Migraines consist of severe, painful headaches which can last for hours or days. The pain arrives accompanied by flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Migraine headaches produce some of the worst pain that people ever endure. Millions of people suffer from migraines every day and experience an agonizing experience that extends far beyond head pain. Migraines literally shut down a person’s life and render them incapacitated. The medical community offers a migraine solution consisting of some of the most potent drugs available to human beings. The drugs never fully heal the migraines; they simply pump toxins through the body which mask the pain. A better healing solution exists.

Multiple factors contribute to the onset of a migraine. Nutrition, stress, and hormones play key roles in triggering or preventing an attack. The central nervous system engages with all three of these key elements. The brain and nervous system direct the control and function of the entire body. The connection between the brain and body explain why Chiropractic adjustments produce such amazing results for migraine sufferers. One research study determined that people who received upper cervical adjustments reduced their drug consumption by 80%! These same patients detailed a 97% reduction in the number of days spent each month suffering from migraines. The migraine solution led to complete pain relief and restored function in the majority of subjects suffering from migraine headaches.

The spine intimately connects to the central nervous system and regulates communication and hormone production. Proper movement and alignment of the spine allow for necessary and appropriate brain to body communication. Stress and trauma to the body alter spinal positioning and reduce the body’s ability to function and heal at full capacity. Spinal interference alters the brain’s ability to control blood vessels in the head, stress hormones, and other key factors which contribute to migraine onset. Chiropractic adjustments positively impact the body and contribute to optimal physiological performance. Chiropractic research and success stories impact millions of lives. Millions more simply need the benefit of learning more about how Chiropractic promotes health and well-being while freeing people like migraine sufferers from the burden of dark rooms and dangerous prescription drugs.

The post Migraine Sufferers NEED a Chiropractor – Recent Research Explains why… first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

The most commonly recommended drugs consumed by back pain sufferers consist of Tylenol (acetaminophen), NSAIDs, and opioids. These categories of drugs come with the risk of harm and adverse events.

Tylenol (Acetaminophen) Long thought to be safe and the most widely used non-opioid pain killer in the world, acetaminophen was recently reported to be associated with significant toxic effects including hepatic and renal disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, and an increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and high blood pressure (particularly at higher doses).

NSAIDs (Aspirin, Advil, Motrin, Celebrex, Aleve, etc.) Doctors most commonly prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for older adults with chronic non-cancer pain. NSAID drugs carry an increased risk of gastrointestinal reactions and a one hundred percent increased risk of heart failure. Patients using NSAIDs endure an increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

Opioids Adverse effects of opioid therapy include depression, sexual dysfunction, myocardial infarction, addiction, and increased risk of death due to overdose. The alarmingly high risk of adverse drug effects due to opioids continues to rapidly escalate. Opioid use and abuse created a worldwide epidemic due to the destruction and devastation inflicted on users and their families. The rate of death from opioids involved overdoses increased by 200% since 2000.

Better education and distribution of facts serves to benefit society on an individual basis. 59% of American adults who ingest prescription opioids suffer from back pain. Alternative solutions exist for back pain sufferers. A 2018 study determined that Chiropractic based solutions and strategies for back pain lowered the risk of adverse drug events by 51%. Chiropractic care provided healing and relief which allowed patients to use lower or less frequent doses of pain medications. Patients experienced reduced risks of NSAID drug-induced bleeding, opioid overdoses, and other adverse drug events.

Nearly 80% of adults reported that they prefer non-pharmacological care over the use of drugs for the treatment of pain. Too many people have witnessed or learned of the devastation inflicted by someone’s dependency on a drug regimen that never provides a permanent healing solution. A growing population of adults adamantly wants non-drug strategies for pain relief. Chiropractic continues to play an increased and important role in healthcare. Availability and increased utilization of Chiropractic promotes a reduction in both drug prescriptions and the risk of adverse drug reactions. An increased understanding of the scientifically proven benefits of Chiropractic care serves to benefit the health care options available to those wanting to trade a pharmaceutical solution for better healing and a brighter future.

The post Chiropractic Helps Avoid the Dangers and Risks of… Tylenol, NSAIDs, & Opioids first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.

We’ve all been taught that “normal” body temperature is 98.6 F, right?  WRONG!!  98.6 F only represents an average of the “normal” body temperature.  When you look at the population, you quickly realize that what is normal for you or your child may not be what is normal for everybody.  In fact, your child’s temperature can hover anywhere between 97 and 100 F and still be considered “normal”.

Fever is simply an increase in heat.  Normal body heat, aka “fever” is the result of your child’s body working as it was designed and programmed to function under the perfect control of the nervous system. So the question remains, “What should I do about my child’s fever”?

To answer that question appropriately, let’s first take a step back and see what is actually happening inside your body.  To help your child recover when they are fighting a flu bug or other infection, two things happen.

First, the nervous system commands an increase in heat production in order to literally “burn” the invading germ, which can only survive at a “normal” body temperature.  Therefore, any increase in heat above body temperature kills the invading germs… This is a good thing!!

Second, as a result of orders from the nervous system, many-body activities speed up.  Respiration increases, the heart rate rises in order to pump blood faster, breathing quickens, the skin becomes moist and clammy and the child begins to shiver.  The extra work produces heat which we diagnose as a fever.

All this activity has a purpose: to eliminate the invading germ.  This does not necessarily mean that your child is “sick”.  While we view fever as a symptom of sickness, it is actually a function of a healthy individual.  The body is doing exactly what it has been naturally programmed to do.  I’d even go as far as saying that fever is an expression of health.

But as a loving parent, it is at this point that you feel you have to do something.  Not necessarily.  The most important things to do in the event of a “fever” is to understand why it is happening, provide supportive care and allow your child’s body to do what it needs to do with no interference.

Oftentimes parents will ask their doctor, “how high do you let the fever get, or how high is too high?”  There has been mounting evidence that suggests that the “height” of fever has no bearing on the seriousness of their condition and there is absolutely no clinical evidence to suggest that high fevers cause convulsions or brain damage.  I mean think about that for a second… Why would the nervous system increase the temperature to a level that will injure itself?

On its own, a high fever is not critical.  However, when there are other signs of sickness, it could be an indicator of a developing serious condition that warrants your attention.

If your child is less than one year old and has a fever with the presence of any of the following signs, you should seek the advice of your health care provider:

1. The child is in severe pain and cannot be comforted

2. The child is anxious or lethargic

3. The child whines continuously

4. The child cannot retain fluids and/or has diarrhea

5. Has difficulty breathing, urinating, or swallowing

6. Has an unexplained rash and a pulse rate of over 120 beats per minute

So why do you have to take a child’s temperature when he is feverish?  You don’t!!  In fact, an increasing number of physicians now feel that taking a child’s temperature is an unnecessary ritual.  So why do we do it?  Many trace this action back to a cleverly crafted marketing campaign by the makers of fever-reducing drugs.  If they can train a parent to fear the fever and think of it as something that must be treated from the very beginning, the sales of the medications would skyrocket!!

Many are beginning to lean more to the stance that lowering the child’s body temperature during a fever episode is neither necessary nor wise.  Fever is not the problem, in fact, it’s the body’s beautiful attempt at a solution.  Embrace the fever and comfort your child but try not to jump the gun on the administration of medication to reduce the temperature.  Let the body do its thing and more times than not, the episode will be shorter than it would have been if it was treated.

At our practice, we see so many children and love educating the parents on health.  Dr. Ring firmly believes that every human being on the planet would be able to live a healthier life if they were under the care of a chiropractor to ensure your body was functioning optimally.

While chiropractors have great success treating pain and other symptoms, an often overlooked benefit to chiropractic adjustments is the increased function of the immune system by increasing the function of the nervous system.  We believe that every child should be checked by a chiropractor at birth and throughout childhood to ensure the proper development of the nervous system.

If you have any questions about chiropractic for your family, please give us a call at 918-940-4630 to schedule your complimentary consultation.  We would love to answer the questions you have regarding chiropractic care for your family.   We hope you will give Dr. Ring and Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic a chance to help you along your health journey.

The post What should I do about my child’s fever? first appeared on Chiropractor Broken Arrow.