Chiropractic and Your Marvelous Machine

Last week I stupidly cut my finger on my Ninja® blender blade doing something I didn’t have to, and knew I shouldn’t do. Anyway, as I tried to staunch the ooze of blood, I reflected on how blessed the majority of us are: we don’t have to do anything special, not even any particular thought process, for our bodies to quickly stop blood flowing from a wound, seal it, and then heal it to a condition very close to the original. This often occurs even in the absence of any care for cleansing or disinfecting the injured area (when I was growing up on the farm I seldom stopped to even wipe the dirt, grease, manure, etc. from my various damaged locations).

Our bodies are marvelous machines, miraculously performing as yet uncounted numbers of different processes which include collecting energy and converting it into a form that can be both used and stored, keeping us warmer when it is cold and cooler when it is hot, moving us around so that our goals can be achieved, repairing structural damage, etc. No matter who or what designed us, the architecture is impressive.

Dr. B. J. Palmer labeled the force that creates our bodies and allows them to perform so effectively as ‘Innate Intelligence’. This force controls and coordinates all the activities of our body and its interaction with our environment, the main organ being our nervous system. When the nervous system is unimpeded ‘Innate’ keeps us healthy, happy, pain-free, and able to accomplish the things we desire – all with minimal conscious exertion. At Val Vista Chiropractic all of our efforts are focused on removing the irritations from your nerves so that you can have the best life possible.

Getting rid of your pain,

Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor

Val Vista Chiropractic

What’s Wrong With My Recliner?

On a regular basis patients tell me just how wonderful their recliner is. They read, watch TV, and even sleep in it.  It is so comfortable, and they really love it. Oh, and by the way, that low-back is still hurting and we just can’t seem to get it to stay in place.

Sorry to the recliner industry out there, but it appears to me, at least, that’s part of your problem! I realize that they are comfortable – I enjoy sitting in them, too. But, have you ever looked at someone sitting in one? From top to bottom:

There is a cushion under your head and a valley under your shoulders. This is so that your head is propped up to see the television properly (you will have noticed that it cannot be positioned properly to read that book in your lap). After two hours of television or reading is your attention drawn to the fact that your neck is stiff, probably sore, with the possibility of a headache besides? That cushion tilts your head in a manner guaranteed to flatten every last degree of curve from your neck, with the possibility of reversal.

There is a fairly firm cushion bulging out along the upper- and middle-back, and a nice big, soft cushion for the lower-back which flattens out to almost nothing when any pressure is applied. While giving the impression of comfort, the long-term affect is almost assuredly to force a flattening of the mid-back curve, and a sagging of the lower-back which decreases that curvature as well. Can anyone say, “Oh, my aching back?”

Our spines’ curvature serves an important shock-absorbing function, and research shows that a person who has every curve falling within an extremely narrow range is much less likely to experience disc herniation or other back problems. Poor sitting posture of any sort, including that encouraged by recliner design, makes it almost impossible for our bodies to maintain those curves.

Sitting in straight-backed chairs seems to assist our bodies in sustaining those curves through better posture. At this point I need to mention that I am not necessarily referring to uncomfortable, wooden kitchen chairs. Straight-backed chairs which are well-designed can be attractive and comfortable. My office reception area is filled with straight-backed chairs and I have never had a comment that they are undesirable.

If the only thing you ever do that is hard on your back is to sit in a recliner then, by all means, enjoy. If, however, you fall more within the reality realm which most of us inhabit, finding alternative seating accommodations might just be an additional avenue to decreased back pain and increased health. At Val Vista Chiropractic we stand ready to inform and assist you no matter what choices that you make.

Getting rid of your pain,

Dr. Steven Ray, Chiropractor

Val Vista Chiropractic