Creation Chiropractic - Eden Prairie, MN
300 Prairie Center Drive, # 200
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
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Creation Chiropractic Blog - Eden Prairie MN

Arthritis ... Not Your Parents' Joint Pain

Posted: February 26, 2018
By: Written by Dr. Matthew Alvord,

 

There are many kinds of arthritis conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis…Oh my! But they all have one thing in common: Inflammation of the joints. “Arthro” means joint and “itis” means inflammation. So, arthritis simply means “joint inflammation.” However, when it comes to understanding what that actually means as a condition, it isn’t so simple.

The real concern should be, why? Why do you even have inflammation, whether it’s in your joints or anywhere else? Inflammation is a natural and normal way for your immune system to protect you and heal you. So which one of those things is bad for you? Neither. Inflammation is good for you. Always. So why do so many people seem to have a problem with it? Because it hurts. Because it can be associated with complications in the body. The truth is, if the inflammation we often times don’t like so much didn’t happen, we would have even more problems.

For example, let’s look at one of the latest popular ads for a drug called Enbrel. It shows a famous golfer who was having problems moving due to psoriatic arthritis, until he took this drug. He felt better. But how? Enbrel is one of many anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat or stop inflammation. Well, there is always a price to pay for anything we do to the body that it isn’t designed for. If you listen closely to the narrator, he begins to list all the concerns associated with this and the other anti-inflammatory drugs. He lists all kinds of immune system problems that normally we would have no problem fighting off naturally, because anti-inflammatory drugs are given to shut down the immune system. So he can swing a golf club, but now he will have a problem fighting off everything from the common cold to tuberculosis!

Luckily, perceptions are starting to change. In our parents day, inflammation was always demonized. “Get rid of it.” “Bad inflammation!” Luckily, perceptions are starting to change. That antiquated idea is dying out. Remember, inflammation is the main way our body protects and heals us. It’s a process that is involved with virtually every other aspect of function, so the immune system is pretty darned important. Inflammation is its main tool. Take that away, and we sign on for all kinds of other issues, even death as a possibility. So what can we do to respect this intelligence running our body?

All roads lead to the nervous system. It’s like the song, “The hip bone is connected to the knee bone,” only with your body systems. Arthritis pain is caused by inflammation, which is controlled by the immune system, which is controlled by the supreme system that controls everything in the body, the nervous system. And we all get interference to this system, called spinal subluxations. They decrease the function of the nervous system, which decreases the function of the immune system, which often increases inflammation, which often causes arthritis conditions, under many names. So regardless of whatever else you may do to treat the effects of inflammation, get your spine checked to make sure that the systems that control inflammation are working exactly as they should.


Uncomfortably Numb; The Growing Opioid Addiction

Posted: February 19, 2018
By: Written by Dr. Matthew Alvord,

 

Humanity, we have a problem. We were sold the idea that pain relief was health itself, instead of just being related to health. We were sold the idea that treating our pain and numbing up our lives was what we needed for a better life. We were sold “better health though chemistry” and chemicals for every ache and pain and condition. We were sold the idea that treating the effects of our problems would get to the cause of our problems. We were sold a lie, and it’s a big one.

There are no free lunches and there is no short cut to health. We can’t continue to put poisons in our bodies and expect our bodies to be better off. We are now paying the price for that lie with a nation-wide epidemic of addiction and even worse health because of it. Not only are individuals suffering more than ever, their families and friends are suffering as well. Opioid addictions have taken over the country, but there is hope. And it’s a big one.

Chiropractic gives people an opportunity to find a way out of their living hell by removing interference to the nervous system and restoring proper communication to the innate intelligence of the body and the source of all life.

There are three main ways this occurs:

1) Chiropractic helps people recover from addictions. This is possible because Chiropractic adjustments break up patterns in the brain and body that keep people in the same state of mind and the same habits that support addiction. Spinal adjustments help break people out of the addiction prison keeping them locked away from recovery. Research shows that adjustments help people stay free from addictive chemicals, prescribed or otherwise, when going through the twelve-step program compared with those not receiving chiropractic adjustments.

2) Chiropractic give people so much relief from pain that it often looks like a treatment for pain. Much like exercise looks like a treatment for weight loss, while the person is just getting in shape again, there is no exercise to lose weight. Exercise just allows people to lose weight if there is weight to lose while they are just moving better. Chiropractic adjustments simply return people to as higher level of function, decreasing the stress on their body and reducing pain in the process.

3) Chiropractic ultimately restores normal function to the body which allows the body to return to a better, healthy state, getting to the true cause of pain. Since pain is not the problem itself but rather a secondary condition to the problem, chiropractic gets to the causes of the cause. Instead of disconnecting the oil light, chiropractic changes the oil. So not only does the indicator of the problem go away, the problem itself has been addressed and your car and your body are healthier because of it.

The last thing Chiropractic does is the first thing everyone should do. It allows you and your friends and family to stay at your best before you even get to a place that requires you to take dangerous chemicals and pain relievers. It helps prevent the pitfalls that can happen when you aren’t working at your best and allows you to recover quickly and without complications.

Now you see that Chiropractic gives people a way out of the trap of pain and addiction that is gripping millions of people and lets them avoid these problems altogether. It’s time, it’s been time, but it’s not too late. Call us today (952.944.2133)  to help yourself and the ones you love. Get checked for spinal nerve interference to make sure you are working exactly the way you should before you get in a place that makes you uncomfortably numb.


The Facts About Fibromyalgia

Posted: February 12, 2018
By: Written by Dr. Matthew Alvord,


   If we look too closely at our problems, we can be convinced that we have a problem we need to address one way, when in fact, we actually have a different problem that needs to be addressed in another way. For example, if we look too closely at a ceiling light that is not working in our room, we might think that we simply need a new light bulb. But if it’s a switch problem, we need to step away from the light cover long enough to understand the relationship between the bulb and the wire leading to the wall switch.  If the lights still don’t come on after looking at the light switch, we might think we only have a switch problem.  If we take another step back from the room altogether, we might notice that the lights in other rooms of our house are out as well. In fact, if all the lights are out in all the rooms of our house, we don’t have a problem with any one room at all.

            Now, if we look at how we could treat the lighting problem in our house at different levels, they could all be addressed in a certain limited way, for a limited amount of time. If we think the problem is one room, we could light a bunch of candles and we will still be able to see what we want to see in the dark room.  If the whole house is dark, we could just get more candles, carry a flashlight, or even run a generator to artificially light the entire house.  Problem solved, right?  I think you can see the real problem here.

            It has been said that the only difference between the Dark Ages and today is that today we have artificial lighting. In other words, what have we actually improved?  When it comes to the human body and health, the dynamics that run our body functions and their problems and causes are basically the same.  Physiology hasn’t changed much at all, but our understanding and interventions have dramatically changed.  There are more sophisticated treatments for many conditions in the body, but are they actually getting to the real problem?

            When it comes to the specific condition of Fibromyalgia, there are many ways to treat the symptoms, but no therapy addresses the real cause of what controls all the muscles and connective tissue of the entire body. Therapists can prescribe all kinds of ways to numb up the effects of the problem, but they don’t get to the cause of why the problem exists in the first place. Nor can they, because they use candles and flashlights. If we take a step back from fibromyalgia like a lighting problem, we see that no therapy allows the lights to come back on because all the candles and flashlights in the world can’t restore the power in a dark house. 

            Even if someone feels better with a fibromyalgia treatment, their body isn’t functioning any better. What’s worse is they have a false sense of success because the house is lighter, but the power is still off. Worse still, since we are only designed to eat food, not only will anything else we consume have side effects, it is poisonous to our system. That’s a fact.

            In a certain sense, Chiropractors are like electricians. We don’t carry electricity, but we understand where the electricity comes from in your house and the vital relationship to all your rooms. We find and remove interference between your power source and the lights and restore the connection.  Our goal isn’t to treat your rooms or to even turn on the lights. But when we restore the potential back to your house, the power is available to turn on your lights again. 

            And let me save you the suspense: Chiropractic doesn’t treat Fibromyalgia, much less any other condition in your body. But when we remove interference between the Innate Intelligence running your body from your brain through your spine, all the tissues in your body have their full potential returned back to them to function the way they are designed. This includes all your muscle and nerve junctions through your body. 

            If all the lights go out in your house, don’t blame any one room, and save your candle and flashlight money.  If you are suffering from Fibromyalgia, you will want to make sure your spine is checked for interference so your entire body is working properly, including all your muscles. Fibromyalgia can seem like a daunting condition with limited relief but if we redefine the problem, your outlook can be brighter than ever.  


CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME (CTS)

Posted: February 5, 2018
By: Written by Dr. Matthew Alvord,

 

Need a hand with your hand problem? The first thing you need to consider is that maybe you don’t even have a hand problem. That’s right, I said it. Maybe your problem isn’t what or where you think it is. Sometimes problems are exactly where we feel them, but so often they are coming from other areas that we may never suspect because that area feels fine.

When people are diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, it is usually related to inflammation and swelling in the wrist and is blamed on over-use activities for the cause. Doctors will observe that there is pressure on the nerve running through the wrist, so their solution ends up as CTS surgery. This translates as cutting the ligaments in the wrist so the bones don’t affect the wrist nerve as much, but this is so short sighted! All those bones, ligaments and wrist structures are specifically designed for you. Just cutting perfectly normal structures might make you feel better, but it will never make your wrist function any better.

It’s like observing a bucking bronco that keeps hitting the sides of a corral, and then the rancher just deciding to widen the fence! But when the horse hits the side of the wall less, can we really conclude that they have tamed the horse? Of course not! Taking anti-inflammatory drugs isn’t much better. That would be like drugging the horse to sleep. Even pain relievers will just numb the horse so they don’t feel the same fence, the same way. But you can’t argue with the short-sighted logic, if the goal is to just stop hitting the fence. Any of these therapies will change the dynamic of the bronco and the fence, but they will never get to the bucking. Ultimately, the rancher is left with the illusion that they have addressed the cause of the problem and yet, the horse isn’t any tamer and the wrist isn’t any better.

Office work and racket sports are common associations with the onset or worsening of CTS symptoms. But why do many other people doing the same activity, as those diagnosed with CTS never develop this condition? Are they trying less than people with carpal tunnel syndrome? There must be other factors that are associated with CTS, and there are. A major “make or break” factor is whether or not there is proper nerve communication from the brain to the hand. Carpal tunnel syndrome is one possible hand or wrist condition that may result in pain anywhere in the arm, but may present just like symptoms that are actually starting from a neck problem as a spinal subluxation. And to boot, your neck may actually feel great! So how can you really know?

Aside from treating the effects of CTS with drugs or surgery, get your spine checked for spinal subluxations to make sure your bucking bronco is tame before you start moving fence posts or putting your perfectly good horse to sleep. There is a really good reason why your bronco is bucking. Find out why. Giddy up! 

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