The Atlas of Life Chiropractic » Patient Education

A Reminder on the Importance of Ergonomics

Brandon Harshe, DC — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:33:58 +0000

Here is a really good video on how to properly position yourself when working on a laptop. It’s no secret that for many people, posture and pain are two things that usually accompany computer work. This is a good reminder we can all follow, myself included. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Truth of Chiropractic

Brandon Harshe, DC — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:00:35 +0000

Another video to blow you away. Dr. Ian Bulow nails down what Chiropractic is all about in the following video. Enjoy!

How to Get More Energy for Healing, Digestion, and Thinking

Brandon Harshe, DC — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:00:40 +0000

“Better than 90% of the brain’s output is directed towards maintaining your body in its gravitational field. Therefore, the less energy one spends on one’s posture, the more energy is available for healing, digestion and thinking.” -Roger Sperry, 1981 Nobel Prize winner for brain research

The first cervical vertebra, Atlas or C1, is the most freely movable vertebra in the spine, and the one most likely to cause irritation or tension to the spinal cord. It pivots around the second cervical vertebra, Axis or C2, connected only by ligaments and tendons, but no disc as in the rest of the spine. This is what allows the majority of spinal rotation to occur, but at the price of instability. In most cases, you will not feel the vertebral subluxation in your upper cervical spine.

When a vertebral subluxation occurs in the upper cervical spine, you won’t feel it in most cases, but it will have a number of negative effects on the body. Because it is causing irritation and/or tension near the brain stem, vital organ function can be negatively impacted. Conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, allergies, and digestive problems can arise. Because of a high number of sensory nerves in the upper cervical spine called mechanoreceptors, a vertebral subluxation can manifest itself in various conditions such as neck pain or stiffness, or tension headaches. You could even experience other conditions like migraines or vertigo as a result of having an upper cervical vertebral subluxation.

A vertebral subluxation can also cause an overall body imbalance that, because of the misalignment component of the upper cervical spine, will result in overall spinal compensation. This will be characterized by spinal curvature, contracted or tight muscles on one side of the spine, postural imbalances such as a tilted head, high shoulder, and high hip, and an imbalance in leg lengths. Over time this will lead to advanced forms of degeneration like bone spurs and fusion of the vertebrae, as well as back and shoulder pain, and even herniated discs.

So restoring proper position to the Atlas and Axis vertebrae have more of an effect on your overall well being than you have ever imagined. If you haven’t had your nervous system and upper cervical spine checked, it’s time you did.

Putting Bricks in Your Purse and Wearing it on Your Shoulder = BAD

Brandon Harshe, DC — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:30:51 +0000

This post is primarily for the female readers of this blog, though if you are a man and wear one of those “man-bags” or “murses,” I suppose this is for you, too.

If you are anything like my wife January, and you put bricks in your purse to make it as heavy as you can (which I think she does sometimes), please don’t wear it on your shoulder if at all possible. I know habits are hard to break and you need your hands free, but when you put that added weight on one shoulder instead of equally distributed across the upper back (or not at all), it pulls down on that side of your upper body. This causes you to lean more to one side, putting added and unnecessary weight and strain on that side of your body, which only adds to the body imbalance you may be experiencing if you haven’t been under Upper Cervical Chiropractic care.

If you have been under Upper Cervical Chiropractic care, then this sort of strain on one side of your body on a repeated basis will undoubtedly contribute to you losing the restored alignment of your spine, causing you to need another adjustment sooner than later. And as you know, when your spine is out of alignment, due to a vertebral subluxation that is causing stress and tension on the spinal cord, this will ultimately affect your entire body i.e. organs, glands, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and joints.

So you see, putting bricks in your purse to make it as heavy as possible, and then wearing it on one shoulder, might actually be putting a damper on your health.

Great Upper Cervical Safety Study by Eriksen et al.

Brandon Harshe, DC — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:58:17 +0000

Last week a new safety and efficacy study in regards to Upper Cervical Chiropractic was published. This study was conducted by Dr. Kirk Eriksen, with help from Dr. Bo Rochester and Dr. Eric Hurwitz to conduct the statistical analysis.

Overall, 83 Upper Cervical Chiropractors submitted information on 1,090 patients, which totaled 4,920 office visits (4.5 per patient) requiring 2,653 upper cervical adjustments (2.4 per patient) over 17 days. After this initial course of care, patient satisfaction was a 9.1 out of 10. It was fairly common for patients to report a worsening of or new symptoms in the first 24 hours of care, but this is not surprising considering the realigning the spine goes through and healing the body begins to do when the upper cervical spine is restored to its proper juxtaposition. What’s really remarkable, but not surprising, is that all 83 Chiropractors have delivered over 5 million adjustments with no reported incidence of serious adverse events.

I uploaded a copy of the study for you to see here. Enjoy!

How Many Drug Ads are in Your Magazines?

Brandon Harshe, DC — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:00:53 +0000

(Editor’s note: This was originally written by Dr. Adam Tanase for his Check the Neck blog.)

I picked up an issue of Woman’s Day magazine this afternoon. This is one of the many freebie magazines that get sent to my chiropractic practice. Their slogan is “Live Well Every Day,” so they must think I’m going to share it with my patients. But here’s why I toss these magazines instead of encouraging my patients to read them: They’re littered with drug ads.

Now most people wouldn’t ever stop to count advertisements, which is precisely why I wanted to share the exact number with you because it’s quite disturbing.

The October 2011 issue has exactly 118 pages. From cover to cover, 31 of these pages contain information about pharmaceuticals. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medication, weight loss pills, supplements, and anti-aging creams. That means 26% of the pages (1 in 4) pertain to drugs – more than any other advertised product!

If the editors genuinely want women to “live well every day,” why are they encouraging readers to take so many drugs?

5 Activities Gone Wrong That Will Screw Up Your Spine

Brandon Harshe, DC — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:00:28 +0000

Horse-riding/bull-riding

Click here to view the embedded video.

BMX bike stunts

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skateboarding

Click here to view the embedded video.

Skiing

Click here to view the embedded video.

Parkour

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chiropractic Principle #13: The Function of Matter

Brandon Harshe, DC — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:33 +0000

The function of matter is to express force.

We know that force is created by intelligence, as stated by Principle #8. But when intelligence (our Innate Intelligence) expresses force, how does it manifest?

Through our physical bodies, otherwise known in this principle as matter.

Without matter, force cannot be expressed. If force cannot be expressed, it cannot unite intelligence and matter.

Some examples of force not being expressed could be, in the most extreme example, death.

In a less extreme example, a vertebral subluxation could hinder the expression of force. Interference to the nervous system by way of vertebral subluxation will cause an incoordination of function in various organ systems. Over time this may lead to atrophy, which will lead to a decreased expression of force, thus diminishing the unification of Innate Intelligence and the body.

Chiropractic removes this interference, allowing the intelligence of the body to create force that can be fully expressed through the healthy and/or healing matter that is your body.

It can happen no other way.

“The MD’s don’t seem to know what’s wrong with me…”

Brandon Harshe, DC — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:00:56 +0000

Gene had a pain in his side for 10 years, degeneration in his spine, shoulder pain, and vertigo. Ginger had sciatic pain for 15 years, had been taking hormones for the previous 30 years, and had frequent hot flashes. Then they came in to see me and get under Upper Cervical Chiropractic care. Read on to find out what happened in their own words.

“My husband Gene and I started going to Dr. Harshe about 2 months ago. Gene had been to the typical chiropractor several times throughout his life, but I never had been to one and was very skeptical about going. A friend had asked me to consider going to an Upper Cervical Chiropractor a year prior, but I just graciously said I don’t really have confidence in them.

She called after my husband had gotten sick and said I really wish you would go to Dr. Harshe in Carrollton. Her Upper Cervical Chiropractor recommended him, so I told her I would tell Gene. He said sure, let’s give it a try, the MD’s don’t seem to know what’s wrong with me.

We called for an appointment and I let my husband see him the first visit and then the second visit I agreed to see him. After hearing Dr. Harshe explain the adjustment he does, it made perfect sense to us. God created our bodies to heal themselves and we felt God could work through Dr. Harshe to help our bodies function as they were created.

Gene had a pain in his side that had hurt for 10 years and a pain in his hip that gave him lots of trouble. After his first adjustment, these pains were gone and he has been free of that pain since. Gene was also having some dizziness and the MD’s had told him that he had severe vertigo and that the casing around his spinal cord was calcifying and would probably close in time and recommended we see a surgical doctor for the spinal cord. He was having what seemed to be a pinched nerve.

With patience, the dizziness is gone and the pain in his shoulder has subsided. We did not see any other doctor for his health issues except for Dr. Harshe.

I have had trouble with a sciatic nerve for more than 15 years. After my first adjustment, my hip pain was gone and has not returned. I have taken hormones for more than thirty years and am now free of taking hormones and have no hot flashes.

We are looking forward to our bodies feeling better and better as we reach the point of being able to stay in adjustment for longer periods of time. I am looking forward to be able to get off my blood pressure meds in the very near future. We are thankful for Dr. Harshe and his practice of common sense chiropractic and for God working through him to help our bodies function as they were created to function.

We encourage you to schedule a visit with Dr. Harshe and gain a wealth of knowledge about how your body is created to function and have your first adjustment for a healthier, drug free YOU!!!!!!”

Gene and Ginger K.
Fort Worth, TX

The Painkiller Shortage Epidemic

Brandon Harshe, DC — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:00:36 +0000

The Atlas of Life Chiropractic » Patient Education

A Reminder on the Importance of Ergonomics

Recommended Reading

The Truth of Chiropractic

Recommended Reading

How to Get More Energy for Healing, Digestion, and Thinking

Recommended Reading

Putting Bricks in Your Purse and Wearing it on Your Shoulder = BAD

Recommended Reading

Great Upper Cervical Safety Study by Eriksen et al.

Recommended Reading

How Many Drug Ads are in Your Magazines?

Recommended Reading

5 Activities Gone Wrong That Will Screw Up Your Spine

Recommended Reading

Chiropractic Principle #13: The Function of Matter

Recommended Reading

“The MD’s don’t seem to know what’s wrong with me…”

Recommended Reading

The Painkiller Shortage Epidemic

Recommended Reading