I would like to share some recent experiences as food for thought regarding illness, healing and the beliefs we have around medicine, science and chiropractic.

1.  I had lunch recently with a University of Queensland academic who’s chosen field of research for many years was the nervous system.

She shared with me that her early inspiration was fired by wanting to help humanity and her belief was that when people had a pain or symptom or disease then science and medicine would have or find a remedy for its cure. As with many other people her experience turned out to be something vastly different. When she became sick she found that medicine actually had very few answers. Even her PhD in neuro-biology, all her years of learning, her great reasoning capabilities and even her learned colleagues in all fields at her University could not help her find healing. She has now changed her lifestyle and lives in the country growing her own vegetables and is deeply happy, healthy, and hasn’t seen a doctor in four years.

1. : Another PhD graduate and past lecturer at the same university shared a similar experience with me when he became a patient here at LHCC last year. His experience of the limits to medicine and science led him to chiropractic as a central part of his philosophy and self-care. This is even more significant and remarkable because his field of study was Ontology—the study of the nature of reality, existence and being. It turned out that he had a vast knowledge of almost everything! And with this knowledge consciously and firmly chose regular chiropractic care as primary in importance for his health in his life .

Chiropractic Exceeds David’s Expectations After a Chance Meeting

It was a chance discovery that I met Dr Heath at the Hyperdome shopping complex. I had back pains from part-time work during my university days…I had to put up with this niggling problem for over 20 years. I had undergone physio treatments however it had not worked for me. I think the physio mentality is: you have to inflict more pain for the pain to be cured. Chiropractic is totally different. Each time I have an adjustment I walk out refreshed with my back feeling “right” again. I have been to a number of executive health checks and have had good feedback that the structure of my backbone has definitely shown great improvement. The adjustments have halted the subluxations and in combination with Wing Chun I feel that I am able to maintain my well-being. For me I am thrilled that the chance discovery and trial 6 years ago has proved to be very beneficial. There has been improvement in my sleep and the adjustments have definitely improved my overall well-being. All those pain sufferers who have reached an impasse should give LHCC a try. Maybe their treatment would be just like mine—a trial which ended being a long term improvement in health and wellness!

David Lee, 20/08/2012

LHCC News

On the busy lead up to Christmas sometimes wonder what it would be like without regular chiropractic care. To have the added problems of persistent colds, flu or physical pain that won’t go away on top of a busy life must be exhausting and stressful. Also after nearly 30 years in practice we have observed that by the age of 30 most people  are not without some other kind of on-going malady affecting their lives in some way. It might be timely to reflect on how our lives have changed with chiropractic and how much easier life has become.  Consider how life would be without the regular health re-aligning adjustments to help us attend to all that modern life demands of us or, for some, just keep serious health issues at bay. Thank you chiropractic! Here is a date for you to put in your diary for November.  Our annual Patient Christmas Party will be on the afternoon of Friday the 30th November. It will run for the whole afternoon adjustment session with finger food, drinks, socialising with the staff, fun for the kids and perhaps another very special visit from Santa!

Limits to Science and the Gift of Chiropractic (continued…)

She responded directly that she hadn’t decided to respect or trust what I was saying—fair enough. I asked what her past treatments were for her nagging hip problem and she listed five different physiotherapists and musculo-skeletal doctor specialists—the last of which was giving her prolo-therapy which is injecting anaesthetic and sugar mixture into the area to relieve pain. I asked how all this had worked for her and she indicated partial and temporary with the last therapy. She didn’t come to her next visit. The point in all this is that science, medicine and our human knowledge has its limits, its boundaries.

What is important is that we stay open to learning and open to exploring when it comes to our own personal health and wellbeing and the life-style choices and therapies that support this. The belief that science and medicine will save us is a myth. It is more realistic to use their very helpful research and reasoning as just pieces in our healing puzzle on a multi-faceted journey. Far more helpful to have an open mind, an inquisitiveness, a positivity and some courage to experiment. Our healing experience is unique and individual.  Lifestyle is important. A Healthy spine and nervous system is mandatory.  And a positive, open attitude is essential to living a long and vibrantly healthy life. Chiropractic has been a gift to me and its principles are both universal and in harmony with nature. Only the body heals itself.  Healing comes from within. Remove the cause and symptoms are ‘miraculously’ cured. Sometimes the best answers are found ‘outside the box’—we just have to be open to looking and taking action.

Research Strongly Supports Chiropractic

International research shows time and again that chiropractic is more effective than any other form of treatment for back pain of mechanical origin. For 4,710 workers in a Worker’s Compensation study in Victoria chiropractic management was less than half the cost of medical management and resulted in only half the number of days off work.

The progression of injuries to a chronic state was six times lower for chiropractic patients. A two year hospital-based study by the British Medical Research Council showed chiropractic to be more effective than both physiotherapy and medical treatment for low back pain.

In Canada another hospital based study showed 87% of patients disabled by pain for an average of eight years returned to full function with no restrictions for work or other activities when under chiropractic care. What more evidence do you and your family and friends and work colleagues need to get well and stay well with chiropractic?

Forward Head Posture (FHP,) is a very common distortion of the spine detected by chiropractors like us at LHCC.  The head and neck are shifted in a forward direction on the shoulders as a result of spinal subluxations due to traumas and poor posture.

Three scientific articles support the high prevalence of this condition, its serious consequences which highlights the need for subluxation and postural correction. The July Optimal Health University was literally flying off the seats in our office with its report on the link between FHP and the rising use of tablet computers such as iPads. Not unsurprisingly regular use of iPads and similar technology leads to prolonged neck flexion due to a lowered “gaze angle” which in turn can be connected to a range of overuse injuries causing neck, shoulder and arm pain. The study published in the journal Work: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health in 2012.

The take home message for all regular users was to not use the device on their laps or in a position where the neck has to be flexed for long periods. When they were placed on a table top and when they were set to their steepest case angle setting and their greatest horizontal and vertical position, then the user’s posture approached a more neutral state, which is obviously healthier. The second is a connection reported in The Angle Orthodontist (January, 2008) connecting FHP with Oral Breathing – breathing through the mouth.

Boost Your Immunity and Health Naturally With Chiropractic Care

A very telling article in Australian Doctor  (July 2012) showed that an online poll revealed that 73% of doctors feel that they should not be required to disclose their flu vaccination status. A further 6% say it should not be disclosed because it may influence a patient’s decision to be immunized or not. To state the obvious, so if it is so vital to have a completely harmless flu jab then why don’t so many of them want to tell us that they have it – if indeed they do? Meanwhile the pressure is increased on parents to vaccinate their children with the Family Tax Benefit ($726) only being paid if the child is fully immunized.

So much for giving parents a vaccination freedom of choice without co-ercion. Interestingly we can link this with the lead article above on posture and breathing in that poor posture and breathing leads to lowered oxygen levels in the blood. Oxygen aids healing.  Professional athletes, for example, use hyperbaric oxygen chambers to speed the healing of injuries. We also know that germs, viruses and bacteria cannot live long in an oxygen rich environment. The bottom line?  Get a healthy spine through regular adjustments and stay well!   Research shows that with chiropractic care you not only stay well but very well as pointed out in the last newsletter. In a three-year study of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more, the chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care.

Case closed.

LHCC News

Keeping to your original scheduled appointments is important as they have been recommended at a frequency that is tailor made to help your spine heal optimally. However if you do have to re-schedule an appointment then please call us to do this or now you can send us an email or SMS message. We will confirm this message as soon as we can after we receive it .

Our email is:                                     practice@hyperdomechiro.com.au

Coming into winter we notice it is more difficult for some of you to keep up exercise levels and many of our patients put their exercise programs into hibernation. Keeping up flexibility, strength and endurance is extremely helpful in keeping your adjustments ‘holding’ for longer, whatever the season. So why not try some inside physical activity such as joining a gym, yoga in a warm, light room in the mornings after a warm shower on waking or even getting a walking machine.  It will also help beat the winter blues or seasonal affective disorder (SAD.)

FHP Link with Faulty Breathing Leading to Poor Health (from page 1)

Oral Breathing (OB) is reported to be associated with a wide range of disorders and can interrupt sleep, cause orthodontic and facial deformities, and weaken lungs. The study suggested OB children show greater extension of the head related to the neck and reduced neck curve (FHP) compared with other test subjects. Many chronic sore throats and other respiratory infections are caused by OB but more seriously OB leads to less oxygen getting into our bodies.

Our bodies are virtually ‘oxygen machines’ so OB contributes an oxygen deficiency leading then to a lowered state of health in the whole body. Research in the medical journal Cephalgia in 2009 also connected poor posture with dysfunctional breathing.  It found that… “An increased forward head posture was strongly associated with decreased respiratory muscle strength.”

And finally one of the top chiropractic specialists in rehabilitation Dr Craig Liebenson directly connects breathing and spinal dysfunction such as subluxation and FHP with how we breathe stating that “Faulty breathing is one of the most common dysfunctions affecting the musculoskeletal system.” Here at LHCC we are have always been conscious of the connection between good posture and good health and our correction programs focus on  the correction of FHP and subluxations that lead to numerous health issues and symptoms.

Pain gone and More Energy for Raija

My chiropractic visits started over 10 years ago after I had been suffering neck problems for years. Slowly I started to get other symptoms, discomfort in my upper back and down my arms. Next it was my wrists and fingers. When my arms and fingers started to get pins and needles and numbness I panicked. The medical doctor’s advice was “you have to have a Carpal Tunnel operation in your wrists.” I found a LHCC clinic advertisement in the local paper and started having adjustments regularly. I didn’t get pins and needles any more and my other pains and discomforts have gone. I have noticed that a day after my adjustments my energy levels are at their highest.  What a great feeling! Feeling well physically helps me feel happy.  Also I have noticed that my overall health has been excellent, I hardly have any colds. I have not taken sick time of from work in 5 years and I can’t remember the last time I visited a medical clinic. I also attend the Advanced Health Workshops to get all the information I need to support me to keep well and healthy.

Raija G.

Lets face it, these days we’re bombarded with a massive amount of health information and we don’t always know the sources of this information. Much is thinly veiled advertising and marketing from profit-driven multinational corporations such as drug companies. One way to assess what is useful, relevant and (most importantly) true, is to spend valuable time sifting through various sources to get a broad perspective, then sit back and form your own considered opinion. This is fine if you have the time but another way is to simply choose a philosophy based on a healthy, natural, and balanced lifestyle  and then only look for information that fits in with this philosophy.

Our philosophy and our beliefs to a large extent determine our habits, and we can shape these habits by a conscious, dedicated and firm commitment to our philosophy. This makes our selection of habits much easier. The Chiropractic Lifestyle is made up of regular adjustments, a nutritious, balanced diet, regular and varied exercise, a low stress lifestyle or de-stressing techniques, and good sleep on a good bed and pillow. Really what could be easier and by following these principles with a little guidance and fine tuning from your LHCC Team you’re well on your way to optimal health. So right now go through a quick mental checklist and pick out the area you are lacking in and make a few notes on what you can do to remedy your healthy life regime. As we always say the chiropractors can get your spine back into alignment (and function) but it is you who must get your life into alignment.

Start now!

Testimonial: Chiropractic Helps Eliminate Winter Colds and Flu

To those who may be interested, We have three active young children who have been receiving regular chiropractic adjustments for over a year now.  Our youngest, now three years of age, used to suffer from recurrent throat and middle ear infections. We would take medical advice and administer antibiotics. Since commencing treatment with Dr John we have avoided drugs and scheduled extra adjustments instead.

Looking back, neither of us can think of a time when J has had another bout of tonsillitis. Dr John has often picked up new subluxations due to falls and accidents and prescribed extra adjustments when necessary. It is difficult to say when the results of chiropractic became apparent for the older two, but it is clear that their immune systems have gradually become more resilient. They seem to recover more quickly from winter colds and flu viruses In general they have become more healthy since we commenced their chiropractic care regime.

Kind Regards

Matthew & Alicia T

LHCC News

Coming in to a change of seasons we notice an increase in colds and flu in general so be sure to keep your adjustments up and begin a few of the tips listed below to keep you in top shape. This month brings in a fee increase which keeps us into line with other practitioners in our region. For most patients there will be no impact and for others please read the letter setting out your options. As always we ask what price do we place on our continued good health? With chiropractic care and the Chiropractic Lifestyle the potential and real benefits and savings are so enormous both to us personally and our community it would be hard to put a figure on it.

Immune Systems of Chiropractic Patients 200 Times Stronger…

One of the most important studies showing the positive effect chiropractic care can have on the immune system and general health was performed by Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute and professor of medicine at New York University. Dr. Pero measured the immune systems of people under chiropractic care as compared to those in the general population and those with cancer and other serious diseases.

In his initial three-year study of 107 individuals who had been under chiropractic care for five years or more, the chiropractic patients were found to have a 200% greater immune competence than people who had not received chiropractic care, and 400% greater immune competence than people with cancer and other serious diseases. The immune system superiority of those under chiropractic care did not diminish with age. Dr. Pero stated: “When applied in a clinical framework, I have never seen a group other than this chiropractic group experience a 200% increase over the normal patients.  This is why it is so dramatically important. We have never seen such a positive improvement in a group…” Reference: Pero R. “Medical Researcher Excited By CBSRF Project Results.” The Chiropractic Journal, August 1989; 32.

What to Do For Colds and Flu… Naturally

There are a host of different cold and flu potions on the market some of which are definitely not recommended for children. Also dosing errors of these over-the-counter drugs are responsible for an increasing number of hospital visits. Another line of defence is prevention by employing tips and strategies to avoid colds and flu such as avoiding crowded places, washing hands well and covering your mouth when sneezing etc. The key with all infections, viral or bacterial, is to build an inherently  strong immunity—strengthening your body from within—by living the Chiropractic Lifestyle.

 There is no substitute for regular adjustments, good sleep and recreation, moderate exercise and a low stress lifestyle. On the nutritional front 2 litres of filtered water a day, plenty of fresh fruit and veg, wholegrains and unprocessed foods are vital. If you feel sniffles starting then get extra adjustments, take extra vitamin C (calcium ascorbate is best) and eat more onions and garlic for their antimicrobial activity. Also ginger and chilli are very warming foods and can be beneficial, particularly in the colder months. In addition avoid processed foods, dairy and sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

I worked long hours and double shifts in the UK for 7 years as a tiler with increasingly painful bouts of lower back spasms.  In 2007 this was diagnosed as a hernia between the L4 and L5 vertebrae that squeezed out and pressed on the sciatic nerve, causing burning pain down my right leg. I was told I must have surgery but deferred after hearing mixed reports of the results.  Out of work for 5 months, my fledgling Australian Tiling business was gone, causing considerable financial hardship for me and my wife, stress and some depression.  Deaths of close family members compounded this.

The first correct diagnosis and subsequent treatment must be credited to a great alternative acupuncturist and physio in the West End, Dr Phil Tan.  Other physios had misdiagnosed me, proving expensive and useless. At that stage, I had a life long aversion to chiropractors based on some negative experiences and incomplete understanding of chiropractors. 3 years of high stress, desk based roles followed (long hours again in pressurised environments), at the same time as our first child.  I experienced a litany of repetitive illnesses, depressed immune system, constant sinus blockage and severe back pain no longer controlled by my stretching.  The sciatic pain was returning more often and I was standing with a noticeable lean, one hip being 6mm higher than the other.

Chiropractic – Care Gives Quality and Quantity of Life

Welcome to 2012 to all our patients and we hope you had a re-vitalizing holiday break and a more enjoyable Australia Day than our Prime Minister! Our breaks from work are incredibly important to our bodies and minds and the rest and reflection time can provide the opportunity to take a thoughtful look, and perhaps make big or small changes in direction, pace or content of our lives (what we do—work etc.) This is not just a philosophical comment because what we do in our daily lives has a direct impact and influence on our health and wellbeing. It also affects our results with chiropractic. As we say at LHCC the chiropractor can get your spine into alignment but it is you who must take the steps to put your lives into best alignment. We can give you the tools and techniques and encouragement but the questions of what you do and how you live your life are, of course, up to you—as it should be.

LHCC News

Welcome to the New Year everyone even though January has passed in the blink of an eye and we are marching on into February already. We hope that everybody’s New Year resolution list contained a number of health and life enhancing activities or goals? If not, or if your resolve has begun to slip already then let us help you be motivated right now by signing up for the next Advanced Workshop, or getting a CD copy and notes of January workshop on Posture and Correct Breathing. Many of our patients will benefit from knowing that these workshops are in place throughout the year to expand your knowledge, motivation and skills in looking after your spines. Proper breathing, good tall upright posture and stress-dissolving meditation will have a hugely positive effect on and in your life  as well as helping your adjustments to ‘hold’ for much longer.   Make your booking or grab your CD now or when you are next in the clinic!

Colby’s Story, continued from page 1…

A diagnosis of adult asthma, exercise induced, did  not adequately explain why lung function tests remained t 70% of normal, meaning I could not get my running above a measly 2km. After 3 months of treatment by Lawson and John, my background pain is hugely reduced, my lower spine/hip alignment has corrected and my neck is far better, with mobility returned. I am ill less often and with less severity. All these aspects of my health are continuing to improve. I have been able to return to construction, starting a business as a Handyman/Renovator.

I still experience some pains in lower back and neck, but am now confident I can remain in the business that I enjoy, no matter how physically demanding.  My wife and I are also coping with launching 4 new businesses between us in the last year.

Most importantly, I feel full of life again. I feel like I have the facilities to enjoy everything I have and be a great husband and dad, well into a enjoyable old age, rather than be burnt out t 34. Thanks to Lawson and John and the whole wonderful team, I strongly recommend the service at Logan Chiropractic to anyone who wants to enjoy life to the fullest.

PS: my wife and son now attend as well!

Colby Tannoch-Bland

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