Dr. Whittaker's Blog

I’m a conservative kind of guy. I always have been. Many people would consider me downright dull. I’ve been a chiropractor for 28 years and have always been attracted to the more scientific and measurable approaches to chiropractic care. In chiropractic college, I shied away from techniques that weren’t easily explainable or clearly documented. I always wanted everything to fit neatly into a little box of scientific comfort. And yet, I still had unanswered questions. I have always witnessed instances of chiropractic doing so much more than relieving aches and pains. I have always taught the true potential of chiropractic as set forth by its founders. So from a medical mainstream perspective, perhaps I haven’t been so conservative. Still, I kept to the right wing of chiropractic and avoided the ethereal.

Having worked with many patients over the years, I’ve noticed how some people seem to attract illness or injury whereas others have an attitude of health that helps them recover more quickly and stay healthier. I’ve also learned more about how energy flows through the body. This includes the nervous system, acupuncture meridians, magnetic fields, etc. I’m also a believer that our bodies contain an eternal spirit. When we die, our spirit leaves our body. Or is it the other way around? Do we die because our spirit leaves? I truly believe that having a close association between the body and spirit is synonymous with life and disassociation of the two means death. Could there be degrees of separation? It’s an interesting question. It’s obvious that there are many degrees of health – not just alive or dead.

With all that I’ve learned and witnessed, I’m absolutely convinced that our mental state (primarily our emotions) affects our body, and vice versa. I have also seen that proper communication between the central nervous system and the rest of the body is critical to health, which is the basis of chiropractic. Life giving energy and unhampered communication is essential to the health of every part of the body. This is critical for every cell to function properly as a component of its own part of the body and for every part of the body to function harmoniously in order for us to live and be healthy. Chiropractic adjustments can be very helpful to regain and maintain this communication and coordination. But it’s just one piece of the overall puzzle. If a spinal misalignment (subluxation) is the primary issue that’s interfering with the proper distribution of energy and coordination of the nervous system, we see tremendous results occur from properly applied chiropractic adjustments. When it’s just one of the factors causing the health problems, the results are less dramatic.

The mind has a tremendous influence on the state of the body. Most, if not all, disease processes have some degree of psychosomatic component. Our emotions are reflected in our physical state. Intense emotions, especially those that are bottled up deep inside for long periods, have the greatest effect. Addressing emotional issues can have a significant impact on our physical health.

Functionally, the mind and spirit, which are inseparably connected, work together. There are many people who feel that the subconscious mind or spirit knows deep down what’s right and what’s wrong with the body. It just doesn’t have an effective way to tell us (communicate with the conscious mind) what’s going on, at least no method that we’re typically taught. It’s painfully obvious (pun intended) that symptoms don’t tell the whole story regarding the state of our physical being. Sometimes a physical problem will manifest itself in our emotions, such as anxiety or depression. That then adds to the psychological issues, which can lead to a positive feedback loop where both health and emotions take a spiral dive.

It’s been a long journey to get me to this point. The things that I’ve learned from a scientific basis were not wasted. They have provided a foundation that allows for a more thorough, educated approach to health care. However, I found that science and technology can only take you so far. If we were talking about a machine, something that man had created, man’s education and understanding through traditional scientific methods would be sufficient to fully understand and manage it. But when we’re dealing with the human body, which obviously man did not create, scientific methods fall short.

One thing I tried to do was to decrease subjectivity by removing myself from the equation. I tried doing some tests where I was not in contact with the patient or where someone else was doing the test. Neither of these things showed the same results as I was getting. In fact, they showed no result. Does that prove that it’s all in MY head? I would wonder about that if it weren’t for the results that I’m getting. I don’t think I can separate myself from the process. If that creates subjectivity, I can’t help that. I am a part of it.

In spite of my initial scientific approach to chiropractic and the desire to be grounded in well-established and accepted principles, I have never wanted to be a healthcare technician. It is one of my greatest desires to be a HEALER. That said, I fully acknowledge that I personally cannot heal anything. Healing comes from God and from the inherent abilities that God included with the gift of our physical bodies. For most chronic conditions where significant and immediate intervention is not required, the best that any doctor/healer can do is to remove interference so our God-given healing abilities can be fully active and functional.

Since we are spiritual beings, healing must have a spiritual component. If you believe that we are soul-less creatures who simply evolved from the muck and slime, you will not agree with my reasoning. If you feel that everything you need to know about the human body can be learned by dissecting a cadaver or studying physiology, you’ll think I’m just a crackpot. However, if you believe as I do, that we are spiritual beings, that our spirits are templates for our bodies and that the energy of our spirits provide life for our bodies, then what I’m saying should make some sense, even if it seems foreign at first.

I want to share some insights into differences within chiropractic philosophy. Being a chiropractor and caring about my colleagues, the purpose of this post is not to run down anyone’s philosophy. However, I am not ashamed of our profession and I think that it would help many people to understand the differences between chiropractors. There are very distinct differences between chiropractors. In some ways, those differences make us (my profession) weaker by not providing a clear understanding of what chiropractic really is all about. Perhaps in some ways we’d be better off if we all did the same thing. It would certainly be less confusing to the general public. It would be much simpler to say this is what a chiropractor is and this is exactly what all chiropractors do. Our message to the world gets confusing and watered down because we don’t have a unified voice.

But would it be better for everyone if all chiropractors were the same? I don’t think so. Different people have different needs. We as people are not machines that came off an assembly line. Even standards for what’s “normal”, such as a body temperature, etc., are more averages than exactly what’s right for each individual. Not only do needs differ, but so do levels of understanding, philosophical backgrounds, etc. If we were to standardize all chiropractic care — all doing the same tests, the same treatments in the same way, which approach would we choose? Who’s to say exactly which one is right? Not only do patients need different kinds of care depending on their unique circumstances, but the philosophy and technique must also fit the doctor. Attitudes, beliefs, size and strength all play a part in each chiropractor’s decision on what technique they will primarily practice.

When I first started in practice, we used to talk about “straights” vs. “mixers”. A straight chiropractor only did chiropractic adjustments, whereas a mixer would add other things such as nutrition and so forth. I usually don’t hear those terms any more. One of the main distinctions that I see these days is that of wellness vs. pain doctors. Pain-oriented chiropractors don’t usually identify themselves as such, but that is their focus. I am a wellness chiropractor. It’s not so much whether I use nutritional supplements or physical therapy or other adjunctive methods. The main thing that distinguishes a wellness chiropractor from others is that we’re not strictly orthopedic. We want to relieve pain and restore joint function as much as anyone else. However, we see chiropractic as much more.

Since the body is self-healing and self-regulating, and since the nervous system controls and regulates all parts and processes of the body, it stands to reason that if a vertebral subluxation (small misalignment in the spine) can interfere with the full proper functioning of the nervous system, then reducing that subluxation through chiropractic adjustments can improve health. This is not some snake oil approach. We don’t claim that chiropractic can cure everything. In fact, I maintain that chiropractic doesn’t cure anything. It’s the body that heals itself. The purpose of the chiropractic adjustment is to remove or reduce interference so the body can take care of itself.

Although what I’ve just stated is the foundation of chiropractic as set forth by its founders, not all chiropractors see it that way. There is not even agreement between all chiropractors as to what constitutes a subluxation. So are the differences between chiropractors in both technique and philosophy a strength or a weakness? It would make our message much clearer if we all saw it the same way, but then we wouldn’t be able to appeal to such a large number of people. If you don’t like the experience you’ve had a with a chiropractor, chances are there’s another one down the street with a different approach that may fit you better. However, if you’re like most people, your experience with them has been very positive.

There are two basic approaches to the philosophy of chiropractic. We see this among both doctors and patients. The most essential difference I see is pain relief vs. wellness. This isn’t really about chiropractic technique or whether a doctor uses nutrition and other supportive measures or if he/she just simply does adjustments. It’s a question of intent. If we approach chiropractic as some kind of therapy designed to simply reduce pain and improve function from an orthopedic standpoint, its focus is simply symptom relief, following a more medical model. On the other hand, chiropractic can follow more of a wellness model, that is maximizing health potential by improving the functioning of the nervous system.

The question of treating children with chiropractic adjustments, in my opinion, is where the rubber meets the road in pain relief vs. wellness. I haven’t run across many young children who complain of back or neck pain. Therefore, under a medical model, it would rarely be appropriate for small children to be adjusted. However, if we consider the importance of a properly functioning nervous system in achieving and maintaining good health, and if you understand the relationship between chiropractic adjustments and the nervous system, it would make great sense to adjust children when there are spinal misalignments (subluxations).

After nearly 27 years of being a chiropractor, I’ve never witnessed any ill effects of chiropractic adjustments on even very young children. Yet I’ve seen many children helped significantly by them. My own children, and now my grand-daughter (shown above), are prime examples of this. I listened to other parents talking about how their children frequently got sick and suffered from earaches, sore throats and so on. It was extremely rare that we had to deal with anything like that. From the time that they were small babies, I checked them regularly and kept them in proper alignment. I don’t “pop” little baby’s necks or backs, but rather just apply very gentle specific pressure on the vertebrae. As the child gets bigger, I can do a little more. (A chiropractic adjustment does not require a “pop”, and certainly not all pops are specific enough to be considered an adjustment.)

I’ve often wished that adults would respond as quickly or dramatically as young children. Adults are generally healthier under chiropractic care as well, but often times, they have long-standing problems and many other complications that make the response slower and less extreme. I’m not saying that chiropractic is a cure-all and that children under regular care will never have any health problems. I hesitate to list conditions that chiropractic can help with. On the one extreme, I don’t want to promise that chiropractic will definitely help with any particular condition. At the other end of the spectrum, I don’t want to put limitations on it. The body is a wonderful and amazing creation. When nerve interference is the main problem, using chiropractic adjustments to reduce that interference can have fantastic results, especially on children, who are resilient and free from long-standing problems.

I highly recommend having children checked by a competent chiropractor. Chances are they’ll be much healthier for it. You can also refer to an article in USA Today for further thoughts on it.

I just gave a presentation on fibromyalgia. So I thought I’d share some of the principles with the rest of the world. If you or a loved one is suffering from fibromyalgia, I don’t need to tell you how debilitating it can be. It’s a difficult condition to diagnose, probably due to a lack of definitive tests. Doctors who are looking for it see it frequently, whereas more conservative doctors may not even believe in it and would therefore never offer that as a diagnosis. Used to be, people who had it were generally told it was all in their head. Some people may still be told that from time to time since it’s so hard to prove.

One of the possible causes of fibromyalgia is depression. It will also trigger a flare-up and it’s also listed as a complication of fibromyalgia. So which comes first – depression or fibromyalgia? I’m sure it varies from person to person. One thing for sure, if you hurt every day and can’t do the normal things in life without difficulty, especially when there’s no obvious reason for it, chances are you will get depressed, if you weren’t already! It’s not all in your head, but it can at least partly stem from where your head is at.

The problem is that fibromyalgia isn’t really a specific disease. I refer to it simply as a condition. There are two main criteria for diagnosing it. First, you have to have widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body for a minimum duration of three months. Second, you have tenderness or pain in at least 11 of the 18 specified tender points when pressure is applied. For more information, visit the National Fibromyalgia Association’s website at www.fmaware.org.

I’ve gathered a list of possible causes of fibromyalgia from a number of sources:

• Immune system problems
• Physically unfit muscles 
• Disturbance in brain chemistry
• Sleep Disturbances or Insomnia
• Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus
• Food allergy
• Emotional stress
• Intestinal candida overgrowth
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Adrenal exhaustion
• Chronic mercury poisoning from amalgam dental fillings
• Anemia
• Hypoglycemia 
• Hypothyroidism
• Fibromyalgia is closely related to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which causes similar symptoms, except that in fibromyalgia, muscle pain predominates over fatigue, whereas in CFS, fatigue predominates over pain.
• Muscular hypoxia

It’s that last one that I’d like to focus on. I’ve seen some interesting research that may provide hope. It has to do with ATP production. ATP is the substance that your body produces for managing and storing energy. It’s been found that fibromyalgia sufferers frequently have low levels of ATP in their blood platelets. Two nutrients that help to boost ATP production are magnesium and malate (or malic acid). One study showed that patients taking 300-600 mg of magnesium and 1200-2400 mg of malic acid per day showed an average 60% reduction in pain after only 48 hours.

Here are a few other things you can do to improve this condition:

• Exercise — Fibromyalgia can be a downward spiral. The muscles desperately need exercise, but it hurts to exercise and can cause a flare-up that can last for days. Without the stretching, increased circulation and movement in the muscles, fibromyalgia symptoms will gradually increase. Exercise is an important component of the management of this condition. The keys are to start off very slowly and to make the exercise regimen part of an entire management program (see the other suggestions listed in this blog). I recommend starting off with walking and stretching.
• Omega-3 fatty acids — Irritation leads to inflammation, which can cause more irritation (another one of those ugly spirals). Omega-3 essential fatty acids (EPA, DHA) naturally reduces inflammation.
• Chiropractic — Regular chiropractic adjustments will improve both mobility and function. It will also increase your general health and well-being.
• Stress/emotion management — Find reasons to laugh, let go of stress. Emotional stress can kick off fibromyalgia flare-ups and is even suggested as one of the causes. As much as possible, avoid negative physical, emotional, chemical and nutritional stress. I realize that’s a very broad statement, but in this context, that’s about as deep as I can go on that. As much as you can follow a proper path of health and reduce stresses upon your system, the less pain you will experience.

Try these things. Hope is an essential ingredient in the management of any condition or disease. Do what you can to take control. Giving up, giving in only empowers the problem more than the solution.

I recently had a patient come in with severe neurological damage. Several years ago, she was undergoing medical treatment for migraine headaches. The doctor was injecting her neck with steroids. The first shot was okay, but the second one went terribly wrong. He apparently went in too far, injecting into her spinal cord. She was paralyzed for six months. She eventually got to where she could walk and get around fairly well. However, it left her right hand and arm practically useless. She is in constant pain and must use implanted electrodes along her spine to try to control the symptoms, as well as taking strong pain killers every day. In spite of all that, the pain and disability are almost unbearable. This has been going on for six years now.

The purpose of this blog is not to criticize the medical treatment this woman received. The outcome was obviously tragic. I frankly don’t know enough about the circumstances or what the doctor was doing to comment on it intelligently. What really bothers me is that I have successfully treated many migraine patients through gentle and natural means without ever harming anyone. Perhaps I could have averted this tragedy if this woman would have come to see me or one of many other chiropractors who have similar techniques.

Chiropractic is safe and works in harmony with the body. Serious adverse effects are extremely rare. In fact, in 26 years of practice, I’ve never seen any. Effectiveness, of course, varies from person to person. With some people it helps a great deal, while a few not so much. I wish I could say that I’ve totally eliminated everyone’s headaches that’s ever been to see me. However, at least 90% of them have had their headaches, including migraines, significantly reduced or eliminated. (I know — that’s not very statistical; it’s just an observation. But it is an honest assessment of my experience.)

I hope that people with chronic headaches will give chiropractic a try. I realize that medications are easier and cheaper, but they do have side effects and dangers, and they do nothing to address the underlying cause.

This is not actually about a battle that is inflammatory. This is about the battle against inflammation itself. Inflammation, which is an immune response, creates pain, stiffness and decreased function in joints, muscles and other parts of your body. Inflammation reduces proper flow of blood and lymph, thus allowing toxins to build up in that area. This swelling results from injury, infection or just irritation of soft tissues and can slow the healing process.

The most common approach to treatment of inflammation is with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). More than 70 million prescriptions are written for NSAIDs each year and 30 BILLION over-the-counter tablets are sold annually. This represents a 9 billion dollar annual industry in the United States alone.

So what’s wrong with using NSAIDs? Their use has been associated with gastric ulcers, bleeding, myocardial infarction, stroke and even death. Prescription NSAIDs for rheumatoid and osteoarthritis alone cause over 16,000 deaths each year. NSAIDs are actually the most common cause of drug-related mortality reported to the FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world.

Are you taking NSAIDs? You may not know them by that name. We see them as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxin and other terms. There are safer and healthier alternatives! For localized relief, an ice pack can be very effective. Ice should only be used when there are no serious circulatory problems. Also, don’t put it directly on the skin. Use a thin towel or something similar to protect the skin. Place the ice pack on the area of inflammation for 10-20 minutes.

For longer term treatment, omega-3 fish oil can help to control inflammation. Essential fatty acids in the fish oil can help reduce joint pain, including pain from arthritis. Most of the greasy foods that people eat, including potato chips, french fries and many processed foods are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which can increase inflammation in the body. Eating too much red meat can also contribute to the inflammatory process.

Much has been studied and written about the harmful effects of inflammatory processes within the body. It goes beyond simple pain. However, I won’t try to address that issue in this brief post. How do you know if there’s inflammation if it’s not all red and swollen? When it comes to joints and muscles, if it hurts, there’s usually inflammation. What about treating it with heat? Heat is good for stiffness. Alternating heat and cold can even be an effective method of treating mild inflammation and driving out toxins. However, heat pulls fluids in, which can increase inflammation. That’s why I always tell my patients — if in doubt, use ice.

The most common headache is a tension headache. Just about everyone gets one from time to time. It usually starts out mildly with a little tension in the neck, shoulders and back of the head. The tension leads to pain. The pain creates more tension. And so it escalates in a vicious cycle. To relieve the resultant headache, the cycle must be broken. Most people will take a pain reliever. If the pain can be reduced and the source of the tension is not continuing unabated, the headache will usually go away.

For occasional headaches, this method of treatment works well for most people. There are two main problems with it though. First, medication works with varying effectiveness and carries with it risks and side effects. Secondly, the cause of the headache was not addressed. Sometimes the cause is obvious, such as a horribly stressful day or a poor night’s sleep. Other times it’s not so obvious. Headaches may be coming back for no apparent reason. When that is the case, don’t just ignore it and take more pain pills. See a professional and find the cause. Sometimes it’s something simple that can be taken care of, in which case you don’t want to just go through life covering it up. In some cases, the headaches are a sign of something more ominous that needs attention. In all cases, if a severe headache comes on suddenly, especially if there are any neurological symptoms accompanying it, seek medical attention immediately.

A common source of chronic headaches that I see in my practice is vertebral subluxations (small misalignments) in the neck. Through a series of chiropractic adjustments, these subluxations can be corrected. When we do so, we find in most cases that the headaches are eliminated or significantly reduced. I’ve had many patients tell me that the quality of their life has vastly improved by bringing the headaches under control. There are often other factors that we look at also. We want to eliminate as many of the causal factors as we can for the overall health of the patient. As far as the headaches go, it’s often a matter of reducing the problems to the point that the body can deal with them better and then the headaches go away or occur with less frequency and severity.

Whenever an occasional tension headache does come on, here are a few things you can do to help relieve it:

• Tension headache pain often comes from the muscle attachments on the occiput (base of the skull at the back of the head). Applying mild pressure with your fingertips on the painful points on the occiput, especially with a little upward pull, helps to relieve that pain at those muscle attachments.
• Ice will also help to soothe the muscles and drive out inflammation from irritated muscles and joints. (Heat can be very relaxing, but should only be used when you’re certain there is no inflammation.) An effective method of icing the neck is to roll up a small towel and lay a soft ice pack or bag of crushed ice over the towel. Then put a towel or cloth napkin over the ice. (You should not have the ice pack right against your skin.) Lay on your back with this ice pack arrangement under your neck for 10-15 minutes. (Do not use ice if you have circulation problems or are overly sensitive to cold.)
• Take several slow, deep breaths. When we get stressed, our breathing often becomes shallow and erratic. Deep breathing helps your body to relax, gives you a bit more oxygen and helps rid your body of carbon dioxide and toxins.
• Drop your shoulders. When we get stressed, we tend to hunch our shoulders upward. After a while, we get knots in the muscles between our neck and shoulders. Pull your shoulders down; reach for the floor. Did your shoulders go down significantly? That’s a good sign that you’re a shoulder huncher. Do your reach for the floor exercise periodically, especially in conjunction with deep breathing. This will not only help stretch out the muscles (especially the trapezius), but helps you to be aware of when you’re hunching your shoulders.