1. Good evening. Let me welcome all of you to our Health Care Class
Good evening! Let me welcome all of you to our Health Care Class. As the name implies, this is a class in which we will discuss your health care. For many of you, chiropractic is a new experience, and therefore, it becomes necessary to explain what we do and why we are doing it.
This class is required as part of your care and treatment because we want to show you how to help us at home and not undo what we are trying to accomplish during your program of correction. For example, a patient of mine came to our office with a neck problem. After a period of time, he just wasn’t responding the way we would have liked. After some defined questioning his answers revealed that he would come in, get an adjustment, then go home, lay on his back with 2 pillows wedged behind his neck and watch television. That is only one example, but it indicates the necessity of teaching you how not to slow up your progress.

2. What is the role of stress in the workplace?
One-fourth of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives.
-Northwestern National Life
Three-fourths of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago
-Princeton Survey Research Associates
Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems
-St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co.

3. A Closer LoOK……….
Musculoskeletal Disorders On the basis of research by NIOSH and many other organizations, it is widely believed that job stress increases the risk for development of back and upper- extremity musculoskeletal disorders
-Encyclopaedia of Occupational Safety and Health
Up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints

4. What is Health?
What would you answer to the question: “What is health?” (Ask 2 or 3 people for their answers; compliment them on their attempts and then say….) Just like you, most people think that health is simply feeling good or freedom from pain. Unfortunately that is an erroneous judgment. You see, it is very possible to have no pain and be feeling quite well, but be suffering from a severe disease that just hasn’t progressed enough to let you know…yet. Also, degree or intensity of pain is no criteria of health. A simple splinter or toothache can cause severe pain, and a serious disease may only cause slight discomfort

5. -Dorland’s Medical Dictionary-
Health Is…..
Health is a state of optimum mental, physical and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmities.
-Dorland’s Medical Dictionary-
A condition of wholeness in which all of the organs are functioning 100% of the time.
-Webster’s-
Suffice it to say that pain or symptoms alone, or the lack thereof, does not really show one’s state of health or sickness.
Dorland’s medical dictionary, used by ALL healing arts, says: Health is a state of optimum mental, physical and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmities. Webster’s says: A condition of wholeness in which all of the organs are functioning 100% of the time. Suffice it to say that pain or symptoms alone, or the lack thereof, does not really show one’s state of health or sickness.

6. Symptoms vs. Cause
Most people think they are sick when they experience symptoms.
Symptoms can be unpleasant but helpful signals that something is wrong.
Symptoms can also be a healthy response. When two people have food poisoning, the one who gets sick first is the healthiest!
Chiropractic seeks to find the cause of your condition not just your symptoms.

7. Health Is A Process
Health is a process that takes place over time and not an event.
Poor health doesn’t just “happen” it is the sum of the many components that make up your lifestyle.
This includes how well your nervous system is functioning, what you eat, how much exercise you get, how you sleep, the stress in your life, and even what you think!

8. Your Body Is Intelligent
When you were born, your body knew exactly what to do to keep you healthy. And it still does!
It knows, how fast your heart should beat, how often your lungs should breathe, how you should digest your food, and a million other things.
Your body knows all this because it possesses Innate Intelligence.
This is the knowledge our bodies are born with... knowledge that no school can teach!

9. Your Nervous System
Your brain communicates with every cell in your body through the miles of nerve fibers that make up your nervous system.
When this communication is interrupted, problems can occur.
All of your body’s functions are regulated by your nervous system.
It causes the heart to beat, lungs to breathe, muscles to contract, stomach to digest, and glands to secrete.

10. Your Spinal Column The brain is protected by the skull.
The spinal cord, which connects the brain to the body, has a unique protection.
The soft tissues consist primarily of muscles, cartilage and ligaments and give the spine the ability to bend while maintaining its protective alignment.

11. Vertebral Subluxations
Spinal distortions interfere with nerve function and are called subluxations.
When the spine becomes distorted or misaligned, the contents of the spinal canal are compressed, twisted, and stretched.
This action damages sensitive nerve fibers and interferes with their function of carrying impulses between the brain and the body.

12. Nerve Interference
A major obstacle that stands in the way of becoming healthier is interference in the nervous system caused by a subluxation.
Chiropractic assists the body in removing that interference.
By following our recommendations for your care, you have the potential to reach an optimal state of health and not just be symptom free.

13. Silent Subluxations
It’s easy to recognize that a subluxation may be the cause of your problem if your neck or back hurts, but what if your spine feels fine?
It is not uncommon to find multiple subluxations in the absence of pain!
Waiting for symptoms to develop can be too late.
The most common words heard in our office are, “I thought it would go away.”

14. Your Discs
When your spine is out of alignment it places uneven pressure on the discs that are located between each of your vertebrae.
This results in uneven wear-and-tear on your discs.
It’s just like what happens to your tires when your car is out of alignment, they wear out unevenly.
However it’s not as easy to change your discs, as it is to rotate your tires!

15. Your Body Is A Chain
Experts say that your body forms a biomechanical chain.
This means that your spine doesn’t float in space, but is linked in a chain to all of the other parts of your skeleton above and below.
When one part of the chain is weak or out of alignment, it affects the strength of the entire chain.
For this reason chiropractic treats your body as a whole system and not just as its individual parts.

16. Physical Causes of Subluxation
Any physical activity may lead to subluxation, including knocks, falls, car accidents, sports injuries, bending twisting lifting.
Sedentary or passive activities such as being seated at a desk, driving or working or even sleeping in an awkward position can cause subluxations.

17. Birth Trauma
We all know how carefully we hold our newborn babies, properly supporting their head and neck.
Yet, in the birth process, we often see significant force applied to the baby’s head and neck.
If this first subluxation is never corrected, the baby's ability to adapt to his or her new environment is hampered.
Remember that the little baby was once you!

18. Mental Causes of Subluxation
Mental stresses that you do not recover from may cause subluxations that persist in your body.
As a simple example, depressed people tend to look down which stresses the spine.
We even have language to reflect this such as “He has the weight of the world on his shoulders”, “My boss is getting on my back” or “My spouse is a pain in the neck”.

19. Chemical Causes of Subluxation
When the body cannot cope with its chemical load a subluxation can result.
Exposure to dust, fumes, liquids, smog, and any chemicals can cause stress on the body.
Foods and drugs (prescription or not) are also chemicals that interact with our bodies and may cause subluxations.

20. Your posture affects your health.
What would happen if you held a bowling ball with your arm straight out in front of you all day?
Carrying your head in front of your shoulders all day is just like carrying a 12- pound bowling ball that way.
How long could do that before your arm started to fatigue, cramp and be painful?

21. Pair Up With Your Partner And Check
From the Front:
Are the points between the eyes, chin, breastbone, pubic area and midpoint between the ankles aligned?
Are the shoulders, hips and knees of equal height?
Is the head held straight, and not tilted or turned to one side?
From the side: Can you easily see the three natural curves in the back?
From the back: Are the little bumps on the spine in a straight line down the center of the back?

22. What Do You Think? When can symptoms be beneficial?
How does the lack of communication between your brain and body caused by a subluxation affect your state of health?
Why would removing the interference caused by a subluxation be important?

23. Thank You