Table of Contents

• Whiplash
  
• Why Chiropractic is popular
• Shoulder and Arm problems
• Quotes of the week
  
• Walk to stay young

Why has chiropractic become so popular? What is it about this healing art that started with one chiropractor and one patient in 1895 and is now the most widely used natural health profession in the world?

Chiropractic continues to grow because it works. It is effective, safe, and gentle, and respects the body's natural healing and recuperative powers. As a drug-free, surgery-free alternative, it offers individuals a real choice in health care.

Problems with the neck and shoulder are often called different things by patients: neuritis, bursitis, neuralgia, rheumatism, frozen shoulder, fibrositis, sprained, strained or sore muscles or poor circulation.  Some people may blame their shoulder or other joint problems on "old age" even though their other shoulder, which doesn't have any problems, is just as old.
The brain "talks" with the rest of your body through a vast telecommunications system made up of nerves.  Nerves come out of your brain in a large bundle called the spinal cord and travel down your back inside the spinal column.  As the nerves from your brain travel down your spinal cord, they first have to pass through holes (foramina) between the spinal bones (vertebrae).  Some nerves go straight to their point of destination, but some first mix with other nerves to form complicated nerve networks called a nerve plexus. 
Depending on which brachial plexus nerves are damaged, different symptoms and problems may be experienced.  Neck pain or neck stiffness may be one of the first signs of brachial plexus damage.  In some people the pain may radiate to the shoulder and down to the arm, wrist, hand or finger. Sometimes there's extremity pain but not neck pain. Sometimes there's no pain but numbness-a sure sign of nerve damage-and sometimes there's pain in one arm the brachial plexus goes to and numbness in another.  "Pins-and-needles" of the fingers or other areas can be a sign of brachial plexus problems, which weakness of the involved parts may also occur.
Because of the complicated way nerves interrelate, conditions such as headache, migraine, facial pain, dizziness, limited, painful or stiff motion of the head and neck, throat conditions, thyroid and nasal problems and even epilepsy have been reported as being caused by brachial plexus damage.  Lower back pain has been reported to be caused by cervical or neck spinal damage as well.
Rather than treat the condition a patient has, the chiropractor concentrates on the health of the patient. Chiropractic is devoted to correcting abnormal spinal structural conditions called vertebral subluxations which cause abnormal spine and joint motion and nervous system stress.  The nervous system is what coordinates and organizes your body, and when it is functioning without subluxations you are more free and flowing, more balanced and more "whole".
As a general rule it is wisest to explore drugless, non-surgical methods of healing first, before having to undergo more extreme routes of drugs and surgery.  In actual practice many people go to chiropractors after they've gone through the medical runaround and are fed up and tired with the drugs they've been taking.  Too often drugs only give you a temporary relief of symptoms-after they've worn off the problems come back.  It is sometimes necessary to use drugs and even surgery, but one must be prudent about such extreme therapies.
Even if your fender-bender or fall did not cause you any great pain or symptoms, it would be wise to have your spine checked to see if any vertebrae have been "knocked out of place" or subluxated.  By having your and your family's spines checked on a periodic basis, many of the problems caused by an unhealthy spinal column can be corrected and even prevented before they become more serious.

"Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones."
                                                                                                                      Sir Winston Churchill
"Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down."    Oprah Winfrey
"We are all born unique, but the majority of us die as copies." Unknown.

Without much exertion, walking can provide the "stay young" benefits we usually get only from more strenuous activities.  Walking is a great, easy-to-follow exercise.  You can progress at your own pace, no equipment is required, and you can walk alone or with friends.  It can provide tremendous benefits, including the following: Promotes restful sleep and reduces tension and stress.  It can help take off extra weight.  You burn up 320 calories per hour by walking 3 miles per hour.  For every 11 hours of walking you will lose 1 pound (3500 calories equals 1 pound).  Walking also improves circulation and exercises the cardiovascular system and improves the ability to take in oxygen.