“How could I not have noticed her back was like this before?” a parent asks, “What could I have done?” Almost every parent of a child who is diagnosed with scoliosis utters similar words. It’s a common scenario – a parent unfamiliar with what scoliosis is, how to notice the warning signs in their children,…
One of the foundational concepts of chiropractic is the connection between the brain and the body. This notion that the brain and body affect each other in profound ways is cemented into our everyday practice. Yet for the most part, western medicine has been a little slower to embrace the connection between mental, emotional and…
“People don’t buy what you do. People buy why you do it.” This is the statement that lies at the heart of Simon Sinek’s groundbreaking book “Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action,” and his Ted Talk on the same topic. Both works are grounded in Sinek’s analyses of great leaders…
A study recently published in the Journal of Brain, Behaviour and Immunity reveals an interesting link between our view of ourselves and our levels of interleukin-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine instrumental in the human inflammatory response. The study took 41 healthy, adult participants and exposed them to some psychosocial stressors that most of us find pretty…
The desire to contribute to something that is bigger than yourself is something that seems hardwired into the human psyche. For as long as history remembers, people have found humanitarian missions an incredible way to answer this need. It opens eyes and instills a deep sense of satisfaction as you make a contribution to a…
“It’s the best thing since sliced bread!” How many times have you heard that expression? The humble invention of pre-sliced bread seems to have become the benchmark for good ideas in modern times. Perhaps you’d find it interesting to know that for the first 15 years in the life of sliced bread, no one bought…
In many ways, today’s child is growing up in a vastly different world to that of their parents. The majority of us who spent our childhoods prior to the advent of technology grew up in a world that was rich in play, imagination, activity and nature. It was low on tech and high on all…
Story at-a-glance Negative thoughts result in a heightened sympathetic nervous system. They also increase the tone of the accessory muscles of respiration, affect the head position and the cervical spine and cause vestibular compensation. So, if someone has forward head posture, fixated upper costals, and subluxations throughout their spine, it could affect their respiration, heart rate, and…
Story at-a-glance First impressions matter. Health practitioners often don’t have a lot of time to spend getting to know a patient. If we don’t know how they best communicate and undestand, information can be lost. There are four main personality types. Understanding them can help us ensure key health messages hit home. Personality types can…
Story at-a-glance New research reveals that chocolate consumption has benefits to cognitive function. Benefits can include visual-spatial memory, scanning and tracking, abstract reasoning and working memory. Eating the right type of chocolate matters. So you pack your food with high quality fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. You buy the meat that’s been fed the right…
Story at-a-glance Since a 2006 study linked flouridated water to lowered IQ levels in children, Harvard researchers have long held concerns around flouridated water and neurotoxicity. A newer study from Grandjean and Landrigan looks at flouride and cognitive disorders such as ADHD, Autism and Dyslexia. There appears to be cause for concern, prompting the researchers…
Story at-a-glance Social media and the internet is making it increasingly easy to access information, both good and bad. This is one reason why it’s more important than ever to pair quality chiropractic research with strong communication skills. Research is helping us understand the underlying mechanisms of chiropractic, so that we can confidently say why…
Story at-a-glance Science is showing us that health and personality are linked, but new research shows that the news isn’t all bad for pessimists. There are certain ways in which a healthy dose of pessimism, can actually improve things. A new book, Rethinking Positive Thinking, provides scientific research suggesting that starry-eyed dreaming isn’t all it’s…
Story at-a-glance For the most part, we are blind to what happens after people leave our practice. Health practitioners are starting to see possibilities in the use of technology like the FitBit to fill this knowledge gap. The FitBit could have multiple possible research applications. The ability to gather and analyse health data may have…
Story at-a-glance Australian research establishes the neuroprotective factors in curcumin (a compound found in tumeric). This compound may inhibit a type of degenerative brain plaque (found in Alzheimer’s sufferers). It also appears to protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation and improve the function of neurotransmitter systems. From a chiropractic paradigm, life should be lived fully,…
Story at-a-glance Contrary to prior thinking, research now shows that there are immune cells present in the brain under normal circumstances. This presents a major shift in theory and reinforces the link between brain and body. It may lead to further research on neurological dysfunction and how it relates to the immune system and the body overall…
Story at-a-glance David Fletcher discusses the use of technology in chiropractic care, and its role in bringing certainty and objectivity to detection of vertebral subluxations Much of the currently available technology doesn’t just measure the spine itself – it also plays a role in demonstrating that the nervous system is involved further afield. Fletcher illustrates how…
Story at-a-glance This Randomized Controlled Trial showed that chiropractic can help improve function in older people, with a possible impact on their overall health and quality of life. We should encourage older adults to get checked! There was a really big improvement in one of the measures as a result of more than 4 weeks…
