chiropractic

What Would You Do If You Didn’t Have Daily Pain?

Michael Schuneman, DC
March 18, 2015June 15, 2020

You may think that is an interesting question to ask and wonder what it has to do with chiropractic. Well it is true that chiropractic helps with so much more than just relieving back and neck pain or headaches, but helping people to function better is what I love to do. And while I realize this question may not apply to everyone out there, but for those out there that do have daily pain does it affect what you do? And if you personally don’t have daily pain, chances are you know someone that does. Now it doesn’t even have to be intense pain, but any pain on a regular basis can have a negative effect on your health and well-being.

Now I want to be up front that I cannot guarantee you will have less pain with chiropractic care or that chiropractic care is even a ‘pain treatment’. What I mean by that is that pain is a symptom and not truly the problem and that there is some underlying issue that is creating pain to help alert you to that problem. The aim of chiropractic is not to take away pain but to address underlying problems that are diminishing your body’s innate ability to heal and be well.

Pain can have many causes, but one thing that can lead to pain is spinal subluxation, which is a misalignment or improper movement of the bones of the spine that leads to altered nerve function. And the thing is that no other type of doctor besides a chiropractor is looking for a spinal subluxation.

The reason I ask the question, ‘What would you do if you didn’t have daily pain?’ because I see it all the time where patients have just come to accept the pain they are in and think it is ‘normal’ for them. That they must just live with the pain. And again while there are still some that remain in pain, there are many more that have their eyes opened to what is possible for them. When they may do something to aggravate the pain I hear things like ‘The pain is not as bad as it used to be, but now when I have it I know something is wrong and it is time to get checked.’

I love helping people to feel and function better. Pain is just a symptom and is the body’s way of alerting you to the problem. Often that underlying problem can be addressed with chiropractic care, and in turn the pain can be reduced or eliminated. I don’t think anyone should have to live in pain, and if I can be the means to help relieve the pain (because ultimately it is YOUR body that does the healing) and allow you to function better than before, that is what I love.

So I am asking again ‘What would you do if you didn’t have daily pain?’ I believe it is possible, but you have to give it a try!

Musings Of A Father & Chiropractor: Chiropractic For Kids

Michael Schuneman, DC
September 6, 2013June 10, 2020

As a child I remember getting croup (barking cough, usually worse at night) every once in a while. One night last week, my young son woke up with that familiar barking cough. Though I knew what it was and there was little chance of any serious problems, it still gets your heart racing when you awaken to your child in distress. As a dad, I went in to his room to help comfort him and calm him down. As a chiropractor I also checked him to see if he needed to be adjusted. He did, and after the adjustment he settled down pretty quickly and went back to sleep. He did not have any more problems that night and his body quickly took care of the problem in the next day or so. Some may say it is just a coincidence or it was something else that helped him besides the adjustment, but I don’t think it is a coincidence. In this post I wanted to talk a little about the importance of chiropractic for kids and some possible ways that chiropractic helped my son in this specific case.

First off, if you are not familiar with croup, it basically refers to a loud ‘barking’ cough. So really it just describes a set of symptoms and not necessarily a ‘disease.’ Croup is caused by inflammation or swelling around the vocal cords causing the characteristic ‘barking’ cough usually due to any number of viruses that affect the upper respiratory tract. It typically gets worse both at night and when a child is upset or agitated and takes a few days to run its course.

Chiropractic for Kids

So how would chiropractic help croup or other common childhood illnesses? First, the broad answer is that chiropractic helps the body function better by removing interference from the nervous system. The nervous system is the way the body sends information from the brain to the body and vice versa. The nervous system really controls everything in the body. If the body cannot get the right information out to its various parts, they will not function correctly. This can decrease the effectiveness of the immune response, affect blood flow to different parts of the body, or even affect mood. By restoring proper flow of information the body works the way it is supposed to in a highly coordinated manner. The body is able to do everything better when it can send information without interference. It’s the same idea as how much easier it is to get directions somewhere when you don’t have a bad phone connection.

How Chiropractic Can Help

Blood Flow

Now more specifically in the case of croup, how might an adjustment help? Well, for my son I adjusted the very top bone in the neck (C1) which can have effects throughout the entire body. One thought why croup is worse at night may be the difference in blood flow while sleeping. While lying down more blood would be able to go into the head and neck area which could cause increased swelling which makes symptoms worse. There have been studies that have shown that after an adjustment to C1 there are improvements in things such as blood pressure which in turn can affect blood flow to different parts of the body. It is plausible that a change in blood flow to the area may happen after an adjustment.

Tight Muscles

Also tight muscles regularly accompany misalignments of the spine. For this case, in the upper neck it is possible that tight muscles could also affect the flow of blood and lymph to or from the area affecting swelling around the vocal cords. This is similar to one explanation of how ear infections are helped by chiropractic – tight muscles may affect the Eustachian tube not allowing the inner ear to drain properly leading to ear infections.

Stress

Finally, the stress response is driven by a branch of the nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). When the SNS is more active, the body is revved up and ready for action, also called the fight or flight response. Through personal observation, people who have spinal misalignments often seem to be more in this fight or flight mode and after an adjustment tend to be able to relax more. With the SNS more dominant it is likely to be more easily agitated or on edge and in the case of croup that would likely lead to worsening of symptoms.

Conclusion

To be completely honest, I do not always know the exact mechanisms through which chiropractic helps a person in each individual case, but I know that chiropractic helps. I focus on helping families improve the health, vitality, and well-being of their children – providing a strong foundation for their future health. That is why I feel that chiropractic for kids is so important. If you would like to know more or schedule to have your child checked, call our office today.

Are High Heels Bad?

Michael Schuneman, DC
July 23, 2013June 10, 2020

No, high heels are an inanimate object and, of themselves, cannot be good or bad. But enough of taking things literally. I think most people when they ask the question “Are high heels bad?” really want to know if there are negative health effects from wearing high heel shoes. The answer to this question is definitely yes! In this post we will talk about some of the effects that wearing high heel shoes can have on the body.

What Do High Heels Do to the Body?

To state the obvious, wearing high heels raises the heel. This puts more pressure on the front part of the foot, and causes the calf muscles to shorten because of the position of the foot. Weight is shifted forward in the lower body and the upper body compensates by shifting weight back. This shift in weight increases the curve in the low back. These changes in posture to compensate may lead to a number of problems. Let’s look at just a few.

Foot Pain

Foot pain associated with wearing high heels may be due to many things. First, the increased pressure on the front part of the foot may cause pain itself or contribute to other problems that may cause pain. When walking in high heels, shorter and more frequent steps are used, increasing the number of impacts the foot takes while at the same time compromising its ability to absorb the shock. Also shoes with a cramped toe space, like many high heels, may contribute to pain and problems such as bunions.

Knee Pain

Knee pain can be caused by an increase in repetitive impacts that are not absorbed very well in the foot increasing the stress on the knees. When walking in high heels, there is a tendency to walk with the knees more flexed and this increases the stress on the knee cap as well.

Low Back Pain

Again when the impacts of the feet are not absorbed by the structures there, then they need to be absorbed by structures further up the line including the low back. The increased curve in the low back changes the position of the joints and increases the pressure on the posterior joints of the spine. Also maintaining this posture uses muscles that are not normally used as extensively and can lead to muscle pain as well.

Walking Pattern

Some of the changes in walking pattern have already been mentioned such as shorter strides and more frequent steps. A small study comparing long-term high heel wearers and a control group (wore high heels less than 10h/wk) found that there were changes that lasted even when the high heel group was not wearing high heels. The main change was a different pattern of muscle activation during walking. The study also found that walking in heels increased the strain on muscle fibers and that more muscle activation was needed. The changes may lead to more muscle fatigue and muscle strains in high heel wearers.

Conclusion

So is wearing high heels worth the negative effects on the body? That is a question that you will have to answer for yourself. However, if you want to help your body move and function the best it can whether you decide to wear high heels or not, that is something I can help with. Come and see what chiropractic can do to help you.