My Philosophy of Health

My joy in Chiropractic is based on Chiropractic being a science, art, and philosophy. While the science is the same for all health scientists, the conclusions that we reach, and the actions that we take are dictated by our philosophy. We practice the art through what we call the chiropractic adjustment.

So what is the chiropractic philosophy of health that I have adopted during the last 30 years? Briefly, it is based on two issues:

1) The forces of life
2) How those forces of life are governed in our body.

1. There exists in the Universe a power or Intelligence that created, governs, directs, and gives life and purpose to all things. It is referred to by many different names in various cultures, but the originators of chiropractic referred to it as Universal Intelligence. There is a part of that force/intelligence in every person and object. Chiropractors refer to this part of the force as Innate Intelligence. It makes the boy a self creating, self directing and self healing entity.

2. The Nervous System in the body ultimately controls and coordinates all functions of the body, and relates the organism to its environment. Interference, irritation, stress, stimulation, or damage to any part of that system can affect the body's ability to function properly, thus causing a state of dis-ease. One of the most common stress's on that system is referred to as a "subluxation." Health, which is more than the absence of dis-ease, is optimum physical, mental and spiritual well being. It is based more on how our bodies are performing their proper functions and not so much on how they feel.

3.) Chiropractically speaking, a subluxation is a misalignment or alteration in function of two bones as they relate to each other. This changes the neurological tone of the area, thus stressing, irritating or altering in some way the function of the nervous system. It can increase tone, creating "too much" function (as could happen in a muscle spasm or causing cells to secrete too much acid in the stomach), or it can decrease tone, creating "not enough" function (as could happen with muscle weakness or decreasing your immune function).

Practical application of our philosophy could then be summarized as follows:

The body is like a well designed machine, under control of the nervous system, that is meant to function properly and be healthy. An alteration in the nervous system affects the body's ability to control and regulate itself, thus affecting health. As we eliminate interferences to the nervous system, the body is then able to enjoy a higher state of health.

My responsibility as a doctor of chiropractic is to minimize the effects of irritations to the nervous system through finding and minimizing the subluxations that exist, and teaching patients those things that will help them to enjoy better health.