Welcome to Our Newsletter
This newsletter is brought to you by the staff of the Clarington Chiropractic Clinic
in its desire to improve the quality of your care. We wish to bring you up to date of
new developments in chiropractic and to inspire you to learn about your health care,
because if you knew what we know, you would do what we do.
Welcoming New Staff
We would like to give a warm welcome to Nancy, our newest chiropractic assistant.
Keeper of the Spring
The late Peter Marshall was an eloquent speaker and for several years served as the chaplain
of the U.S. Senate. He used to love to tell the story of the "Keeper of the Spring", a quiet
forest dweller who lived high above an Austrian village along the eastern slope of the Alps.
The old gentleman had been hired many years earlier by a young town councilman to clear away
the debris from the pools of water up in the mountain crevices that fed the lovely spring
flowing through their town. With faithful, silent regularity, he patrolled the hills,
removed the leaves and branches, and wiped away the silt that would otherwise have choked
and contaminated the fresh flow of water. The village soon became a popular attraction
for vacationers. Graceful swans floated along the crystal clear spring, the mill wheels
of various businesses located near the water turned by day and night, farmlands were
naturally irrigated, and the view from restaurants was picturesque beyond description.
Years passed. One evening the town council met for its semiannual meeting.
As they reviewed the budget, one man's eye caught the salary figure being paid to the
obscure keeper of the spring. Said the keeper of the purse, "Who is the old man? Why do
we keep him on year after year? No one ever sees him. For all we know, the strange ranger
of the hills is doing us no good. He isn't necessary any longer." By a unanimous vote,
they dispensed with the old man's services.
For several weeks nothing changed.
By early autumn, the trees began to shed their leaves. Small branches snapped off and fell
into the pools, hindering the rushing flow of sparkling water. One afternoon someone noticed
a slight yellowish-brown tint in the spring. A few days later, the water was much darker.
Within another week, a slimy film covered sections of the water along the banks, and a foul
odour was soon detected. The mill wheels moved more slowly, some finally ground to a halt.
Swans left, as did the tourists. Clammy fingers of disease and sickness reached deeply
into the village.
Quickly, the embarrassed council called a special meeting. Realizing their gross error
in judgement, they rehired the old keeper of the spring, and within a few weeks, the
veritable river of life began to clear up. The wheels started to turn, and new life
returned to the hamlet in the Alps.
If you can imagine for a moment, that the spring is the nervous system from which all life
flows, then are not chiropractors the Keeper of the Spring?
Chiropractic & Colic
Infantile colic is common, affecting approximately 20% of newborns, and refers to persistent
and often violent crying for no apparent reason. As can be expected, this condition can be
stressful and disruptive to both the child and to the parents.
Up until recently, it was commonly believed that colic was a result of gastrointestinal
problems, and yet drugs used to treat colic have been either ineffective or produce serious
side effects.
A new study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
(JMPT) has found that the pain and symptoms of colic seem to have a musculoskeletal cause.
As a result, spinal manipulation is a very effective treatment for relieving colic.
In this controlled study, there was a dramatic reduction in hours with colic occurring on the
first day of treatment - hours of crying were reduced by more than 50%. At 2 weeks,
following an average number of 3 treatments, there was a success rate of 94%, and importantly
no adverse side effects were reported from the adjustments.
This study demonstrates that chiropractic adjustments are safe and beneficial
for patients of all ages. If you have any questions regarding infants and chiropractic
please feel free to ask Dr. Hadden or Dr. Velji.
"MOM, MY BACK REALLY HURTS"
The above-entitled article was printed in a recent Business Week addressing the toll
computer use and heavy backpacks are taking on young children.
Jerry McAndrews, D.C. was quoted in the article as follows "If we don't start paying
attention to these issues in children, we may be creating a generation of adults with
even greater back and neck problems than we are seeing today."
An Australian study on the effects of carrying backpacks was conducted with 985 students
ages 12-18. Each of the students had their posture evaluated with and without their
backpacks. The study reported that repeated carrying of heavy loads, such as school
backpacks, places additional stress on rapidly growing adolescent spinal structures,
making them prone to postural change.
What is an Adjustment?
A Chiropractic adjustment is the art of using a specific force in a precise direction,
applied to a joint that is fixated, "locked up", or not moving properly. An adjustment
adds motion to the joint, helping the bones gradually return to a more normal position
and motion. The purpose of this safe and natural procedure is improved spinal function,
improved nervous system function, and improved health.
After years of training and clinical experience, each chiropractic doctor becomes highly
skilled in the delivery of a variety of adjusting approaches.
A New Millenium is upon us...are we ready?
The one topic that seems to be on everyone's mind is the onset of a new millenium - the year
2000! One of the issues the clinic has had to deal with is the installation of new "Y2K
compliant" software to keep track of patient records.
What plans have you made for this New Year, and this new millenium? May we suggest that you
resolve to take a proactive role in your health? Headaches and back pain do not need to be
a part of this New Year. Monthly adjustments can help break this pain cycle so that you can
concentrate on enjoying life, and getting the best out of this New Year and the New Millenium!
As the old saying goes:
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Brought to you by the unsubluxated minds of the Clarington Chiropractic Clinic staff.
