Patient Education
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The more you understand your body and how it functions, the better equipped you'll be at taking care of yourself to achieve optimal health. Our team of chiropractic professionals empower patients to take charge of your own health and future, educating you about your condition to decrease your need for future care. We've included the Patient Education section on our website to provide you with valuable, practical wellness information which you can incorporate into your lifestyle to improve the quality of your life. We hope you will turn to these pages whenever you have a question about health related issues and urge you to contact our practice at any time to make an appointment with one of our chiropractors.
The purpose of chiropractic is to improve and sustain quality of life.
This is achieved by awakening the body's natural healing ability through treatment of the musculoskeletal system, the healing power of touch and guidance in proper nutrition and exercise.
On Health
Many People think that health is how you feel. But lack of symptoms doesn't mean you're healthy. If you look good and feel great but have undetected cancer - you're sick.
True health is how well your body works mentally, physically and socially. If something isn't working right, then you're sick.
It is the purpose of your brain and nervous system to control the function of every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body. A properly working nervous system in concert with musculoskeletal integrity, proper nutrition and exercise is the key to good health.
We believe in the body's ability to heal itself. We believe healthy people are happy people.
On Chiropractic
Besides medicine and dentistry, chiropractic is the third largest doctoral health profession in the United States.
The typical applicant at a chiropractic college has already acquired four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education including course in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work. Intensive studies include course in anatomy, physiology, rehabilitation, nutrition and public health.
The curriculum includes no less than four years of classroom, laboratory and clinic experience - all aimed at preparing the doctor of chiropractic to be a portal-of-entry healthcare provider. The course of study is approved by an accrediting agency which is fully recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. This has been the case for 25 years.
Chiropractic involves the study of philosophy, science and art. Philosophy considers the fundamental nature of the existence of human beings and their interaction with the environment. The sciences deal with aspects of the universe related to human biology, and especially the relationship between spinal segments and the nerve system. Chiropractic's art is the expression of its philosophy and the concern with locating and correcting vertebral subluxations.
Instead of treating your symptoms, your Doctor of Chiropractic is primarily interested in detecting, reducing, and preventing the Subluxation.
How Chiropractic Works
To understand chiropractic, one must have a basic understanding about how the body functions. From the time you were born, an "inner wisdom" has known exactly how to keep you healthy and alive. It knows how fast your heart should beat, how often your lungs need to breathe, how to digest food and how to eliminate waste. There are millions of details controlled by this inner wisdom that keep this marvelous machine in prime functioning condition.
Every living organism in our world possesses what chiropractors call Innate Intelligence. The body machine comes out of the "factory" fully able to function, as long as it has regular fuel and adequate maintenance, thanks to this Innate Intelligence.
Innate Intelligence sends instructions to every organ and cell in your body through the nervous system housed and protected by the vertebrae. However, if these vertebrae are misaligned, even a little, those instructions can be interrupted. The result is "dis-ease" and dysfunction.
The word disease is a combination of 'dis' and 'ease'. 'Dis' is a prefix meaning "apart from" and ease meaning a "state of balance." It follows then that dis-ease is a lack of comfort, a loss in harmony in the system. When there is a lack of harmony in music, the musician adjusts the notes to complement each other. That's exactly what a chiropractic adjustment strives to do, restore body harmony, thus restore health.
International Chiropractic Association Children's Info
www.icpa4kids.com
Tennessee Chiropractic Association
www.tnchiro.com
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"Health is worth more than learning."
-- Thomas Jefferson
In general terms, arthritis is a gradual breakdown or deterioration of the joint spaces in your musculoskeletal system. According to some experts, 8 out of 10 Americans over the age of 55 suffer from one form of arthritis or another. In many cases, arthritis can become so painful and debilitating, simple tasks such as opening a jar or holding a pencil can be difficult. Arthritis affects everyone in different ways. In some, joints in the spine, fingers, wrists, shoulders, knees—even toes—lose their normal shape and large amounts of fluid and debris fill the joint space.
There are many causes of arthritis. A major cause is simply age. Injury or suppressed or weakened immune systems are others. Some people have no choiceit is simply hereditary.
In most people, the body responds to the onset of arthritis by making extra bone. Your body makes this material in an attempt to shore up the degenerating joint. This additional material, or overgrowth, is called a bone spur or osteophyte. Bone spurs are typically found in the joint or disc spaces, where cartilage has begun to break down or deteriorate. Bone spurs sometimes block the spaces where nerve roots leave the spinal canal.
There are many symptoms of arthritis, including:
- Burning
- Cramping
- Inflammation
- Joint pain
- Loss of muscle control
- Muscle spasms
- Numbness
- Pain
- Stabbing pain in the extremities
Major types of arthritis include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
The degenerative form of arthritis that mostly affects the elderly is called osteoarthritis. In some, osteoarthritis may affect the spine's facet joints, making it extremely painful to bend or twist. Osteoarthritis causes the cartilage to break down and away from the joints.
Stripped of their protective material, the joints begin rubbing against each other, causing pain and impeding movement. This action further irritates the surrounding nerves. Advanced forms of spinal osteoarthritis lead to disc collapse and other problems. An equally painful and destructive form of arthritis is called rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation of the joint tissues, leading to pain, weakness, low red blood cell count (anemia), and loss of appetite.
Physical therapy has been shown to help people with arthritis.
Physical therapy can be used to reduce pain, restore mobility, function, strength, and flexibility, and prevent unnecessary disability.
Physical therapy can also help people suffering from arthritis to self-manage their pain, giving them a sense of confidence, empowerment, and hope.
Common exercises may include wall walking (which targets the shoulder joints) and the chair rise (which strengthens your legs and makes standing and sitting safer). Good examples of appropriate activities for those living with arthritis include aquatic exercises (such as swimming), walking, bicycling, golf, and cross-country skiing.