Asthma discussion

[Guest guest]

Old timey, die hard chiros. usually tell people to get chiropractic care for

asthma.

Medically oriented chiros. Tend to tell people that we aren't the panacea

and we are embarrassed by chiropractors who make outrageous claims about

non-NMS conditions. Their most important tool for patient care is the

referral pad.

(By the way, we ARE the panacea. Hey! Who do you want working around your

spine and central nervous system, someone who thinks he's a plumber!!!?

Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!)

OK, back to reality.

I have a dear friend who is about 45. She has been struggling with breathing

off and on since childhood. It worsened severely when she was hit by a

snowboarder (little turds!) about 5 years ago. When I learned of this part

of her hx. (have treated her for about a year), I chased the idea of a

" structural anterior-head-carriage with beginnings of c-spine DJD " down a

rabbit hole thinking that if a neck injury severely worsened her condition,

it must be structural and emanate from her neck. I now think I was mistaken.

She had a nasty episode over the holidays which put her in the hospital and

the doc told her that her lungs are pretty wet, rattling like crazy (rales?)

and they will treat her crisis oriented (read Prednisone) and get her

stabilized.

Then the long term medical approach for asthma being bronchodilators and

inflammatory symptom management. I have never heard of a physician treating

asthma as secondary and being the body's response to another trigger except

a half assed nod toward dust mites and animal dander.

Allergies:

We have had good luck with IgG4 food allergy testing (long term allergic

rxn. Vs. acute onset reactions). She had both RAST and IgG4 testing and is

about as sensitized to everything as the allergist, ND, or lab has ever

seen.

About supplements:

I had asked awhile back about my 6 y/o grand-daughter sighing a lot and got

some great suggestions. (It resolved on its own before I could heroically

intervene. One wonders how many drugs are given to people who will

eventually self limit, but I digress...usually.)

The nutritional approach suggestions bother me. Why do we have to identify,

choose, and prescribe so many dozens or hundreds of remedial supplements to

bring people back to health if they are genetically programmed for that

state of being? Aren't we just natural pharmaceutical persons (A.K.A. The

Pusher- Steppenwolf, 1968)? And it seems like a cop out to say that our

lifestyles are so full of bleached out food, stress, strain, and toxins that

we need to take supplements just to get up to zero.

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The bottom line is, in a discussion about chiropractic, when someone asks,

" Do you guys really believe you can cure asthma? " The answer should be, " No,

the body recovers from asthma but chiropractic can help the nervous system

which controls all other systems and adjustments should be an important part

of health care. " ...and no, your managed care will not cover it. The concept

is beyond managed cares' ability to grasp but if you are going to let an

insurance carrier decide your course toward wellness, you are in for a long

and troubled journey.

I believe chiropractic adjustments should be tried with an expectation that

they will help the respiratory system normalize or widen its margin for

assault from irritants. Supporting these with changing how the pt. moves

(sits), eats, and thinks, to help the person back to homeostasis.

Appreciate your thoughts on asthma (and prayers) for my friend Luci.

( E. Abrahamson, D.C.)

Chiropractic physician

Lake Oswego Chiropractic Clinic

315 Second Street

Lake Oswego, OR 97034

503-635-6246

Website: http://www.lakeoswegochiro.com