Physical Well-Being 2 of 4

Take Charge of Your Health:  Physical Well-Being  

By Dr. Darrin Robertson  www.Yourhub.com

Part Two of a Four Part Series                                                                                                                                                               Last week we shared the components of the Triad of Health. Today, we would like to explore the physical aspect of the triad. The physical component encompasses both the actual body parts and their functions. Such functions include digestion, heartbeat, breathing and even the act of walking across the room. To truly be healthy, we must have all tissues, organs and cells working at a hundred percent. Not only do they have to function at a hundred percent, but they must also communicate at a hundred percent. Our body functions as one unit, yet there are multiple systems that must communicate both individually and collectively.
We can compare the physical body to an orchestra. Consider the orchestra as a whole, which represents the body, and the orchestra sections as representative of our individual systems. We expect the sound quality of the orchestra to be beautiful and harmonious, and as a result, evoke an emotion within us. Imagine if the string section within an orchestra is not in tune. Not only will the sound quality of the orchestra be altered, but it might also affect the intended audience response.
Within our body, every system must work toward the same goal. If one system is dysfunctional, the entire system will suffer. Consider the digestive system. It's obvious purpose is to break down the foods we eat and allow the nutrients to be delivered by our circulatory system. If your digestive system is functioning at only 70 percent, the rest of your body is already at a disadvantage. All systems will be affected and who is to say which system will be affected the most?
We want the systems within our body to work together with ease. The true desire of the human body is to maintain health; our body strives for organization. If a system malfunctions and therefore communicates improper messages to other systems, disorganization results and is the cause of many of our diseases today, i.e. cancer.

Achieving Physical Well-Being
How do we have physical well-being? Our body has an inner knowledge of how things should be. We have an innate intelligence that already knows how to heal a cut or fight off a cold; we are self-healing. Our innate intelligence utilizes the power from our nervous system to carry out our healing. Your nervous system is the master system; it is responsible for coordinating and controlling the function of all tissues, organs and cells in the body. Communication to and from the nervous system is imperative. If anything interferes with the nervous system, your body's ability to heal itself is immediately decreased.
The first step in determining the health of your nervous system is to get it checked. Many chiropractors today have the technology to scan your body and determine if there is anything interfering with the communication to and from your nervous system. The chiropractic model of healthcare may be foreign to many of you, as it has only been in existence since 1895. It typically takes 250 years for a new health discovery to be commonly accepted among the masses. Today more and more people are seeking out alternative forms of healthcare and the chiropractic model is leading the way.
Chiropractors understand the importance of maintaining a healthy spine. Physically, your nervous system is comprised of your brain, spinal cord and spinal nerves that branch out and through your entire body. Your brain and spinal cord are encased completely by bone. The encasement includes the skull and twenty-four moving bones called vertebra. The vertebra together, create the spine. It is significant for us to recognize that the brain and spinal cord are protected unlike any other system in our body. As the master system, even a slight dysfunction can have drastic affects on any portion of the body.

The Alignment of Your Spine
One of the primary causes of these dysfunctions is a misaligned spinal bone, which causes pressure to be placed on the spinal nerve, therefore changing the spinal nerve's output. Even minimal pressure, as little as the weight of a dime, on a spinal nerve, can be enough to affect the spinal nerves output by up to 60 percent. The pressure may cause poor performance, weakness, numbness and even pain. However, as we mentioned in our previous article, it is possible that you may feel nothing at all, and still have a misaligned spinal bone. Another term for the misaligned spinal bone is Subluxation. If a Subluxation exists, it will have a negative affect on your health and well-being, due to the added pressure, irritation or stretching of the spinal nerve. A misaligned vertebra can no longer move freely as intended.
In order to remove a Subluxation, it is necessary to free the vertebra and allow it to return to its proper alignment. A trained chiropractor can free a vertebra through an adjustment. An adjustment is a technique using gentle but firm pressure to the bone. The goal of any adjustment is to restore the bone to its natural, or original position. When properly aligned, the pressure will be removed and allow the nervous system's full power to be delivered to its intended target.
If the intended target is the digestive system, two things will occur. Your digestive system will be able to fully break down your foods and absorb the nutrients your body needs to thrive. In addition, your brain will have full communication with your digestive system and will be able to coordinate the absorption of nutrients and determine where the nutrients are most needed. Our day-to-day functions will excel with a properly aligned spine. Our nervous system is the conductor of our orchestra, or body. However, physical well-being is only one third of the puzzle. The Triad of Health encompasses physical, chemical and emotional well-being.

The Triad of Health                                                                                                                                                                                         I will continue to explore the Triad of Health next week by looking at our chemical well-being. Chemical well-being can include everything from the foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, to the chemical residue in the dry cleaned shirt on your back. Even my computer screen, as I write this article, is affecting my body chemistry. Our world is walking a thin line as technology advances at a pace moving faster than our body's ability to adapt. Join us on January 21st to hear more.

Dr. Darrin Robertson, D.C.
Living Chiropractic Center
5590 S. Windermere St.
Littleton, CO 80120

303-347-1909

Dr. Darrin Robertson, D.C. Copyrightã2007