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What We Do
Dr. Penniston holistically addresses a wide range of conditions and
symptoms. A holistic approach means that many different possible causes of a
health condition are considered and treatments are not limited to orthodox
treatments, but chosen from a wide variety of potentially helpful therapies.
Many health problems such as back pain or abdominal bloating can have
several different possible causes. At Lifeline Chiropractic it is our goal
to determine, out of all the possibilities, which specific cause or causes
are responsible for a patient’s symptoms.
In fact, most health problems have many different possible causes or factors
that can cause them. That is what doctors mean when they say that cancer or
headaches are multifactoral. The problem is that so many doctors want to
take the easy way out when it comes to treating pain or body malfunction.
The easy way is using just one treatment approach and hoping that it will
fix all or at least most problems. Medical doctors often rely to heavily on
anti-inflammatory medication and pain killers, while chiropractors often
attempt to use a spinal adjustment to every type of pain without determining
what is actually causing the pain.
Since most pain or other health problems are multifactoral, doctors should
have a means to determine which of all of the possible factors are involved
with a patient’s health condition. Headaches are a great example of a
multifactoral condition. Contrary to how many doctors practice, headaches
are not caused by a deficiency of aspirin, Tylenol, Advil or other
anti-inflammatory or pain killing medications. The real cause of most
headaches is likely due to one or more of the following: poor hydration, low
blood sugar, neck misalignments and muscle imbalances, lack of sleep,
hormone imbalance, poor diet, emotional stress and sinus congestion. Using
anti-inflammatory medications when one or more of these issues are present
is to ignore the actual cause.
From a holistic viewpoint, there are three broad categories to consider in
the treatment of health problems: structural, chemical, and emotional. The
circumstances surrounding a person’s symptoms provide important clues about
which or all of these underlying issues may be contributing to a health
problem.
The following questions are typical of those that can help to determine what
types of issues are involved and what the underlying cause or causes may be.
When did the health problem begin? Example: Problems that start after a fall
or injury usually require some type of structural treatment. Health problems
that persist following an emotional trauma may be due to ongoing emotional
stress or possibly adrenal problems.
Is the symptom associated with other areas of pain? Example: Headaches that
occur with neck tension or pain are usually due to neck misalignments and
associated muscle imbalances.
Is the pain constant or intermittent? Example: Low back pain that only
occurs in the first several days of the monthly menstrual cycle usually has
a hormonal component. Low back pain that is present only when walking, but
not when sitting may be coming from the feet or the sacro-iliac ligaments.
What makes the pain less? Example: If the pain is less over the weekends
then stress or some physical activity that is encountered during the week
could be the culprit. If sitting makes low back pain decrease, then the
sacro-iliac joints or the feet should be investigated as the source of low
back pain.
What makes the pain worse? Example: If pain the pain is worse when sitting,
then lumbar misalignment and inflammation of deep tissues are the first
things to suspect.
What if any medication or supplements are helpful? Example: If
anti-inflammatory medications help then inflammation is a part of the
problem and a search can then begin to find the reasons for the
inflammation.
As you can see, understanding why pain or other symptoms are occurring
requires detective work. Answers to these and other questions will help to
identify if structure, chemistry or emotional stress are the cause or causes
of a persons health problems. Below is an explanation of the terms
structure, chemistry and emotional stress to give a better idea of how these
terms relate to the body and health.
STRUCTURE
Structural problems involve the joints, muscles, tendons, ligaments, disks
and bones, including cranial bones. Evaluation of the structural aspect of a
person includes the use of postural analysis, joint range of motion,
orthopedic tests, muscle testing using applied kinesiology, x-rays, MRI’s
and other tests. The goal is to find which muscles, joints and other
supporting structures are functioning properly and which are not.
Structural imbalances such as spinal alignment, and muscle sprains are often
the cause of headaches, neck and back pain, shoulder pain, foot pain etc.
Structural imbalances can interfere with nervous system function and
aggravate or even be the cause of headaches, numbness, tingling, digestive
difficulties and other organ conditions.
BODY CHEMISTRY, NUTRITION
Chemical problems involve too much or not enough of a nutrient, vitamin,
mineral, hormone, etc. For example, magnesium deficiency is a common cause
of constipation. Constipation often contributes to low back pain, headaches,
and other problems. Body chemistry imbalances and nutritional problems can
be identified by symptoms, blood tests, saliva pH, applied kinesiology and
other tests.
EMOTIONAL STRESS
Emotional stress can affect every part of the body and cause or contribute
to symptoms such as headaches, neck pain, high blood pressure, sleep
difficulties, anxiety and digestive difficulties. At Lifeline use techniques
that help people to understand the relationship between emotional stressors
and their symptoms. This can motivate people to make the changes necessary
to reduce stress, manage stress or to see things in a different, more
positive light.
Only by identifying which of these three broad categories are involved and
how they are involved we will be able to tailor treatment to specifically
correct the underlying issues.
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