Today’s parents truly understand the importance of getting their children checked for subluxation and that’s why you see so many children who come into our office for regular adjustments. Most children walk around every day with subluxations in their spine that are never detected or corrected. These uncorrected subluxations lead to problems they often won’t feel until they are adults.

In fact, many babies receive their first subluxations during pregnancy and the birthing process. Modern medical procedures such as the Cesarean section, the use of forceps, and induced deliveries put unnatural strains on the infant’s delicate body. Throughout the ordeal, the tiny spine is twisted, tugged and stretched. The frequent result: imminent subluxations. It is possible for a child to incur spinal subluxations simply by falling from a bed, falling down steps, falling while learning to walk. In most cases we just wipe away their tears and hope for the best.
Each and every child suffers from a birth trauma, an impact, a slip, a fall, a bump on the head, or emotional and chemical stress;

• In a study of 1,000 random newborn babies spines almost 12% had undetected spinal subluxations.
• More than 1 million children under the age of 5 visit hospital emergency rooms each year.
• Almost 200,000 children are injured in car accidents each year.
• In the United States, 3.5 million children under the age of 14 receive medical treatment for sports injuries each year.
• On average, a child before the age of seven, will fall about 2500 times and, before the age of three, will have had three major falls off change tables, out of a cot or down a flight of stairs.
• And the most staggering statistic of all; It is estimated that 47.9% of children land on their head in the first year of life.

Even children’s toys can cause trauma to developing spines. The beloved trampoline causes approximately 88,000 visits to the emergency room each year, and playground equipment accounts for another 200,000 visits. Infant bouncers or activity centers require youngsters to stand on joints that are unable to normally support their own weight. In most cases these spinal subluxations do not cause pain, and therefore these subluxations go undetected and will be the cause of serious spinal degeneration later in life.

While children may or may not complain of neck or back, they likely have symptoms that occur due to subluxations of the spine. Ear Infections, allergies, ADD, digestive issues, frequent colds or flus, and even bedwetting are usually brushed off as “typical” childhood issues, when in fact these things can be avoided by removing subluxations from child’s spine. Pediatric vertebral subluxation is potentially the most pervasive and most unrecognized cause of persistent health problems in today’s childhood population. Having your child checked for subluxations should be a regular part of raising a child. We are a family wellness practice that takes pride in helping to create strong, healthy, and well balanced children and adults.

New Science Behind Chiropractic Care

Ground-breaking research has, for the first time, identified the actual changes that occur in the body, the nervous system and the brain during chiropractic spinal adjustments.
The study was conducted by award-winning Auckland researcher, Dr Heidi Haavik-Taylor. It demonstrates that chiropractic care sends signals to the brain that change the way the brain controls muscles.

“The process of a spinal adjustment is like rebooting a computer. The signals that these adjustments send to the brain, via the nervous system, reset muscle behavior patterns,” said Dr Haavik-Taylor.

“By stimulating the nervous system we can improve the function of the whole body. This is something that chiropractors and their patients have known for years; and now we have some scientific evidence to prove it.”

Dr Haavik-Taylor has spent the last seven years researching the effects of chiropractic adjustments on the nervous system. However, in her latest research, carried out in conjunction with fellow New Zealander, Dr Bernadette Murphy, she was able to measure how brain waves are altered before and after spinal adjustments.
“This is the first time that anyone has used EEGs to prove that there are definite changes to the way the brain processes information after chiropractic care.”

SUPER HEALTHY TIP…

The statement that this is the first time Chiropractic has been studied using EEG is not entirely correct. Other investigators have shown that chiropractic adjustments change EEG patterns…
There is a growing body of scientific evidence that shows that chiropractic adjustments influence brain activity. How can that be? Someone “cracking” your back changing what is happening in your skull? Consider the following:
Recently while training a group of Chiropractors in Johannesburg, we had a visiting PhD psychologist who specializes in brain EEG mapping do some testing before and after adjustments; and we consistently saw a “shift” in brain activity – on each occasion towards a more balanced, relaxed and focused electrical state.
This may explain why so many people get up off a chiropractic table and the day seems brighter, their body feels looser and they experience increased feelings of wellbeing.

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Healthier spine? Healthier Brain…Who wouldn’t be thankful for that?!?!

As a reminder, we will be closed on Thanksgiving Day November 25th. We will be open all day Monday and Wednesday and on Tuesday afternoon during our normal office hours. Please call the office if you need to make any changes to your schedule!

What are you thankful for? While you are celebrating with loved ones this week we want you to think about 2 more great reasons to be thankful for Chiropractic!

We are thankful for our community and all of the incredible people who are a part of this office and love sharing all the awesome scientific research surrounding chiropractic. The following articles discuss the amazing effect that chiropractic care can make on the way our brain functions!

Chiropractic Adjustments Improve Brain Function
Approximately 100 volunteers were examined with an electroencephalogram (EEG) before and after chiropractic adjustments.
A study presented at the International Research And Philosophy Symposium held at Sherman College of Straight Chiropractic finds that Chiropractic adjustments have a positive effect on the Central Nervous System (CNS), specifically on the four primary frequencies of brain function.

Brain function is measured on four primary frequencies: Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Alpha waves reflect the meditative, relaxing healing mode. Beta waves represent the active, busy brain. Theta waves reflect light sleep, relaxation and conceptual development. Delta waves represent the brain activity during deep sleep, repair mode and energy storage.
The study was conducted over a three year period. Approximately 100 volunteers were examined with an electroencephalogram (EEG) before and after chiropractic adjustments.
The EEG scans were examined to check the right/left balance, the amount of total activity, the primary regions of activity and the effect of the adjustment.
After receiving a chiropractic adjustment, post EEG scans revealed improvement in all areas of the volunteer’s brain function. Particularly, the researchers noticed an increase in the meditative Alpha brainwave patterns that are associated with a greater degree of relaxation, health and healing.
The researchers noted that some of the volunteers already had balanced and active brain scans and the adjustments had little effect on their post scans. They felt this was a good indicator that the adjustments had no negative effects on brain activity.

Commentary: The implications of this study are profound indeed. Over and over research is proving that chiropractic care has the ability to positively affect body function on a far greater level than simple pain relief.

Most people assume that crunches or sit ups are enough to strengthen our core. This is a mistake. While crunches and sit ups will build our abdominal muscles they do not strengthen our “inner core”. The “inner core” is made up of many tiny muscles surrounding the spine and organs. If opposite muscles aren’t close to equal in strength, your body has a hard time utilizing them correctly, leading to pain. They also protect the spine and organs from strain or injury. Many people live there lives without any strength in their “inner core”. As children we start out with strong cores as we learn to walk and hold ourselves upright. As we get older though, we quickly lose this wonderful posture. We begin slouching and lose that stability and strength that we developed as infants and toddlers. This loss of strength quickly leads to body pain which is epidemic in our society. Poor posture leads to a weak “inner core” which leads to an unsupported spine. As we develop our inner and outer core strength we give support to our spine and our posture and health naturally improve.

The “inner core” also creates a base for the abdominal muscles that we all strive for. The outer abdominal muscles develop quickly after the “inner core” is developed. When the inner core is not strong our stomachs tend to “hang out” and the outer abdominal muscles become stretched. When our inner core is developed the stomach is held in and the abdominal muscles are at an ideal length to develop properly.  Like anything when the inside is strong and healthy the outside naturally follows.

So at this point you are probably asking yourself “how can I strengthen my core?”

There are many exercises that develop and strengthen this area but most of us do not have time to spend 4-5 hours in the gym everyday. This is where we here at Breakfast Hill Chiropractic can help you! Dr. Rogers is offering a free life changing workshop focused solely on core strength. In this workshop he will focus on the 7 most effective exercises to build a strong “inner core”. The best part of this is all of these exercises will be ones that you can do at home in your pajamas! This workshop will be held on both, Tuesday, November 16th and Wednesday, November 17th at 6pm. This workshop is free and open to the public. Call the office today to reserve your spot as space is very limited. Join us tolearn how to create a stronger core and change your health from the inside out!

In the rivers of the west coast of North America lives one of the of the world’s most interesting migrants. Braving difficulties of every sort, the salmon traverses rivers and seas. The life of a salmon begins when its mother lays her eggs in a stream. The first food of the young salmon is the special nutrient sack in the egg. As they continue to grow, they spend about a year in the stream. Salmon have been created with a system that allows them to live both in fresh and salt water. The reason for this is hidden in the miraculous journey that the salmon will make. On a spring morning, thousands of salmon begin to migrate down the river. The place where they will arrive weeks later is the magnificent Pacific Ocean. As soon as they arrive at the ocean, a genetic mechanism in the salmon causes a change in the make-up of their bodies enabling them to live in salt water. In the next one to four years they will traverse the ocean. Leaving the American coast, they will pass by Alaska, continue in a great arc in the direction of Japan and return again. At the end of their journey, they are mature and ready for the final and most difficult journey of their lives. They will return to their home: that is, to the stream where they were born. Now they begin to travel upstream in exactly the opposite direction to the one they travelled years earlier to reach the sea. No obstacle daunts them.  They can jump high enough to scale waterfalls. They can even jump three metres out of the water to climb over obstacles in their way. Sometimes they doggedly pursue their journey for distances reaching 3200 km. In the course of this journey they eat nothing, using energy stored while they were in the ocean. Finally, those who survive, without fail, reach the river where they were born years earlier and there lay their eggs. This journey of the salmon is one of the most amazing phenomena in nature. How is it that after thousands of salmon live for years in the sea, they can find the very stream in which they were born? Research has shown that salmon have been created with a special sensory system to enable them to make this journey. They have been created with a natural compass that lets them find their way in the ocean by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. Thanks to this, they are able to find their direction in the vast ocean without error. We can see that every stage of the journey made by the salmon was calculated. It is by itself a great wonder that there is a program that directs the salmon to return years later to the river in which it was born.

How does this all connect to you and your journey towards health? This story is an amazing example of the power of innate intelligence. If salmon can make this amazing journey imagine what our bodies can do. Let’s take into account newborns, in a human being, it is the Innate Intelligence that tells a newborn baby how many times its heart should beat each minute; how to ingest and digest nutrients and eliminate the waste; how to develop and utilize white blood cells to fight infections; how to communicate its need for outside assistance. No one has to teach an infant these things. Our bodies are extremely capable of healing themselves. If we treat our bodies like the amazing machines that they are (by taking care of our spines, eating what the earth gives us, and exercising the way we were intended) our bodies would simply take care of themselves. We each contain an amazing innate intelligence that heals the body. The power that made the body heals the body!

“Innate Intelligence (nature, spirit, subconscious or unconscious mind or other name given this internal power within us) is what cures and heals. Innate intelligence is never sick, never depleted and is always full to capacity and running over. It is there, ready, willing, anxious to deliver life and health at all times, in all places, and in all ways. Its potentials are there from the moment of birth to the last breath before death. Its potentials are there from the down, depleted or dying body, the Innate power house is desiring to, capable of, and ready to get the sick body well.”  – B.J. Palmer

As we head into the New Year 2011 we are presented with the opportunity of setting goals for ourselves and specifically our health. Most people create their list based on what they want to happen in the next year, i.e. “I want to lose that extra 10 pounds”, or “I want to exercise more”. While this is better than setting no goals at all, it lacks a key level of importance. As we take on a New Year, a key ingredient to a happy & healthy life is focusing on goals and actions that are “ESSENTIAL” to our well being and success. Love & Attention to our bodies is essential for wellness. Culturally, we often view good health as a desire rather than a necessity. Optimal health is something that we cannot go another minute without. Stepping up and accepting this will make your new years resolutions this year different than all the other lost and forgotten ones. This year, failure is not an option. Accept responsibility for your own happiness, well being, and most of all your future. Without health we have nothing. Achieving good health will not be easy. In fact it can be uncomfortable, demanding, complex and exhausting. But it will DEFINITELY be worth it! Your life will change. You will grow emotionally, spiritually and physically. Good health is essential for life. Proper nutrition, exercise and maximizes nerve flow are essential for your health and well being. As you set your goals this week, keep in mind good health is not optional. It is not a want or a far fetched ideal, it is a necessity and the time is NOW!

We are here to help! Let us know how we can be of service to you and your health.