Chiropractory

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Bones Or Nerves? By Dr. N. Hansen

We live our lives through our nervous systems. Whether it’s enjoying a sunset, digesting dinner, running to catch a bus or warding off an infection, our nervous systems control everything. Better nervous system = better life.

While our culture seems fascinated by the functions of our blood, such as pulse, pressure and production of cholesterol, these measurements are largely the result of directions received from our nervous systems.

That’s why, if you have even the smallest amount of nervous system disturbance it can dramatically affect the way your body works.

Since the moving bones of the spinal column are in such close proximity to the spinal cord, and the 31 pairs of nerve roots that branch out from it, many people think chiropractic is all about bones.

I see myself as a nerve doctor, not a bone doctor. The spinal column is merely where we find the subluxations that are often the source nerve disturbances between the brain and your body. Reducing this nervous system tension allows your body to work more normally and health can return. Simple, really.

How well is your nervous system controlling the production of stomach acid? The workings of your gallbladder? The regulation of your blood pressure? With a chiropractic checkup, you’d know!

The Healing Power of Your Mind By Dr. N. Hansen

What do the spells cast by voodoo practitioners and researchers testing the effectiveness of the latest drug concoction have in common? The placebo effect. The more you believe you’re going to benefit from a drug or procedure, the more likely it is that you will experience a benefit.

From time to time we encounter skeptics who dismiss the sometimes amazing results our patients receive. Writing them off as merely the placebo effect, these cynics virtually ignore the mind/body connection that most forward-thinking health care experts are finally recognizing.

Placebo (from the Latin ‘I will please’) is often a sugar pill or some type of sham treatment designed to specifically invoke the beliefs of the patient, and in double blind studies, the beliefs of the doctor. Some studies show that placebos are 30% to 40% effective.

But don’t overlook the "nocebo" effect.

You’ve undoubtedly witnessed the evil twin of the placebo on television hospital dramas. The nocebo (from the Latin ‘I will harm’) is based on the effects of negative beliefs. Telling a patient to get their affairs in order because they have but two months to live is almost a death sentence, frequently creating a self-fulfilling prophecy due to the belief. Being "scared to death" or "worried sick" can be equally powerful expressions that show up in our self-talk.

Is the success that chiropractic patients enjoy merely the placebo effect? Placebo or not, chiropractic produces results at a fraction of the cost and without the harmful side effects of drugs or surgery. Plus, chiropractic care regularly helps newborns, infants and even pets for which the power of the believing mind is more difficult to explain.