critical transition

Painful Days, Sleepless Nights

December 4, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

Pain can ruin your life. Whether it comes and goes in an unpredictable fashion or whether it is constant, having to manage and deal with pain on a regular basis can be exhausting. As pain becomes chronic, the joy of living disappears. Pain can take many forms including headaches, neck or arm pain, back and leg pain, stomach pain, sinus pain, and literally any or every other part of your body.

The Perpetual Rollercoaster

Pain that comes and goes, rollercoaster pain, is tiring and frustrating. You can’t plan your life because you never know if you are going to hurt. Before you know it, the pain or the medication you may take to mask the pain begins to control your life.

The challenge of this rollercoaster pain is that many people only take care of themselves when the pain reaches a point of severity that you might consider a crisis. The typical protocol in this situation is to stop your life, deal with the crisis through quick fixes such as a couple of chiropractic adjustments, or popping a bunch of pills to get some immediate relief. When the relief comes and you can rest, you are so excited to feel better that you stop taking care of yourself until it hurts again.

Here’s a little secret: in most cases when the pain is gone, the cause of the pain is still there. If you want to get off the rollercoaster you must continue doing the things that will give your body a chance to heal itself even though you feel better.

Getting off the Rollercoaster and Entering the Critical Transition

In The 100 Year Lifestyle Paradigm, we call this the Critical Transition. The Critical Transition is critical because it is when you commit to being consistent with your chiropractic care and healthy lifestyle regardless of how you feel so that your body can regenerate. This takes time.

This is like the person who finally reaches their goal weight and decides to continue eating healthy and exercising rather than reverting back to old habits that caused them to gain weight in the first place. Staying consistent when you feel better is life changing. This is the Critical Transition.

The same is true if you have acute pain. No matter what part of your body has been affected, acute pain comes suddenly with incredible suffering and inconvenience. Many people who have this type of pain will often say things like “I felt twinges there before ” or “periodically I would feel a _______.” These may be signs that an acute crisis is looming and there is an underlying cause you should address.

Chiropractic care is very effective in helping people eliminate both rollercoaster and acute pain by working with your body’s innate ability to heal regardless of how you feel. Nerve interference can cause pain in any body part as well as contribute to all types of health problems. It can also exist without pain and lie dormant for decades until your body completely breaks down.

Don’t let this happen to you. Too many people have said these powerful words, “I am in so much pain I can’t even sleep. Please help me.”

Pain doesn’t have to control your life anymore. We encourage you to take a new approach to taking your pain away and then make the Critical Transition to Lifestyle Care.

A New You is only a decision away. Make the commitment to you. You will be glad you did.

Motivation for Lasting Change

November 27, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

“Happy New Year!” How many times have you said these words to family, friends and coworkers? How many times have you said it over the past decade or two? How many times has it been said to you? Every one of us wants to have a happy, healthy New Year.

The New Years Resolution… revisited

To ensure that this is your best year ever, there may be some things that you need to change and you probably already know what they are. Are they the same things you were thinking about last year? This time, let’s make these changes your new lifestyle.

To make changes that last, you will need to determine what your primary motivation for change has been in the past. Has it been crisis or quality of life?

Crisis Motivation vs. Quality of Life Motivation

Crisis motivation is caused by pain or suffering that has become so bad it forces you to take action. Crisis motivators include a health scare such as a heart attack, herniated disc, or being diagnosed with a disease. For too many people, crisis motivation is their reminder to go to the chiropractor for a series of adjustments. Crisis motivation can also come from not being able to wear your clothes because they don’t fit anymore. Divorce, bankruptcy, and a job lay-off are also crisis motivators that may get you moving and motivate you to make the changes that are inevitable. But crisis motivation does not lead to lasting change.

Quality of life motivation is inspired by the desire to live your best life today and every day. Think about what you want and the kind of life you want to live. Do you want to be healthy? Do you want a healthy relationship? Do you want to perform well at work or in sports? Quality of life motivation will lead you from survival to a life where you are thriving and living your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

Make the Critical Transition

Too many people live from one crisis to another crisis and never make the Critical Transition to the quality of life they deserve. We see this in some people who return with the same or similar condition year after year only with more deterioration and chronicity because they have not made the Critical Transition to Lifestyle Care. How many years will you let pass by before you make your health a priority and make quality of life your primary motivator?

People that have made the Critical Transition from Crisis Care to Lifestyle Care are enjoying a much healthier quality of life and are optimizing their potential with their choices. They get their spine checked as a lifestyle. They make healthy eating a lifestyle. They make being fit a lifestyle. Are you ready to make the transition?

When it comes to health care choices, any person at any age can benefit from chiropractic care as they make changes towards a healthier lifestyle. If you or a loved one are in the middle of a crisis or you are ready for lasting change, contact us to find out how we can help you on your journey to living your best life every day starting with today.

How Much Pain Can You Tolerate?

November 27, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

“How much pain can you tolerate?” is a very interesting question. Some people have a high pain threshold and are very “macho” in their approach as they act like they can handle anything. On the other hand, many others have a mild to moderate threshold and search for a cover up to eliminate their unpleasant feelings. Based on the astronomical statistics of pain medication use, our level of tolerance has gone way down.

Painful Statistics

In the United States the total cost of health care related to pain is approximately $600 billion and the cost to employers dealing with employees who have reduced work productivity due to pain is in the neighborhood of $100 billion per year. An Auburn University study showed that 67 percent of children suffered muscle soreness, 51 percent back pain, 24 percent numbness and 15 percent shoulder pain. Studies from John Hopkins Children Center and many other places have shown that backpacks cause back and shoulder pain and poor posture in children. Between 1997 and 2005, the medical expenses for individuals with spine problems grew from $4,695.00 to $6,096.00 per person.

According to CBC News, 54 percent of Canadian seniors report that chronic pain is interfering with most of their activities. The National Population Health Survey found that seniors who saw their pain increase over a two-year period were more likely to be unhappy or have a negative impression of their personal health at the end of that period. In younger Canadians between the ages of 12 and 44, 10 percent are already experiencing pain that is affecting their life and limiting their activities.

Problematic Solutions

Too many people look to manage their pain by numbing their feelings with non-prescription or prescription drugs. Certainly in extreme cases this may be helpful, as any compassionate person would agree; however, managing pain with medication as part of a lifestyle rather than getting to the cause can lessen your body’s natural pain tolerance. Additionally, constantly managing pain with drugs can cause horrible side effects including nausea, sleep disruption, lack of mental clarity, lack of energy, depression, and potential damage to key organs such as the liver, kidney, and heart. Overuse can create unintended addictions to pain medication that can lead to even more challenges and difficulties in your life.

A Better Way

Chiropractic care is a much better option for both acute and chronic pain sufferers. First of all, a chiropractic examination can locate areas in the spine that are out of balance and are putting pressure on nerves which can contribute to nearly every type of pain condition.

Crisis Care, the type of care that is delivered when someone is in pain or suffering from a health problem, is delivered with frequent visits close together to begin realigning the spine, reducing inflammation and pressure from the nervous system, which usually provides relief and stability within a few weeks or months.

The next phase of care, called the Critical Transition, is critical because it provides consistent care with less frequent visits stretched out over a longer period of time regardless of how people feel, so the spine, nervous system, and body can begin to regenerate. It is this phase of the care that is necessary to support an active, healthy, long life that is either free from chronic pain or certainly makes pain much more manageable.

Unfortunately too many people ignore this Critical Transition because they feel better. Soon after feeling better, they find themselves back in the destructive habits that caused their deterioration in the first place. This behavior, including numbing pain with drugs, can only lead to more deterioration and pain regardless of the relief provided from the pills. Continuing your chiropractic care through the Critical Transition breaks this cycle and gives your body the chance to adapt and truly heal for the long haul.

Isn’t it time that you decide to not tolerate a pain and medication based lifestyle and the deteriorating future that it promotes? Take care of your spine and nervous system so that your body can heal itself and enjoy the quality of life you deserve.

Your Brain-Body Connection

November 27, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

You were born to be healthy. From the moment of conception, your body was given the blueprints and the innate intelligence to live an active, healthy life for 80, 90, 100 years and beyond.

Keeping your spine and nervous system healthy and functioning properly without interference is essential to optimizing your genetic capabilities.

Simply speaking, here’s how it works:

Your brain communicates with every cell, tissue, and organ of your body either directly or indirectly via your nervous system.

Health Interference…

Unfortunately, many of us don’t appreciate the importance of this system on our overall health until we hear of the tragedies of paralyzed people who sustained serious injuries to their spine. Not only did they lose function of their limbs, but their organs and systems began to malfunction, causing many other issues and dis-ease within their body.

Spinal injuries, such as vertebral subluxations, can cause immediate pain and health problems, but also can cause severe long term health consequences by reducing the function of your nervous system.

…versus Free-Flowing Health

Chiropractic care will restore and revitalize the integrity of your nervous system, your Brain-Body connection, so you and your family can live healthy and enjoy life to the fullest.

While there is no guarantee that you and your family will never be sick or injured while under chiropractic care, you can be sure that with proper alignment and function of your spine and nervous system, you will give yourselves the best opportunity to heal quickly and maximize your health. Chiropractic is safe, gentle, and effective. Regardless of your age, you will look forward to, enjoy, and value chiropractic care as an important part of living your ideal 100 Year Lifestyle.

Your health and your healing are your responsibility. What do you want your life to be like as you age? How about your kids? Sadly, hospitals and nursing homes are filled with too many people who waited for a health crisis before they transitioned to lifestyle care.

Make the Critical Transition

If you or your family are being challenged with a sickness, or ‘dis-ease’, there is no better time than now to begin your chiropractic journey. If you have been blessed with a symptom and disease-free life and want to maximize your health and athletic performance, our office can get you there. Make living a healthy lifestyle your top priority and see why so many people have made chiropractors their family’s health care provider.

Our team is committed to helping you and your loved ones live your best life every day from birth to 80, 90 and 100 years (or more!). We look forward to working with you.

Trying or Training

November 26, 2018 by admin Leave a Comment

If you wanted to run a marathon how would you prepare in anticipation?

Would you go out and TRY to run 26.2 miles or would you devise a plan to TRAIN yourself to accomplish such a feat?

Trying to run 26.2 miles without any training would prove to be nearly impossible and you could injure yourself by pushing beyond your capabilities. To cover that distance takes time to build up the strength and endurance required.

Why would someone TRY to be healthy instead of TRAINING to be healthy? Why would someone try to be more generous, disciplined, spiritual, honest, professional, et cetera instead of training to be that way?

Trying can be the first step to move in a new direction, but it is not the last step. It is a tiny step, a baby step. Trying can fool us into thinking we are improving but the key to long lasting change is training and quick fixes rarely last. Committed training through disciplined action is the key to long lasting change and optimum performance.

Exercise and Nutrition only get you part way to your goal. When it comes to your health and living your 100 Year Lifestyle, you need to train yourself in five areas: Neurology, Nutrition, Endurance, Strength and Structure. Restoring the structure of your spine and nervous system gives you the potential to become a master at whatever it is for which you are training. All five areas integrate together, enhance each other, and are required if you seek quantity of years and quality of health.

You will train in these areas by choice or by necessity. Necessity follows crisis. If you want to avoid an untimely and expensive crisis then train with consistency.

Your training will be optimized through Chiropractic Care. There are 3 types of care: Crisis Care, Critical Transition, and Lifestyle Care. Crisis Care is based on need and takes you to the point of relief and stability. Lifestyle Care is based on want and supports the health goals you have for your life now and as you age.

The Critical Transition is critical. It opens up greater opportunity to reach and surpass those goals and is vital to the regeneration of your body’s innate ability to heal itself and function at optimum levels.

If a crisis does appear you will still be better able to deal with it and recover by the training already done. Take a good look at yourself. In the vital areas of life are you TRYING or really TRAINING? Make the choice today to TRAIN and reap the benefits tomorrow and for years and years to come.

Contributed by Dr. Dennis Buckley, Affiliate in Pasadena, CA

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