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Your most protected organ

Did you know that your brain and spinal cord (called the central nervous system because they are in the center of your body) are the only organs in your body surrounded by solid bone? Your brain is surrounded by your skull and your spinal cord, (an extension of your brain that goes down your back) is surrounded by the bones of your spine. The column of bones going down your back is called the spinal column or vertebral column. 

protected organ

This simple fact tells a lot about the importance of the brain and spinal cord; they play a vital role in the health of the human body. 

Many, many muscles, ligaments, tendons, discs, and meninges are connected to your spine. They attach from your spine to your head, arms, legs, shoulders, hips – just about all your body structure. That’s why you keep stable as you sit, stand, walk and move. Without them, you would be a pile of disconnected bones laying on the ground. Yeech!

The job of your chiropractor is to keep your head, spine, hips, discs, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and the rest in proper alignment. You should be straight from the front, and from the side, it should have natural curves. If you are not properly aligned, you’ll lose energy, and have possible nerve interference going to internal organs that cause dis-ease (body malfunction) and even mind/body problems.

This is our specialty – keeping you and your family in balance, alignment, and with peak energy.  Thank you for being part of our practice.

Call us to make an appointment today!

(517) 627-4547

Researching Chiropractic: Fibromyalgia and depression, Vomiting, Daily Headaches

Chiropractic clinical case histories have been a regular feature of our patient newsletter since its inception. There seems to be no limit to the health problems that respond to chiropractic care. How many people suffering, on drugs, facing a life of limitation could be helped by chiropractic care? 

Probably most of them.

Fibromyalgia and Depressionwoman-593141_1920

A 48-year-old female suffering from mid-back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, and depression due to fibromyalgia sought chiropractic care as an alternative method of pain control and to improve her quality of life. Multiple drugs had failed to resolve her problems. 

After performing a case history, physical examination, and chiropractic examination, it was revealed the patient had spinal subluxations in her neck (cervical spine) at C1 and C5-T1. The patient was analyzed at each visit and adjusted to reduce and remove her subluxations. After six months of care, her fibromyalgia symptoms had decreased by 75% and her MD considers it in remission. Her overall quality of life has improved. She continues with weekly chiropractic visits. (1)

Two pediatric patients experiencing vomitingbaby-3036925_1920

One pediatric patient presented to a private practice with complaints of suddenly “feeling sick” and vomiting. He had been very active playing various year-round sports: football, basketball, and baseball. His parents stated, “He gets hit and falls pretty hard on a regular basis while playing these sports.” 

His subluxations were located and corrected (adjusted). The parents reported that the next morning when he woke up, he did not feel sick and was not vomiting. 

The other pediatric patient was a seven-year-old boy complaining of random vomiting after eating (approximately once every six weeks). After two weeks of chiropractic care, there was a complete resolution of vomiting after eating. (2)

Daily Headacheswoman-613309_1920

 A 44-year-old, single female school teacher with daily headaches of 2-year duration. The pain was described as so disabling (6-8 out of 10) that she could not maintain daily activities without painkillers. She began to have feelings of overwhelming sadness and was diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and given a combination of drugs for depression. She had recurrent thoughts of suicide. 

MDs found no cause. She tried acupuncture, traditional Chinese therapy, and alternative medications to no avail. Chiropractic analysis revealed multiple spinal subluxations. After 3 months of chiropractic care, the patient regained confidence in her health and started reducing the dose of medications. She rated her headache as 3-5/10 on the pain scale. After another 3 months of care, all of her symptoms disappeared. She was able to discontinue all medications after 6 months of chiropractic adjustments. 

As of this writing, she has enjoyed being headache-free and free of depression for the past 6 years.  The patient is continuing maintenance care on a monthly basis. (3)

Do you know anyone who is suffering from any of these symptoms or issues? Please share this article with them and encourage them to make an appointment with us.

Call to make an appointment:  517.627.4547


  1. Dunton TA, Hirshowitz N. Remission of fibromyalgia & resolution of depression in a 48-year-old female following chiropractic care to reduce vertebral subluxation: a case study & review of the literature. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. September 16, 2020:131-134.
  2. Hoying M. Resolution of vomiting, improved health outcomes & structural changes following chiropractic in two pediatric patients with pseudosubluxation: a case series. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, Chiropractic. September 8, 2020:34-40.
  3. Chu ECP, Ng M. Long-term relief from tension-type headache and major depression following chiropractic treatment. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2018 May-Jun;7(3):629-631. 

How Was Chiropractic Discovered?

Chiropractic was discovered by Dr. DD Palmer of Davenport, Iowa in 1895. Dr. Palmer learned that his building’s janitor, Harvey Lillard, had become deaf after being in an accident 17 years prior. The accident produced a slight distortion in his spine.

Dr. Palmer asked Mr. Lillard to lie down on a bench and gently guided the distortion back into alignment. Mr. Lillard’s hearing returned.

Dr. Palmer was intrigued by this spine-disease relationship. His next patient had a heart condition and when Dr. Palmer located and “adjusted” his spine, the heart condition was relieved.

Soon hundreds of people began to flood his office for “Dr. Palmer’s hand treatments” as they were then known. Dr. Palmer began to teach his methods and so began the profession of chiropractic.

Learn more about the Palmer family at Palmer College of Chiropractic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_David_Palmer

 

Diet Sodas and Juices Are Linked to Higher Stroke Risk, Study Says

Researchers found that older women who drank more diet drinks had a higher risk of stroke and heart disease, as well as a higher risk of diet cokedying early from any cause, compared to women who drank fewer of the drinks.

Researchers studied data from more than 81,000 post-menopausal women. After an average follow-up of nearly 12 years, the scientists found that women who drank two or more artificially sweetened drinks a day had a 23% higher risk of having any type of stroke, and a 31% increased risk of having a stroke due to clotting in brain blood vessels, compared to women who reported drinking fewer than one beverage a week (or none at all). (1)


A Daily Diet Soda Habit May Be Linked to Dementia – Both Sugar- and Artificially Sweetened Drinks Might Have Negative Effects On The Brain

MRI scans and cognitive exams of about 4,000 people ages 30 and up found that people who consumed more than three sodas per week – or more than two sugary drinks of any type (soda, fruit juice, and other soft drinks) per day – were more likely to have memory problems, a smaller brain volume and a smaller hippocampus (an area of the brain used in learning and memory. Drinking at least one diet soda a day was associated with smaller brain volume, as well. (2)


  1. Mossavar-Rahmani Y, Kamensky V, Manson JE. artificially sweetened beverages and stroke, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality in the women’s health initiative. Stroke. 2019;50:555-562.
  2. Paseabc MP, Himalidbd JJ, Jacquesbe PF et al. Sugary beverage intake and preclinical Alzheimer’s disease in the community. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2017;13(9):955-964.

Takeaways from Canada’s Food Guide

Meat and dairy are out. Plants and water are in.

These appear to be the biggest takeaways from the newest version of Canada’s Food Guide, which was released Tuesday1/22/19 by Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor.

fruite and ve

 

“It puts more focus on what, when and how we eat, and less on food groups and servings. It gives clear, concise advice that everyone can easily apply to their everyday lives,” Petispas Taylor said at the guide’s unveiling event in Montreal.

One of the most notable changes is the elimination of the four traditional food groups, which had been part of the federal government’s nutrition advice, in one form or another, since 1942.

Whole grains, vegetables and fruits are still listed as an integral part of a healthy diet, but the traditional focus on the likes of meat and milk is gone in favour of the broader category of proteins.

There is a specific recommendation that Canadians consume plant-based proteins “more often” and cut down on their intake of processed meats and saturated fats, which can contribute to cancer, diabetes and other diseases.

Recommended proteins in the guide include “lentils, lean meats, fish, unsweetened milk and fortified soy beverages.” Meat and alternatives had previously been a separate food group, as had milk and alternatives.

The new guide also places a heavy emphasis on water, saying it should be the “beverage of choice” for Canadians. Coffee, tea, lower-fat milk and plant-based beverages are listed as other options, though less preferred.

Fruit juices are not recommended because of their sugar content. The previous edition of the food guide had suggested 100 per cent fruit juice as a way of achieving an optimal amount of fruit. Reducing consumption of sugars, saturated fats and processed foods was a key goal for the government in the development of the new guide.

Beyond specific foods

Also gone from the guide is specific governmental advice on how much food to consume. Health Canada officials say most Canadians found the portion size guidance confusing.

A document to be released later this year will include suggestions on healthy eating patterns, but those suggestions will be targeted toward people creating meal plans for hospitals, prisons and similar settings, and not the general public.

The new guide goes beyond simple nutritional advice, adding information on healthy eating habits such as cooking with raw ingredients, sharing food with other people and being aware that food producers may attempt to influence consumer habits through marketing programs.

“Healthy eating is more than just the food that you eat,” Petitpas Taylor said.

…………………/

Although not necessarily top-of-mind for many people, the food guide is considered to play a key role in shaping Canadian nutrition habits. Its recommendations help influence what food is served in public buildings and are promoted by the health-care and education sectors.

Many of the changes announced Tuesday were based on similar concepts already in use in such countries as Belgium, Sweden and Brazil.

Industry and professional reaction  

The new guide received immediate acclaim from various groups of medical and health professionals, including the Canadian Medical Association, Heart & Stroke and Dietitians of Canada.

Dietitians of Canada CEO Nathalie Savoie said she was happy to see a recommendation that publicly funded institutions align their food offerings with the guide’s advice.

“When it’s easier to purchase vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein foods than it is to buy highly [processed] foods and beverages, Canadians will make healthier choices,” she said.

Canada Beef spokesperson Joyce Parslow said her organization was pleased with the food guide’s suggested meal approach of 50 per cent fruits and vegetables, 25 per cent whole grains and 25 per cent proteins.

“We’re very supportive of plant-based eating, and we do need to eat more fruits and vegetables,” she told CTV News Channel, adding that she hoped Canadians would continue to consume the “complete protein options” of beef and other meats.

A less positive reaction came from the Dairy Farmers of Canada advocacy group, which said it was “concerned” by the new food guide’s lesser emphasis on milk. The group also took issue with the food guide’s promotion of lower-fat milk only.

“Current and emerging scientific evidence does not support a continued focus on lower fat milk products as it reveals that milk products that contain more fat are not associated with harmful health effects and could even provide benefits,” Isabelle Neiderer, the organization’s director of nutrition and research, said in a statement.

Canada’s revamped Food Guide represents its first update since 2007.

The government doesn’t plan a similar decade-plus wait before its next changes, instead saying the guide will now evolve gradually as new nutritional evidence comes to the government’s attention.

your kidneys

 

Researching Chiropractic: Food allergies, Sleep apnea & Plagiocephaly

Chiropractic clinical case histories have been a regular feature of our patient newsletter since its inception. There seems to be no limit to the health problems that respond to chiropractic care. How many people suffering, on drugs, facing a life of limitation could be helped by chiropractic care? 

Probably most of them.

Food allergies and other complaints. nut allergy

An 8-year-old girl who suffered from hip pain for six months and internal foot rotation for three years was brought in for care. She also suffered from peanut, pecan and walnut allergies. After thirty-eight weeks of chiropractic care, her hip pain cleared up, her internal foot rotation was improved and her allergies had dramatically decreased. (1)

Sleep apnea and chiropractic care. sleep apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is described as loud snoring, choking and awakening due to gasping that occurs especially during dreaming and may repeat all night. It is believed to be due to a loss of tone in the upper throat muscles. People with OSA have a greater chance of getting into car accidents (because of lack of sleep) and a greater risk of heart attack and stroke. CPAP therapy, placing a mask over the face, is a popular treatment (not a cure). Even throat surgery has been used. 

In this case, a 51-year-old man suffering from OSA for eight years began chiropractic care. He began to see improvement after three visits and after 33 visits his OSA completely resolved. (2)

Resolution of plagiocephaly in a 4-month-old male. 

Plagiocephaly (Greek for oblique head) is a common skull deformity seen at birth in as many as 61% of deliveries. They are often the product of stress applied on the skull during difficult delivery associated with forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery. baby headConventional treatment methods for plagiocephaly include and are not limited to skull-molding helmets, osteopathy, physical and positional therapy, botox injections into the muscles and surgery.

In this case, a 4-month old baby boy had plagiocephaly and in addition could barely move his neck. Chiropractic examination revealed subluxations at the upper neck (C1) and the sacrum. They were corrected. Improved neck motion was observed immediately and the plagiocephaly completely resolved. (3)


  1. Korthuis MA. Improved allergen-specific IgE levels in an 8-year-old female following chiropractic care to reduce vertebral subluxation: a case study & selective review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2017;2:82-92.
  2. Mankal K, Jenks M. Resolution of obstructive sleep apnea following chiropractic care to reduce vertebral subluxation. Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research. June 12 2017:113-118.
  3. Walker S, Russell D. Resolution of deformational plagiocephaly in a four-month-old male following chiropractic care to reduce subluxations: a case report. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2017;2:78-81.

The Latest from Charmaine: December 2018

April 2018Greetings all,

As I write what will be the last newsletter of the year. Our year draws to and end and with that we start making plans for the various festivities that a year end brings. On a practical note, I want to be sure to remind ALL of you that if your insurance is changing/has changed….please give me a heads up.

I will be asking EVERYBODY to fill in a new patient information sheet from January one to ensure that I have your latest up to datest details.

ALSO, ALL MEDICARE practice members….PLEASE get your new card to me ASAP as pretty soon the deadline for that will be implemented.

I finished this year strong with 3 new State records at the State meet (Records I set in June that broke records that had stood for 14 years)

 

HAVE A PEACEFUL HOLIDAY SEASON

SEE YOU IN THE OFFICE, ON THE TABLE/MAT, UNDER THE BARBELLS OR IN 2019

Please be aware of our holiday hours this December:

Friday 12/21 am hours ONLY  (last appt at 12)

Monday 12/24 no office hours

Tuesday 12/25 no office hours

Wednesday 12/26 am hours ONLY( last appt at 12)

Thursday 12/27 pm hours only

Friday 12/28 am hours ONLY (last appt at 12)

Monday 12/31 8-12 and 3-5

Tuesday 1/1/2019 no office hours

Wednesday 1/2/2019  back to normal!!!!! (define normal??)

Researching Chiropractic: Hand Numbness

Do you ever experience hand numbness? Have you tried chiropractic care?hand numbness

Chiropractic clinical case histories have been a regular feature of our patient newsletter since its inception. There seems to be no limit to the health problems that respond to chiropractic care. How many people suffering, on drugs, facing a life of limitation could be helped by chiropractic care?

Probably most of them.

Hand numbness and neck pain in a 46-year-old womanhand numbness

A woman with hand numbness and neck pain began chiropractic care. Spinal analysis revealed that she had upper cervical (neck) subluxations, concurrent nervous system imbalance, a loss of the normal cervical curve and spinal degeneration.

Over a 4-month period she received 8 chiropractic adjustments.

Her neck pain decreased from 4/10 to 0/10 and her hand numbness completely resolved after two months of care.

Are you experiencing neck pain and hand numbness? We can help!

Call and make an appointment today:

517.627.4547

Herman C, Harris J. Resolution of neck pain, upper extremity paresthesia & dysautonomia in a 46-year-old female with loss of cervical curve and spinal degeneration using Blair Upper Cervical technique: a case study & review of the literature. Journal of Upper Cervical Chiropractic Research. July 9, 2018:26-32

Strength Training for People My Age

This article originally appeared on StartingStrength.com

by Mark Rippetoe (age 61)

strength training

I was born in 1956. That makes me “old.” Granted, I’m pretty beat up these days. I’ve had my share of injuries, the result of having lived a rather careless active life outdoors, on horses, motorcycles, bicycles, and the field of competition. People my age who have not spent their years in a chair have an accumulation of aches and pains, most of them earned the hard way. And for us, beat up or not, the best way to stay in the game is to train for strength.

The conventional wisdom is that older people (ah, the term sticks in the craw) need to settle into a routine of walking around in the park when the weather is nice, maybe going to the mall for a brisk stroll in the comfort of the air conditioning, or a nice afternoon on the bicycle, checking out the local retirement communities – at a leisurely pace, of course. For the more adventurous, a round of golf really stretches out the legs. Maybe finish up with a challenging game of Canasta. Your doctor will tell you that this is enough to keep the old ticker ticking away, and should you choose to rev the engine like this every day, you’re doing everything you need to do to maintain the fantastic quality of life enjoyed by the other old people at the mall.

Standards, unfortunately, are low. Your doctor often assumes that he’s also your fitness consultant. When you get sick, go to your doctor. When you are deciding what to do to extend your physical usefulness, how about taking a different approach than asking his permission to get up off your ass? How about asking yourself whether your current physical condition is as good as you’d like it to be? If it’s not, what would be the best way to improve it?

I’m pretty sure you know that walking around in the mall – sometimes more accurately referred to as “shopping” – is not capable of making anything change for the better. One of the benefits of being a little older is that most of us have had the opportunity to learn that all major improvements come with a price tag. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch, as an intelligent man once said. Reversing the entropy takes a significant expenditure of energy, and a brisk walk just isn’t significant. Sorry.

A daily brisk walk, or a jog, or even a 9-minute pace for three miles can produce enough cardiorespiratory stress to keep your heart and lungs in pretty good shape, true enough. This, of course, means that it’s not a terribly difficult thing to do. For most doctors and for many of their patients, the calculation stops there. But not dying of a heart attack is really just a small part of the much larger picture of an active life well-lived. You interact with your environment using all the muscles of your body, not just your heart and diaphragm, and strength is the difference between the things you could do when you were 25 and the things you can’t do now.

Strength – as well as a tolerance for childish nonsense – is the thing we all lose as we age. Squatting down, standing back up, putting things overhead, pulling things up the driveway, loading the groceries, wrestling with the grandkids, teaching the dog who’s boss, mowing the yard, putting the broken lawnmower in the truck again: simple physical tasks we took for granted years ago are often problems for older, weaker people, as well as a source of potential injury that can be expensive and debilitating.

For most of us, this happens because of inactivity. If you do not use your muscles to produce enough force to convince them to maintain their ability to do so, it shouldn’t be surprising that they become less capable of doing it. And walking, running, riding a bicycle – physical activities whose performance is not limited by strength for even moderately active people – cannot increase or even maintain strength.

This is important to understand: physical stress followed by sufficient recovery (in theory, the stress shouldn’t kill you) produces adaptation. The adaptation is specific to the stress. That’s why sunshine on your arms makes your arms brown, not your feet; the shovel makes your hands callused, not your face. So running produces better running, not better strength. And if you want to get stronger you have to stress your ability to produce force, since that’s what strength is. Running is good for the heart and lungs, and that’s about all. A proper strength program is good for the heart, lungs, and everything else too.

Even those of us who have trained for strength for decades have noticed a downhill slide in our physical capacity. Our ability to produce power – the ability to produce force quickly and explosively – diminishes with age whether we train it or not. This is due to changes in the motor neurons and the muscles that control the explosive parts of the system, and even training cannot completely halt the process. The ability to react quickly with our bodies – to a loss of balance, a rapid change in position, or a falling jar of mustard – is the way power is displayed in everyday situations. Strength training should involve some explosive work too, but just maintaining strength slows the loss of power capacity.

The loss of strength also means the loss of muscle mass. Muscle tissue is not merely the stuff that generates force and moves us around. Muscles, in a very real sense, are glands that actively participate in the physiological regulation of our bodies. Muscles produce signaling substances that affect all the systems that must be maintained for continued normal functioning. A chronic loss of muscle mass is associated with poor health, and a profound loss of muscle mass is highly correlated with death.

The absence of skeletal loading is typical for older people, since we now hire the heavy work done instead of doing it ourselves. And just like muscles, bones adapt to the “stress” of being unloaded by getting thinner and less dense. Running is not a weight-bearing exercise in the sense that strength training is. It’s just a “you-bearing” exercise, and the impact of repeated footfalls affects only the legs. In fact, people sensitive to impact have far fewer problems with the static nature of barbell training than they do the repeated impacts of running. A barbell sitting on the shoulders or held overhead in the hands loads the skeleton in a way that other exercises cannot do, and a strength training program always results in the preservation of bone density. Coupled with the strength necessary to control your balance, this is the best insurance against the tragic and often fatal hip or pelvic fracture that an older person can acquire.

But the loss of strength can be slowed down quite a bit, and for older people who have never trained before, a vast amount of improvement can take place in a relatively short span of time. I have trained many older competitive “masters” lifters who started out as disinterested gym members and then experienced a sudden change of attitude when their strength doubled with six months of lifting weights. These people will tell you about the difference strength training – not running – has made in their lives..

Being strong is better than not being strong, strength must be prepared for specifically, and physical stress that lacks force production as a limiting factor cannot make you stronger. As you age, your strength goes away, and unless you do something to address this situation, you will be weaker. Much weaker. This is bad. So, make your plans now.

What is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)?

Do you know what cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is? cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)

Your brain has a special fluid circulating inside it called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Lots of veins and arteries in your brain are filled with blood yet there are special cavities and passageways in your brain and spinal cord filled with CSF.

What is CSF? It’s like your blood plasma – that is, blood without the red blood cells. It does amazing things. For one thing the CSF helps your brain pulsate and that is reflected in the pulsing of your skull (cranial) bones that creates a wave-like motion 8-12 times per minute. (6)

Other things your CSF does:

  • Temperature control (brain anti-freeze)
  • Waste removal
  • Nutrition
  • Creates cranial bone motion and brain (dural) tension
  • Protective barrier against trauma
  • Chemical buffer against toxins
  • Gives the brain buoyancy, physical and chemical support

Chiropractic adjustments, by releasing stress on the structural system, help promote the unobstructed flow of CSF through the brain and spinal cord.