A Sample Lay Lecture for the Students of NYCC

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A Sample Lay Lecture for the Students of NYCC

• Lisa K. Bloom, D.C.
• Diplomate of the International Board of
  Chiropractic Neurology
• Diplomate in Applied Chiropractic Sciences
• Associate Professor, Diagnosis and Practices
  Department of
• New York Chiropractic College

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What is Chiropractic?

• (Fill in your name here)

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Chiropractic is a unique model of healthcare...
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Chiropractors know that the body is capable of
healing itself and look to determine the cause
of a patients symptoms...

• We do not seek to mask the symptoms!

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FIRST!

• A look at health...

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HEALTH IS A state of optimal physical, mental
and social well-being, and not merely the absence
of disease and infirmity.

• Dorlands Medical Dictionary,
• 28th ed., p736.

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Is the presence or absence of symptoms a good
indicator of ones health?

• Lets think about it.

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For example

• When would you normally make an appointment with
  your medical doctor?

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Most people believe that theyre sick when they
have

• A fever
• SO THEY TAKE
• Nausea
• SO THEY TAKE
• Diarrhea
• SO THEY TAKE

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Symptoms

• Often indicate a healthy response
• Treating symptoms does not necessarily fix the
  problem
• Masking symptoms may delay appropriate treatment
• Often absent in the presence of disease
• Symptoms are often delayed until significant
  damage has been donewhy wait to fix the
  problem?

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So this means

• It is possible to be sick in the absence of
  symptoms, and...
• It is also possible to be essentially healthy in
  the presence of significant symptoms!

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Your car will run even if you dont change the
oil...

• But after 15,000 miles, how well is it really
  running even if the car appears to be fine?
• How much damage has to be done before your car
  breaks down?

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We can have poor function and no symptoms.

• New Concept

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Chiropractic care seeks to maximize the overall
function of the entire body
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Your muscles and skeletal system affects how well
your body functionsIf you change your
structure you directly impact how well you
function!

• Watch

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How does chiropractic care maximize function?

• By optimizing how muscles and joints function
• By optimizing how the nervous system works
• By addressing the human body as a whole
• By correcting subluxation

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We are concerned about the nervous system
because the nervous system organizes,
regulates and connects all the functions and the
tissues of the entire body!
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We address the body as a whole because

• How we think affects how we function
• What we eat affects how we function
• How we work, sit and sleep affects how we
  function

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A subluxation occurs when a joint loses some of
its ability to move freely...
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This causes

• Extra stress on the joints
• Other areas to move more to compensate for this
  area moving less
• This may create symptoms in areas different from
  the site of the original problem!
• Activates the bodys silent alarm system,
• Though there may be no pain for a long time!

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If the joints of the spine do not move properly,
silent alarm signals are sent by the injured
tissue into the spinal cord...

• These distress signals become a priority over
  time, and the body has to compensate diminishing
  overall function...
• STRUCTURE AFFECTS FUNCTION!

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The silent alarm system is

• A protective mechanism that lets the body deal
  with injured cells without bothering the brain
  with pain
• It is silent because the conscious part of the
  brain does not like to be distracted by little
  problems
• Remember that little problems can become BIG if
  left unattended!
• Our bodies are not much different than those of
  people who lived more primitively thousands of
  years ago...
• The body is built to suppress pain, which can
  slow you down and get in the way of physical
  survival

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Tissue damage and nervous system changes caused
by subluxation can occur without symptoms...

• The longer the loss of normal movement remains,
  the more damage occurs
• and the ability of the body to heal itself starts
  to diminish over time!

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Studies show that

• The degeneration caused by loss of movement is
  measurable within 1 week!
• If normal movement is restored soon enough the
  body can heal fully!
• The ability of the body to heal the damage caused
  reduces over time as the loss of movement is left
  uncorrected!

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If you have areas where normal movement is
reduced, and these changes affect the nervous
system, muscles, and other tissues...

• How well is your body really running?

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If left uncorrected,loss of spinal joint
movement in can lead to

• Abnormal wear and tear resulting in arthritis
• Activation of the bodys silent alarm system
• Poor posture and reduced flexibility
• Reduced overall health. Performance. And quality
  of life
• All without symptoms at first, but pain syndromes
  can come on later!

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If we know that reduced movement in spinal joints
causes degeneration that is measurable as early
as 1 week...
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And we know that this degenerative process will
continue until it becomes late-stage arthritis
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And we know that this process may occur
completely without symptoms until its too late
for the body to heal significantly
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Wouldnt it be better to find and correct the
loss of movement as early as possible?

• Why would one hip degenerate faster than the
  other?
• It isnt old age as both hips have the same
  birthday

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It is much easier to fix a small problem than it
is to wait...
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Why do chiropractors care so much about the
spine?
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There are 3 major parts of the nervous system
that connect to all tissues and allow all tissues
of the body to communicate...

• These 3 major parts all meet at the spine!

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What does a chiropractor do to restore proper
movement of the spine?
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The Adjustment

• The purpose is to restore normal movement between
  spinal joints which will
• Allow the muscles to function normally
• Optimizes communication throughout the nervous
  system, and thereby
• Optimizes communication between all types of
  tissues
• Resulting in prevention of further degeneration
  and better overall health!

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Will I need more than one adjustment?

• The muscles and nervous system actually learn!

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If you were to change the way you part your hair,
you wouldnt expect it to hold right away...

• In the same way, the muscles and nerves of the
  spine need the opportunity to learn new patterns

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As this is a process that takes time, the number
of your chiropractic visits will coincide with

• How quickly your body learns
• How long you have had the problems
• The mechanics of your work and play activities
• How compliant you are with exercises and changes
  prescribed by your chiropractor

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Who should see a chiropractor?

• Everyone should have their spine evaluated by a
  Doctor of Chiropractic.

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WHY?

• Only a Doctor of Chiropractic
• is trained to diagnose these
• subtle losses of joint movement so that
• the adjustment is placed
• in the exact right place
• in the exact right way.

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A good diet, exercise and positive mental
attitude along with chiropractic care can
optimize your bodys potential

• Improve your health, better you future and
  experience life to the fullest!

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Get into chiropractic care...

• Why wait?