Hi everyone............I want you all to hear something written by our other chiropractor in the house...........she is wonderful and will be contributing on a regular basis to the blog as well.............Meet Dr. Rondeau.........
Do you know that 75 percent of American adults and one third of children and teenagers are obese or overweight?? Obesity is a huge epidemic in our country. There are at least 20 different conditions and diseases that directly relate to being overweight.
LOSE WEIGHT!!!--New weight loss program at the office
Would you like to lose 20-40 pounds in 42 days? Come into the office. We have a new weight loss program that is guaranteed. It is a doctor supervised program that combines a low calorie diet with a safe, homeopathic formula of a hormone called HCG. This hormone suppresses your appetite and stimulates your metabolism without increasing your heart rate. This will not interfere with any medications you are taking and has no known said effects.
How does it work? The HCG is basically tricking your hypothalamus from going into starvation mode by ignoring the fact that you are eating a low calorie diet. You are able to burn the fat that usually comes off last, with months and months of diet and exercise, if it ever comes of at all. It is estimated that most people who follow the diet will burn 1200-2000 calories of their own fat every day!!!
And one of the best things about this diet is you are able to keep the weight off after the 42 days because the HCG gives your hypothalamus a new point which convinces your brain of your new weight. This makes it much easier to keep the weight off.
One patient was 282 pounds, his cholesterol was 147, his LDL(bad cholesterol) was 76, and his blood sugar was 118. After going through the program, his weight decreased to 242 pounds, his cholesterol decreased to 100, LDL decreased to 48, and his blood sugar decreased to 108.
We have a free 20 minute informational video at the office that tells all about the program. Stop by today!!!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Why Does My Chiropractor Care if I am Constipated?
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.
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.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
I'm Blind! I'm Dying! I'm Having a Stroke!
If you have never experienced a migraine or any sort of headache, God bless you! However, if you are the unlucky lot, you can relate to this crippling ailment. I am sure you have tried almost everything for relief, and you get scared that this headache might be the one that will finish you off. My first experience with headaches started when I was a teenager, and I thought I was going blind, dying, or having a stroke. I found out later at the doctor's office that what I had been blessed with was a migraine with an aura. I am not talking about the kind of aura around your body, but a sort of halo of lights that forms around things and causes a block in vision with a squiggly, silver colored line that can appear in one or both eyes in usually half of the vision. This aura lasts about 30-45 minutes, and then the lovely headache creeps into the picture to plague you for sometimes an hour or can last a couple of days. Sleep, a dark room, and a cold compress soon become your only hope. There really is no rhyme or reason to it. You can never predict when the headaches will happen or why they happen. Anyway, I dealt with these headaches off and on for several years, and then I finally found a way to deal with them through getting chiropractic adjustments regularly. If I do feel one coming on, I try to get adjusted immediately, and that will help keep the headache at bay.
The one thing that I have always learned is that the #1 cause of headaches is dehydration. So, the first thing you should do is increase your water intake to at least 8 glasses of water a day or drink half your body weight in ounces (ie. if you weigh 200 lbs, you would drink 100 oz.) Therefore, not everyone should drink 8 glasses of water. It really depends on your size. This advice is recommended only to those who have healthy kidneys and are not being advised to limit your liquid intake. Another tip to headaches is to avoid anything that is artificial or is a preservative. One of the most common things you find in today's products is artificial sweeteners. No matter what they tell you through marketing, anything that is man-made is hard for your body to break down and process. Splenda, Nutrasweet, and saccharin contain chemicals that have been altered by man, and some people's bodies are super sensitive and cannot handle them. Even if your body could handle it now, there is no guarantee that overusage will not create problems down the line. The best alternative to sugar or artificial sweeteners is stevia, which is a root from South America. It has no effect on blood sugar and has no calories, so diabetics and hypoglycemics can consume it usually. I have hypoglycemia, so this has been an issue that I have had to deal with over the years. I find the best form of stevia is the liquid, because it dissolves quickly into cold beverages. Since I am from the South, I love my iced tea (sweetened with stevia). :)
Other things to monitor are to look at the foods that you are most reactive to that can trigger a headache. Some people are bothered by nuts, chocolate, caffeine, etc. The key thing to do is to do an elimination diet to find out what really affects you. In our office, we do a detoxification diet over a period of time to help you get rid of a lot of your symptoms that plague your body. Stress also plays a huge part in causing headaches, especially when you strain your eyes when thinking a lot or you are in a constant state of looking down or looking at a computer. New or old injuries that involve any jarring to the neck or head (ie. whiplash) can cause immediate neck pain or headaches or may develop over time if uncorrected. Children are constantly having falls or spills just as part of growing up, but their bodies usually rebound very quickly. This is why it is so important to get their spines checked regularly as well from a chiropractor, so that you may prevent any future problems.
I remember a patient who came into my office several years ago, and she was a referral from her aunt, who was a patient in my office. Her aunt had expressed how concerned they were over her 8 year-old niece, because she had been having debilitating headaches for quite some time. It wasn't until after going to her pediatrician and being prescribed heavy narcotics, that they showed up in my office. Her father did not want his child on narcotics at such a young age. I am sure most people would agree, or I would hope they would. When she came in, I did an exam and found her neck to particularly tender to the touch on one side of her neck just below the skull. The first bone in the spine under the skull is called the first cervical vertebra, also known as the atlas. It is called atlas, because it holds up the skull/head, just like the old mythological figure Atlas who held up the world. Anyway, here you will find an artery, a nerve, and a vein that exit on both sides of this bone which travel out to a large portion of the head. If this bone is moved even 1 millimeter, it can put pressure on these structures and create pain in the form of headaches, or interfere with other processes in the body. So, naturally, I took an x-ray of her cervical spine to see if this bone was misaligned. Surely enough, it had moved laterally a couple of millimeters on the side where she had pain. Therefore, I did a chiropractic adjustment to help guide that bone back into place to remove the pressure from those structures to help her body return to normal. After three adjustments, she was completely fine and complained no more of headaches. Thank God for her aunt and helping this young child get help, before she would grow up to be addicted to pain killers and who knows what else!
One thing is for sure, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! The best gift you can give yourself is having your spine checked by a chiropractor for any misalignments. Your body will thank you in the long run.
The one thing that I have always learned is that the #1 cause of headaches is dehydration. So, the first thing you should do is increase your water intake to at least 8 glasses of water a day or drink half your body weight in ounces (ie. if you weigh 200 lbs, you would drink 100 oz.) Therefore, not everyone should drink 8 glasses of water. It really depends on your size. This advice is recommended only to those who have healthy kidneys and are not being advised to limit your liquid intake. Another tip to headaches is to avoid anything that is artificial or is a preservative. One of the most common things you find in today's products is artificial sweeteners. No matter what they tell you through marketing, anything that is man-made is hard for your body to break down and process. Splenda, Nutrasweet, and saccharin contain chemicals that have been altered by man, and some people's bodies are super sensitive and cannot handle them. Even if your body could handle it now, there is no guarantee that overusage will not create problems down the line. The best alternative to sugar or artificial sweeteners is stevia, which is a root from South America. It has no effect on blood sugar and has no calories, so diabetics and hypoglycemics can consume it usually. I have hypoglycemia, so this has been an issue that I have had to deal with over the years. I find the best form of stevia is the liquid, because it dissolves quickly into cold beverages. Since I am from the South, I love my iced tea (sweetened with stevia). :)
Other things to monitor are to look at the foods that you are most reactive to that can trigger a headache. Some people are bothered by nuts, chocolate, caffeine, etc. The key thing to do is to do an elimination diet to find out what really affects you. In our office, we do a detoxification diet over a period of time to help you get rid of a lot of your symptoms that plague your body. Stress also plays a huge part in causing headaches, especially when you strain your eyes when thinking a lot or you are in a constant state of looking down or looking at a computer. New or old injuries that involve any jarring to the neck or head (ie. whiplash) can cause immediate neck pain or headaches or may develop over time if uncorrected. Children are constantly having falls or spills just as part of growing up, but their bodies usually rebound very quickly. This is why it is so important to get their spines checked regularly as well from a chiropractor, so that you may prevent any future problems.
I remember a patient who came into my office several years ago, and she was a referral from her aunt, who was a patient in my office. Her aunt had expressed how concerned they were over her 8 year-old niece, because she had been having debilitating headaches for quite some time. It wasn't until after going to her pediatrician and being prescribed heavy narcotics, that they showed up in my office. Her father did not want his child on narcotics at such a young age. I am sure most people would agree, or I would hope they would. When she came in, I did an exam and found her neck to particularly tender to the touch on one side of her neck just below the skull. The first bone in the spine under the skull is called the first cervical vertebra, also known as the atlas. It is called atlas, because it holds up the skull/head, just like the old mythological figure Atlas who held up the world. Anyway, here you will find an artery, a nerve, and a vein that exit on both sides of this bone which travel out to a large portion of the head. If this bone is moved even 1 millimeter, it can put pressure on these structures and create pain in the form of headaches, or interfere with other processes in the body. So, naturally, I took an x-ray of her cervical spine to see if this bone was misaligned. Surely enough, it had moved laterally a couple of millimeters on the side where she had pain. Therefore, I did a chiropractic adjustment to help guide that bone back into place to remove the pressure from those structures to help her body return to normal. After three adjustments, she was completely fine and complained no more of headaches. Thank God for her aunt and helping this young child get help, before she would grow up to be addicted to pain killers and who knows what else!
One thing is for sure, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! The best gift you can give yourself is having your spine checked by a chiropractor for any misalignments. Your body will thank you in the long run.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Who is Arthur???
When I was thinking about some of the stories I wanted to share on here, the first thing I thought about was when I first came back from California and opened my practice in North Carolina. I remember that I would keep hearing about somebody named 'Arthur' who was in town and wouldn't leave. I kept wondering, "Who in the heck is this Arthur I keep hearing about?" One day, I don't remember when or who I asked, but I found out that this 'Arthur' character was short for ARTHRITIS!! Well, you can imagine that I almost fell in the floor with laughter.
I remember living in California and would occasionally say these southern sayings that would yield an immediate puzzled look from someone that was coupled with an entertained grin. I soon realized that "our" language was something that only "we" understood. Therefore, that colorful part of my life had almost shut down, except when I would come home for breaks in school or when I would encounter a fellow southerner. However, I will say that I NEVER remember anyone mentioning Arthur in my family. Well, maybe they did, but I was probably too young to have any understanding about anything related to something called arthritis. Now, as you can imagine, that is all I hear about, and that is joke that I initiate with my southern comrades. This is truly a sad inside joke that I am fast beginning to realize is a harsh reality.
This leads me to chiropractic. Well, I don't know about you, but I do NOT do well with pain or anything that calls my attention to my body and its capabilities of indulging in activities that never even crossed my mind in the past, like walking or sitting or standing. Hmmmmm. These are all things that we must do in our lives if everything is working properly. The first time we cannot do one of these things we are frantic and think it is the end of the world. Well, in my 20's (and I am not divulging my age), that was my first bout with any kind of pain. I woke up every morning in a 'bent over' position with excruciating low back pain, and it took me about 30 minutes to really 'work' it out. Well, I thought the rest of my life would be like this. I was horrified of the thought of living my life this way. This was 'after' I had decided to be a chiropractor. I will tell you that story another time.
However, I went to a chiropractor and had x-rays, which promptly notified me that I have scoliosis, because I was born with one side of my lumbar spine (low back) fused and the other side not fused. Just imagine a door.........one side is on hinges fastened to the door frame, and the other side is loose to move. Well, when one side of your spine is trying to move and the other won't, you can imagine there is probably going to be some pain. Well, lucky for me, I found chiropractic in my 20's and not in my 50's, because I can tell you I would have been on some serious medication for many years that would have done an enormous amount of damage to my kidneys and liver. Well, I am happy that I never had to go down that road to find out what's at the other end. I really like the way my kidneys and liver work and filter out all the other junk that I have put into it.
I will leave you with this, because I realize that I have just about written a little book today. I know that nobody even knows this blog exists, but if you do read this and think someone else would enjoy it, please pass it along. Also, I am open to discuss just about any topic that you would like to learn about and have a story attached to it, if there is one. I bid you all a good night..................until next time............."Good night, John Boy." I really do love being from the South and having such a colorful language that only 'we' understand. The other doctor in the office, Dr. Rondeau, is from Oregon, so you can imagine her surprise and crash course in 'Southern' when she transplanted here. Haha
I remember living in California and would occasionally say these southern sayings that would yield an immediate puzzled look from someone that was coupled with an entertained grin. I soon realized that "our" language was something that only "we" understood. Therefore, that colorful part of my life had almost shut down, except when I would come home for breaks in school or when I would encounter a fellow southerner. However, I will say that I NEVER remember anyone mentioning Arthur in my family. Well, maybe they did, but I was probably too young to have any understanding about anything related to something called arthritis. Now, as you can imagine, that is all I hear about, and that is joke that I initiate with my southern comrades. This is truly a sad inside joke that I am fast beginning to realize is a harsh reality.
This leads me to chiropractic. Well, I don't know about you, but I do NOT do well with pain or anything that calls my attention to my body and its capabilities of indulging in activities that never even crossed my mind in the past, like walking or sitting or standing. Hmmmmm. These are all things that we must do in our lives if everything is working properly. The first time we cannot do one of these things we are frantic and think it is the end of the world. Well, in my 20's (and I am not divulging my age), that was my first bout with any kind of pain. I woke up every morning in a 'bent over' position with excruciating low back pain, and it took me about 30 minutes to really 'work' it out. Well, I thought the rest of my life would be like this. I was horrified of the thought of living my life this way. This was 'after' I had decided to be a chiropractor. I will tell you that story another time.
However, I went to a chiropractor and had x-rays, which promptly notified me that I have scoliosis, because I was born with one side of my lumbar spine (low back) fused and the other side not fused. Just imagine a door.........one side is on hinges fastened to the door frame, and the other side is loose to move. Well, when one side of your spine is trying to move and the other won't, you can imagine there is probably going to be some pain. Well, lucky for me, I found chiropractic in my 20's and not in my 50's, because I can tell you I would have been on some serious medication for many years that would have done an enormous amount of damage to my kidneys and liver. Well, I am happy that I never had to go down that road to find out what's at the other end. I really like the way my kidneys and liver work and filter out all the other junk that I have put into it.
I will leave you with this, because I realize that I have just about written a little book today. I know that nobody even knows this blog exists, but if you do read this and think someone else would enjoy it, please pass it along. Also, I am open to discuss just about any topic that you would like to learn about and have a story attached to it, if there is one. I bid you all a good night..................until next time............."Good night, John Boy." I really do love being from the South and having such a colorful language that only 'we' understand. The other doctor in the office, Dr. Rondeau, is from Oregon, so you can imagine her surprise and crash course in 'Southern' when she transplanted here. Haha
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Welcome to Health Flow
Hi everyone or probably no one! This is my very first blog entry ever! I am really excited to have my own place to tell the world what I have kept in my mind for many years. Hopefully, this info will eventually find its way to the people who find the content interesting, or entertaining, at best. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Kristi Mauldin, and I am a chiropractor in North Carolina. I have been in practice now since 1999. My purpose for having this blog is to share some very simple ideas and approaches to chiropractic and health in general. The world is complex enough to have to go and get a dictionary every time you read something, just to try and decipher what you have just read. I want you to relax and enjoy the information I share. Please, by all means, tell me if you get bored or this blog really stinks! I will do what I can to spice it up, if you don't find it interesting.
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