Injury & Pain

Last blog, we spoke about Gonstead chiropractic and injuries.
We can't talk about injury without mentioning and addressing  PAIN.
Although most of us do not embrace or like pain, it really is a fascinating  & necessary communication system of our amazing bodies. Without the feedback of pain and (our interpretation, thereof) we have no communication from our bodies and then can't respond to the physiological and psychological issues that need tending to.

I Am Pain

by C. J. Buell

I am Pain.  Most people hate me,
Think me cruel, call me heartless;
Study ways to bribe and fool me,
Try by every means to slay me.

Dope themselves with anesthetics,
Fill themselves with patent nostrums,
Call the one who practices medicine,
Seek the allopathic healer.

Beat the tom-tom of the savage,
Build the alter, burn the incense;
Seek to sate the wrath of devils,
Pray to saints, and gods, and angels.

Not to cure the ills within them,
Not to cleanse and purify them—
Just to calm the pain that hurts them;
Just to kill the guide that warns them.

Pain I am; but when you know me,
When you once have learned my secret—
How I come to help and bless you,
Guide you, warn you, lead and teach you;

When you know my loving nature,
How, at first, I gently twinge you,
Lightly twinge you, as a warning,
Hoping by this kind endeavor,
You will heed my voice and listen.

Sure am I that when you know me,
You will gladly then embrace me,
Call me friend and give me welcome,
Call me friend and ask my message.

This the message I would bring you,
This the secret I would teach you;
This the warning I would give you,
This the reason for my visit,

When you learn to know that nature,
In her wise and boundless mercy,
In her tender, loving kindness,
In her wisdom, and her goodness,
Meant that men should live and labor;

When you learn to shun the by-paths,
Leading off to vicious habits;
When you learn to keep your body
Strong and clean and pure and active;

Give it work in right proportion,
Give it air and food and water,
Fit to build its every member,
Fit to nourish every function;

When you teach your mind and spirit,
Pure and noble thoughts to harbor;
Drive out fear, and hate, and malice;
Cherish love and kindly motive;

Think of every man and woman
As your brother, as your sister;
Scorn to do to any other
What to you would seem injustice;

Help to build a state and nation
Founded on the rock of freedom;
See that chance to none is lacking
Where withal to earn a living,
Where withal to live in comfort;

When you learn these things I’ve told you,
When you know them, when you do them—
Then will I depart and leave you
Then will pain no more be needed.

This is then, the truth I bring you;
That I hurt you but to heal you,
Thus I come to guide and lead you.

I am God’s most blessed angel,
Sent to point the way to virtue,
Sent to teach the noblest manhood,
Sent to rouse the soul to action.

Love me, trust me, heed my message;
I will bring thee peace and bless thee.

 Let Chiropractic & Naturopathic Medicine help you with your pain; preventing it in the first place!!

healing with and from injuries

It is summer. Hopefully, you have been busy enjoying the terrific weather and all the play of the great outdoors! Summer gives us so many choices for exercise fun. With all this fun, maybe you or someone you know, got hurt. Perhaps a strained back, a muscle tear, a sprained ankle, a broken bone.  Injuries can stop us in our tracks , causing us to slow down or even stop. It is important to know when to ice, when to heat, when to slow, when to stop because not all injuries are created equal. heck, after all, we aren't!

Our bodies were designed to move! And movement is much more than exercise. Our musculature is actually part of our endocrine system-this translates into the great feeling of calm and wellness you feel after you dance, golf, hike, cycle, etc. Many folks know it as a " the runners high". We really do create an amazing effect on our hormones and nervous system when we move.
The same is true in "reverse",  when we become hurt and injured, our entire being suffers.
So, let's talk about his.
Injuries. The likelihood of your being injured increases with the more you participate and the older you are; repetition, overuse, and good ol' wear and tear. One ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
How to prevent and how to recover?
We are so beautifully designed for healing, therefore we can maintain a balanced lifestyle which will prevent  and/or limit the possibility of injuries by adhering to the basics-hydration, rest  good nutrition; sound body, mind & spirit.
Of course "spit" happens, but when we live in a mindful and conscious manner, our staying present while exercising will benefit us as we engage in our movement choices: greater enjoyment while tending to our bodies needs.
when injuries DO happen, we offer you many options for healing.
Gonstead chiropractic & Naturopathic Medicine will assist you on your path .
The next installment will detail tips and techniques on how .
Until then,
be well, stay well.
Dr. Jenn

CT GREEN EXPO & CT FOLK FEST

Nothing spells the waning summer better than the GREAT community event  of The Ct. Folk Festival and Green Expo in one of our wonderful New Haven parks.
Join in the terrific activities at Edgerton Park, Saturday, Sept. 7.
The Green Expo runs from 11 AM-10 PM free admission for all! The expo is a fun and interactive landscape of vendors that will educate you, feed you, inspire you and so much more! Music, workshops and family fun.
Check out their website at CTfolk.org for more info and of course,
Dr. Botwick will be there,  so stop by for a visit her at her booth!
www.drbotwick.com

What is "Gonstead" Chiropractic?

The connection that exists between the brain and all other parts of the human body is the nervous system. Signals pass between the brain, eyes, tongue, stomach, toes and indeed, throughout the entire body on "electrical wires" called nerves. These nerves pass from the brain down the spinal column or back bone, and exit between the spinal bones at 24 levels from the base of the skull to the tailbone, controlling all bodily functions. If the spaces between the spinal bones should become narrowed or cut off due to a misalignment or "kink" in your spinal backbone, this is called a subluxation, and the nerve signal is then interrupted or reduced at that specific level. The nerve fiber traveling away from this "pinch" has now become "short circuited" as it heads toward the muscle, finger or specific organ it controls. The result is a demonstration of pain, loss of function or degeneration in that specific muscle, finger or organ. Even an everyday headache can result from nerve pressure due to a spinal misalignment. The Gonstead Chiropractic approach is to locate these misalignments in the spinal column, then specifically and gently adjust the segment back into place manually, removing the subluxation and "pinch". By applying the Gonstead adjustment to the back, the pressure is removed from the nerve while joint function is restored. More importantly, nerve function is restored, and the path of that specific nerve is then again sending and receiving the "electrical" impulses as it should and ultimately, health is restored.

The Gonstead Doctor has set the standard in Chiropractic for patient examination and treatment. Examination of the patient includes complete patient history, static palpation, motion palpation, instrumentation of the spinal column, orthopedic and neurological testing, x-ray analysis and, if necessary, laboratory analysis. When all this information is combined, a trained Gonstead Doctor will immediately let you know if your health situation is a Chiropractic case. If it is not, a referral to the appropriate health provider will be given. If your case is a Chiropractic case, the trained Gonstead practitioner's goal is to utilize the dynamics of the effectual Gonstead Specific Adjustment to get you back to optimal health as quickly as possible, with no "pre-planned" treatment programs. The goal of a Gonstead practitioner is to get a patient back on the road to health as quickly as possible and then leave the patient alone. In the words of Dr. Gonstead, "Find the subluxation, correct it, and then leave it alone".