alternative health discipline which aims to remove interruptions to the flow of normal nerve transmission. The spinal cord is the main pathway for nerve messages to and from the brain. These signals allow our brain to perceive sensations, control our heart, lungs, and other organs and allow us to direct movements of our body. The nerve branches, which bring signals to all parts of the body, exit the spinal cord through holes on either side of the vertebral column. Each of the 26 bones of the vertebral column are separated by discs, which form joints with the vertebrae above and below. These joints are what connect the spine and give it flexibility. The vertebral column also surrounds and protects the spinal cord.

Inhibiting Your Wellness

Should a vertebra move out of alignment, say from trauma, emotional stress or another cause, it is likely that the nerve signals will be compromised. The chiropractic profession believes that this compromise negatively impacts the ability of nerves to carry messages and therefore a person’s health. Likewise, emotional stress, muscle tension, and poor ergonomics can stress the body/spine and also reduce the transmission of normal nerve messages. Chiropractic medicine is based on the belief that the body has an innate ability to heal itself. Chiropractors work to remove impediments to spinal motion and normal nerve transmission to aid the body in self-healing. Chiropractors primarily use adjustments to improve spinal motion. In this way, patients can be relieved of back, neck or joint pain, and headaches without drugs or surgery.

Recognizing Your Health through Chiropractic Care

National Chiropractic Month is a consolidation of two previous observances: Correct Posture Month and Spinal Health Month. Since good posture and proper ergonomics helps to eliminate stress on the body and spine, training to improve and maintain good posture is one of the things I usually stress during treatment. Considering how integral posture and spinal health are to chiropractic, it is very fitting that these endeavors be recognized this month. Poor ergonomics and lack of joint motion today could be the cause of your back pain or headache tomorrow… Call to make an appointment and have your spine checked today!

At Matthews Chiropractic Center we like to provide as much information as we can for our patients and others who might be facing similar challenges and have common questions. A recent examination of literature indicates that the use of hormone pills in women who are healthy and experiencing symptoms of menopause seems safe. This review is a summary of beneficial findings from an October 2007 Scientific American article and feedback from a November 2005 workshop supported by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and published at PubMed Central on August 16, 2006.
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Cardiovascular disease including heart disease and stroke is the nations leading killer among men and women. We all know the risks related to hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure. That is why I am delighted to find research is being done to quantify the benefits of chiropractic therapies. A recent reporting in the Journal of Human Hypertension (May 2007) found that correcting a misalignment in the spine was able to reduce and maintain lower blood pressure.

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A January 2008 FDA Public Health Advisory “Recommends that Over-the-Counter (OTC) Cough and Cold Products not be used for Infants and Children under 2 Years of Age.” The risk of serious and potentially life-threatening side effects has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to advise parents not to treat infants and children under 2 years of age with OTC cough and cold medicines. The FDA is still reviewing safety information regarding the use of these OTC medicines in children 2 to 11 years of age and anticipates communicating its recommendations in the near future. The FDA stated, “we are aware of reports of serious side effects from cough and cold medicines in children 2 years of age and older.”

Helping Honey

A December 2007 Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine study should help parents find an alternative to OTC medications for their children having trouble sleeping at night due to upper respiratory tract infections. The findings of this recent study suggests that buckwheat honey is a great remedy for children 2 to 18 years old with nocturnal cough and difficulty sleeping. When the study compared honey, honey-flavored dextromethorphan (cough medicine), and no treatment, for children suffering from nocturnal cough and sleep difficulty due to upper respiratory tract infection, parents rated honey most favorably for symptomatic relief. Overall, the trial found that “honey may be a preferable treatment for the cough and sleep difficulty associated with childhood upper respiratory tract infection.”

**Please keep in mind that honey should never be fed to infants under 12 months of age.**

Raw honey should not be given to infants under one year of age because of the rare possibility of infection with the bacteria that causes botulism. And remember, as with all health issues concerning children, please consult your family’s pediatrician regarding treatment of your child’s ailments.

Finding Answers

At Matthews Chiropractic Center, I strive to provide excellent treatment of the spine and assist patient’s with all their health and wellness concerns. Stay tuned to learn more about current health, wellness, and chiropractic topics as I work to help keep patients and readers well and informed.

Review the FDA advisory at: http://www.fda.gov/Cder/drug/advisory/cough_cold_2008.htm

Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine article:
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/161/12/1140