I grew up in a bit of an eclectic life.  One aspect of this involved 300 acres of woodland owned by my grandfather in upstate New York.  I spent weeks and weeks at a time there. We weren’t hunters or survivalists.  It was more of a real life Walden’s Pond.  It was my father’s attempt at creating a connection to nature and his body.

This idea of connection stuck with me.  It’s one of the reasons I found a calling while studying Chiropractic.  The idea that the body wants to exist in it’s ultimate, natural state makes sense to me.  The idea that we should listen to our body appeals to me.

However, as a Doctor of Chiropractic, I face a stark reality: Our body lies to us.

This is, in my opinion, one of the key building blocks of the philosophy of the profession.  We believe the body heals itself; that it wants to reach a homeostatic state where everything is in optimal balance; and that this is done via communication through the nervous system.

But sometimes there’s a problem with this communication. Sometimes information arrives at an improper time.  Or it arrives jumbled or with parts missing.  Think of an architect whose plans have run through multiple fax machines.  There’s basic information, but specifics are missing.  The final building, while appearing livable from the outside, may be so off that it may collapse at any moment.

I often have patients that doubt this.

I understand that.  So I show them an example.  It’s quite simple to demonstrate.  If you stand up straight and are getting proper information, every part of your body should line up with a line down the middle.  And even when we’re sending the wrong information, the body can compensate so well that the untrained eye won’t see the misalignment.  But if you lie down, every part of your body should also line up with a line down the middle.  And when lying down, the compensation can become visible to the untrained eye.

The people in these photos all believe they are straight.

Their heads are in a head piece that place it in the mid-line of the table.  However, you can see their feet are not equal on both sides.  This is misinformation.  This is compensation.  This can lead to long-term problems if left unchecked; particularly given how we are living significantly longer than when I was a kid.

What I do, as a chiropractor, is remove points of subluxation ( misalignment ).  This allows the nervous system to function properly.  This, in turn, allows the body’s systems to function better, more efficiently….proper.

Easy way to test yourself:

1. Measure across the top to find the middle of your bed.
2. Place your head at the middle.
3. Lie so you “feel straight”
4. Have a friend look at your feet.
5. If they shift to either side, Call Me!