Toxic Foods - Detoxing Foods

GET THE SPRING BACK IN YOUR SPINE

Retracing - What is Retracing

RETRACING CYCLES OF REPAIR

Dr. B.J. Palmer wrote the following information during the early development of Upper Cervical Care as an art and science.You may be impressed with the different writing style in which it is presented. Keep in mind that his words are as true today as they were years ago. The laws of nature remain consistent.

“As it took time for the condition to change from health to a maximum degree

of abnormality, it takes time to RETRACE BACK TO HEALTH.”

Retracing: Cycles of Repair
What do we mean by retracing? Primarily it implies going over ground which has already been covered until the individual reaches the point from which he started.When a patient is under Upper Cervical care, it often occurs that he exhibits symptoms that have not manifested themselves for months, or even years. His first impression is that he is becoming worse, but he is retracing the several stages through which his disease progressed in the making.

The question of time is essential in the matter of retracing. If a disease has been in progress for a number of years, the patient should not always expect to regain the normal state within a few days. As it took time for the condition of the patient to change from health to a maximum degree of abnormality, so it takes time to retrace from the abnormal condition back to health.

What The Upper Cervical Doctor Does
The Upper Cervical Doctor is thoroughly trained to detect the abnormal positions of the vertebrae in the spine. He is further trained in the technique of restoring these vertebrae to their normal positions. The question naturally arises in the mind of the patient as to why the Upper Cervical Doctor cannot return the vertebra immediately to its normal position and thus immediately restore the tissue to a healthy state.
What actually happens when an adjustment is given is the vertebra is returned toward its normal position. When an adjustment is done, the ligaments and muscles are given an opportunity to regain, in part, their normal tone, and this permits them to hold the vertebra in a more nearly normal state.

Various Stages
Different stages of the disease give rise to different symptoms, and as the order reverses itself, symptoms
which were present, perhaps years ago, may again occur. If the vertebra is being returned rapidly toward its
normal position, an entire series of symptoms may develop at one time and the patient consequently will believe his is getting worse.
As a matter of fact, the outlook is particularly bright at this time, and the patient should realize this fact.
Naturally, if he does not understand the condition, he will assume that he is becoming worse and may stop
chiropractic care entirely. It cannot be made too emphatic that this is the very time when he should
continue with chiropractic care, because the results are being obtained which will do the greatest good.

Response Varies
The time consumed in the recovery does not always correspond to the time consumed in the production of
the disease. As a general thing, however, it may be stated that acute diseases respond rapidly, while chronic
cases of long standing are slower in their response.
Some abnormalities show very extensive involvement of tissues, while others show very little involvement of
tissues. In any involvement of tissues, the structures must retrace the various steps through which it passed
in assuming its normal condition. This is well shown by the various eruptions on the skin where tissue
gradually changes and becomes abnormal, reaching its greatest degree of abnormality and then returns
through the steps that it has covered in its appearance until the skin again becomes normal.This is equally true
of those tissues in the body that are not visible.

Points To Remember
The spine,however, and the body in general is subject to more or less strain during the every day life, and it is
possible that the vertebra may recede toward its old abnormal position, thereby necessitating another
adjustment. Keep in mind that tissues often must be rebuilt in order for the vertebra to hold its normal
position. In addition, tissues that have perhaps for years assumed an abnormal condition, due to the gradually
increasing pressure upon the nerve fibers, must be allowed time to return through the various stages
they have passed in the production of the abnormality. This all takes time, and patience becomes a cardinal
virtue, based on the knowledge that all is progressing as it should.

Must Be Retracing
It is immaterial whether the disease is one of long standing or an acute condition.There must be retracing
in the position of the vertebra and in whatever structural or functional change has occurred. Naturally, this is
true, there must be a retracing in the symptoms. In acute cases they may be so slight in degree that they
pass unnoticed.
Finally, every Upper Cervical patient should realize the necessity for continuing with Upper Cervical care,
even though you cannot note the progress made from day to day, or even though you believe the condition is
worse. It is essential for this period of retracing to be passed through, and do not allow any temporary
discouragement to preclude the ultimate health which will be yours if you continue.

Gradual Retracing
It can thus readily be seen that there is a gradual retracing in the position of the vertebra from the time
when it attains the maximum degree, to the time when it returns again to normal.There is also a retracing in the
condition of the tissues that are supplied by the nerve fibers impinged. They have gradually attained a
maximum degree of abnormality and must return through those various stages by which they progressed
in the attainment of that abnormality. Not only is there retracing so far as the vertebrae are concerned and the
tissue cells affected by the subluxation, but there is also a retracing in the symptoms exhibited by the patient.

Sleeping

Stomach Sleeping: When you lay on your stomach and sleep, you are forced to turn your head severely to one side or the other.  Can you imagine how horrible you would feel if you sat at a computer like that all day?  Stomach sleeping is a major contributor to chronic neck pain and muscle tightness.  It is also one of the reasons that some patients do NOT hold their upper cervical adjustments very well.  So if you are doing it.  STOP!

Too Many Pillows: What’s with all the pillows?  Some people act like it’s a competition to see who can sleep with the most pillows.  The problem with too many pillows is bad posture position it puts you in. Too many pillows for a side sleeper laterally flexes the head and can cause neck pain and muscle tightness.  Too many pillows for a back sleeper will push the head forward and contribute to forward head posture and ultimately the dreaded “hunch.” NO ONE wants the hunch.

Your Nervous System is the wiring that controls your entire body.

There are 4 things that every person needs to live: Food, Water, Air and Nerve Supply. The first three are fairly common knowledge, but the last one is often overlooked. The nervous system is the most important system of the body because everything else hinges on it. If the nervous system is not firing on all cylinders, it is possible that the rest of the body will not be working correctly. We see the practical evidence of this with spinal cord injuries. People like Christopher Reeves not only experience paralysis from an injury to their central nervous system, but they experience damage to their respiratory system, digestive system and immune system as well. Because of the connection between the nervous system and the rest of the body, any interference or irritation to the nervous system makes it impossible for the body to function properly. This makes maintaining a properly functioning nervous system a top priority for anyone striving to regain their health or maintain optimal health.

Holding proper head/neck alignment over time allows your body to heal.

One of our goals is to get all of our patients to hold their Upper Cervical correction for as long as possible. This means that we want them to be able to go for extended periods of time without the need to get a correction. For a lot of people who have never had Upper Cervical Care before, they will have to allow their body a little time to get used to the care before their correction will start to hold. But it’s not the correction itself that makes Upper Cervical patients well, it’s their body remaining free from nerve interference and body imbalance over a period of time that makes them well. Now I want to clarify that I’m not suggesting that Upper Cervical patients only get adjusted when they are having symptoms. Upper Cervical doctors have ways of detecting whether or not a patient needs to have a correction. Once a patient has gone through their initial care and it has been determined that they are holding their correction, their Upper Cervical check-ups will be scheduled accordingly. Even if our patients are completely symptom free we encourage them to continue to get an Upper Cervical check-up every 3 to 6 months to ensure that their body is holding the correction and that they are not falling back into the same pattern that lead them into our office in the first place.