Protect Your Quarterback!!

The quarterback's job is complex. He's the one player who calls the offensive plays that determine whether or not the entire team scores. He passes the ball to the receivers or the running backs. He has to communicate very clearly to his team while at the same time trying to confuse his opponents who want nothing more than to knock his block off, take him down, push him back, and even injure him enough to take him out of the game.

He needs protection. In fact, he requires linemen who are willing to take a lot of punishment to keep him healthy and doing every aspect of his job. And these linemen need to stay healthy and doing every aspect of his job. And these linemen need to stay healthy and agile too. It's beautiful and symbiotic, that relationship between a quarterback and the rest of his team. The quarterback is looked to as the leader, but even he knows that he is nothing without protection.

It's that time of year when we gather with friends and family around the television to root for the home team, or whoever we grew up cheering for. We watch the action and the plays, but do you see that what you're watching is just another wonderful example of how your body strives to function every day?

The quarterback is like your nervous system. It calls the shots, its makes the plays. Through the autonomic portion, it is regulating digestion, respiration, circulation, immune function, and many other systems. It also plays the key role in allowing you to operate all muscle control in your body. Every blink, twitch, pull, push, lift, step, and twist is performed because your nervous system is able to call the plays. When something in your body isn't working as it should, it can't effectively call the plays, and it usually means that on or more of your "linemen" have either gotten lazy or injured to the point of creating a hole in your offensive line.

Your primary line of defense - your linemen - is represented by your spine, those twenty-four able-bodied vertebra that each have a significant role to play in this game. If they are able to maintain healthy motion and correct position, then they are able to protect the quarterback effectively. If they break down, the team in general stops functioning as a unit and nothing works the way it should. All of a sudden, it's not as much fun to watch or even play this game.

So if you are the owner of a team that isn't getting it done on the field of play, if your body isn't working as smoothly as it should, no matter what is malfunctioning, look to your spine. This is getting to the root of the problem, because if your vertebrae have lost their motion or alignment, there is no way that you will ever make it to the big game.

Stick with your chiropractic care, because everyone wants to be a part of the big game.

(via Country Clinic)

The Priceless Part of You

If you wanted to build a human being from scratch, you could easily find the physical elements in about $20 worth of dirt. The other 'priceless' parts would be much harder to come by.

... just add force and intelligence

The 4th Principle in Chiropractic, "The Triune of Life," describes the human form as the union of matter (dirt) with a force (life), all ordered by an inborn intelligence (innate). From the moment of conception where all three unite, to birth in nine months, through adolescence into adulthood and ending in death, the interplay of matter, force and intelligence defines our basic existence. When they balance, we experience health.

Healthcare therefore, is much more than treating the physical part of you (as in the practice of medicine) but rather the effort to preserve the dance which occurs uniquely between your dirt, your life and your innate... and that is the practice of Chiropractic.

Take action this fall and see how we can help in your goal to become more in tune with your innate intelligence? How can we help you reach your inborn ability to be the healthiest you can be?

Give us a call for a consultation at (206) 826 - 1005

A Heart-Warming Story

This a heart-warming story about the power of chiropractic care!

"A 16 year old triathlete / downhill skier who has the innate athletic ability of a one legged blind hippopotamus hurt his mid thoracics inexplicably when waking up one Saturday morning. Being a stubborn teenager, he thought he'd go to swim practice anyway just 'swim it off.' After 50m, he couldn't lift his arms above his head. He was devastated because he equated quitting a workout with failure in life and the end of the world.

A few days later, with his back still hurting, he noticed his heart rate speeding at rates of 170-180 beats per minute for hours at a time when sitting in school. He went to a heart specialist who after some tests said, "Well, your dad had a heart attack, so did your grandfather and a few of your uncles. This problem is obviously genetic. You can reasonably expect to be dead by age 30, and your triathlon days are over. Here are some pills. They probably won't work and they'll make you vomit a lot. "

The physiotherapist could not help the pain in the back. He tried for 6 months.

He lived in a small town in Newfoundland, Canada where there were no chiropractors. Until the day his mom saw an ad in the paper-a chiropractor had just moved there and opened up shop. He was one of the first new patients.

The chiropractor took x-rays, and used all these funny words like 'subluxation' and really made no sense to him. "You're a quack", he said, "but do your thing anyway because I'm having surgery for my back next week and if you break it, the surgeon will fix it."

He had an adjustment. He lifted his arms above his head for the first time in 6 months, pain free. After two adjustments, his heart rate returned to normal. He then sheepishly apologized to the chiropractor for that 'quack' remark and within a week had decided to become a chiropractor.

This guy never won a medal at the Olympics, or never made the team either. He also came from a broken home, dealt with an abusive drunken father in his teenage years and could not afford chiropractic. The chiropractor agreed to keep seeing him weekly for free or for sometimes $2-5, whatever he could scrounge together.

The guy who the heart surgeon said would never be able to train again set the fastest time for the 17km WhitSunday to Hamilton Island Swim, 5 hours and 17 minutes. Only 2 other people had ever done it. Thanks to chiropractic and bull headed stubbornness, he enjoys sports to this day.

He is just a few weeks away from turning 37. He is not dead. He tries to avoid letting his ego into the equation, but is fond of the Homer Simpson like expression, "In your face heart surgeon!"

(P.S. We do love and support our heart surgeons, just want people to look at all of their options before choosing surgery.)

How We Deal With Stress

Chiropractic is about the whole person. Although many assume that we deal only with back or neck pain, in truth the philosophy of chiropractic is really about the entire individual and how they function. What this means is that when looking to treat and take care of a patient we look at what the founder of chiropractic, D.D. Palmer, called the "Three T's:" Thoughts, Trauma and Toxicities.

Even though it often goes unnoticed, Thoughts are the biggest culprit in keeping you from getting well. With all of the stresses we deal with on a daily basis -family situations, working overtime, dealing with chronic illness, etc- it is easy to let yourself fall victim to letting these things overrun your body. We're here to help. Chiropractic is about balancing your life in a way that everything comes into a better perspective and you will be able to deal with your thoughts considering these stresses in a more effective way.

If you know of anyone who you think could benefit from the relief of chiropractic care and massage, refer them to us and we'll take care of the rest.

Seattle Chiropractic: info@seattlefamilychiro.com (206) 826 1005

Chiropractic and Children's Health

Chiropractic is not just for adults. Nor is it simply for those experiencing symptoms, seeking pain relief. Chiropractors are nervous system doctors, and we all have a nervous system! Now you have to ask yourself, when is the body at one of it's most vulnerable states? When it's GROWING, or when it's constantly meeting new and unfamiliar pressures.

Here, we know that subluxations can and do occur on a daily basis thanks to the hundreds of stresses we put ourselves through. Perspective wise, think about how many new pressures and stresses our kids have compared to us. Not only this, but the first subluxation commonly occurs at birth!

Because children are so fragile, the traumas to their spine and nervous system are easier to correct when young, compared to waiting until adulthood where certain uncorrected traumas become the most difficult to correct problems. Bedwetting, for instance, is seen as a "phase" just as ear infections are written off as a "common ache," but truly these pains at ANY age are a signal that the body is in distress. Subluxations could be the cause! Rather than using adult techniques, we use special low force techniques to adjust kids and consider each child on an individual basis.

Our office loves taking care of families. We just witnessed the blessing of one of our dearest patients giving birth to a beautiful baby girl and cannot wait to check her nervous system at just a couple days old.

You love the people you take care of, let us take care of the people you love :)

Stop Dreaming About Quality Sleep... Get It!

In today's fast paced environment, sleep is becoming less and less prioritized when compared to work deadlines, waking up early to workout, or staying up late to socialize. This can take a major toll on the body, creating additional stress and ultimately altering moods. Here are a few tips for a better night's sleep:

*Avoid working out within 2-3hrs of you scheduled nod time. Regular exercise is also considered beneficial for a good night's sleep.

*Drink water! Especially if you consume caffeinated beverages throughout the day, try to match every caffeine drink with the equal amount of ounces in water to keep your system flushed and hydrated.

*Make sure that the temperature of your room is set at a cool (but still comfortable!) temperature. This will help your body to initiate the drop in core temperature that warrants slumber.

And did you know chiropractic can help you sleep better? Before you turn to drugs, make sure you ask your local chiropractor how they can help you sleep and relieve possible subluxations (nerve interferences) that may be altering your sleeping patterns. We're here to help! At Seattle Wellness Group we are prepared to answer all of your questions about proper sleep habits and can help alter your daily living habits in order to reach your best sleep.

Subluxation Station

What is a subluxation you say? And why have a station? Those of you unfamiliar with the chiropractic world might look at the word subluxation and secretly say, "That doesn't sound good..." while those educated in the terminology are excitedly trying to figure out a way to describe exactly how knowing about subluxations has changed their life!

So, to begin, a chiropractic subluxation occurs when a spinal bone is out of alignment and impinges on the nerves in the surrounding area, therefore creating an array of different symptoms depending on the location of the subluxation. Seeing that the vertebrae protect the spinal cord, which controls the bodies nervous system, you can understand how big of an impact a subluxation could have on your quality of living.

Obviously, chiropractic care is the best and most effective way to treat subluxated spinal bones. But how can we discover whereabout these subluxations are occuring in the body? How can we monitor exactly how effective your nervous system is?

TADA! Subluxation station! We are excited to introduce to you the newest addition to our office equipment. This machine is able to check for nerve interference by measuring the activity of the muscles directly controlled by the spinal nerves.

We are super excited about having this in our office, and want YOU to try it out! If you are an existing patient, this is a great time to check it out (just ask us!). For any potential new patients, please feel free to call 206.826.1005 to schedule an appointment, and discover the true effectiveness of your own nervous system. Mention this post and get a discount!!