Health Topics in Princeton NJ

Chiropractic adjustments increase your body's ability to handle and adapt to stress. When you encounter any type of stressful situation whether it is physical, emotional or chemical stress, your body reacts in a way to protect itself. Blood is sent away from your digestive system to your muscles (to give you more strength), your pupils dilate (to improve your sight ), sugar is released in to your blood (to give you more energy), and many hormones are released to help facilitate these changes. These changes are absolutely necessary at the time the stress is introduced; however, once the stress is gone these changes should subside. The only real problems with this "stress reaction" occurs when your body is either not reacting appropriately (too strong or weak a response) or when the body does not switch back to a non-stress mode when the stress is gone. Chiropractic helps the body react more appropriately to stress and return to a normal physiological state faster.

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

In much of the current medical literature, the immune system is referred to as the traveling nervous system. The immune system is the system that repairs ALL injuries, infections, cancers, etc. If the immune system is not getting clear information because the nervous system has disturbances (subluxations), it will not repair as quickly or as effectively as it should. This is why even though everyone at work is exposed to the same cold, some don't catch it. If you improve the clarity of the communication in the nervous system the immune system will work better. This will result in you fighting off infections faster, repairing injuries more quickly and more effectively so they will not become chronic problems. If injuries have already become chronic problems, once your immune system is getting clear instructions it will begin to repair them. To clarify there is no such thing as normal headaches, aches or pains. These things may be common but they are in no way normal functions of your body. Chiropractic improves the communication in your nervous system so your immune system will react and repair faster and so you will heal faster and get sick less often.

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

Unfortunately, our society seems to view and treat pregnancy as a disease or a condition. Pregnancy is not a disease or a condition; however, it is a major stress on the body. The stress of a pregnancy is a result of the many changes that a pregnant woman's body goes through. Chiropractic adjustments help in two ways:

1. They help to keep the spine and pelvis in proper alignment. This makes the delivery process much easier on the mother and child.
2. By making sure the mother's nervous system is functioning at its best you ensure that the baby is being cared for optimally during its most crucial stages of development.

In my years of caring for pregnant women I have seen the difference chiropractic adjustments make on labor and delivery and it is nothing short of amazing. The time of delivery and the recovery afterwards seems to be much shorter with women who are going to chiropractors. Our office specializes pregnancy as well as pediatrics. We have special adjusting tables for pregnant women and we are trained in the Webster Technique to reverse breech presentation.

Infertility is an issue that many couples struggle with. There are a multitude of causes for this problem. Chiropractic care has been shown over and over to help couples conceive. The purpose of chiropractic care is to balance the nervous system and when this is accomplished many of the causes of infertility will resolve on their own. Once woman's nervous system is working properly hormonal balance will be achieved as well as any other structural or biochemical imbalance that may be causing the issue.

Read published paper by Dr. Cohn

One of the main purposes of giving chiropractic adjustments is to improve the ability of the body to balance body chemistry. Most people have heard of individuals having chemical imbalances that can cause anything ranging from depression to ADD/ADHD. Unfortunately, in most instances people turn to drugs ranging from antidepressant pharmaceuticals to illegal substances to correct these imbalances . One safe and effective option is to go to a subluxation-based chiropractor to get your nervous system working at its best so your body will have the ability to balance your body chemistry better. When this occurs your mood will improve, you will think more clearly, have more energy and sleep more deeply.

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

It is actually more important for a child to see a chiropractor than it is for an adult. Adults who receive regular chiropractic adjustments to have their spines and nervous systems adjusted will be healthier and function at their best. A child with a healthier nervous system will not only be healthier but will develop a healthier stronger body, a benefit that will last a lifetime. Chiropractic care for a child gives them an almost unfair advantage over their peers.

Some of the changes parents notice:

• Better sleep - chiropractic adjustments have been shown to reduce the severity and duration of colic, greater focus in school, and better grades
• Better Behavior - which leads to better social skills, self-confidence and happy parents
• Stronger Immune Function - which leads to less ear infections, allergies, asthma and less missed days of school

Sudden infant death syndrome is defined as the death of a person under one year of age from an unknown cause. Many possible causes have been correlated with this syndrome, but no definitive causal relationship has been discovered. Some of the proposed causes have included allowing the infant to sleep on his or her stomach or exposure to second hand cigarette smoke.

When an infant is born there is an unbelievable amount of stress placed on the neck. During a typical "good" birth the infant's head will be twisted past 90 degrees of rotation (to put the chin and shoulder in line with each other). Then the doctor will pull the infant out with about 60 pounds of pressure. These amounts of pressure and rotation increase with births that require forceps, vacuum extraction and Cesarean section. Disturbances in the nervous system (Subluxations) can be caused by much less stress than is caused during the birth process.

The base of the brain and upper neck are the areas that control breathing. If these areas are not getting messages through to the body clearly, the infant may just stop breathing. The other possible causes listed may also contribute to the cessation of breathing. When an infant or person of any age sleeps on his or her stomach they will turn their head to one side to breathe. This may cause a malposition of a bone in the neck to increase and increase the pressure on the spine which will stop messages from getting through. If an infant who just learned how to breathe has interference in the area of the nervous system that controls breathing they may simply stop. In an adult who has been breathing for quite a while, this interference will more than likely not stop the person from breathing but may cause a whole group of other problems.

Many children suffer needlessly from recurrent ear infections and some children even must endure tympanotomies, drainage tubes cut into the eardrums. Recurrent ear infections are caused by fluid build up in the middle ear that gets overgrown with bacteria. As a first resort many children are given antibiotics to kill the bacteria; however, the fluid remains and the infection eventually returns. As a further measure the child may have tubes implanted in his ear to drain the fluid, a dangerous procedure. This fluid is normally drained through the eustachian tube into the back of the throat. The drainage of this tube is controlled by a small muscle that acts as a valve the salpingopharyngeus muscle. When there are disturbances in the nervous system (Subluxations) many muscles do not function correctly. When the valve that controls the drainage of the middle ear is not working correctly the fluid will back up and the ear may get infected.

When the child has his spine adjusted and normal nervous system function returns the valve muscles relax. The fluid is allowed to drain and there is no longer a hospitable environment for bacteria to live. For this reason many children under chiropractic care no longer get chronic ear infections.

Chiropractic and Ear Infections Referenced Handout

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

When the immune system is not responding properly to nontoxic substances you will have an allergic reaction. Things that people are allergic to are inherently not harmful but the body reacts to them as though they were extremely poisonous substances and initiates a reaction to defend itself against them. Without the proper guidance of the nervous system your body may never realize that the allergen is not harmful. Many people get immediate relief from allergies when they get their spine adjusted. When the nervous system is free from disturbances the body will immediately begin to respond more appropriately to the environment.

Asthma is caused by either inflammation in the lungs or the constriction of the tubes in the lungs (bronchi) at an inappropriate time. The constriction of the bronchi is directly controlled by the nervous system. The inflammation in the lungs is mediated by the immune system which is directly controlled by the nervous system. When the nervous system has disturbances (subluxations) it will not relay proper instructions and many problems may arise. Chiropractic adjustments reduce subluxations. When the nervous system is working properly the lungs function properly and attacks occur less.

The purpose of chiropractic care is to fine tune the nervous system to make sure the body is running as efficiently and perfectly as possible. For adults, this causes their body to function to its highest potential. For children it is infinitely more important. For children, chiropractic care allows them to function and develop to their highest potential. There is no one who would benefit more from chiropractic care than a child with a neurologically based problem. There has been study after study published on the amazing effects of chiropractic adjustments on autism spectrum disorders.

Read published study by Dr. Cohn

In many cases bed wetting is not a psychological problem. The problem lies in the fact that the child is either unaware that the bladder is full during sleep or a lack of control of the internal sphincter muscles that hold urine in the bladder. Many children have stopped wetting the bed when they begin chiropractic care. This is due to the increased awareness and increased control from having an unobstructed nervous system.

Children with all types of learning and physical disabilities have many challenges throughout life. Specific chiropractic adjustments improve their ability to achieve maximum potential. Their bodies will be better able to express and experience life. By removing disturbances in their nervous system many tasks, mental and physical, will be easier to accomplish. Chiropractic care can improve every person's ability and quality of life greatly.

Children with ADD or ADHD may act out, not pay attention or have a hard time focusing. There are a few different reasons for these behaviors. The child may be intelligent and the curriculum is not challenging enough so he is bored. The child may really have an imbalance in his brain chemistry and cannot focus for more than brief periods.

The options in dealing with either problem are not limited to drugs. More challenging work in school may relieve the boredom. If he does have a chemical imbalance and receives chiropractic care it will help balance his nervous system which will in turn balance his brain chemistry. This will help the child be better able to focus and relax. This is a noninvasive and very effective way of dealing with your child's problems. There will be no stigma of a diagnosis of a brain chemistry disease. Your child will be on the same type of wellness program as everyone else to improve his nervous system and his health. Please don't drug your children with Ritalin, a class 2 narcotic (the same level as cocaine), which causes permanent changes in brain function. Have your child checked to see if chiropractic can help.

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

In a number of cases, adults and children suffering from even multiple seizures per hour have gained great relief with chiropractic care. Seizures are the result of a severely malfunctioning nervous system. The purpose of a chiropractic adjustment is to restore proper function to the nervous system. Chiropractic adjustments are not a specific treatment for seizures or epilepsy they are simply an effective method used to ensure that your nervous system is working as efficiently as possible. However, by restoring proper nervous system function there are many cases of seizure frequency reducing and disappearing completely.

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

When people are addicted to either a substance or an activity, certain changes occur in their brain chemistry. These changes alter how that person experiences pleasure and pain and make it extremely hard to reduce or stop the addictive activity. When a person begins chiropractic care for the purpose of removing Subluxations, disturbances in the nervous system, these areas of the brain begin to balance and allow the person to remove the activity from their lifestyle with less symptoms of withdrawal. Physioligcally speaking it changes the process of stopping an addictive behavior to essentially breaking a habit. Chiropractic adjustments are not addictive because you are not replacing one substance or activity for another. Adjustments improve the function of the nervous system to give the body the ability to heal and balance more effectively.

Your nervous system is the system in your body that controls all movement, reactions, and reflexes. It is also responsible for storing movement patterns. During practice or training for any sport, the practiced movement becomes ingrained in your lower brain (cerebellum). Disturbances in your nervous system (Subluxations) slow and distort the information that is sent throughout your body. Chiropractic adjustments remove disturbances so you will perform to your absolute highest ability. This may mean the difference between winning and losing. Chiropractic care is that extra edge that will get you to and keep you at the top of your game.

Read research paper by Dr. Cohn

A spinal manipulation is preformed by an osteopath, a physical therapist, medical doctor or a chiropractor seeking to reduce pain or increase range of motion. A spinal adjustment is only performed by a chiropractor with the specific intent of removing disturbances (Subluxations) from the nervous system.

A spinal manipulation is act of moving an area of the spine to increase mobility and reduce pain. A spinal adjustment is the specific movement of a spinal vertebrae to improve neurological function and restore the body's ability to communicate, adapt and thrive.

Which would you rather have done to you?

Adjust - or - Manipulate