THE BENEFITS OF CHIROPRACTIC
by Janis Stein

Webster defines chiropractic as “a method of treating disease by manipulation of the body joints, especially of the spine.” Canadian-American Daniel David D. Palmer founded chiropractic in 1895 in Iowa. According to Wikipedia, “Palmer gave the first spinal adjustment to a deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard, on September 18, 1895, reportedly resulting in a restoration of the man’s hearing. Palmer hypothesized that manual manipulation of the spine could result in improved neurological function and health. Friend and Rev. Samuel Weed suggested combining the words cheiros and praktikos (meaning “done by hand”) and chiropractic was born.”

Dr. Timothy Grondin of Total Health Chiropractic in Port Huron elaborates, “The chiropractic philosophy is this: The body has an inborn ability to heal itself, and we refer to that as innate intelligence. The chiropractor’s primary philosophy is to remove any obstacles…we do that by removing nerve interference, by removing interference between the brain, the spinal cord and the communication signals through the peripheral nerves.” A chiropractor’s primary tool for removing interference is through spinal adjustments.

D.D. Palmer hypothesized that vertebral joint misalignments, which he termed “vertebral subluxations,” interfered with the body’s function and its inborn ability to heal itself (Wikipedia). “Through spinal adjustments, the chiropractor alleviates spinal subluxations to restore normal neurological communications and allow innate intelligence to do its job,” explains Grondin.

Dr. Daniel W. Campbell of the Harbor Beach Chiropractic Clinic works hard to restore his patients’ innate ability to heal. “Back pain is one of the most common painful and crippling conditions affecting millions of people yearly. There can be many reasons for back pain; most often the cause is muscular, slipped disc, pinched nerves, arthritis or displaced spinal vertebra,” explains Dr. Campbell.

The office of Daniel W. Campbell, DC of Harbor Beach believes that a well-balanced nervous system enhances the body’s ability to correct itself without the use of surgery or drugs. “A careful examination will reveal the source of pain and how best to treat it. Any misaligned vertebra in the spinal column should be properly adjusted, so there will be no abnormal pressure on the nervous system,” says Campbell. The chiropractor locates the place along the spine where the nerve pressure exists. “With the use of X-ray and proper adjustment, I may be able to restore your spine and vertebra to their normal position without the use of surgery,” adds Campbell.

Patients rely on chiropractic for health care maintenance as well. Dr. Timothy Grondin elaborates, “A lot of time the self-correcting mechanism that we’re born with gets injured so period maintenance of spinal health through a chiropractor is a logical thing to do; to maintain that inborn ability to heal yourself, you have to repetitively or periodically maintain and correct those spinal problems acquired through the activities of daily living.”

In 1995, Dr. Grondin realized the fungal link, and knows Doug Kaufmann is right in saying fungus and autoimmune diseases are intimately linked. “A colleague of mine in Romeo discovered a combination of acupuncture points that our process of testing implied the patient had an infection. Through process of elimination over time, we found that certain tests would only respond to plants that were antifungal in nature. That implied to us that this patient must have a fungal infection. As our skills and techniques evolved and improved, we started seeing a lot more fungal infections; we acquired fungal antigens, and we tested those dead fungus against our patients…”

As a result, Total Health Chiropractic began to use more and more plants that functioned as antifungals. Dr. Grondin goes on to say, “We take the electromagnetic potential of the mold and lay it up against the body. If it irritates the electromagnetic field of the body, this will irritate the nervous system, and strong muscles become weak.”

Chiropractors also employ rehabilitative exercises for those patients who come in with musculoskeletal traumas and injuries. After a patient’s musculoskeletal system is as balanced as possible, a chiropractor uses rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the weakened area.

Different electrical modalities are often used within the chiropractor’s office. Electrical equipment can be used for the purpose of repairing or helping patients with injured spinal muscles. An electrical muscle stimulation tool specifically works on weakened muscles or muscles that are in spasm. Ultrasound devices use electricity to produce sound that can alleviate inflammation and swelling from an injured area. Another electrical device can help block neurological signals, blocking pain signals in the process.

Anyone can benefit from chiropractic. According to Dr. Grondin, “Children respond beautifully to chiropractic. Their innate inborn intelligence mechanism is young and fresh and full of vitality. They haven’t had as many traumas as adults. They don’t drink as much coffee, or eat as much sugar. They don’t use recreational drugs or pharmaceutical drugs. There are few obstacles to that normal inborn intelligence.” As a result, if a child falls and hurts his or her shoulder, that child may only need as few as two adjustments while an adult experiencing the same trauma would probably require many more.

Dr. Grondin is also trained in Applied Kinesiology (AK), which is a specialty field within the chiropractic profession. Applied Kinesiology employs a system of analyzing the body using muscle testing, the primary tool used to gather information. “Applied Kinesiology incorporates the best of all the healing professions to improve the patient’s lot in life,” explains Dr. Grondin. “We use nutrition; we use acupressure points; we use reflexology; spinal care…”

By utilizing Applied Kinesiology, patients often experience a faster healing process, which translates to that patient experiencing less pain and shorter periods of pain activity. Because patients heal faster, they ultimately spend less on health care.

Says Dr. Grondin, “Applied Kinesiology allows me to see what other physicians might not. Sometimes my tool bag is the right tool bag for patients who are slipping through the cracks and can’t find the correct answer for their problems through conventional means.”