Why would anyone ever want to see a Doctor of Chiropractic in Viroqua unless they were experiencing pain? Probably, believe or not, for the same reason you would visit a dentist before the onset of tooth pain, PREVENTION. I admire and commend the dental profession for their successful campaign on educating the public on the importance of preventative dentistry. We all know to get our teeth check every six months for this purpose, and it works.

As a profession as a whole, Doctors of Chiropractic have been somewhat lax in educating the public on "SPINAL HYGIENE" and prevention of several very preventable spinal degenerative conditions.

Many times over the years in my career I have had very hard working, honest, salt of the earth individuals enter my office and say to me, "I never needed one of you guys in the past", meaning they never had any spinal pain. We then proceed to do an examination and diagnostic x-rays and discover their spine is years and years older than it should be due to degeneration. I look at the x-ray and think to myself in regards to their comment of never needing one of us guys, "Yeah, ya did. You just didn't know it."

I want to be clear, this isn't always the case but it happens all too often. This month at Vernon Clinic of Chiropractic in Viroqua we are (for lack of a better way of saying it) challenging you, a family member, or a loved one to get your spine checked on a regular basis if you are not doing so already. To make this challenge a little easier for the month of April (oh heck, anytime) we will check your spinal health with a brief exam to see if your spinal health needs an adjustment.

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Chiropractic Care in Viroqua Without Pain

10 Things Most People Don't Know About Chiropractic

1. Pain is the last symptom of dysfunction. A patient's back is often restricted or unstable for months or years before it presents as a problem and they show up in a chiropractor's office. In addition, the absence of pain is not health. While medication may be needed, if you take a pill and the pain goes away, the dysfunction that caused it still persists. Muscle, ligament and joint injuries often occur as a result of long-term biomechanical dysfunction, sometimes from past injuries, making the area more susceptible to future injury.
2. Athletes use chiropractors in Viroqua to stay well and perform better, not just for the occasional injury. Athletes choose chiropractors because we are movement specialists. Chiropractors were spotted all over the Olympic coverage last year, and top athletes such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, Evander Holyfield, and Arnold Schwarzenegger have all been proud patients of chiropractors.
3. The body does not perform as a cluster of separate mechanisms, but rather a cascade of events that all starts with proper control by the nervous system. The nerves that travel through and control every function of your body originate at the spinal cord and their transmission may be disrupted if the joints of the surrounding spinal column are not moving properly. This disruption in biomechanical integrity combined with altered physiological function is what chiropractors call a subluxation.
4. Doctors don't do the healing. Sorry to disappoint you, but a chiropractor at Vernon Clinic of Chiropractic will never fix your back. What we are able to do is restore proper motion in the joints, which relieves tension on the nerves and muscles and allows your body to do the healing that it is inherently made to do. As chiropractors, we believe that the body is a perfect organism in its natural state, and all disease comes from a disruption in the body's proper transmission of signals by the nerves which affects its ability to heal and to defend against disease-causing agents.
5. Chiropractic is for all ages. Many seniors aren't aware of the benefits of chiropractic care which can help them not only with pain relief, but also increase range of motion, balance and coordination, and decrease joint degeneration. There's no patient too young for chiropractic either! Chiropractors check infants moments after birth for misalignments of the upper vertebrae that may occur as a result of the birth process. In addition to supporting overall health and well-being, parents also take their children to chiropractors to encourage healthy brain and nervous system development, to assist with colic, asthma, allergies, bed-wetting and sleeping problems, and to assist with behavioral disorders.
6. We know about more than your backbone! This surprises many people who had no idea that chiropractors give advice on nutrition, fitness, ergonomics and lifestyle, screen for conditions unrelated to the musculoskeletal system and refer out to other practitioners when necessary.
7. Successful chiropractic patients accept responsibility. When somebody says that they tried chiropractic and it didn't help, I cringe and get the feeling that they really missed the boat. Of course, there are cases with complicating factors, but I have heard this from people with straightforward chiropractic problems when it is very clear what has happened here. In most cases, one doesn't acquire back pain over night, and it's not going to go away over night. If a weak core from years of sitting at your desk is to blame for the additional stress on your joints, I would expect an adjustment to provide relief, but once the condition is no longer exacerbated, I would most definitely prescribe some exercises for you to do at home. I might also suggest we evaluate your nutrition if I suspect an inflammatory diet may be wiring you for pain. Sure, I'm always happy to adjust someone, but if you've been given homework and you don't do it, remember that this has to be a team effort!
8. Chiropractic in Viroqua may help you get sick less. Studies have indicated that adjustments consistently reduce the production of pro-inflammatory mediators associated with tissue damage and pain, and may also enhance the production of immunoregulatory complexes important for healthy immune system defense.
9. "I heard I'll have to go forever" is a myth. You may want to go to your chiropractor forever once you've started because you didn't realize how great getting adjusted is, but your doctor won't expect you to come for continuous care without symptoms. Generally, if you come in with pain, once you've been treated for your initial complaint, you'll be scheduled for a few more appointments to make sure proper motion is being maintained, then it will be recommended you return occasionally to be checked just like you would go to the dentist to get checked for tartar buildup and cavities. Of course, many people still choose to see their chiropractor weekly or monthly for wellness or maintenance care.
10. Adjustments at Vernon Clinic of Chiropractic don't hurt. There is no bone snapping or warrior-style pulling heads off spinal columns! The neck adjustment some chiropractors use causes anticipation for many new patients, but is actually much more gentle than they imagined, and involves a quick, direct thrust to a specific spinal bone. The sound an adjustment makes is called a cavitation and is only space being created within the joint causing gasses to be released from the joint capsule, which creates the popping or cracking noise.

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SAVE THE DATES...

• May - Expecting Mothers and Newborns

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SAM'S INSURANCE DESK

April brings new life after a long winter. Time to think about what we want to plant this year and have that itch to get started. Chiropractic care can help with those gardening aches, pains and strains. I would like to continue with some more insurance terminology to better help you understand your benefits. These terms are not just for Chiropractic but for the whole medical spectrum.

• Acute/Active care - short term treatment for an injury or episode of illness.
• Supportive/ Palliative care - focuses on relieving symptoms or slowing progression of chronic or degenerative conditions without anticipating significant additional healing.
• Maintenance care - care to maintain a certain level of health/healing. To prevent or minimize relapse of vulnerable conditions.
• Wellness care - preventative in nature, to maintain health
  Maximum medical improvement/ Healing plateau - status achieved after an injury when a condition reaches a point that only minimal or slow improvement is expected. Condition may not have reached pre-injury status but is not anticipated that significantly more improvement will occur.
• Residuals lingering affects of an injury after achieving maximum medical improvement which could require future care

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CHIROPRACTIC TALKS

Listen to Chiropractic Talks with Dr. Kris on the Radio

Listen to Chiropractic Talks - LIVE -- with Dr. Kris Erlandson
Each Tuesday and Thursday at 6:50 am on WVRQ,102.3 FM, right after "Hello Neighbor" with Karen Dahl.

Each broadcast Dr. Kris offers health advice for you and your family and friends. If you know anyone who wants to know better methods for improving their health, have them listen to Dr. Kris.

• When: Each Tuesday and Thursday at 6:50, after "Hello Neighbor" with Karen Dahl.
• Where WVRQ,102.3 FM
• What: Practical NATURAL health Tips

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SUPPLEMENTS

Solar D Gems- Vitamin D

Are you over the age of 70, have dark skin, over weight or obese? How often do you get outside to enjoy some sunshine? Do you eat a healthy diet that consists of vitamin D enriched foods? Do you take a vitamin D supplement?

Vitamin D deficiency can cause:

• Infertility
• Preeclampsia
• Gestational diabetes
• Bacterial vaginosis
• Breast cancer
• Osteoporosis
• Polycystic syndrome (PCOS)
• Low birth weight
• Impaired growth
• Seizures
• Skeletal malformations- sometimes brittle bones
• Muscle function
• Cardiovascular function
• Respiratory function
• Brain development
• Asthma
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Depression
• Alzheimer's
• Crohn's
• Type 1 diabetes
• And more

The main source of vitamin D comes from sunlight, if you are unable to get out and "soak up the sun" it is best to take a vitamin D supplement to ensure that your body is getting this essential vitamin.

Patient Direct Supplement Link

Would you like to have the convenience of ordering your supplements from home?

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RECIPE CORNER

Sausage & Spinach Egg Strata

Here's something with all those things you love about breakfast, but in a strata: the ultimate "breakfast for dinner."

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 pound bulk spicy breakfast sausage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 (9- or 10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
• Salt and pepper
• Freshly grated nutmeg or ground nutmeg
• 1/2 pound stale white or French bread, cubed (7 to 8 cups)
• 2 cups shredded caciocavallo or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 12 large eggs
• 2 cups milk or half-and-half
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• Pam or shortening

Preparation

• In a large skillet, heat the EVOO (1 turn of the pan) over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage, breaking it into crumbles as it browns. Transfer the sausage to a plate. Return the skillet to the heat, reduce the heat a little, and melt in the butter. Add the onion and garlic and cook to soften, 5 to 6 minutes. Pull the spinach into shreds as you add it and season with salt, pepper, and a few grates of nutmeg. Turn off the heat and stir in the sausage.
• Coat pan with Pam or shortening. Arrange half of the bread in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Scatter half of the sausage-spinach mixture over the bread, top with half the cheese. Repeat the layering. Whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard, and salt and pepper. Pour the eggs evenly over everything.
• Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours for the bread to soak up the custard.
• Night of: Return the strata to room temp for at least 30 minutes before you bake.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven.
• Set the casserole on a baking sheet and bake uncovered for 1 hour. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

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OLE AND LENA HUMOR

Both Ole and Sven wanted some money, so they went to the bank for a loan. Sven went in first. "I want $10,000!"

"What do you do for a living?" asked the manager.

"I'm a pilot!" said Sven.

"Well, that is a good profession!" said the manager, so he gave him the money.

Then Ole went in and said, "I want $10,000 too!"

"Well, what do you do for a living?" asked the manager.

"I'm a lumberjack," he replied.

"Well, I can't give a lumberjack that kind of money," said the manager.

"Well, what's the deal with that, if I don't cut the wood, Sven can't pile it."