POTS - A True Miracle Case Study

I am blown away by this story and I wanted to share. I had the amazing opportunity to be one of two guest lecturers at The Spinal Exchange at Southeast Hospital. This program was started to help bring Physicians of all disciplines, including chiropractic, together to discuss treatment options for patients. Our topic last night was POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome).

I got involved in this opportunity to speak when I received a call asking if I would be willing to share more from the story I had posted on our website about Sara. Sara and I both shared last night at Southeast Health about her miraculous turn around by utilizing chiropractic. She explained to me that her specialist in St. Louis had told her she was the second worst case he had ever seen, but he was so hopeful for her as we watched her progress by leaps and bounds. You can read her testimonial in full and I suggest it.

This story is the exact reason I chose to become a doctor and more specifically a chiropractor. When we first met she could not drive, she could barely walk without total assistance and she really couldn't even leave the house without her husband or someone else to help her. She said she was practically bedridden.

Last night Sara drove herself to the event and made her way around completely on her own. She has a job now, her independence and truly her life back. Now that's a miracle. I am humbled to be a part of her journey. It was great to catch up with her and see that she is still doing so well.

This Is Forward Head Posture. Do You Know Anyone Who Looks Like This?

Why Did Mom Tell You To Sit Up Straight?

This morning at the gym I was observing postures of every individual there. What I found was startling. No matter the age, sex or shape of the person I found forward head posture on almost everyone. Forward head posture truly is an epidemic problem and most people have never heard of it or even considered it as a problem. Basically, there is a correct spinal posture that consists of our head being back over our shoulders allowing proper neck curve and alignment. Gravity is our worst enemy regarding the health of our spine and with a forward head posture of even 1 degree away from normal can add incremental force that the small bones of the neck were not designed to withstand.

This posture problem can be easily remedied with proper awareness throughout the day and the utilization of proactive spinal exercises to counter the sagging of our daily posture. I have included a link I actually demonstrate 3 very important exercises that I would recommend adding to your daily regimen of good habits. If you have questions or would like more specific information feel free to contact us at www.drbecking.com.

Posture is such a crucial part of our health and as I observed this morning at the gym, it is not being addressed. In our office I see 5 year olds with this habit already starting. We begin teaching kids and also parents to monitor the kids because by age 13-16 or so many of our postural habits are heading very close to permanent habits and postural changes that are not easily corrected. Most problems we find are actually starting very early in life with improper posture and habits. Let's all listen to our mothers and sit up straight.

How Can Chiropractic Help Athletic Performance?

I read an article this morning from my twitter feed that is very interesting. It read like this. It is a simple physics equation in golf: the higher the swing speed, the farther the golf ball travels. The average PGA Tour player generates a swing speed in the neighborhood of 110 MPH. Maurice Allen, a first-year chiropractic student at Life University, recorded the highest ever swing of 161 MPH as recorded on the Momentus Speed Whoosh, a golf training aid. Wow. For the full story go to http://bit.ly/fGojwj.

This is just one aspect of utilizing the body's strength, balance and coordination to do amazing things and it is being documented more and more the link to chiropractic care and better human performance. I'm thinking of one patient in my office in particular who was just in the office yesterday. His story is not your typical chiropractic story in that he didn't have any real noticeable complaints like neck pain, headaches or chronic lower back pain. He came in to get an evaluation to see what his spine and posture were like compared to normal and that's when we discovered he wasn't as healthy as he thought. What he would say has been his biggest benefit from chiropractic and why he keeps coming in is the increased performance in all aspects of his life. He runs his own production business that requires a very high pace schedule and demand on his mental and physical being. A few months into his care in my office I remember him saying that he feels that his performance has increased by so much more than he could have ever imagined. He said he is just able to get more done and he doesn't feel near the exhaustion and draining that he used to feel. He loves the affect of chiropractic on his body and overall life.

I would love to interview this high performance patient in the near future to get you his exact perspective and hear how utilizing chiropractic has not only enhanced his experience of his life, but it has actually increased the success of his business and his delivery to his clients. Pretty amazing.

Can Chiropractic Help During Pregnancy?

More amazing stories in the practice on Monday. Two stories in particular. One case involves a 30 year old that is having her first baby. She has been having terrible heartburn and also migraine headaches. She received a chiropractic adjustment last Friday and on her way out of the office her mom asked if chiropractic could help her heartburn and indigestion. Today when she came in she reported to me that as soon as she left my office on Friday the heartburn began to slowly disappear and by the evening it was gone and the next morning it was still gone and hasn't returned. She said it had gotten so bad that she was "ready to die" and had tried everything for relief. It felt like her throat was being eaten away it was so painful. She was ecstatic that she got this type of relief with just one visit. She vowed to not let so much time pass between her chiropractic visits again. She also recalled when prompted about her migraines that she hasn't had a migraine since her visit on Friday also. That was a big change as well.

Another mom came in Monday that should have delivered already and she has been even trying to do all of the tricks in the book to naturally induce this baby. She has been getting chiropractic for a few months now and today was probably her final adjustment before her delivery. She has noticed lower back pain and then her standard pain in the upper back between the shoulder blades an in the middle back. She let out a huge sigh of relief today when I adjusted her upper and mid back and her upper neck. She has done very well with chiropractic and she is excited to come in when her baby is born. Chiropractic has really allowed this mom to function very well up until almost the day before delivery. I commented to her today that she gets around as if she weren't even pregnant. Amazing funcitionality.

It is so rewarding to watch women go through the transition of pregnancy and be a part of supporting their bodies during this change and support them during the added stress biomechanically to their body. I love helping women manage their symptoms naturally and truly support their body during this natural process. Women have commented a lot that the second or third pregnancy that has included chiropractic vs the first pregnancy that didn't is day and night different in every aspect. Had they known about the affect of chiropractic care during the first pregnancy they would have started sooner. Whether it be managing headaches, migraines, neck or low back pain, or helping aid their comfort to be able to get comfortable and sleep at night, chiropractic has proven to be a must have during the pregnancy.

Chiropractic and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Stories

Wow. What a day in practice. I have heard from 2 people the dramatic impact that chiropractic has had on their life. One story is a 13 year old male that came to me for chronic complaints of poor health and his mom heard that a chiropractor might help with the immune system. I did not realize the severity of his digestive problems. His mom said he had digestive problems since birth and they have been to all types of specialists and taken every bowel enhancer or laxative on the market with no real help. As of today in our office after only 6 weeks he is relatively normal when it comes to bowel habits and he and his mom are blown away. Pretty amazing.

The other story was about a thirty something female that came in from a car accident with back pain and headaches constantly. She told me today, when I asked her what she has noticed improved, that she hasn't had a headache since we started chiropractic care. She was so excited about that. She also said that she had been having daily bouts with irritable bowel symptoms and diarrhea that was uncontrollable and unexpected and that has been completely resolved since we started chiropractic. That's amazing. I sometimes just stand in awe of the body's ability to heal with the help of chiropractic and I marvel that lives are miraculously changing right in front of my eyes.