The patient’s name is Oliver.

Five-years-old and 68 pounds, he’s a Marcropus Agilis…an Agile Wallaby.

This was Oliver’s third visit to Dr. Stover’s clinic since injuring himself about a week-and-a-half ago.

“The first time I touched him his ears perked up and when he got my scent his heart beat slowed; he’s definitely aware that I’m here to help him,” he added.

The Report

Back and neck pain are the chief complaints for which patients seek chiropractic help. Through manual spinal manipulation, chiropractic care is a holistic therapy that focuses on maintaining healthy musculoskeletal and nervous systems to ensure overall wellness.

The research about chiropractic care is growing. According to the Annals of Internal Medicine, recent studies show that spinal manipulative therapy performed by a chiropractor, along with exercise, relieve neck pain more effectively than medication.

Nancy Elwartowski-Cooper, a pediatric and prenatal chiropractor, sees more and more referrals from medical doctors: “They (patients) are tired of the drugs and want answers to what is causing their problems.”

Many chiropractors seek to care for the whole person, from general wellness to disease prevention. They examine every patient, not only for the reason of their visit but also their level of health. After diagnosis, a chiropractor develops a treatment plan.

You can read the entire article here.

A study from the University of California [1] found that signals from the nervous system may influence the function of the immune system. While our immune system is there to fight against viruses, disease and infection, and helps to keep the body performing at its peak, it also works to dispel foreign contaminants that enter the body. When we sneeze because of an allergy, it’s because our body detects the presence of a foreign object in the system, such as dust, mites, pollen, etc. and it produces chemicals to neutralize and expel the allergens. These chemicals are known as histamines. In the case of allergies, the immune system overreacts to the presence of the allergens in the body.

A chiropractor treats the patient by releasing the stresses on the patient’s nervous system, which as a result causes the immune system to work more effectively and as a consequence allergies are thereby reduced. Patients with misaligned spinal vertebra may have pinched nerves, which apply pressure and stress the system. Once the trapped nerve is released, the nervous system in general is free from stress and the body can then work more effectively to neutralize the allergy-causing chemicals found in the body.

Spinal health is as beneficial to the body as is good nutrition.

What else can be done? Enjoying tree nuts, like walnuts and pecans, apples, fish (for the fish oils), red grapes, and tomatoes have all been shown to help your body deal with allergies. (Time Article).

[1] Goetzl EJ, Voice JK, Shen S, Dorsam G, Kong Y, West KM, Morrison CF, Harmar AJ., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2001 Nov 20;98(24):13854-9. Epub 2001 Nov 6.

[2] Brandes LJ, Simons KJ, Bracken SP, Warrington RC., J Clin Oncol. 1994 Jun;12(6):1281-90.

“I was surprised by how many people in our study had success,” says lead researcher Dr. Jacinda Nicklas, a clinical research fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School. “We have this impression that it is really difficult for obese people to lose weight, but no, they are losing weight. Even if it’s a modest amount, you don’t have to be thin to have a nice health effect.”

How did the successful losers do it? Here’s what didn’t work: using fad techniques like 30-day liquid cleanses, taking nonprescription diet pills and eating “diet” foods. Obese Americans who reported weight loss were more likely to steer clear of the so-called latest and greatest in dieting and instead adopt the classic technique of eating less and exercising more, reporting that they “drank lots of water” and “ate less fat,” for example.

The most popular strategies were eating less, exercising more, eating less fat and switching to lower-calorie foods. People who used commercial weight-loss programs and prescription weight-loss pills also saw success, but only a small portion of the study participants used them. Meanwhile, liquid diets, nonprescription diet pills and popular diets showed no association with weight loss.

Time Article

Ravina said the study found that about 76 per cent of the children carried backpacks exceeding 10 per cent of their body weight — “and the experts saying it should not exceed 10 per cent” — while 20 per cent carried more than 15 per cent of their body weight.

“In our opinion, it would be quite easy to avoid these problems. For example parents could supervise the contents of backpacks of schoolchildren. We have found that on many occasions they carry to school unnecessary materials,” he said, adding that schools could also emphasize the inherent risk of overloading backpacks.

Original Article

It is recommended that your child’s backpack weigh no more than 10% of their body weight. Other recommendations include using a bag that has wheels and can be pulled behind and get your children checked for spinal subluxations by a Chiropractor.