Chiropractic care celebrates 125th anniversary

BY DR. VIKAS PURI

Last week we marked the 125th anniversary of chiropractic care. In 1895, DD Palmer, a native of Port Perry, Ontario, performed the first chiropractic adjustment, where a deaf man’s hearing was able to be restored. It became understood that the spine has a direct relationship with organs of the body. A lot has changed since then, but the importance of chiropractic adjustments has only grown. The chiropractic world is exploding with research that shows we change the way the brain is functioning and hence how the whole-body functions. Keeping your spine healthy and regularly adjusted can lead to a lifetime of health benefits. Here is why chiropractic is so important in today’s world.

Increased inactivity: We are more immobile and inactive than ever before. Why? Probably because there is so much entertainment right in the palm of our hands! Kids no longer must play outside to find something to do – they can just turn on the TV. Adults are the same. Just reach for the nearest phone, tablet, computer, or remote. Add in all the hours sitting from work and school and our bodies are becoming inflexible, weak, stiff, and painful. Chiropractic care helps negate this phenomenon by correcting issues within the spine, which helps eliminate pain and stiffness and promote movement.

Limited natural movement: You might think life has always been this way because people do not really exercise less than they used to, right? The problem is not whether people are hitting the gym. It is that natural movements that used to be incorporated in everyday life simply do not exist. We used to have to walk everywhere, now we have cars. We used to grow and/or hunt our own food (or at least some of it) and now we do not even have to go to the grocery store – we can get it delivered. This convenience is helpful in so many ways, but it is not necessarily great for our health.

Our focus on health is less than ideal: As a society, our focus on health has not been top-notch. It is mentioned from time to time and there are certainly fitness enthusiasts out there, but as a whole, we do not pay enough attention to our wellness. This means we suffer from more illnesses, carry around more weight, and have trouble staying well. Through gentle spinal manipulations of the spine, chiropractors help keep the spine healthy, which promotes better health for the entire body. Chiropractic is not a cure-all, but it is a step in the right direction for achieving true health.

Stress is a silent killer: When you think of stress, you may automatically recall your heart racing during a period of emotional or physical strain. Stress is your body’s reaction to a certain challenge or demand, and it can make you emotionally or physically anxious. However, not all stress is bad. The American Institute of Stress highlights that any definition of stress should include good stress known as eustress.  Eustress can improve our performance while distress can cause it to decline. Thus, learning to decrease negative types of stress (maintaining eustress) is necessary and healthy. The current COVID-19 pandemic has us all panicked, stressed and uncertain. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with stress and different things work for different people. We do understand that increased stress hormones in the body, caused by physical, chemical and/or emotional stress can create inflammation, pain, aging, and cognitive dysfunction. Chiropractic adjustments performed while patients are put through functional MRI’s show that the effect on the brain is the same as that in meditation. The frontal lobe of the brain fires up and our cognitive function improves.  This includes our attention, learning and emotional feelings of well-being.

We now know why for 125 years, those under chiropractic care have experienced a world of benefit!

Happy Birthday Chiropractic!