As the holiday season approaches, we have noticed two patterns emerge over the last 19 years of chiropractic practice. The first is that we see our highest rate of missed visits and people falling off from care as the perceived stress of the season builds through late November and into December. The second pattern is that we see more ‘emergencies’ with people in crisis during the month of December than at any other time of the year.

     It is not a coincidence that these two phenomenon happen together and it gives us some insight as to why so many people end up spending the holidays overwhelmed, sick, and in pain when it really should be one of the most cherished times of the year.

     So, how do you not only survive, but actually thrive this holiday season? There is a simple formula to help you to make it happen.

     The first step is to acknowledge and accept that there WILL be greater stresses on you. When I talk about stresses, I am referring to not only mental/emotional stress, but also chemical stress (food and drink), and physical stress (shoveling, lack of sleep).

     We know going in that we are going to have some late nights, eat some cookies, drink some bubbly and have to deal with dear aunt Sue’s passive aggressive insults. We know we will have the ‘normal’ time and money stress inherent of the season. Acknowledging this will allow us to create a plan to mitigate this stress. By doing this we can enjoy the fun without losing our health or our minds.

     The common denominator amongst these stresses is that they consume our energy and leave us depleted. If we become too depleted, we move into what is called an ‘energy poor’ state and that is when we get sick, have our back ‘go out,’ develop headaches and experience complete overwhelm.

     The solution to an energy poor state is very simple – add energy to the system! How do we do that? We do things to build up our energy reserves before we reach a crisis. Because we know that we are heading into a season of energy depleting stress, we can actually plan practices in advance that will keep us out of an energy poor state.

     Here are some ideas to build your energy reserves both leading up to and during the holidays.

     Knowing you will be eating some not-so-good for you food – make sure you continue to eat plenty of healthy food too. If you are going to eat those butter tarts, make sure you are loading up on high quality meats and produce as well. During the holidays I really focus on eating a healthy breakfast as a way to build up energy.

     Supplements can also be an advantage at this time of year. Vitamin D, high quality fish oil, magnesium, zinc, and a greens supplement are a great idea.

     Daily exercise is an excellent shield against stress. It is easy to fall out of a routine – especially while traveling – but it doesn’t take much to get massive benefit. Some push-ups, burpees, and air squats can get you what you need in less than 15 minutes. I keep a kettlebell in my car at all times!

Even a brisk walk (bonus points for getting fresh air) can keep you on the right track.

     Meditation or even just some quiet time set aside each day is crucial for dealing with the mental stress and chaos of the season.

     Those familiar with the Neurospinal Optimization care we provide at Nexus Chiropractic know that what we do works by allowing the nervous system (and thus the spine and body) to move from a fight or flight state to a normal relaxed state that is required for healing and restoration. Staying on track with your visits and at the very least doing your SRI exercises is a great weapon to have in your arsenal against the stress of the season.

     The take home message is to make sure you continue to do the things that fill up your fuel reserves so that you can get the absolute most out of what can be a magical time.

     Because we understand this, Nexus will have office hours over the holidays. We will be open on Monday the 23^rd and 30^th and then will be back to normal starting Thursday, Jan. 2^nd.

Happy Holidays!

Halloween is over, which means the countdown to the holiday season is officially on.

     The holiday season is full of fun, food, parties, connecting with loved ones and of course – presents! It is also a time of late nights, stress, worry and unfortunately for many people, sickness and burn-out.

     Having observed my patients and practice members go through 19 holiday seasons, I have become aware of some patterns that drastically effect people’s health and well-being during this time of year. The most obvious trend we see is that we look after far more acute crisis patients during the holidays – and no, it is not from shoveling snow.

     I have also observed the behaviours that lead to either a healthy holiday or a crash and burn holiday. Typically, those behaviours start now.

     So, how do you set yourself up for success this holiday season. It really is very simple.

     In the fall, most people are busier than they are during the summer. It is for that reason they ‘fall’ back into a routine. Some people use that routine to include things that add to their health. They structure a healthy diet, schedule 4 workouts a week and meditate on their noon hour. They see a health practitioner like me regularly – not because they are messed up, but to care for and enhance the function of their spine and nervous system. In other words, it is part of their routine to things that ADD to their overall level of health.

     On the other side of the aisle, people use the ‘busy’ness of the fall as an excuse to not do the things that keep them healthy. They eat more fast food as they rush around, skip the gym due to a hectic schedule and generally get lost in the overwhelm of life.

     We have all been there, so we all know how that pattern ends, don’t we? CRISIS. We get sick, develop headaches, throw our back out…or worse. Fortunately, or unfortunately, most people are pretty tough, so the crash typically ends up happening sometime around or during the holidays.

     There is some good news here, though. The first is that you are reading this now and have time to get yourself on the right track if you start right away. Ask yourself what you can schedule into your life that will ADD to your health in a positive way (not the same as treating a problem)? What habits can you tweak so that you will be healthier in 6 weeks than you are today?

     The other half of the good news is that even if you do find yourself in the midst of a crisis (pain, sickness, burn-out), know that the purpose of that crisis is to interrupt the life you have been living to create a change. Knowing this you can use the crisis as a wake-up call to get back on track as opposed to just treating the symptoms (secondary conditions) and going back to what created the problem in the first place.

     Perhaps the most obvious difference between healthy and unhealthy people is that the former focus on building health while the latter focus on treating symptoms. Having worked with thousands of people over the last 20 years there is no question that the people who get the best results with Neurospinal Optimization are those who use it on a regular basis as a way to enhance their health, well-being, and performance.

     Don’t fall victim to the challenging side of the holiday season. Take control and get better, not worse this year. It will be a great gift to both yourself and your loved ones.

Thorin Gault, D.C.

When it comes to health problems, we have 4 ways in which we can approach them. All four have their own benefits and are appropriate at different times. Which we choose for a given situation is not only important in having short term success, it is also paramount to achieving the health we want long term.

Let us take a look at each of Patch, Fix, Protect and Optimize.

     Patching is what we do when we know there is a larger problem, but we need to buy ourselves some time in the short term. Your old springs a leak and you know it will need to be replaced, but you need to finish watering the garden. So, you wrap some duct tape around the hole, so the flowers don’t die today.

The Patch strategy is a great one when we are in crisis and if something is not done immediately, disability and even death may result. If someone were shot with a bullet inside them, yes, the bullet will eventually need to come out. However, in the short term, compressing the wound with a bandage will keep them alive long enough to be properly fixed.

Antibiotics can be a great patch when faced with an infection that may kill you. They buy you the time (save your life) so that you can make changes that will strengthen your health and immune system in the future.

Patches can become a problem when they are used as fixes. Antibiotics used unnecessarily will harm your long-term health. Pain medication used simply to cover up a secondary condition(symptom) actually allow people to continue to damage their bodies without knowing it – leading to more serious problems down the road.

Most people truly only need patches (hopefully) a few times during their lives when in serious crisis. When we need them, they are wonderful. When we over use them, we suffer needlessly.

The Fix strategy is one that looks to get to the cause of the problem. It looks to correct the primary condition leading to the secondary effects. If faulty electrical was leading to burned out light bulbs and malfunctioning appliances the patch solution would be to replace them. The Fix solution would be to hire an electrician to correct the wiring.

When we Fix something we typically gain parallel benefits as well. Corrected wiring improves the function of EVERYTHING requiring electricity. Perhaps the electrical bill goes down as efficiency increases. Safety also improves as the chance of a devastating electrical fire decreases.

The Fix approach works the same way with our health. Taking a pain pill may make us feel better for awhile but correcting abnormal spine structure and nervous system function is not only more sustainable but leads to a myriad of health benefits besides.

The Protect strategy begins to move beyond being focused on problems or symptoms. Once we have corrected what was abnormal we have a choice to do some regular work to keep it that way. Protect recognizes that maintaining proper function is better than waiting for the next crisis. Once we get the old piano in tune, it is much less work more enjoyable to have it retuned on a regular schedule than to let it get back to it’s previous state and start over again.

A health crisis can be a time, energy and resource draining thing to face. They are certainly not convenient. Some attention to Protection is a great way to stay healthy long term and avoid future problems.

Finally, we come to the Optimization strategy. This is where exceptionally healthy people spend most of their energy and attention. Instead of focusing on patching, fixing and preventing problems, they look to optimize and improve their health, function and performance regardless of problems.

They know that the best way to be healthy is to continually improve their adaptability and efficiency. Does it mean they will never have a crisis or problems? Of course not, but they will sure be better equipped to handle them when they occur.

Unfortunately, most people spend most of their lives in Patch, and Fix modes when what they truly want are the benefits of Protect and Optimize. Fortunately, changing that only requires a few simple decisions.

At Nexus Chiropractic we are not interested in patching people up. Very few people entering our office truly need patching and if they do, a trip to the ER is probably in order.

We begin seeing most people from a Fix perspective, which is what we do during the Initial Phase of Care (IPC). By addressing abnormalities in the spine and nervous system (Neurospinal Shift) and objectively measuring those changes we know our patients are going back into life healthier.

Once the system is normalized, people may now choose to enter either a Protection or Optimization program. This is where we see people really create long term health strategies that spill over into not only physical benefits, but mental/emotional well-being, greater energy and vitality and an over all greater quality of life.

After reading this article, take some time to look at where you are perhaps frustrated with your health, or not getting the results you would like. Maybe a small shift in your approach is all you need to get what you want?

Thorin Gault, D.C.

April 17, 2018

We have all heard the Einstein quote, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when creating them.” Not surprisingly, there is a lot of wisdom in that quote, and it has powerful applications to our health.

Just as we cannot solve life’s problems with the same thinking that created them, we can’t solve our health problems with the same approaches that created THEM.

I am a competitive Masters (old timer) weightlifter. For the first 4 years of my competitive career, I made consistent and rapid progress in the results I was achieving, which culminated in winning the Pan Am Masters championship in 2016. Everything was great. Then, I plateaued. Then I noticed that my numbers were dropping. This continued for almost a year and I didn’t know why. It definitely was a big PROBLEM!

Because I am not that smart, my first approach to the problem was to just do the same thing (in training and preparation), but more of it. I trained more often and harder. What was the outcome? You guessed it, the problem got worse.

People told me that I was just getting old and I should just accept it, but I was not quite willing to go down without a fight. I knew that I had to change my approach to training (thinking).

So, I studied books and articles looking for answers. I changed my approach to recovery between workouts. From the new insight I gained, I came up with a new plan with a significantly different approach and it has started to work. My trajectory is now upwards again, and I am excited for what will come as opposed to being scared and frustrated regarding to future.

I see a similar narrative play out with many individuals regarding their health. Everything is fine and then one day a health problem shows up. Back pain, headaches, anxiety, digestive problems.

Most people focus on the elimination of the symptom. What is rarely considered is what the symptom (more accurately termed a secondary condition) means. A secondary condition means that your body is no longer able to effectively adapt to the stressors being placed upon it.

A symptom or disease means you have an adaptability deficiency. So, you can eliminate the stressors in your life (such as work, your kids, physical activity), or you can upgrade your adaptability and re-enter life functioning at a higher level.

Most of the time when we treat a symptom, we are really just decreasing our awareness, which leads to even less adaptability. That is what I was doing by training harder. I was ignoring what both my body and the scoreboard were telling me. Had I continued on this path, my results would have continued to decline, and I likely would have either burned out my system or had a serious injury that would have taken me out of the game.

What if instead of making the secondary condition the enemy, your asked yourself, ‘how can I rise above this? How can I take my thinking, approach, and awareness to a whole new level?’

There are many ways to do this that will provide you with an entirely different trajectory in both your health and life.

One of the reasons we get the results we get at Nexus Chiropractic is that we don’t chase symptoms – we upgrade the body’s software (nervous system) to help it become more aware, more efficient, and more adaptable. Instead of fighting your body, we help it rise above the problem.

Why go back into life the same – only a little older and more fragile – when you can rise above and play the game of life at a whole new level?

Thorin Gault, D.C.

March 27, 2018

Awareness: Enhance vs. Suppress

In the last article we explored the first principle the healthy minority live by, which was that they focus on building health as opposed to treating symptoms.

This article continues into the second principle of healthy people and it has to do with awareness. Healthy people look to enhance awareness, while unhealthy people seek to suppress awareness.

There is no area where this is more obvious than when someone experiences pain or symptoms. I am always surprised at how many people literally walk around with a bottle of pain killers in their purses or backpacks. You don’t see that with healthy people.

All symptoms have a common purpose or meaning. They are there to get us to, 1. Stop, 2. Pay Attention, and 3. Do Something Different. That is the job of a pain or symptom.

If we feel the beginning of that signal being delivered by a symptom and immediately suppress it, we miss the opportunity for steps 2 and 3. In fact the suppression may actually allow us to not stop at all, but continue with the behaviours that were causing the damage and pain.

Let’s take your average blue-collar worker with back pain, or desk worker with neck pain and a headache. The symptoms they are experiencing are letting them know that something is wrong, and they are doing damage by continuing to do things as they are. The back pain forces the labourer to bend and lift in a way that protects their injury. The desk worker is forced to sit up straight or take stretching breaks or perhaps even alter their work station.

Even beyond their immediate work environment, perhaps the symptoms motivate them to join a gym to get themselves in shape, change their diet to decrease inflammation, or see a health professional who can address any structural or functional issues they have.

You see, very often the pain and symptoms we experience are not the problem at all – they are the first part of the solution. However, if we suppress the solution with pills, potions, and lotions it is any wonder why so many people are frustrated and failing in their health?

Healthy people know that pain and symptoms are a call to pay attention and ENHANCE awareness. The great thing about this is that awareness is like a muscle in that the more we pay attention, the better we get at it. We can actually learn to listen to our body’s whispers so that it rarely has to scream at us.

Healthy people can listen to the subtle signals their body is giving them, which not only keeps them out of crisis, but allows their body to become wiser over time.

I have missed only about 2 total days of work sick in almost 18 years. Why? I listen to my body and don’t suppress symptoms when they arise. Over time I have developed the awareness that allows me to know when I am just a little bit off. When I feel that way, I make sure I get a little extra rest, clean up my diet, and maybe handle some stresses I have been ignoring.

The same applies to my competitive weightlifting, where aches and pains are a constant and important companion. Pain may mean I need to back off, correct an imbalance I have, work on mobility, fix a technical issue or focus more on recovery. Because I pay attention to these more subtle things I have never had a serious injury that has kept me away from training for more that a couple of days.

The care we provide at Nexus Chiropractic is different from many other approaches in that Enhancing awareness is an integral and necessary part of the process. Patients leave our office MORE aware of their bodies, not less. As a result of this, they become more adaptable over time and can often return to their same lives, but handle them more effectively. At this point the focus of their care shifts from fixing what is wrong to optimizing their ability to adapt in the world.

Homework time! Write down a circumstance or area of your health where you have consistently SUPPRESSED your awareness in order to feel more comfortable. How has worked out in the long run? Are you more or less adaptable than before?

Next, write down some ways you could increase your awareness next time this issue arises. Even better, how can you increase your awareness before issues arise?

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for another principle of the healthy minority next week.

Thorin Gault, D.C.

One of the ways I know that the holiday season is upon us is that we begin to see a much higher percentage of ‘emergency’ cases in my chiropractic office. Almost magically, the number of both new and existing patients experiencing crisis goes through the roof at this time of year.

The typical presentation is something like, “I don’t know what I did, but I woke up this morning and my back/neck/head really hurt, and my spine was all locked up.”

Interestingly, this is also the time of year that we have the largest number of missed regular visits because of colds, flu and other types of health crises.

So, what is the deal with this time of year? Our bodies and lives have many unique demands placed upon us as the holiday season approaches. We are primed by Halloween and the consumption of not so good food that taxes our immune system (come on, you can admit it!). The time change is another hurdle for our body to get used to. This is also the time of year that we drastically reduce how much fresh air and direct sun exposure we receive.

On top of this, there are more parties, late nights and social events to attend. The time and financial stress of shopping, decorating, and travel. Family stress (enuf said). Loss of routine and eating and drinking things beyond our normal consumption top off the mountain of stressors that typify this time of year. It is no wonder that many people end up in pain, sick, and stressed during the holidays – often to a point that they cannot enjoy what is meant to be a time of joy.

There is another wrinkle to this story that is often overlooked and is perhaps the most important of all. In addition to the ‘negative’ stressors that can put people under, many people stop doing the GOOD STUFF that keeps them healthy the rest of the year.

Not only do they eat BAD stuff, they stop eating GOOD stuff. The gyms get quieter this time of year because people blow off their workouts for shopping and parties. It is not uncommon for us to see regular patients fall off their schedule in December because they feel they are too busy.

I have written an article on staying healthy during holidays most of the 17 years I have been in chiropractic practice. I have seen what works and what doesn’t. Trying to avoid food, drink, stress and parties does NOT WORK for most. The absolute best way to stay healthy over the holidays is to focus on doing GOOD STUFF. At minimum, do as much GOOD STUFF as usual. Ideally, use your extra time off (if you have it) to do more GOOD STUFF.

It is okay to indulge in some food and drink but be sure to focus on eating lots of GOOD STUFF. Commit to eating a nutritious fuelling breakfast to start things right. Do not allow your vegetable and healthy protein and fat consumption to drop, even if you are going to have some cookies.

It is great to enjoy some parties (I highly recommend it)! Do not allow parties to get in the way of regular exercise. Even if you are away from your gym, class or sport, use it as an opportunity to do something different. Get outside if you can. Be creative. I have done many great workouts on the floor of hotel rooms with zero equipment.

Even if you spend some nights out late, meditation is a great way to get ‘virtual rest’ in a very time efficient way. Sitting for 20 minutes (or even 10) can have a huge impact on restfulness and energy levels.

As much as possible, stay on track with activities that add to your health. I try to see my chiropractor MORE during the holidays because a healthy nervous system leads to a healthy person. I see it as my invisible shield at this time of year.

What I have learned over the years – and was reminded of recently while reading Jocko Willink’s great new book Discipline Equals Freedom – Field Manual – is that when you do the GOOD STUFF, you will feel good and then you naturally won’t want to do the BAD STUFF. The GOOD STUFF actually protects you from getting too much of a good (BAD) thing.

Enjoy yourself this holiday. Eat some cookies, enjoy your family and friends. Focus on the GOOD STUFF and not only will you have a better time, you will hit the ground running in 2018!

In over 14 years of chiropractic practice you begin to notice trends, or patterns at certain times of year. When it comes to the weeks leading up to the holiday season we have noticed two distinct and very much related patterns.

The first is that people who are otherwise regular and routine with their care tend to miss visits as their schedule and stress levels become more chaotic. There is nothing like the holidays to shake up our healthy routines.

The second pattern we tend to see are lots of people with acute crises of back pain, headaches, illnesses and other secondary conditions that sometimes require some intense care in our office to ensure they don’t spend Christmas on their backs.

These trends are certainly not only seen in our office. When people have more to do, more things to spend money on and extra stress, they also tend to eat less healthy food, exercise less, and stay up later at night – neglecting the things that keep them healthy during the rest of the year.

When you add these factors to the fact that many people experience their greatest levels of stress during the holiday season (ain’t family wonderful?) it is no surprise that it is common for people to spend what should be the most wonderful time of the year sick, in pain and unable to enjoy themselves or their families.

The fact of the matter is that it is very easy to become overwhelmed this time of year. I also know that by approaching your health correctly during the holidays will allow you to both have fun (this is very important) and stay healthy. I actually believe that the change of routine, having more time off of work, spending time with loved ones and YES, even indulging in some treats provides an opportunity to boost your health if you do it right!

The first step to a healthy holiday is to acknowledge that you are going to indulge a bit. If you wait all year to eat some of grandma’s famous cookies go ahead and enjoy them. When we make things a ‘treat’ we don’t stress about our indulgence and it actually prevents us from completely going full gluttonous. In addition when we really ‘treat’ ourselves it becomes much easier to get back to our routine when the holidays come to an end.

The second step is the most important and is really quite easy – yet is most often missed. While we treat ourselves to some not so healthy things, it is essential that we continue to do the healthy stuff, too. We need to make sure we get lots of veggies and clean meats while in addition to plum pudding. Meditate and get regular exercise while staying out late. Take our vitamins especially while dealing with our in laws!

As I have applied this over the years I have found a formula to actually improve my health over the holidays even though I love to indulge as much as the next person. I use the extra time off from work to exercise a bit more and meditate regularly. In spite of changing schedules I try to see my chiropractor even more often leading up to and during the holidays. I also increase my supplementation with fish oil, probiotics and vitamin D where appropriate to counteract the increased stresses faced at this time of year.

My wish for you all this holiday is to be able to fully celebrate and participate in whatever way makes you happy, NOT sick, in pain and frustrated. A little time and effort spent doing the good things will allow you to enjoy what we don’t typically enjoy the other 11 months of the year. There is nothing I would love to see more than a reversal of that pattern I have seen over the past 14 years. It is up to you.

…and Why it is a Good Idea.

In my last article we looked at the pitfalls of focusing too heavily on treating secondary health conditions (or symptoms). This is the approach of most people, and while it can be very effective in the short term it inevitably leads to long term pain, suffering and frustration.

This article will focus on what happens when we address what is primary to the symptom and how this approach leads to sustainable, long term results and even provides a path to improvement and growth over time.

Imagine a teenage child is struggling in school. They are failing and it is painful to them and those who care about them. If things don’t change they are going to lose the credit and there will be real, undesirable consequences.

Let’s say this teenager is your child. What would you do?

You have some choices. You could go and speak to the teacher and if you were either charming or forceful enough you could have the grade changed to a pass. You could complete the rest of your child’s assignments to get them the credit. You could even turn a blind eye as they conspire to cheat on their next examination.

On the other hand, you could sit down with your child and recognize that whatever they have been doing (regardless of intent) just isn’t working. From that recognition you could strategize and come up with a new plan. Different study habits, getting more sleep, perhaps a tutor, a family field trip to understand the topic in a deeper way. The possibilities are endless.

Can you see how different choices in this case will lead down very different paths? Can you see how the first path leads down a very slippery slope that will likely result in some serious long term pain? The second path, while requiring a bit more work initially, has the potential to create long term success for that child actually as a RESULT of today’s challenge?

The first path is based on chasing secondary conditions or symptoms. The second, on addressing what is underlying the secondary pain.

Almost everyone recognizes the wisdom of this concept when it comes to school, finances and even relationships – if you don’t address the underlying cause you are setting yourself up for future pain.

Perhaps the most difficult area of our lives to apply this is in our health – yet it is likely the most important place to do so.

It seems so easy to just cover up our health challenges as the solutions are typically readily available to us and quite convenient. What we need to remember are the benefits we actually gain by taking the time and energy to address the primary condition behind our challenges.

When we address what is primary, some new results happen. First we get long-term sustainable results as opposed to the typical fleeting changes that frustrate people so much. Cheating on one test won’t help you on the next one.

In addition, when the underlying problem is addressed quite often we see that other secondary conditions either improve or go away all together. New study habits improve all subjects just like a normalized spine and nervous system improve a variety of functions.

Finally, taking care of the primary condition creates opportunities for the future. Never getting to the root of a problem means you will never develop past that problem. You are a slave to it. Taking care of business allows you to evolve to the next level, and the next and the next. Most people don’t even know that is possible. It is.

At Nexus Chiropractic we focus on addressing a primary condition called a Neurospinal Shift that often underlies secondary conditions such as back and neck pain, headaches, low energy, restlessness and a variety of others. Neurospinal Shift also stunts learning, growth and development.

‘Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records.’

–       William Arthur Ward.

In the third article in this series we will focus on the fact that if you approach health challenges (or any challenge) by attacking the surface problem YOU WILL BE DOOMED!

I know that this sounds harsh and I choose my language to consciously grab your attention. The reality is that I have worked with thousands of people in my office over the past 13 years and one of the most heart breaking(for me) and frustrating(for the patient) things is this never ending cycle of treating secondary conditions that leaves them in the same place, only years older and more broken down.

So, while some of you may find this post ‘negative,’ we will focus on why YOU ARE DOOMED if you approach your life and health the way most of the population goes about it.

For the sake of simplicity I am going to refer all pain and symptoms as SECONDARY CONDITIONS. This term could also apply to problems we encounter in other areas of life such as the debt example we used in a past article.

This first reason we are doomed if we merely attack the secondary conditions is that they are SECONDARY. There is something more PRIMARY that is behind the secondary condition or pain. Most treatments only address the secondary issue, so that we are made more comfortable for the time being. Because the PRIMARY cause that lies deeper has not been handled, what do you think will happen? That’s right, very often our pain or challenge will come back – sometimes after a short time, sometimes after a longer period.

I know many people who have been through so many doctors and treatments, yet still deal with the same problems for years. Is this frustrating? You bet! Without a change in approach they are doomed to a lifetime of the same experience.

It is bad enough to revisit the same challenges again and again over the years (kinda like the movie Groundhog Day), but it gets WORSE. The reason it gets worse is that if a primary condition is not taken care of, what can you expect to happen over time? Yep, it will become more severe. A more severe primary condition will typically lead to more severe secondary conditions as well and people will wonder why after so many treatments things are getting worse. This is so common that we have a name for it. People call their worsening condition AGING, and actually come to expect it as inevitable.

I am going to get all of my negativity out in this article so I will share with you that it gets even worse. Not only will focusing on superficial secondary conditions such as back pain doom you to chronic and worsening problems over time, it will also lead to MORE different kinds of problems!

Because an underlying PRIMARY condition can result in a variety of SECONDARY conditions, it stands to reason that a persistent primary condition will eventually lead to other problems. This is why it is common for people who initially only have back pain will later develop headaches, extremity problems and even end up with trouble sleeping and low levels of energy. Again, we chalk this up to aging.

In our office we focus on detecting and addressing a primary condition known as Neural Resistance which can lead to a myriad of secondary conditions such as neck pain, back pain, anxiety and others.

In the next article, we will wrap up the series with a more ‘positive’ theme. I will share some steps to help you to ‘Go Deeper to Get Better,’ whether you have a health practitioner or not. After all, I don’t wish for any of you to be DOOMED.

From time to time I will be working on someone and as usual, according to my analysis and technique system make contacts on the person’s pelvis, neck, or both and the patient immediately will point to a different area of their spine and say, “No, no doc, it hurts right here.” As if I needed to be reminded or didn’t know what I was doing!

In spite of the fact that we take plenty of time to explain why we do things the way we do them, and offer our patients complimentary workshops to help them get the most out of their care, this response is quite understandable given the traditional approach to health care in general and chiropractic specifically.

Most traditional chiropractors and health care providers focus on reducing the secondary condition, or symptom the patient is experiencing. Commonly these secondary conditions show up as muscle spasm, back pain, headaches, postural distortions, and a myriad of organic conditions. So, if your back hurts at L4, they treat you at that spot. Most doctors do a great job of this.

In our office, instead of focusing on each secondary condition, we focus on correcting a condition called Neural Resistance which often underlies many secondary issues. While pain and muscle spasms are usually specific to a particular spot, Neural Resistance is condition of the entire nervous system and therefore requires a non-local, systemic approach.

Imagine an unprotected and uninsulated water pipe in your home (in Canada). Winter arrives and the water in the pipe freezes and expands, increasing the pressure within the entire pipe. The result or secondary condition will be that the pipe will split in a specific place, causing a leak in your home. Treating the split and leak (a simple, and necessary step) is great, however if this is all you do you would expect the problem to reoccur and the damage to your home to continue.

This is the reason that simply treating secondary health conditions usually leads to relapses and eventually an overall worsening of health. Clearly, in the frozen pipe example the logical course of action would be to first warm the ice to decrease the overall pressure, and then take whatever measures necessary to insulate and protect the pipe so it does not continue to freeze.

Neural Resistance is like a frozen pipe with enough pressure built up that cracks are about to occur. Different people crack in different ways depending on their history and predispositions, just like different pipes will crack in different spots. When the pressure builds, some people will develop back pain, some will develop numbness in their limbs, others will have headaches. Because the nervous system also coordinates our organs a variety autonomic secondary conditions may result as well.

It is for this reason that when we look after the Neural Resistance present in a person’s body that not only the secondary condition they wanted help with improves, conditions they did not even know were related change also. When you look after what is underlying, a ripple effect occurs downstream.

Future articles will more specifically explore the mechanics of Neural Resistance and how it can result in different secondary conditions and symptoms. For now, know that the reason I don’t necessarily contact where it hurts is not that I don’t know or care. The reason is that we are playing a bigger game with the potential for a much bigger and sustainable impact on your health and life.