How We Are Making Our Children Sick part 6 of 6

Subluxation

The focus of science has shifted from separate entities of the immune system and nervous system to an interactive immunology model. It is now understood that there is an intimate connection between the nervous system and the immune system, and that neurotransmitters can influence the activities of the immune system. In fact, nerve fibers physically link the nervous system and the immune system and there is a constant traffic of information that goes back and forth between the brain and the immune system.

The sympathetic division of the nervous system is the part of the nervous system that reacts to stress. It is the “fight or flight” control center. The sympathetic division of the nervous system also regulates all aspects of immune function, and abnormal activity of the sympathetic nervous system contributes to the cause of conditions where a selection of humoral versus the cell-mediated response plays a role, including allergic reactions.

Spinal movement influences the sympathetic nervous system. Changes to the relative position or movement in the spine interfere with the sympathetic nervous system causing the release of stress hormones and altering immune cell function. The result is suppression of the cell-mediated immune response, and in its absence an increase of the humoral response.

Early stress and trauma is believed to play a profound role in the development of spinal dysfunction, or subluxation, causing immune imbalance. In his research, Gottfried Guttman M.D., found that spinal injury was present in more than 80% of the infants he examined shortly after birth, causing interference in sympathetic function. Tissue injury to the spine and surrounding soft tissue results in scar tissue deposition in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. This leads to decreased motion in the joints and surrounding tissues. Neurologic changes accompany the spinal insult. This leads to chemical changes and a general shift in the body to the stress response or the “fight or flight” response. Subluxation in the infant and child has been associated with stress experienced at birth, particularly as the result of interventions, and early falls or other traumas.

Restoring proper function to the spine through chiropractic adjustments removes the interference in the nervous system shifting the body away from the sympathetic “alarm” response allowing the immune system to regain equilibrium and reducing hypersensitive reactions. In one study, 81 children under chiropractic care took part in a self-reported asthma impairment study. The children were assessed before and two months after chiropractic care using an asthma impairment questionnaire. Significantly lower impairment rating scores (improvement) was reported for 90.1% of subjects 60 days after chiropractic care in comparison to their pre-chiropractic scores. In addition, 30.9% of the children decreased their dosage of medication by an average of 66.5% while under chiropractic care. Twenty-four of the patients who reported asthma attacks 30-days prior to the study had significantly decreased attacks by an average of 44.9%.

Our children are born with an immune system that is capable of operating against anything that threatens it. Our role as parents should be to support the natural responses of their body in every way that we can; in some cases, that means giving the body a chance to overcome an infection on its own with out antibiotics. In another case, it means providing the proper nutrients to restore inner balance. Most importantly, it means realizing that when a child’s nervous system has interference, the body still knows what it is supposed to do, but is simply unable to do it. Let’s start by removing the interference from the body and then getting out of its way—appreciating that the fever and congestion and vomiting are all part of the miracle that is our child’s immune system working properly, not a sign that their body is failing. The less we focus on the eradication of germs and the more emphasis we place on creating a strong, balanced body, free of subluxation, the better off our children will be.

How We Are Making Our Children Sick part 2 of 6

Hygiene

There are numerous reports that suggest the excessive cleanliness practiced in modern society may be partly responsible for the increased incidence of allergic diseases. Repeated exposure while young to various types of bacteria and spores found in dirt, dust, and animal dander may actually protect against the development of allergies. A molecule known as an endotoxin naturally occurs in the outer membrane of bacteria. When the bacteria die the endotoxin is released into the environment. Children are exposed to these endotoxins by breathing them in, or by ingesting them when they put their hands or other objects into their mouths. The exposure to bacteria, viruses, and endotoxins is essential for the maturation of the immune system; less exposure leads to imbalanced immune responses.

Children’s early exposure to allergens and infections prime their immune systems to resist them later on. Although children in daycare seem to get sick more often than other children do, this is not necessarily a bad thing. These colds and other infections may be giving their immature immune systems a health workout, resulting in a lower incidence of asthma. Children with the highest degree of personal hygiene are the most likely to develop eczema and wheezing between the ages of two and a half and three and a half years. In 2000, a study of 61 infants between the ages of 9–24 months found that the more house dust an infant was exposed to, the less likely that they would suffer allergies.

How We Are Making Our Children Sick

The purpose of the immune system is to allow us to live in harmony with our environment. In fact, most of the trillions of foreign cells present within our body coexist peacefully, and in some cases even contribute to our health and well-being. In spite of this, chronic diseases such as allergies, asthma, and eczema, which were rare several decades ago, have risen exponentially, especially in children, quadrupling during the last two decades.

The number of asthma sufferers in the United States is expected to double by the year 2020, affecting 1 in every 14 people and outnumbering the combined projected populations of New York and New Jersey. A growing number of scientists now believe that the routine measures taken to suppress and prevent infections actually weaken certain responses of a child’s immune system, allowing other less appropriate responses to operate without control. The reduction of childhood diseases has been heralded as one of medicine’s finest accomplishments, yet there are growing suspicions that infection intervention may be having an adverse effect; as childhood infections have decreased, chronic afflictions have increased.

The immune system has two different aspects: the cell-mediated immune system and the humoral immune system. The cell-mediated immune system involves white blood cells and specialized immune cells which “eat” antigens, or foreign particles in the body. This helps drive the antigens out of the body causing symptoms such as skin rashes and the discharge of pus and mucous from the throat and lungs. The cell-mediated response is associated with the beneficial acute inflammatory illnesses (not a correct term) of children, and represents the externalization, or driving out of the infection.

The other aspect is called the humoral immune system whereby antibodies—special defense proteins—are produced to recognize and neutralize the antigen. It is a persistent humoral response that is associated with chronic allergic-type diseases.

In order to be healthy, a child must keep a balance between the cell-mediated system and the humoral system, with the cell-mediated system predominating. The cell-mediated response is activated by the natural exposure to bacteria and viruses, in the way children are exposed by interacting with their friends. Through repeated exposure to infectious organisms a child develops a diverse repertoire of immune response patterns. It is the cell-mediated response that protects a child from future illness, and develops the type of immune response we commonly associate with life-long immunity. The cell-mediated system suppresses the activity of the humoral system. The more active the cell-mediated activity is, the less active the humoral system is.

However, if the cell-mediated system is not properly stimulated it does not fully develop, leading to an abnormally high production of humoral system antibodies. A humoral system that is continually engaged will overdevelop, creating a hypersensitive environment. When infants are exposed to germs early, their immune systems are pushed to go in an “infection-fighting direction.” Without this push, the immune system’s shift to infection fighting is delayed, and it becomes more likely to overreact to allergens—dust, mold, and other environmental factors that most people can tolerate.

Early life experiences are believed to play a crucial role in the formation and patterning of a child’s immune system. Sensitization begins in utero and the first few months of life are crucial, for once cell-mediated/humoral imbalance occurs it tends to persist until specific measures are taken to shift the immune system back to equilibrium. There are several ways that pattern the reaction of the immune system toward either the cell-mediated response or the humoral response based on their timing and frequency. The important thing for a parent to understand is that their child’s immune system will react based on the way it has been patterned and programmed to react. If your child’s current immune capacity is poor, then it is possible to improve it by making better choices in the future.

In part 2 of 6 we will discuss ways to improve your child's immune system.
How confident are you that you have done everything possible to insure your child's immune system is functioning at its highest level? Not sure, then I am excited for you to read the next 5 issues.

Chiropractic for Fertility?

Chiropractic and Fertility

     One of the basic premises of chiropractic care is that vertebral subluxations affect nerve transmission. Think of your brain as a computer which coordinates, via your nervous system, the functions of your organs and cells. Nerve messages can be interrupted by spinal subluxations which occur when there are misalignments of one or more vertebrae. Among other effects, vertebral subluxations can compromise optimal reproductive system function and our capacity to conceive. But the field of chiropractic care is yielding some promising results.

     In one review published in the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics (2008), the case studies of eleven infertile women, aged 22 to 42, were examined. Ten of the women were actively trying to become pregnant and had been unsuccessful. Their pregnancy histories included one natural childbirth, two miscarriages, two failed IVF treatments and three failed artificial inseminations. Within 1 to 20 months of receiving chiropractic care, all eleven women had become pregnant. They all had adjustments made to vertebral subluxations in their spines using a variety of chiropractic techniques. Nine of the eleven received no other medical care during this time. This is one example in the growing body of research that suggests chiropractic care improves reproductive system function.

     Regardless of the type of chiropractic technique used, when subluxations are addressed, nerve function is improved and reproductive and endocrine function is enhanced. There is no exclusive infertility cure-all for couples. These proactive recommendations are designed to allow the body to balance itself and recreate its own “order.” Health practitioners cannot take credit for the magnificent design of the human body, which has an innate intelligence working to heal itself.

     If couples take the time to listen to their own bodies, they will receive invaluable advice, for the body is always sending messages. This does not mean we need be alone in the healing process. Chiropractors and Naturopaths will often work together to support reproductive integrity.

     Given the right support and enough time, the body has repeatedly shown that it is capable of transforming “dis-ease” and dysfunction into wellness…and for many couples, infertility into fertility.

“Back to Basics”

“God breathed into man the breath of life—we add—and left within, a body manager to regulate body functions including reproduction of cells.  There is a power within you—you recognize it in others as the ability to move-see-hear-speak breathe.  What is this power?  Who can answer?  We call that power INNATE INTELLIGENCE.  You look around you and recognize there is a power that governs and controls the universe and all things in it. You may call it NATURE or you may say it is AN ACT OF GOD.  But whatever you choose to call it, you do recognize a FORCE.

     “Within YOU is a ‘grain’ of the universal power.  If there were not, you would cease to move, see, hear, breathe, feel—exist as a HUMAN INTELLIGENT BEING.  As long as that power within you has control of your body a state of HEALTH exists.  Should something interfere with normal control of that internal power—then you cease to enjoy your birthright—HEALTH—instead a state of dis-ease becomes prominent.
     “Healing is a process afforded you by your Creator and is above and beyond the control of man.  Your Chiropractor does everything possible to help Innate heal—but he cannot heal nor can anyone else produce healing for you.  When the right adjustment is made, Innate goes to work.  You feel the results when dis-ease turns to ease.”  – BJ Palmer

“Will You Save a LIFE?”

  

What does it take to save a Life?  Do you need to pull a helpless swimmer from the ocean or perform CPR on a drowning victim to qualify?  Or can something as simple as sharing your Chiropractic story with others count too?

If your story helps someone find a solution for their debilitating migraines…you just saved a Life.   If your story empowers a family member to reduce their prescriptions, and lowers their risk of becoming another 'drug error' statistic… you just saved a Life.  If your story encourages a friend to stop blindly placing their health in the hands of doctors, and start placing the Doctor inside them in charge of their health… then you just saved a Life.

Do you have the power and capability to save a Life?  If you know the Chiropractic story, you bet you do!  The question is will you?  You can't be a Chiropractic Life saver if you don't spread the word.  So please, don't keep your story a secret.  Tell others how your Life has benefited from Chiropractic care.  You'll be saving someone's Life when you do.

"The Super Glue of Life..."

Ever wonder what keeps your heart beating in rhythm while you exercise, or knows the exact amount of white blood cells to produce when you're fighting an infection?  How about mending a broken bone?  Is it the cast that unites damaged bone or the bandage that seals broken skin? Think again. Chiropractors recognize that there's an intangible force, an innate intelligence far greater than we can understand that holds us together and keeps us alive… an intelligent 'super glue' that binds together all our cells, tissues and organs and coordinates their various functions to produce health.  It grew you from two microscopic cells into a thriving, vibrant person and maintains your existence at this very moment. BJ Palmer, the developer of Chiropractic, once asked… “have you more faith in a knife or a spoonful of medicine than in the power that animates the living world?" That's a question every chiropractic patient must answer honestly for themselves if they truly want to get the most out of their care.