Australian Chiropractors

A Balanced Lifestyle is the Key to Living Longer and Healthier
by Guest Contributor Jamie G. Phillips, DC

Like me, you may be wondering whether or not our human search for longevity has suddenly been replaced by a quest for immortality. Presumably, you’ve been reading a lot lately about the miraculous heart benefits of red wine (resveratrol), the amazing memory retention benefits of coffee (caffeine), and the countless benefits of a horde of exotic supplements that, in one way or another, “guarantee” to reduce or prevent all known causes of mortality.

Let me clarify, first of all, that I believe in taking supplements and take them, myself. Secondly, I would like to be candid and say that I am a person who appreciates a glass of red wine. Therefore, the suggestion that it might genuinely be beneficial to my health, particularly my heart, merely adds to my enjoyment. And, if something as simple as drinking coffee could actually eliminate the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, then I’d be tempted to give up my practice and open a Starbucks.

However, before perhaps, acting irrationally, and haphazardly adding another cup of coffee to your morning habit, an extra glass of red wine to your evening meal, or an extra outlay of your hard-earned cash on exotic herbs that promise to make you live forever, let’s rationally think about a couple of things.

For instance, let us consider the human condition. We are dynamic, biological beings, free to enthusiastically participate in life. We have not been restricted to a cage all our life, and we have not been bred to “unnaturally” incur the age-related afflictions that lab animals do, disease and debilitation that is then “eliminated” by resveratrol, caffeine, or some “amazing” supplement.

Furthermore, we are far more than the sum total of our parts. We are dynamic and biological, not “mechanical, conscienceless devices.” We are biologically individual, i.e., we react in a uniquely individual ways to internal irritation factors and external environmental influences. Case in point, though smoking cigarettes is commonly unhealthy, there are a few people who are able to smoke, so it seems, and live to a ripe old age without any apparently-related problems.

The outcomes upon which scientific research and testing are based upon the isolation of a particular variable. It is this method that gives scientific inquiry its legitimacy. However, since tests related to human health issues occur through this very method, and are most often done on lab animals, when it comes to human beings, the effects are very likely to be quite different. In fact, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, what might benefit some of the people all of the time, most likely won’t work for all of the people all of the time (and sometimes won’t work at all!).

Everyday you make considerable choices that affect both your health and longevity. Decisions such as what you’ll eat and how much exercise and rest you’ll get will either be good for you, or not so good. Obviously, your unhealthy choices are not beneficial for your long-term health. And, even though you know, by the way your individual body responds to certain things, you may often ignore these important health messages.

Then, a report comes out asserting that researchers have finally found the “missing link” between we, humans, and immortality, that they’ve uncovered, in fact, THE THING that has the amazing power to reverse all of the overindulgent and unhealthy things you may have been doing to your body on a daily basis, and you, like many others, may want to jump on the bandwagon. Talk about “magical” thinking!

The elegantly balanced system of your body (homeostasis) is highly responsive and intricate. This delicate system becomes “off balance” when you live an unhealthy lifestyle. Eventually, the imbalances nurtured through poor health choices, result in diseases.

As a chiropractor who supplements daily, I suggest that you supplement, too, if they help you to feel vigorously healthy. I agree, as well, that if it feels like the thing to do, an extra cup of coffee might actually be personally beneficial for you. And, if it truly feels healthy, have a little more red wine. Just keep in mind, however, that the only authentic way that you can prevent or reverse age-related health problems is by changing an unhealthy lifestyle. You won’t become healthier or live longer by waiting for the discovery of a “magic potion.”

Dr. Jamie Phillips, a Santa Barbara Chiropractor, has been in private chiropractic practice for 24 years. She is also a consultant for Bloczone Marketing, a chiropractic internet marketing company specializing in chiropractic websites that attract new patients. She can be reached at (805) 985-9502

Sciatica is an extraordinarily painful affliction. If you suffer from sciatica, you are, unfortunately, all too experienced with the deep pain that accompanies your waking hours and inhibits your daily activities.

Sciatic pain generally travels from your low back, through the buttock(s), and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of your leg(s). Many times, the pain may even radiate into your knee. Sitting, as well as motion, can be painful. Occasionally lying down will lessen, or perhaps temporarily get rid of the pain. Nonetheless, sciatica cannot be corrected without proper treatment.

“Radiculopathy,” the medical term for the clinical diagnosis of sciatica, means simply that a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is placing pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve. This type of pressure is extremely painful.

Increased pressure on the intervertebral discs, as well as imbalances in the muscles encompassing the spine, can happen as a consequence of prolonged sitting, specifically in a awkward position. Usually, an explicit event or exact injury doesn’t create sciatica, but, on the contrary, it tends to develop over time as a consequence of average wear and tear on the structures of the lower spine. Over time the lower spine loses its ability to function in a healthy way during everyday stresses.

Finally, the intervertebral disc develops small fissures, or cracks, which then lets the soft nucleus protrude the disc outward. If the disc puts pressure on sensitive tissues, it causes the pain that is frequently called a ruptured disc. If the disc pushes on the spinal nerve, then sciatica can develop.

With chiropractic adjustments and care, which commonly includes postural exercises, most disc problems, including sciatica, can be eliminated. If you are experiencing sciatic pain, it is important for you to seek help from your chiropractor.

The art and science of being a doctor, which is to say, the heart and mind of being a doctor, encompasses many things. The long and short of it is that doctors who are successful with their patients are those who continue to listen and learn throughout their years of practice. However, as the entrepreneurial doctor knows, especially a doctor of chiropractic, there’s another important aspect to being a success…marketing. As the old saying goes, you don’t want to be the best kept secret in town! But, marketing has changed a lot over the years and what used to be effective is now actually archaic. With that in mind, I discovered a website that’s offering a free, cutting-edge marketing course!

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Hey, I thought it was about time to talk about social media. It is the main buzzword these days. Perhaps you have heard the expression web 2.0. Well, basically that is the web coming to you instead of you having to go surfing to find things. There are rss feeds that allow you to get the information you want right into your email without ever having to go to the site. And with the new browsers like flock you can follow your friends on twitter, facebook and youtube right on your screen all the time. Now if this sounds like a bunch of gibberish, relax, my team and I have put together a free course to explain it all.

As chiropractors there are basically three main social media sites that are somewhat important for us. And let me be the first to say that none of them are going to make you rich! Anyone that promises 20-30 new patients from twitter or facebook or YouTube for that matter is shining you on!

Now, lets talk about why I think you should join these three sites. It is all about communication. We all know, that is, any of us that have been in practice for a while, that the doctor that keep in frequent contact with their patients,has much better retention then the docs that don’t.

The sweet thing about these sites is it allows you to keep up a relationship with your patients. You know how patients always want that personal relationship? And we don’t have time to develop those relationships with each patient, at least not until now! You see, with these types of sites you can keep patients informed about you and your life and practice, without actually having to individually spend the time. It’s Beautiful! So get cracking on setting up your social media sites.

And if you don’t know how to start, sign up for our free 10 part course right here at Chiropractic Masters.