Sometimes it’s Kinda Magic

My chiropractic practice is very evidence-based.  I don’t do much that I can’t back up with research.  If a muscle is tight I stretch it and if a joint is restricted I adjust it.  I have a broad scope of practice, an analytical diagnostic approach, and a patient-centered model of care.  My ‘I am a Chiropractor‘ post sums me up.  But sometimes I see some magic too.

Like the new patient I had last week who came in to be treated for chronic SI (sacroiliac) joint pain… she reported improvements in her bowel function in conjunction with decreased back pain.

Like when my long-time patient tells me that she used to spend the Winter battling sickness after sickness… she says she’s noticed such an improvement in her immunity since her first adjustment in 2008, that when she starts to feel worn down she immediately books an appointment.

Like when I can physically feel the effects of work stress on my patient’s chronic neck and shoulder pain… he got a new job two weeks ago, and guess what?  His muscle tightness and joint restrictions have nearly disappeared.

Like when I adjust my constipated children and they go to the bathroom within hours… like when they have an earache and I adjust their necks… like when they have a lower respiratory infection and I loosen up their mid-backs… like when I use acupuncture to ease the pain of my husband’s sinus infections.

Sometimes it doesn’t have research to back it up.  But I see it work.

Sometimes it’s kinda magic.

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Do You Want to Run Faster?

This past weekend, I attended the RCCSS’s (Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences) Run Faster Conference.  It was full of learning, thinking, and engaging presentations, with a line-up of presenters at the top of their fields.  It made me want to ‘Run Faster’, and it certainly made me want to help you to ‘Run Faster’.  I can’t possibly summarize a weekend of knowledge in one blog post, but here are some quotes that resonated with me, and perhaps they’ll do the same for you:

Dr. Mike Young, “The Science of Speed” and running biomechanics:

  • “We don’t innately run perfectly.”

Wes Moerman, “Integration for Performance” from a coach’s perspective:

  • “Athlete health is a key to sustained development.  Missed sessions are better than missed periods of time.”

Dr. Jeff Cubos, “Integration of Treatment for Performance” from a therapist’s perspective:

  • “Treatment is any type of intervention that creates adaptation.”

Dr. Judy Goss, “Sports Psychology for Performance and Injury Recovery”:

  • “You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

Dr. Reed Ferber, “Biomechanics for Injury Prevention and Performance”:

  • You need to have “daily positive stress”; do something every day that’s positive that stresses your body.

Dr. John Berardi, “Nutrition for Performance and Injury Recovery”:

  • “Resting metabolic rate (RMR) can increase 15-50% during injury”; don’t under-eat when you are injured.

Blaise Dubois, “Running Shoes: The Science and the Controversy”:

  • “Comfort is key.”

Dr. Alex Hutchinson, “The Science of Performance” and “The New Recovery”:

  • “Prevention works better than cure.”

Jason Dunkerley, “Motivation and Performance”:

  • “We need to re-define challenges.”

I’ve included links to all of the speakers above, so if you’re interested in a particular topic, I encourage you to click and read more about them.  As always, if you have a question about something I’ve written, please let me know; you can find me here, or on Facebook and Twitter.

Happy running!

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Yeehaw, eh?

The Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences is putting on a conference this upcoming weekend, the ‘Run Faster’ conference.  conference-logo-and-abilities-centre-white-bottomIf you said this sounds like it would be right up my alley, well then, you would be correct.  But it’s not just because of the Chiropractic Sports Sciences part, which I love, and it’s not just because of the running part, which I also love… it’s because this conference has opened up friendship opportunities abound.

You see, I am lucky to have some incredible friends in my life.  And my girlfriends mean the world to me.  They are the sisters I never had, the shoulders to cry on, the ears to listen, and the arms to hug.  However, since some of my very best friends live very far away, their shoulders and ears and arms are usually via text or email or Skype.  This weekend has changed that.

One friend in particular…. you may remember Ange…. has not had a chance to visit in the six years since we shared a city.  She has not hugged my toddler, or seen my house, or met my dog.  We have not gone out for dinner, or laughed until we cried, or shared unspoken smiles in six years.  Sure, there’s been short visits when I’ve headed West for Christmas or Summer vacation, but they are always rushed and kid-filled and oh-so-short.  This time is different, this time we have time.

And in a worlds-colliding sort of way, Ange is going to meet her Burlington counterpart in my neighbour Marnie.  The similarities between these two, both big (just-turned-forty 1973 birthdays, opinionated, and mothers of girls) and small (passionate about environmentally-sound products, awesomely-unruly curly hair, and good-natured insult banter with my husband) are some of the reasons that I love them both.

Ange is my Western Marnie and Marnie is my Eastern Ange.  Yeehaw, eh?