WHAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM?

I Often get asked what type of food should I eat or what types of exercises should I do to be healthier.  Both of which are great questions, but I respond with how healthy is your spine?  If they aren't patients of mine, they will typically say "great," it doesn't hurt me at all.  I then respond with that's great, but do you know what percentage of your nervous system even has pain sensation in it?  Most people don't even fully understand what the nervous system is.  For those reading this, it's your brain, spinal cord, 31 pairs of spinal nerves and hundreds of thousands of peripheral nerves than innervate every cell, tissue and organ in your body.  Most people aren't aware of the fact that the health of every system in their bodies is based on the health of their nervous system.  For example, your cardiovascular system, respiratory system and even your immune system are limited by the health of your nervous system.  If you nervous system is 70% functional then your other systems can only be 70% functional at best, not matter how well you eat or how much you exercise.   So how do you know how healthy your nervous system is you may be asking.  You have to get it evaluated by a trained Doctor.  We have special nerve function tests that we use in my office that were developed by NASA to determine how healthy their astronauts were and now we use it on our patients.  They are very non-invasive and easy to perform.

Some to keep in mind is where does your nervous system reside.  Well your brain is obviously in your skull, but your spinal cord exists through the center of your spinal column.  In between each vertebrae exits each of the 31 pairs of spinal nerves.  Take a guess what would happen if your spine is out of alignment and pushing on your spinal cord or spinal nerve?  You got it, it would alter the health and function of your nervous system negatively.  Now begs the question, how well aligned do you think your spine is? Very few people would say perfectly aligned.  But oh yes I forgot, it's not hurting you right?  Well pain is only present 10-20% of the time.  That means 80-90% of the time your nervous system is dysfunctional, you won't even know it.  Think about heart disease, cancer and even cavities in your teeth.  They don't gradually hurt more and more as they grow in severity.  It takes a long time before symptoms are even present.  The journal of pathology states that 70% of disease and dysfunctional will occur before any pain is present.  So, for those of you wondering what you should eat or what exercises work best, it's all for nothing if you don't have a healthy spine or nervous system.  Do yourself a favor and find a Chiropractor near you and get checked out.  If you need a referral to someone great, don't hesitate to ask.  If you want to check with your family doctor first, go for it.  They don't work with the spine and nervous system.  They manage symptoms with drugs and remove or repair damaged parts of your body surgically.  If you want drugs and surgery definitely don't go to a Chiropractor.

In closing, I love and appreciate you all and hope you all live healthy, happy and fulfilling lives.

Yours in Health,
Dr. Josh