Chiro Thoughts

I visited the chiropractor for the first time in my life last Thursday afternoon when my back pain was so bad that I could only stand straight up without moving or lie down on the wood floor flat on my back.

I think I could go on forever about my newfound respect for the chiropractic profession. However, suffice it to say that the doctor healed me. And that is no understatement.

My path to the chiropractor was also a bit interesting. I called my regular MD and she offered to prescribe me some combos of valium to relax the muscles and Percocet to diminish the pain. She also said she’d call in orders for me to have X-rays and casually mentioned that I may also need an MRI (or a CT scan or something like that). I was skeptical of all of these things. When I told her I don’t know if I want to start down that path just yet, she said, “Well, you can always call a chiropractor.”

And so, with the encouragement of many of my friends who have been helped by chiropractors, I went in to see one that is highly recommended and has been in practice for over 30 years. He explained the science of chiropractic to me. It seemed to make sense.

45 minutes later I was walking out of his office. Not 100% perfect but feeling infinitely better. Total cost to me: $150.

I went back for my follow-up visit today and while he massaged and adjusted, we chatted. I asked many, many general health questions. Here are some of the more interesting things he said:

1) Cross training is the key. Doing the same exercise every day leads to essentially repetitive stress injuries. He said a person should move their bodies every day – running, walking, yoga, weights, pilates, biking, etc.

2) Everything in moderation, including moderation

3) I asked if he had any absolute health no-no’s. He said, “yes, playing in traffic,” Thought that was funny and an insight into his healthy approach to life.

4) I did not know this, but our body is constantly replacing its cells. As he said, that is what distinguishes us from a rock. We are living, they are stagnant. He quoted a lot of stats, but the one I remember is that the heart has a complete turnover of cells every 30 days.

5) In that context, we talked about what to feed your body. He reiterated that our bodies are designed to replenish with things found in nature. Not chemicals, not artificial ingredients. The food and oxygen we put in to our body is the fuel that replenishes those cells. Think about the health of those cells if we feed our body real things vs the health of our cells if we feed artificial crap. Our bodies do not even know what to do with that junk.

6) To that end, it’s a great idea to eat organic when you can.

7) I asked about artificial sweeteners. He said, again, everything in moderation. In minimal amounts (eg to sweeten a cup of coffee) it is probably not going to do irrevocable harm to an adult’s body. HOWEVER, he said those chemicals are, by design, neuro-toxins and should not be given to little developing bodies.