Does Everyone Need to See a Chiropractor?

When people first find out I'm a chiropractor, there are two common responses.  First, is that they have been to a chiropractor and want me to "crack" their back or neck for them, often implying I should do it right there in the restaurant or wherever we may be.  Second are people who say, "I don't need to see a chiropractor.  I don't have back pain."  Should people who don't have pain go see a chiropractor?

It wasn't all that long ago that people only saw medical doctors when they were sick.  They only consulted a dentist when they had a tooth ache.  I'm old enough to remember those days.  The idea of consulting a health professional for prevention of problems is a fairly recent phenomenon.  Most of our society now sees the logic in seeing an MD, dentist, or optometrist before problems arise for either prevention or early treatment.  Using the same logic, it also makes sense to see a chiropractor before back pain, neck pain or headaches become problems.

Since every person has a spine, everyone has the potential to develop spinal problems.  Statistically, 80% of Canadians will experience back pain over the course of their lifetime.  For many of those people it will be debilitating; interfering with their ability to work or perform activities of daily living.  But the effects of spinal problems are not limited to pain.  Abnormal function of spinal joints results in irritation to adjacent spinal nerves.  This produces alteration of nerve function through the entire path of that particular spinal nerve.  The result can be health problems distant from the spine itself.  A person can suffer detrimental effects of spinal problems without actually having pain in their spine.

Chiropractors use the term, Vertebral Subluxation, to describe abnormally functioning spinal joints with associated nerve irritation.  It may or may not be accompanied by pain.  Chiropractors are uniquely trained to detect and correct Vertebral Subluxations.  Like most conditions, Vertebral Subluxations can be most effectively treated when they are detected early.  Once abnormal spinal joint function becomes chronic, associated muscles adapt patterns where they are either too tight or too lax.  The ligaments of the joints are weakened.  Blood supply to the joints is altered as well.  It's also significant that chronically irritated spinal nerves heal very slowly.  Consequently detecting and correcting Vertebral Subluxations early, even before there is associated pain, makes a lot of sense.  Seeing a chiropractor when you don't have back pain, neck pain or headaches is as logical as seeing a medical doctor when you aren't sick or a dentist when you don't have a toothache or an optometrist when you can see well.  

If you are the type of person that only consults a health professional when they have an obvious problem, you likely won't grasp the logic of seeing a chiropractor when you don't have pain in your back, neck or head.  But that doesn't mean that you don't have spinal problems.  Waiting until you have pain can result in much more damage to the tissues and prolonged treatment.  As well when treatment is delayed the outcomes are often much less desirable.

As always whether you choose to see a chiropractor when you don't have pain is up to you.  But the logical approach is to get checked and assure your spine is working as well as it can so you don't end up with debilitating or chronic spinal problems.  Regular chiropractic adjustments should be part of your healthy lifestyle.

No White Food Plan

Probably the simplest plan for weight loss and health improvement is: no white foods.  That's it!  If it's white don't eat it.  There are a few exceptions which I will point out at the end of this post.

No white foods means no white flour products including white bread and pasta, no white rice, no white sugar, no white (refined) salt, and no white potatoes.  Watch for these foods to be "hidden" in processed food products.  If it looks white, it's white and not on this dietary program. 

The problem with white foods is that they are very simple carbohydrates and are converted very quickly in the body to sugar.  As a result of the rapid rise of sugar in the blood, the body  produces insulin to try to balance the blood sugar levels.  The sugar control mechanisms become stressed over time.  In response there will be increased food cravings, fat deposition around the mid section, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, high blood triglycerides, and eventually type 2 diabetes can result.  White foods accelerate this sequence of events.

White foods are usually highly processed.  It can take many chemicals and procedures to remove so many of the components that give food colour.  It is often the coloured things that contain the nutrients that made the original food good for us. Not only are white foods quickly converted to sugar but they are devoid of most nutrients.  They have become empty calories.  Additionally, chemicals used in the processing often remain in the food.  So these white foods can also be toxic.


So, if a food is white just avoid it. The beauty of this approach is that it is so simple.  No calories to count, no portions to weigh, just look at the food and if it's white don't eat it.  Simple.  

Please note white foods that do not fall into this plan are white fish & chicken, egg whites, and cauliflower. These foods are nutritious and do not have the detrimental effects discussed above.

Government + Fad Diets

The Canadian government is proposing that all Canadians be legislated to go on a low salt diet.  A recent article in Macleans by Alexandra Shimo "A Pinch of Reality About Salt" argues that the science behind the the benefits of a low salt diet is far from conclusive.  As the article points out, salt is an absolute necessity of life and most people will not be healthier by consuming only a small amount of it on a daily basis.  Too often governments fall into the same traps as individuals do when it comes to health and other issues.  They go with what is popular not what is right. 

How often have we seen the perceived wisdom of one generation be looked upon as a total fallacy by the next generation?  How absurd to think that covering a person with leaches would cure their illnesses.  It was considered state of the art for a time.  What if the government had legislated that all sick people needed to undergo leach treatment?  Not too many years ago eggs were considered to be almost lethal because of their cholesterol content.  Today we know that eggs are fabulously nutritious.  What if they had been legislated out of the market? 

The problem with trying to put human nutrition into nice tidy boxes where everything is defined is that humans are simply too complex.  There are too many interactions between systems, chemical reactions, etc. to come up with absolutes.  "Normal" lab values are constantly changing as research discovers new "truths" about what is necessary for health.  For every suggested parameter there are many scientists who would suggest other figures as being normal.  For instance recommended vitamin C intake is 90 mg/day while a highly respected Noble scientist believed it should be 10,000 mg/day.  Which amount is correct?  With such great disparity by leading experts it certainly wouldn't be wise to legislate an amount.  The same holds true for salt.

The chiropractic approach to body function is that the body knows what is best for its own individual situation.  We need to supply the body abundant amounts of natural substances which are free of toxins while adopting a lifestyle which promotes health.  Rest, exercise, stress management and regular chiropractic care will help the body to function optimally.  Then listen to the body's subtle signals.  It will tell you when it has inadequate or adequate levels of salt.  It doesn't need the government to tell it what is right.