Migraine headaches, tension, nausea, fever, vertigo, inflammation, allergy, diarrhea and constipation, sneezing and cough, pins and needles, etc... and also hunger and thirst, heat and cold, etc... there are at the least one thousand eight hundred of them; they are unwanted and disagreeable and we usually do all we can to get rid of them... but let's think a minute on the nature of symptoms: if they are so unpleasant, it is to give us a warning that something extra-ordinary in the normal working of the body is happening, it is our in built alarm system which goes on when danger is present and goes off when the situation is back to normal... why is it that on one hand we try to eliminate pain with a pain killer or treat diarrhea with an anti-diarrheic and constipation with a laxative and on the other hand we become smart and eat when hungry, drink when thirsty, cover up when cold or take a dip when hot instead of using an anti-hunger, an anti-thirst, an anti-cold or an anti-heat?

Instead of acknowledgment that symptoms are a mean that the body uses to send us an emergency message, often do we try to eliminate or cover them up with some chemical because we forget that the body can cure itself once given the right circumstances. However it is understandable to use drugs as an emergency temporary treatment in case of unbearable pain or inability of the body to produce its own chemical as in the case of diabetes and also in terminal cases when nothing else will help, but the great majority of people using drugs do not fit in this optic and would be better off applying lateral thinking... chiropractic might be the answer... and the sooner the better as chemicals while having a positive effect on the disease (and none on the dis-ease) produce inevitably the so called side effects which are at the origin of new diseases which in turn will be fought with other chemicals! The end result of this race at curing diseases is a run down body becoming weaker and weaker and the emergence of well known iatrogenic conditions. This vicious cycle could be broken if not too late for the body to recuperate, but the ideal would be not to indulge in chemicals of any kind to start with, so as to have available a reactive organism, ready to undergo an internal clean up once the interference to normal commands is removed through the elimination of a vertebral subluxation. The fact is that the body, when functioning properly, produces all the chemicals it needs, so the chiropractic avenue is to help improve all the functions so that the body may cure itself and above all, keep working well all life long.

If it was possible to eliminate the causes of vertebral subluxations we would not need chiropractic and the world would be a better place to live as subluxations affect the mind as well as the body; in that way chiropractic helps having a better world. We can list three causes to subluxations: physical, chemical and emotional. The physical origin is the more obvious: all the traumatisms that the body can't neutralize and which produces directly or indirectly a vertebral subluxation - by definition a slight vertebral misalignment which impinges upon the nerves and determines a consequent interference with the mental impulse traveling back and forth between brain and tissue cells. They can be whiplash type of injury, violent accidents of all kinds but most often only repetitive apparently harmless falls from push bike, ski or swing from childhood to adulthood - this explains why vertebral subluxations are so common. The chemical origin is constituted by all the poisons absorbed through the lungs and digestive tract: for instance smoke, alcohol, pollution, drugs, etc... The poisons not only damages the cells but also induce a chemical unbalance of the organism which prevents an instantaneous adaptation to the ongoing normal change of conditions and thereby, leads to an altered function of the spinal column with resulting subluxations. The emotional origin produces internal stress resulting in unbalance tensions of muscles and therefore vertebral subluxations, poor breathing, altered digestion and cardiovascular functions along with possible mental problems, all of that worsen by a poor communication between brain and tissue cells due to the subluxation - another vicious cycle! Of course some of these causes of subluxations are unavoidable and therefore along with an hygienic life style a chiropractic regular check up may help maintain health at its optimum.

From the time chiropractic exists, when Harvey Lillard got the first chiropractic adjustment on September 18, 1895, following which he recovered the sense of hearing after he had lost it seventeen years before, millions of people all over the world have been the living proof that the body can recover from so many different conditions if only the interference between brain and tissue cell is removed. The beauty of it is that never chiropractors have been fighting diseases but rather have facilitated health by removing the major obstacle to a normal functioning i.e. the vertebral subluxation; therefore the effect is global: different conditions may be fixed at the same time, even those that we don't know about yet, as it is too early for the body to show symptoms. That is why the philosophy of chiropractic is vitalistic in nature; chiropractors call "innate intelligence" what pathologist emeritus William Boyd, author of a classic pathology textbook, call "mysterious wisdom"; that innate intelligence is a fundamental characteristic present in all living things, including plants, from the unicellular organism to the most complex ones and allowing them to be what they are, giving them all there properties and actions. It allows the organism to prosper, reproduce, adapt, defend and repair itself in normal circumstances. This means that the qualities of the environment, internal as well as external, should remain within normal limits for that particular organism; once exceeded the physiological resistance to stress, the organism perishes. Excessive heat or cold, lack of oxygen, malnutrition, heavy traumatism, poisons, for instance, are not compatible with sustained life in spite of innate intelligence. But given that a living organism, a human body for the matter, is benefiting from favorable environmental conditions, one thing that will prevent the innate intelligence to express itself correctly through matter, is an interference - to the life force transmitted by the nerve pathways as they pass through the spinal chord and nerves - due to a vertebral subluxation. Therefore, the logical thing to do: eliminate the interference so that innate intelligence may manifest itself at full power. If not too late, healing will take place and people will keep saying to their neigbours that "Chiropractic adds life to Years and years to Life".

Considering that vertebral subluxations may exist commonly, chiropractic would benefit everyone, young and not so young. Although knowing it would be the right thing to do, it is possible that for some, taking the step could be difficult as this is a totally different avenue to health and they don't generally like to make changes in their life; others - who understand that chiropractic, instead of diagnosing and treating diseases, gives a chance to health by removing the interference, letting the body produce its own chemicals in the right quality and quantity and without side effect - will gladly give it a go, as it makes so much sense to them. From a socioeconomic point of view it is interesting to note that people come from all classes, from the humble to the prestigious; all these people have personal traits in common: a positive outlook towards life, a zest of anticonformism and commonsense, and knowing that commonsense is not so common this restrict chiropractic to a special group who can practice lateral thinking.

The art of chiropractic is often misunderstood as bone manipulation... however, the act consists in a accurate specific adjustment done accordingly to the examination findings which determine the necessity of a vertebral adjustment (there must be an interference on the nerve pathways) and the particular listing of the subluxation which determines the exact line of drive of the chiropractic thrust... this makes all the difference between a therapeutic manipulation and a chiropractic adjustment and that explains why an adjustment needs only little force and is painless. But the story does not end there: since the adjustment is a stimulus induced by the chiropractor to elicit a physical response of the body in term of repositioning of the vertebra - the actual adjustment is the one effectuated by the body itself in response to the chiropractor's adjustment- the post check done by the chiropractor - can be leg measurement in different situations, instrumentation and other test - let him know whether the subluxation has cleared... so we are far from the scenario of cracking a bone and being satisfied by the joint noise!

In case of someone suspending care temporarily because being out of town, there is no risk of loosing the accumulated benefit of the previous visits; when the person returns there will be no need to start again from scratch, the course of visits will resume as scheduled initially.

We spend one third of our life in bed therefore a good bedding is essential to a good rest. According to the taste one could sleep well on a hard bed like Futtons or orthopedic beds and someone else would prefer a soft and comfy bed like a latex-wool combo, the main thing is that the spine be well supported and doesn't end up like sleeping in a slack hammock and also that the neck gets a nice support from a good pillow. Such a pillow could be a Japanese wooden stool for some... though, my personal preference goes to a "cervical" pillow with a firm core, covered by a huge one, filled with the lightest synthetic or vegetal fibre like kapok, in which, one will sink up to the ears. The best position is whichever your body chooses during sleep, given that the spine is free of subluxation and that the bedding is adapted. So called wrong positions occur when the spine is not "happy"... I mean subluxated!

Sedentarity is evan worse than hard labor. in both cases the best thing to do is intelligent stretching and by that I mean soft complete movements involving all parts of the body in the full range of motion they were intended to be used: up and down, front and back, right and left, coordinating abdominal breathing with alternation of tension and relaxation, always using the 70% rule i.e. do only 70% of what you think you can achieve, that way you are safe. Exercise is essential to everybody and in particular to persons under chiropractic care... those will recover faster and more completely.

The first subluxation can take place during childbirth, even in cases of cesarean delivery. Then all childhood is paved with all kinds of falls and strikes, most of them without any trace of apparent trauma but certainly with some forms of vertebral subluxations which in the beginning do not manifest straight away as a symptom. The sooner a subluxation is found and corrected, the better.

Smoking, alcohol, all drugs, stress of all kinds, pollution and traumas are contra indications to the general public at large and particularly to pregnancy. Chiropractic which entails none of these inconveniences, but actually promotes health of the mother and developing embryo - and then foetus - is in fact recommended not only by chiropractors but also by mothers who have experienced a blissful pregnancy and witnessed a happy developing baby... pushing the logic a little further, knowing that the father is responsible for half of the genetic patrimony of the baby, how about having both parents under care even before fertilisation occurs?

From a chiropractor's mouth, this has double meaning: the first being that chiropractic promotes health, therefore better life, the second, that chiropractic care would be best provided all life long. Let's discuss this later less understood meaning: Usually people discover chiropractic because they have an unresolved health problem and the initial perception is that of "an alternative therapy which does wonders in certain instances". Some people will stay with this concept and will stop care either because they are free of symptoms or because the pain does not ease. The first group is happy and will refer friends presenting same symptoms as theirs... "go see him, he has done wonders for my ....". The second will think chiropractic does not work, may be because they were too late at starting care, because they didn't have enough patience or because they were an ER case to start with. Other people will evolve in their thinking and accept the fact that chiropractic is not a therapy but simply an art of correcting vertebral subluxations, a deterrent to good health. These people will not only refer their friends and family to their chiropractor but also follow a course of maintenance for keeping the integrity of their spine, knowing that "once a subluxation, always a subluxation" meaning that their exists a definite pattern of the return of the subluxation and that this return is most of the time not accompanied by symptoms in the beginning. They will wilfully and naturally make a habit of a regular maintenance schedule. Who knows how many degenerative and chronic conditions have been prevented that way? One thing we know is that these are happy people, expressing optimum mental, emotional and physical health, leading to a fuller life; they are walking evidence that truly "chiropractic adds years to life and life to years".

The law of homeostasis is the foundation of chiropractic: the body regulates itself all life long, day and night and manage to keep all functions equilibrated, all by itself without any help from the outside; for instance, it does not need anyone to teach it how the liver, the heart or the kidneys should be regulated, in fact modern science has still much more to discover than what we understand at the moment, of the intricacy of the regulation of life. So life works intelligently and have always done so... chiropractors call it innate intelligence (II), and this power heal and maintain health. II characterises the entire living world: it is responsible for the shedding of a deciduous tree in autumn and the production of a specific fruit at summertime... nobody has ever taught a cherry tree how to produce cherries, and mind you, the cherry tree never make a mistake producing an apple or an orange unless man interferes with nature... the same for the human body and here goes the saying popular in chiropractic circles: "Nature needs no help, just no interference". Eminent pathologist Sir William Boyd calls it mysterious wisdom. It works days and night at controlling a myriad of functions and in emergency, will provoke diarrhea and vomiting in order to expel poisons or raise the body temperature to fight off infection. II exists in every cell like white blood cells, for example, rushing to an emergency area to phagocyte pathogenic bacteria.

Therapeutic professions save lives everyday stopping hemorrhages, curing kidney and heart failure, setting broken bones, and a myriad of other emergency problems and their importance is primordial. Human knowledge of the working of the living body is monumental but is little compared to all what we don't know and will never understand completely i.e. the mystery of life. Chiropractors realize how small is the educated intelligence (EI) in front of the innate intelligence (II) and have choosen to let the body take care of itself once the interference due to the vertebral subluxation has been removed. So the eventual cure comes from the return toward normal functions under II management... chiropractors use their EI for the detection and correction of vertebral subluxation, the actual healing being performed by the body itself. Their is no risk of deleterious side effects and the cure is global: once the interference is removed the body in its entirety, may function better and may correct different problems at the same time, for instance one has consulted typically a chiropractor for back pain and notice that hemorrhoids, migraine or other symptoms may clear off at the same time.

Yes, but only if one of these conditions exists:

The immune system is weakened.
The immune system is strong but the overwhelming germs do not pertain to the natural environment of the subject.
Vertebral subluxations can weaken the immune system, chiropractic adjustments give the body a better chance to fight off germs. The story of Masha and Dasha, the Siamese twin sisters soviet laboratory experiment celebrities (bless their hearts, unfortunate beings) illustrate the fact that germs do not cause disease if the immune system is strong enough... So, what controls the immune system efficiency? ..... Dr. Ted Koren develop the subject in the following article,"Chiropractic, Bringing out the Best in You":

The new mother was told that her twin babies had died after birth. However the truth was far different: They were being sent to an institute near Moscow to be studied. This was to be the fate of "Masha" & "Dasha", one of the most unusual sets of "Siamese" or conjoined twins ever born.

Identical twins are formed when a fertilised egg divides into two eggs. The two eggs grow into two babies that are identical in every respect. Siamese twins are formed in the same way but the eggs, for some unknown reason, don't completely separate; instead they remain partially attached. It was the unique way in which Masha & Dasha were connected that caused Soviet scientists to take such interest in them.

Although Masha & Dasha have four arms, they have only three legs. They stand on two of their legs, one controlled by Masha, one by Dasha (they were 5 years old before they learned how to walk) while a third, vestigial leg remains in the air behind them. Their upper intestines are separated but they share a single lower intestine & rectum. They have four kidneys & one bladder, & often disagree when to urinate. They have a common reproductive system.

Because their circulatory systems are interconnected, the twins share each other's blood. Therefore a bacteria or virus that enters one twin's bloodstream will soon be seen in the blood of her sister. Yet surprisingly, illness affects them differently. Dasha is short-sighted, prone to colds & right-handed. Masha smokes occasionally, has a healthier constitution, higher blood pressure than her sister, good eyesight & is left-handed.

The twins differing health patterns present a mystery. Why did one become ill with a childhood disease, like measles for example, while the other did not? The measles "bug" was in both of their bodies, in their collective bloodstream; so why didn't both get the measles?
Evidently there is more to "getting the measles" than having the measles "bug". This phenomenon was seen over & over again with the girls (flu, colds, other childhood diseases were all experienced separately). If germs alone had the power to cause infectious diseases, why would one of the twins be disease-free while the other was ill? What was it in their makeup that differentiated one from the other?

The answer was not far to seek. Although Masha & Dasha had common circulatory, digestive, excretory, lymphatic, hormonal & lymphatic systems (they were joined at the hips), they had separate spinal columns & spinal cords. This was the only important difference between the two girls.

In Masha & Dasha, nature's "laboratory" devised an experiment that no human researcher could ever duplicate. These extraordinary twins are an invaluable example confirming that there is much more to "catching" a disease than simply breathing in germs; germs can make you sick if and only if your body provides them fertile ground to grow in.

The state of your nervous system can determine whether you have high or low resistance to disease. If you are suffering from disease, the health of your nervous system will play a decisive role in whether or not (and how rapidly) you will recover. By keeping your spinal column and nervous system free from subluxation stress, chiropractic care keeps you in a higher state of health.

It is a fact that people who get regularly adjusted report that they get infections and other illnesses less often or not at all. And when they do get "crook" they seem to get over it much more quickly and with less pain and suffering than they used to.

The effect of a vertebral adjustment is very powerful: from the time a vertebral subluxation is corrected, thousands of reactions take place at the same time; the organism is starting to reorganize itself through the process of reconstruction but since we are not trying to eliminate symptoms, as the body is doing a certain rehabilitative work, it may very well exhibit symptoms that the person has experienced in the past or new ones during the disintoxication period the body is going through... the minor inconvenience subsides more or less rapidly according to the importance of the condition; this phenomenon is known as "retracing" and is perfectly normal; it is the manifestation of a "health revolution" some sort of "healing storm"; this type of reaction is relatively rare, but it can happen in chronic conditions and is perfectly normal. Some people report a sense of profound relaxation and can sleep twelve hours in a row, other have a pleasant sensation of warmth, other feel energised as if the batteries had been changed for new ones, others will feel straight away better, as far as pains and symptoms are concerned, other won't feel anything special; in this case the body is reacting in a discrete fashion. Whatever one feels, it should be kept in mind that symptoms, whether coming up or disappearing, represent only the tip of the iceberg. Symptoms are very important to the patient: a person feeling pain is not happy, the reverse is true when the pain leaves, but people should understand that this is not where chiropractic dwells: the chiropractor's concern is the correction of the vertebral subluxation, independently of the presence or absence of symptoms... Again, chiropractic is working toward a global state of harmony, it doesn't fight symptoms or diseases but promotes health.