CHIROPRACTIC FOR BEGINNERS

We have a special kind of doctor called a 

Chiropractor.

There are lots of reasons why we like our chiropractic doctor:

No yucky medicine!

No shots!

No pills!

No operating rooms!

No grumpy nurses!

Your body is made up of lots and lots of little cells. trillions of cells! That's a 1, followed by 12 zeroes!

Each cell is so small, you can't even see it with a magnifying glass! It would take over 1,000 of them to make the thickness of a human hair!

There are one cells, muscle cells, stomach cells, skin cells, and even hair cells. Each type of cell does something different.

If the cells didn't have a leader, your body would look like your bedroom does after a weekend sleepover!

Some of the most important kinds of cells in your body are the ones that make up your brain and nerves. They are the most important because their job its to organize and control all the other cells of your body.

Your brain is constantly sending messages to all the cells of your body.

Your brain tells your heart to beat, your lungs to breathe, your toes to wiggle, and everything else what to do. The brain sends messages to every cell, organ and system of your body through a network of tiny "wires", called nerves.

Every message your brain sends and receives goes through the big, thick wire that extends from the brain down your back. It is called your spinal cord.

Then each cell sends a message back to the brain to let it know how things are going.

Like your brain, your spinal cord is so important that it is covered by protective bones. These 24 moving bones surround the spinal cord like beads on a necklace.

These bones protect the spinal cord while you turn, bend, lift, twist or when you do all the other things you like to do.

Just like a necklace that can get "kinked" and tangled up, your spine can too. This can happen from bumping your head, slipping, falling down, getting "stressed out" and from lots of other causes.

When that happens, your spinal bones can rub or irritate the spinal cord or nerves of the spinal column. Doctors call this a subluxation.

Subluxations make it hard for your brain and the cells of your body to send messages back and forth. That's when you can get sick and not feel good.

What About Germs?

The viruses and bacteria we commonly call "germs" are everywhere. They only make you sick when you put out the welcome mat! You can make germs feel welcome when you get run down, worry too much, eat the wrong foods, experience a lot of stress, or have vertebral subluxations.

Subluxations Are Bad!

Do You Have Subluxations?

You might. Have you ever slipped or fallen? Do you get headaches? You can't always tell if you have a subluxation. You could have a subluxation and not even know it.

The only way to find out if you have a subluxation is to visit a special kind of doctor, called a chiropractor. They are doctors who know how to find subluxations and make them go away.

What About Surgery?

Your body has exactly the right number of parts. you don't have any extra. That's why operations and other drastic methods should be used only as a last resort.

Finding Subluxations if Fun!

A chiropractic doctor starts by asking you and your parents about your health.

Then, the doctor touches your spine and asks you to turn and bend. The doctor might check your reflexes. Sometimes it tickles.

Did you know you have a "funny bone" in your knee? Testing your reflexes is one of the ways the doctor can tell how well your brain and body are talking to each other.

Your chiropractic doctor may need pictures of your spine to show where the subluxations might be.

The doctor is very smart. If you have subluxations, he or she will tell you exactly where they are.

Then, the chiropractor helps make the subluxations go away. There are lots of ways chiropractors do this.

Using their hands or a special tool, the doctor gives the stuck bone that is causing the subluxation a little push. Sometimes it makes a funny sound. This is called a chiropractic adjustment.

Only a chiropractor knows just when, where and how much to push. You have to go to a special college to learn how to do it correctly.

Don't try to adjust anyone unless you've been to college for as many years as your chiropractic doctor!

Just for Parents

Because a child's body is still growing and highly adaptive, many children experience health problems that go undetected until they show up as irreversible conditions in adulthood. IF you recognize the value of having your nervous system checked for the Vertebral Subluxation Complex, make sure the children you love are checked too!

 

REFERENCES:

Anrig, C., D.C. Plaugher, G., D.C. Pediatric Chiropractic, Williams and Wilkins, 1998.

Barge, F.H., Life Without Fear, Bawden Brothers Publishing, Inc. 1990.

Davies, N., D.C., Chiropractic Pediatrics, Churchill Livingston, 2000.

Mootz, R., D.C. Bowers, D.C., Chiropractic Care of Special Populations, Aspen Publishing, 1999.

Paulson, D., PhD., Basic Histology, 3rd ed, Appleton & Lange, 1996.

Strauss, J., D.C., Chiropractic Philosophy, 3rd ed., Foundation of the Advancement of Chiropractic, 1994.

Tortora, G., PhD., Grabowski, S., PhD., Introduction to the Human Body, 5th ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Vander, A., PhD., Sherman, J., PhD., Human Physiology, 7th ed., McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Zigmond, M., PhD., Bloom, F., PhD., Fundamental Neuroscience, Academic Press, 1999.

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