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August 2011 “If you live in your heart, magic happens.” Welcome!Dear friends, new and old, As most of you know, part of my personal Mission is to help as many people as I can, which is why I wrote a CDT Health & Wellness column for free for so long; I was able to support far more people in health than I can possibly see in my practice. Today that Mission follows a new path, and one that you can walk with me, both through this newsletter and our new website which includes a new wellness blog. You can help by forwarding this newsletter to anyone you think might benefit from it, which makes you an ambassador of Loving and health by way of your caring, and I welcome any feedback you have or suggestions for topics. Let the magic happen… With blessings and gratitude, Children and ChiropracticPediatric chiropractic is a subject near and dear to my heart, not just because my specialty is in pediatrics and maternity, but because the most one can hope for as a health care practitioner is to help people meet their full potential, and this is most fulfilled when you can work with a person who is still growing and developing! That is the aim and essence of pediatric chiropractic, and it is the goal whether or not a child arrives in my office sick or well. Dr. Clarence Gonstead, a chiropractic pioneer who developed an adjusting technique and saw over one million patients in his career, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis as a child. He saw doctor after doctor until someone finally suggested to his parents that they try a chiropractor. Gonstead decided to become a chiropractor on the G.I. Bill after World War II because the chiropractor was the only one able to help his suffering. Many of us know someone who had this experience as a child: suffering a horrible condition, seeing doctor after doctor with not much relief, until, one day, chiropractic worked. The fact is that both medical and chiropractic intervention are important, and that any parent is going to want to try everything available to them to help their children with their health, whether it is ear infections, ADHD, cystic fibrosis, or staying healthy. Most people would be asking, “Why would a child need a chiropractor? I go to see one, but I have low back pain and arthritis and my child doesn’t.” The focus of chiropractic with children is to help keep them in proper alignment and to help keep their nervous system functioning fully so that they don’t end up with all the problems you and I have as adults. As I have said to most of you before, one of the only medically identified causes of osteoarthritis is long-term joint misalignment, which over time grinds down the soft tissues of the joint and causes the bones to grow together. For many of us, this starts in childhood with a leg length difference that causes a scoliosis and wears the hip and spinal joints unevenly. If we have this scoliosis as a teen, when the body is calcifying bones, it usually leads to irregularly shaped bones that give us scoliosis for a lifetime. So correction as a child is vital, and chiropractic has a better track record with scoliosis than any other modality. Furthermore, if you consider the amount of trauma that kids encounter compared to what we get as adults, you’ll see it’s amazing we grow as well as we do. OHSA estimates that we fall over 2,500 times before we reach 5 years of age. Think of all the wrestling, sports, and the heavy backpacks that kids endure; all the falls while learning to walk and off of bikes and skateboards. In addition to all that, one study of OBGyns at the University of Chicago found that the amount of pressure on the infant cervical spine during delivery reached 90 pounds. 90 pounds! I can guarantee you that as an adult you wouldn’t like me to come pull on your head with 90 pounds of pressure, let alone if you were a newborn without fully developed ligaments or muscles. Birthing is a natural process, but still a traumatic one. In addition we have made many changes that have affected the process—from anesthesia and epidurals, forceps, vacuums and C-sections, to the loud, cold hospital environment—that are designed for the doctor’s comfort, not the mother’s or baby’s. So then how would a child benefit, especially a healthy one? The nervous system is the master control system in the body; the nervous system’s effect is immediate while the blood stream’s effect is eventual. While the heart starts to beat after 24 days or so in the womb, a baby’s spine and nervous system start to differentiate after about 7 hours. The brain and spinal cord are the first things to develop because they coordinate everything else. They are also fragile, which is why they are the only organ system encased in bone. So if this system controls and coordinates everything within us, you can imagine the endless problems that can be caused by nerve interference in a child, who is growing rapidly and is not only subject to interference, but is also supposed to be forming vital connections between hemispheres of the brain and the peripheral nervous system for the first time! Adjustments for children are distinctly different than for adults. Not only is less force and speed used, but the “bones” are even contacted differently because up until a certain age, each vertebrae is actually an unconnected group of many pieces of cartilage that over time calcify and fuse into one bone. Newborns are not adjusted using much more force than you would use to test a tomato for ripeness. In addition, infant and pediatric spines rarely have the kind of muscle tightness seen in adults, so again less is needed to realign the spine. This is a common and sensible concern for parents, and I do strongly suggest that if you are not bringing your child to Centre Chiropractic to get adjusted, that you question your DC’s experience in working with children. Every chiropractor gets training in working with children, just like any doctor; but there are two organizations (ICPA and ICA) that offer extensive diplomate programs to fully train, assess and credential DCs in pediatric work. We are lucky to have three chiropractors in State College who have completed this training. Many parents report seeing instant changes and improvements after adjustments. The important thing is to get children checked. While so many of the complaints of children are attributed to “normal” aches and pains—and certainly growing pains are growing pains—pain is still a sign that something may be wrong and should be evaluated, especially if they aren’t even old enough to express verbally that something hurts! Even things like late bedwetting, ADHD and ear infections are related to nervous function—remember, everything is controlled by the nerves, including all the tissues and the organs that make hormones. While there is solid research showing the benefits of chiropractic for colic, asthma and ear infections, a recent study showed that amoxicillin, the most common drug prescribed for ear infections, actually lowered immune function; kids on amoxicillin were twice as likely to have recurring ear problems as kids on a placebo. The most incredible thing about health care through chiropractic adjustments is that it teaches your kids the majesty of the human body, and to value and respect themselves. It also avoids complications like having to help children distinguish between the “good” drugs they are advised to take to deal with an ear infection and the “bad” drugs that they run across in other contexts. For myself, medical care in the form of drugs and surgery do have their place. As a juvenile diabetic, I certainly wouldn’t be here without them. However, I always want to try and help my body manage itself first without the chemicals that Harvard School of Medicine says are the #3 killer in the U.S.—and you can bet I want the same for Audrey. CFLs: Saving the Planet with Cheaper Light BulbsAfter roughly 125 years as one of the most familiar objects in our lives, providing a simple, dependable, relatively cheap source of light, the incandescent light bulb has lately become the target of everyone who worries about saving money, the environment, or ending global warming. Even its admirers concede that it’s an energy hog, converting less than ten percent of the electricity it uses into light with the other 90 percent getting wasted as heat. Most of the wasted electricity comes from our dirty, coal-fired power plants, which add up to a lot of unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions. The new kid on the block is the compact fluorescent light bulb, or CFL. CFLs, the corkscrew lamps most of us have seen at Ollie’s or Sam’s Club, last about 10 times longer than a incandescent bulb (though it doesn’t last as long if you turn it on and off too often), and if you put a CFL in place of a 60-watt incandescent bulb, you save about $30 in electrical costs alone over the life of that one bulb, and avoid over 80 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In an era where everyone from environmentalists to fiscal conservatives to anyone concerned about reducing our dependence on middle east oil and getting our troops home, it is powerful to learn that if every house in the country made the switch in just one socket, it would be the equivalent of yanking 800,000 cars off the road each year. The movement to change is surprisingly broad. In addition to environmentalists and the scientific community advocating replacing regular bulbs with CFLs, religious organizations are also beginning to advocate ditching incandescent lights as a moral cause. Australia, formerly a global warming skeptic, has actually banned incandescent bulbs beginning by the end of the decade, and the European Union has followed Australia’s lead. California and several other states are considering similar bans. Wal-Mart, the largest retailer on Earth, has adopted CFLs “with the zealotry of a convert,” and has set a goal of boosting US sales from 40 million to 100 million a year. The incandescent bulb still accounts for 85 percent of the two billion bulbs sold annually in the United States, but despite growth in housing, incandescent sales have started to decline noticeably while CFL sales have more than doubled. The CFL was developed at the end of the energy crisis of the 1970s, and it was an ugly one: they were big, expensive and blocky and the quality of the light was stark, ghastly and cold. But they seemed to last forever, even when you wished they wouldn’t. The relative complexity of choosing a CFL seems to be one of the continuing challenges to adopting them. The warmest lights occur at around 2,700 to 2,850 degrees Kelvin. That is the range to look for to avoid bluer, colder looking light, especially if you do anything in which color is important, like quilting or painting. There are also three different technologies for making the lamps, one of which lights the bulb quickly and the other two more slowly. The Environmental Defense Web site now contains full product information on about 50 CFLs including ones that work with dimmers and three-way lamps. Found at www.environmentaldefense.org/go/CFLguide, it is considered to be the best guide around. Unfortunately the product labeling on CFLs still often omits information such as the Kelvin rating. First, look for the words “warm white” to avoid the stark look mentioned above. Second, start by buying just one CFL, to see if you like that particular product. Third, stick with CFLs that carry the Federal Energy Star label. CFLs tend to be more expensive but the extra cost gets paid back in lower electric bills within six months (and I have found them for less than $2 each at Ollie’s). The CFL does contain a pollutant: about four milligrams of mercury per lamp. This is about the same amount of mercury you would get in 100 cans of tuna fish, so while it is not considered a hazard, four milligrams is “not nothing.” The best way to handle this is simply void using CFLs in your kitchen right over a counter—in the event that the bulb breaks you’d dust the food surfaces with mercury dust. It’s easy enough to handle CFLs with care and dispose of them safely (when they do finally die) through CFL recycling programs. Meanwhile, you have avoided the much larger and less manageable mercury pollution that would have been produced by coal-fired electric plants to light an incandescent bulb. Where incandescent bulbs convert less than ten percent into light, and CFLs convert about 20 percent, LEDs boast a 40 percent conversion rate without mercury use or other contaminants. While the expectation is that LEDs will be cheap enough to produce for household use in about 4 years, CFLs are the smartest choice for now. Besides, if you replace all your incandescent bulbs with CFLs today, buy the time they die LEDs will be on the market! Adapted from Smithsonian Magazine, May 2007 Cosmetics, Cancer, InfertilityFor several years now I have avoided addressing the sad and complex reality of toxicity in our daily lives, mostly because it can seem like an overwhelming issue and there aren’t a lot of solutions that don’t require a major re-design of life. In her book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer, epidemiologist Devra Davis reports that there are now 82,500 chemicals in daily use in the U.S., and that only about 1,000 have received sufficient research. Sadly, those that have been “approved” by the FDA have not been tested in combination with the other chemicals they are most commonly used with, and if any of you took chemistry in high school, you’ll remember that once you combine them, that is when the interesting stuff happens! Below are two links to two good articles on the cosmetics industry, the illnesses associated with them, and resources for finding healthier choices: New ResearchBlueberries and Kale on Recent “Most-Toxic” ListIn the next few issues I was going to share a resource with you for choosing which foods to lean towards when shopping organic. In addition to always buying organic healthy fats first—avocado, nuts, organic dairy—because fats are what our body uses to process poisons like chemicals and metals, the Environmental Working Group releases a “dirty dozen” list to inform the public about the most toxic produce. This article from a few months back discusses that resource in addition to last year’s dozen, so I figured I’d just share the whole thing with you. $7.4 Million Awarded to Study Chiropractic Treatment in the MilitaryOne long-standing hurdle for chiropractic is the lack of funding for research available to us, given that research is primarily funded by pharmaceutical companies and medical equipment manufacturers who obviously have an active interest in suppressing studies on chiropractic. Read the article… Painkillers may increase risk of hearing lossFeatured Practitioner—Adam Mentzell, Rolfer
Two years ago in preparation for a print newsletter (I know, I know), I spoke with my friend Adam Mentzell, a Rolfing® practitioner who lives in Boulder and travels through State College to see clients every few months. Rolfing® is a valuable modality that I found great value in, and recently he and I revisited our conversation so that I could share it with you, in hopes that it would shed light on how it can help you and your family. So Adam, what is Rolfing®?Rolfing® is a process of re-educating the body though movement and touch. The primary function of Rolfing® is to facilitate a positive relationship between the body and the gravity. Injuries, trauma, repetitive activities, inactivity can cause the body to lose this relationship, leading to pain, discomfort and a lack of vital energy. Rolfing® uses an intelligent, systematic approach to bring the body back into balance. Through a combination of applied pressure and gentle movements, the connective tissue of the body (fascia) is released and repositioned. This allows the thickened fascia to become soft, re-hydrated and more flexible. As a result, habitual patterns of holding one's self out of alignment, often experienced as poor posture, can be relaxed and return to a natural position. How would I know if I needed Rolfing®?I would say everyone can benefit from being Rolfed. As we become more balanced in gravity we find a myriad of benefits from relief from long standing musculoskeletal pain, improved posture, increased energy levels, and perhaps most life changing, an increase in body awareness and often mindfulness of moment to moment experience. Many clients feel the Rolfing® process is a turning point in their lives where transformational energies were liberated. Rolfing® attracts people with diverse backgrounds and interests. Many are seeking relief from chronic tension and pain or as an alternative to prolonged medication or surgery. Others notice increasingly poor posture and want to improve their appearance. Those who are athletically and musically inclined seek Rolfing® to improve their flexibility and performance. Some people seek out the Rolfing® process for self-discovery and personal growth, as a means of further realization of their potential. Following sessions people commonly report a remarkably heightened sense of body awareness, insight into the ways in which life’s stresses affect their posture and movement, relief from chronic tension and pain, and greater flexibility and ease of movement. Does it hurt? What is it like to experience?Rolfing® generally feels like slow, deep pressure followed by a feeling of release. Sensations may range from pleasurable to temporary discomfort, depending of factors such as injuries or chronic stress to the afflicted area. In general, people report feeling a sense of lightness and well being upon completion of a Rolfing® session. How does the process work?Traditionally, Rolfing® is carried out in a series of ten sessions, each building on the last. Each session is about 75 minutes and can be scheduled within one to two weeks apart. I work with people in a variety of ways from single sessions, ten series, advanced Rolfing® series to periodic tune-up work. Before a series begins, your Rolfer will discuss prior conditions and current complaints to determine what you wish to accomplish. Then a course of action will be communicated between you and your Rolfer and sequenced to optimize changes to the whole body. Is it like massage therapy?No, Rolfing® is actually quite different. First, the quality of touch is experienced as much deeper than most massage forms which focus on a muscular level. Rolfing® works on a myofascial level, including tendons and ligaments; consequently the pace of contact is usually slower. In addition, Rolfing® differs even from deep tissue massage forms such as myofascial release because of the structure of the Rolfing® Series, as well as the way Rolfers are trained. The systematic approach to aligning and restructuring the segments of the body results in more efficient and integrated human being. What type of training do Rolfers have?Rolfers are trained and certified by the Rolf Institute, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, where I am also an Instructor. The Rolf Institute is the only school accredited to teach Rolfing® and is the sole certifying body for Rolfers. Successful applicants complete a training program, considered post-graduate in ature, which usually requires 2 years of study and includes a continuing education program extending for 6 additional years. The training includes the biological sciences, anatomy and physiology, the theory of Rolfing®, and extensive clinical work under supervision. What other approaches to you offer clients?I am trained in Craniosacral Biodynamics which is a a gentle hands on method of treatment that taps into a persons inherent health, allowing healing to take place on a physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual level. I also teach mindfulness meditation to individuals and groups. My hope is that the approaches that I offer will assist people in living more happily and joyfully in their physical body. Get Rolfing with Adam MentzellState College, PA, Boulder, Colorado, Rincon, Puerto Rico Bruce Lipton and EFTEFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique, is a process that combines self-healing dialogue with tapping meridian points to anchor the healing deeper in the nervous system. It is a relatively new modality, but has been adopted rapidly by the world, has been extensively researched and is even used in the U.S. Military. Bruce Lipton is a cellular biologist who has a unique perspective on the relationships between DNA, consciousness and healing, and is one of my favorite theorists to listen to, largely because I’m a nerd. This video captures Bruce talking about several fascinating topics (including EFT) and is well worth the half-hour time investment. Research Continues to Show Health Benefits of MeditationThe first time I saw research on the health benefits of meditation, it was in the early 1990s in Deepak Chopra’s Quantum Healing, in which he references a study that suggested that people who meditate 15 minutes a day could add 5 years to their lives simply by taking stress off the nervous system. Many people mistakenly think that meditation is an Eastern religious activity; while several Eastern religions do revolve around meditation, all that meditation really refers to is the practice of sitting quietly and trying to either clear the mind or focus on a quiet thought. It is a non-religious practice, and most Western studies do not revolve around any particular school of meditation. While this study is five years old already, it was recently brought to my attention through an IONS magazine I subscribe to, and it showed that meditation caused the thickening (in other words, improved health and function) of the cortex of the brain. In addition to indicating how awesome meditation is, this also speaks to how plastic the brain is and how little effort it can take to change it’s form and function. Read the manuscript… Average Woman Follows Her Simple Dream and Becomes a MillionaireI recently ran across this short video on a young woman who got turned down by countless publishers before deciding to self-publish online and quickly became a millionaire. Dreams aren’t always fantasies. InspiringThe University of Santa Monica, which offers a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology, was asked to bring their unique and groundbreaking program into women’s prisons in California. Every few months a team of about 50 USM graduates volunteer to go behind bars and work with these women to find freedom inside themselves. Below is part one of an award-winning short documentary on the Prison Project. 
Howard Thurman, Meditations of the HeartThurman, an influential author, civil rights leader and Dean of Theology at Howard and Boston Universities, is most commonly known for his quote, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” This collection of his meditations is truly inspirational to me. FarewellThanks for your participation, and thanks for your feedback. In addition to linking to my website in order to keep the newsletter concise, these will all be archived on the website so you can always go back later to read, research or forward content. Subscribe to the Centred on Health newsletter… As most of you know, my mission is to support as many people as is possible in living healthier lives and making more informed choices. This newsletter is designed to communicate current research, information and perspectives in service to that mission and is provided free of charge and without obligation. It may or may not contain promotional events or advertising for Dr. Matthew Hertert and Centre Chiropractic. Centred on Health values your privacy. We do not sell, rent, loan or transfer your personal information to anyone else. For more detail, please view our privacy policy. |
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Let us keep you directly informed—subscribe to the Centred on Health newsletter; to ensure delivery to your inbox, please add info@centrechiro.com to you contacts. If you no longer wish to receive the Centered on Health newsletter, you can unsubscribe. © 2011 Centre Chiropractic. All rights reserved. Dr. Matthew Hertert, Centre Chiropractic & Centred on Health |
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