Chiropractic is 100% organic and always has been. No chemical medications to clog up the water supply or your body. No surgery to mess with the body’s original design. Just pure, natural healthcare that allows your body to heal and function the way it was designed to do from the beginning.

It’s no secret that humans haven’t treated the earth as well as we could have—and that includes even how we treat our own health! In less than a decade (from 1999 to 2008) spending for prescription drugs more than doubled. In 2007-2008, 1 out of every 5 children and 9 out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription medication within the past month. That doesn’t sound like heath care.

Chiropractic provides a refreshing alternative. In Illinois several years ago, Blue Cross Blue Shield participated in a study where chiropractors served as primary care physicians within its network of insurance coverage. The results for the 70,000 participants shocked even the administrators of the study. Over a 7 month period, those seeing a chiropractor experienced:

• Decreases of 60% in hospital admissions
• 62% fewer outpatient surgeries and procedures
• 85% lower pharmaceutical costs

Chiropractic care maintains the health of your spine and nervous system, allowing your brain to communicate with your body so that it can heal and function like it was designed to do long before drugs and surgery came along. Now that sounds more like health care.

This Earth Day, after you plant a tree or clean up the garbage from your local park, head over to Martin Family Chiropractic and treat your body to a natural, organic adjustment.

Chiropractic adjustments help your body manage stress by removing pressure off your nerves and allowing your brain to communicate with the rest of your body. Here’s just one example: a study reported in a 2007 issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension showed that chiropractic adjustments to the upper neck lowered blood pressure as well a two-drug combination therapy. Imagine… a life with stress (let’s face it, it’s not going away) but without high blood pressure — and without drugs!

When we hear the word “stress,” most of us think of headaches, muscle tension and blood-shot eyes. And Please-Get-Me-Another-Cup-Of-Coffee! But did you know there are three types of stresses your body encounters on a regular basis?

There’s Physical Stress. Think car accidents, slips and falls, the birth process (on both ends!), reading in bed, balancing the phone between your shoulder and your ear, and carrying around a few extra pounds day after day.

Then there’s Emotional Stress. This is the most obvious kind: day-to-day worries, family problems, depression, low self esteem, and dealing with the death of a loved one.

Lastly, there’s Chemical Stress. Some of these stresses we can control (like whether or not we smoke or take prescription medications), but others aren’t so easy to control (air pollution, processed foods and chemical cleaning products).

April 16th is National Stress Awareness Day. Give yourself the gift of self-awareness! First, use our Stress Awareness Timeline to see what you’re dealing with. Second, schedule an appointment with your chiropractor to get a stress-relieving adjustment!

Don’t suffer this spring. Get adjusted and kick those allergies to the curb.

’Tis the season for sniffles and itchy eyes. (As a side note, perhaps ’tis also the season to invest in Kleenex stock.) For millions of people, the anticipation of an end to a long, cold winter is dampened by the inevitable arrival of … allergies. I realize the very word sends shudders down some of your spines.

Speaking of spines, did you know that chiropractic adjustments to your spine can help your body fight allergies? When misaligned vertebra put pressure on the nerves in your spinal column, one of the possible negative effects is weakened immunity. Allergic reactions are one of the most common and obvious examples of a weakened immune system. If your body is reacting in wacky ways to pollen, dust, cat hair, or other allergens, it means your immune system isn’t doing its job properly and instead is overproducing neutralizing chemicals like histamines.

Traditional allergy medications contain antihistamines and can certainly bring relief to allergy symptoms. But that’s just it. They only help the symptoms. They do nothing to tackle the root problem of your immune system. Furthermore, they may actually do serious damage in the long run. An article published in the May 1994 Journal of the National Cancer Institute discussed research showing that certain antihistamines (Claritin, Hismanal and Atarax) make cancerous tumors grow faster in lab rodents.

Spring is coming—and for some of you, so are your allergy attacks. What can you do about it?

1. You can stay in your house with the windows closed until August.
2. You can pop a Claritin and enjoy the partial, temporary relief it offers and try not to think about the long-term damage it might be causing.
3. You can get adjusted, remove the interference to your nervous system, increase your immunity and allow your body to fight off those sneeze-inducing invaders.

The choice is yours. If you decide to go for number three, give Martin Family Chiropractic a call at 607.798.0356 to make your appointment. Mention this blog post when you come into the office and we’ll give you a free eco-friendly cloth shopping bag to use when you head out—allergy-free!—to shop at the outdoor farmer’s market.