During a new patient exam, I do a complete health history and ask a range of questions to find out more about the person in front of me. Most people only think about neck and back pain or headaches. They rarely think that heartburn, ringing in the ears, menstrual cramps, and, much less, constipation are topics of conversation to initiate with a chiropractor. They are probably thinking, "Why in the world would I tell my chiropractor about my constipation??" When we are born, there is no manual that says, "When this breaks down, do this or that." It would be nice if people knew half as much about their bodies as they do about their cars. I know that when I started the long process of being a chiropractor, I didn't know anything but the basics, such as, "This hurts right here and I have no idea what is on the other side of the skin." We basically point to where it hurts and expect the doctor to figure out the rest. The same thing goes for when we pull into the mechanic's garage and we crank up the car to let the mechanic hear some 'noise' when the car is running. Naturally, the mechanice goes "Oh, that's the carburetor, the alternator, or the whatever 'ator'" We just want the mechanic to fix it, so we can get back out on the road. The same thing goes for when we hurt. We look, point, and say fix it.
This is really a simple approach if we are talking about cars. The problem is that this approach does not work so well when we apply it to the body. Cars give us warning lights, and if we don't heed the warning very soon, we could find ourselves stranded on the side of the road. Hopefully, you get off the road right away and get the situation fixed. Now, let's take our bodies. For this example, we will say you wake up with neck pain one morning. The first thing you think is that you slept 'funny' or you were working too much yesterday. Well, why can kids sleep all twisted or fall off the bed, and they rarely complain of pain? It is because most adults have ignored the signs for many years, and now the body cannot rebound as quickly to get rid of the 'symptom'. Basically, if we trace it back many years, we can see that we had many signs of not treating our bodies so nicely. We just expected our bodies to take the abuse and continue to rebound back to 'normal'.
This is where the chiropractor comes into the picture. Our job is to find the problem BEFORE it shows a symptom like neck pain or back pain or many other symptoms. The symptom is the last thing to show up and usually the first thing to go away. This can be compared to a very serious health problem like a heartattack. The first sign of a heartattack is the heartattack itself. There are no warnings, so you had better be taking care of this vital organ through exercise and nutrition for many years in your youth. The same goes for your spine. If you get regular chiropractic checkups and keep your spine adjusted, you should be able to ward off the damaging effects of arthritis and debilitation of the spine. I don't know about you, but I value the ability to be able to walk and be mobile without feeling crippled or housebound. I am not a person who likes to have pain at all, and when I was waking up everyday in my 20's with low back pain, I really thought the rest of my life would be miserable. It was not until I found chiropractic that I got relief........the NATURAL way and without drugs.
So, back to my original reason for talking about constipation and other symptoms. The body is like a map. If you want to move your hand, a signal must get from your brain, down your neck, then out to your arm to move that hand. That is all well and good if there is no roadblock that will interfere with this nerve transmission. The nerves control every single thing in your body, from your eyes, nose, mouth, lungs, heart, kidneys, legs, bowels, etc. You get the picture. If there is anything that puts pressure on those nerves for any amount of time, the result is that whatever is at the end of the nerve will be affected in some way. With that said, you want to make sure there is NEVER any pressure on those nerves, so your body will function properly.
One story that stands out in my mind is that of a little 2-day-old baby, yes I said 2 days, and her mom was a patient of mine. She had come in for adjustments throughout her pregnancy and then brought in her newborn the 2nd day of her life. She explained to me that the baby was really fussy and had not pooped since being born. Naturally, the mother was really frustrated and did not know what to do. Well, just imagine a little baby all cramped up inside the womb in a little ball. Well, when this happens, pressure can be put on the certain parts of the spine and cause problems for the infant. When you are born, you now have freedom to move and there are new curves in your spine that start to form. One particular area is the area where the nerves come from the small and large intestines. I palpated that part of the spine and there was quite a bit of tension and restriction there, so I 'lightly' put a continual pressure (NOT a quick adjustment like in adults) and the tension disappeared. I told the mom that her session was over and I would see her another time if she needed it. Well, much to my surprise, she called me all elated to tell me that her child pooped 4 times in one hour immediately after that adjustment!!! I was even surprised myself! I was like, "Wow! How cool is that!"
So, I tell you this story today, because never underestimate your body and its abilities to heal itself when you just remove the pressure and allow the body to return to its normal functions. Chiropractic is so much more than pain.
