Chiropractic care is not just for back pain.

Chiropractic care can be beneficial for babies, children as well as adults.

Read this interview conducted by our guest author Tamara Mannelly of Oh Lardy.

Tommy John is currently in his final year working towards his Doctor of Chiropractic degree at Life University. He is very passionate about chiropractic and the human body’s ability to heal itself.  He obtained his Master’s Degree in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University before playing professional baseball for a few years. He formerly owned and operated his own baseball instructional facility and is also a certified personal trainer and ARPWave therapist. You can follow Tommy on Facebook.

Oh Lardy interviewed Tommy about 5 reasons why everyone should have their spines checked by a chiropractor. And, guess what?! … none of the reasons have to do with back pain!

Oh Lardy:  Most people think of seeing a chiropractor for back or neck pain. You say there are many other reasons why we should all have our spines checked.  What are they?

Tommy:  A chiropractor can do much more than alleviate back and neck pain. Having your spine checked by a chiropractor can help with obesity and metabolic issues, mental health disorders and help relieve trauma an infant sustains during birth. A clear spine and nervous system can also help with disease formation that has not yet shown itself with symptoms.   Also, if you are not taking care of yourself in other ways (diet, exercise, etc.), a clear spine can give you the best chance at being somewhat healthier.

Oh Lardy:  Okay, let’s elaborate a bit. First, how can having your spine checked help with obesity and metabolic diseases?

Tommy:  Well, we all know that obesity and diseases related to obesity are decimating our society.  Many of these issues are lifestyle related and can be reversed by eating the proper diet, exercising regularly, changing the mindset, etc.

Oh Lardy: That’s right, so how can chiropractic help with that?

Tommy:  Of course, it is still going to be the responsibility of the individual to consume the right “real” foods in appropriate amounts, getting exercise, etc. However, having a clear spine can be the first and most important step toward a fat loss goal.

What happens if you are not digesting foods properly?  In order to digest foods you need enzymes to function properly. The central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) controls the cells responsible for the release of these enzymes. If your CNS is clear and operating properly, then your body has the best chance to digest the real and nutrient dense foods you are eating.  If your CNS is not operating efficiently, the digestion process works less effectively.

Oh Lardy: How else does the CNS interact with eating and digestion?

Tommy:  The CNS also controls the release of two hormones responsible for telling us we are satisfied or full and when we should feel hungry and need food.  These are called ghrelin and leptin.  If the CNS is not performing at its most appropriate level then these hormones will be skewed leading to overeating, or eating when our body really doesn’t need any food.

Once the CNS is working properly, their now higher functioning system can digest real foods properly in order to carry out processes of their systems.

Oh Lardy:  Can chiropractic help with mental health disorders? This seems to be an area where traditional medicine really falls short.

Tommy:  Yes, traditional methods of treating mental health disorders have a history of not being successful and all psychiatric medications have dangerous side effects, some of which can lead to death in certain instances.  Chiropractic care on the other hand is a very successful, safe, alternative method to getting at the root cause (problems with the CNS) of most mental health disorders and can even lead to the prevention of the need for pharmaceutical intervention.

Oh Lardy:  Psychiatric medicines seem to be so dangerous and, oftentimes, so ineffective. Can chiropractic help people deal with these meds?

Tommy:  With the laundry list of side effects that come with the medications to “treat” these conditions, some of which make the condition worse or amplified, seeking out chiropractic care for a mental health disorder could lead to a lower dosage of your prescription or maybe even lead to total elimination of it.

Oh Lardy:  Now, how about using chiropractic on infants to relieve trauma from birth?  I had my daughter adjusted at 4 days old but most people do not.  What are your thoughts on that?

Tommy:  The birthing experience can not only be physically traumatic for the mother but for the newborn as well. There are about 90-110 pounds of force applied into the arms and neck of a newborn baby from a “normal” vaginal birth without the use of forceps or vacuums. If the child is delivered by C-section then the forces applied to the baby’s system are even more severe. These forces without a doubt alter the undeveloped skeletal system in a negative way.

The newborn baby starts its life with vertebral segments out of alignment putting pressure on nerve roots which can lead to a wide variety of issues that chiropractic care has already had very good success with including: colic, ear infections, asthma, allergies, autism, bedwetting, and constipation just to name a few.

Oh Lardy:  Do you think children and babies are good candidates for chiropractic care?

Tommy:  Yes, children respond so well to chiropractic care because they aren’t guarded and have no predisposed notions of what should or should not occur in a chiropractic visit. They just accept the appropriate adjustment and their nervous systems respond in an extremely powerful way.

Oh Lardy:  That’s really interesting and makes so much sense! Now, you talk a lot about chiropractic being able to stop disease formation that we don’t even know we have.  Can you tell me a little more about that?

Tommy:  Sure.  Just because you are symptom free, does not mean you are disease free or that you are healthy. The disease process takes time to develop and sometimes symptoms do not show themselves until years after the breakdown in the body has begun.

Oh Lardy:  Right, that makes sense.  What does this have to do with the spine being clear?

Tommy:  In the early 1900’s, Dr. Windsor took about 150 cadavers and observed what their organs looked like. He then traced the nerves that innervated the organs back to their location in the spine and 95% of the time found that the organs that had preliminary signs of disease also had fixations and adhesions at those segments in the spine. Organs that had no signs of disease had extremely healthy sections of the spine.

If the CNS is clear at the spine, subluxation free, then the communication highway between organ/tissue/cell and brain is open and the appropriate changes that may need to take place can be monitored and changed more effectively.

Oh Lardy:  Can you give me an example of what you are talking about?

Tommy:  Of course. For example, cancer cells that are forming on our livers right now as we read this post can be recognized by that organ, a message can be sent to the brain triggering an immune response to seek and destroy the useless, damaging cells preventing permanent trauma from occurring.

Seeing a chiropractor regularly will help keep your spinal nerves clear of interference, which will help keep your visceral organs functioning optimally.

Oh Lardy:  Well that image right there is enough to send me to the chiropractor ;)  Now my favorite reason of yours to see a chiropractor is for people who have no belief in the holistic care model. People who are eating SAD, taking prescriptions, etc.  People who think all of this alternative stuff is a bit ‘woo woo’. Why should those people seek chiropractic care?

Tommy:  Yes, it does seem a bit oxymoronic.  Let me explain …

Let’s say that you (or someone you know) just can’t imagine their or their family’s world without vaccinations, without unnecessary medications, without artificial sweeteners, without homogenized/pasteurized low-fat cow milk, with good sources of fat, without chemotherapy, without flu shots.

Of all the alternative methods they feel is hogwash, I implore them to not ignore this. All medications, necessary or not, are toxins to the body and will cause some side effects.  Even their doctor will say that.

If this sounds like someone you know, it would then be in the person’s best interest to make sure they have a perfectly functioning central nervous system, which controls every cell in the body, so that the body can effectively deal with the levels of poisons entering your system. These medicines will “treat” your symptoms along with attacking the rest of your body as well. If the CNS is functioning properly, maybe the side effects won’t be as harsh or as deadly.

So for people who don’t believe in alternative care, they can take meds, get things removed from their bodies, have huge batteries of physical exams issued by their doctor …. but if they go get their spine checked by a chiropractor first, maybe, just maybe, they might start feeling more healthy they could drop the meds or get out their and exercise and eat right.

Oh Lardy: Wow, that’s great.  Thanks for letting me interview you! I am a big believer in regular chiropractic care and hope more people can learn about its benefits beyond helping back and neck pain!

Tommy: Yes, we have to keep spreading the word!  Keep moving out in the sunshine, go to sleep before 11 pm, eat foods that rot and get your spines checked!!!

About Our Guest Author

About Tamara of Oh Lardy: Tamara is a wife, a mother, a Certified Healing Foods Specialist, a blogger and real food advocate/educator. She lives outside Chicago and is passionate about real food, exercise and general health and wellness. She is working in a Certified Health Coach program through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and cannot wait to get out there and help people learn more about nourishing food!! She blogs over at Oh Lardy about a variety of real food topics.

What is your experience of chiropractic care? What about for your babies and/or children?