Celebrating 115 years of a New Paradigm

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer

On September 18, 1895, D.D. Palmer, a successful magnetic healer in Davenport, Iowa, made the discovery that would change the face of healthcare in this country.  Harvey Lillard, a janitor in Palmer’s building at the time, had gone deaf in his left ear 17 years prior.  He had been stooping over lifting a heavy object when he heard a loud snap in his neck and immediately lost the hearing in the ear.  Upon examining Mr. Lillard, Palmer found a severely misaligned vertebra in his neck.  He theorized that if the misalignment had caused the man’s deafness, restoring the alignment would restore his hearing.  With some convincing, Mr. Lillard agreed and indeed had his hearing restored.

This was the birth of chiropractic, which comes from the Greek words chiros and praktikos meaning "done by hand." That fateful event created not only the second largest healing profession in the world, but more importantly it birthed a movement, bringing forth an ancient knowing in a world becoming increasingly overrun by industrialization and a lack of faith in man’s inherent healing capacity.

D.D. Palmer was well ahead of his time.  And like all great geniuses, was persecuted and ridiculed for his discovery.  One that even today, while becoming more and more accepted by progressive and conscious individuals, stands up against a Big Pharma machine that profit at the expense of your loved ones’ lives and the physical and financial health of society at large.  Health never has, nor will it ever, come in the form of a pill or potion.  It comes from inside of each of us...  All healing happens from above down, inside out.  The brain and the rest of the nervous system orchestrates that phenomenon only as it knows best and only of course as long as you are eating well, getting plenty of rest, and avoiding toxicity in its multiple forms.  When your nervous system is free of interference you will function at an optimum level.  However, when interference to that system occurs, dis-ease, or disharmony is the natural result.

Chiropractic is simple.  It is based on simple science and on common sense.  When examined honestly and without bias, the truth of its nature is accepted as self-evident.  Chiropractic is the science, art and philosophy of removing nervous system interference from the spinal column.  The vertebrae become misaligned, or subluxated, due to stress in its various forms.  When the body’s internal resistive forces cannot withstand an external force such as a slip and fall or the repetitive stress of sitting in front of a computer, a subluxation, or spinal misalignment, is the result.  This misalignment naturally and necessarily places pressure on the spinal cord at the area of the brainstem or any number of openings along the spine where the 31 spinal nerves exit and proceed to every organ, gland, muscle, tissue and cell.  This is how the miracle of life exists.  Every single function from cellular division to the beating of the heart is controlled, monitored and regulated by the nervous system.  Pressure on this system necessarily affects function. 

Notice I have yet to mention pain.  Pain fibers make up only a small portion of the nervous system.  If you have pain, consider yourself lucky.  It’s the body’s warning system letting you know there is a problem.  But how do you know if you are receiving only 40% of the nerve supply to your thyroid, uterus, heart or any other region of your body?

I have checked my 3-year-old son’s spine since the moment he was born and continue to check him regularly.  Not because he was in pain.  But because I want to ensure that he has optimum health and function throughout his life.  You see, chiropractic is not about pain, although it helps greatly with those issues.  It is about balancing you and your family’s nervous systems so that you can experience optimum health and function your entire lives.  It’s a great truth that I am dedicated to seeing accepted as self-evident in my lifetime and am honored to have the opportunity to share it with you.

Dr. Steve Tullius, D.C. practices in Grover Beach where his focus is on creating a healthier future by empowering and educating his practice members to become stewards of their health.  He can be reached at 481-1566 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Mary felt like an elephant was sitting on her chest. Breathing was hard and fatigue had become normal. Her neck and shoulders felt heavy, tight and painful. She went to the doctor for a check up. Blood tests showed everything normal. X-rays came up with nothing. Her insurance company would not approve an MRI. Depression moved in like the evening fog. Her discomfort and pain grew.  Her mystery seemed unsolvable and the doctors were at a loss. “Am I going crazy?” she thought.

No, Mary was not going crazy. This situation is a classic example of the symptoms of an unhealthy fascial system. How does this occur? Let us look closely at what fascia is and how it gets out of balance.

There are four types of tissue in the body. Muscle, epithelial, nervous, and connective tissues make up our entire selves. Connective tissue is comprised of collagen, elastin, and a ground substance. The consistency of the ground substance and the ratio of collagen determines whether the tissue is bone, blood, tendon, ligament, or connective tissue proper. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body. It is strong and fibrous. Its job is to envelop or encase, to protect, and to make us tough. Collagen is in every organ, gland, and tissue. It even surrounds each cell.

The word Fascia has become a generic term. If one looks in an anatomy book, the different “envelops” actually have different names. As we look smaller and smaller in the muscle fiber we see epimysium , perimysium, and endomysium. In nerves it is called epineurium, perineurium, and endoneurium. The coverings of bones are called periosteum. The point is this: no matter the name, it is all connective tissue made of collagen, elastin and a ground substance. Surgeons may need to communicate these different areas more precisely, but in body work, the exactness does not affect the outcome.

Myofascial Release (MFR) addresses this very system. Myo meaning muscle, myofascial release’s name implies we are working merely with the muscle’s outer covering of connective tissue. In actuality, an MFR practitioner can engage this connective tissue matrix (briefly described above), anywhere and potentially affect the entire body. This is because the fascial system is a continuous three-dimensional spider web of tough collagen and pliable elastin, sitting in a gelatinous polysaccharide ground substance.

How do the problems start? In our bodies, stress causes the collagen to literally thicken (the body manufactures more protein fibers), and the elastin to shorten. (Sometimes elastin loses its elasticity which is another topic). Also, the ground substance can dehydrate and crystallize. What does stress mean? Examples are: over-use especially with poor body mechanics, poor posture over a period of time, accidents, inflammation, surgery, and/or disease processes. This thickening, shortening and crystallizing can choke off delicate tissues such as blood vessels and nerves, or interfere with lymph drainage, to name a few examples. The symptoms can be exactly what Mary felt, or sometimes even worse. To exacerbate the situation, even if Mary had been given an MRI, modern tests will not reveal the above scenario unless the collagen has really made an obvious scar. 

The good news is that with a skilled body worker, this situation can be remedied. Next month we will talk about how myofascial release works, and what the client/ therapist’s roles are and how they work together as a team toward health.

By line: Dorene Garvin is passionate about myofascial release and has been in private practice as an MFR Therapist in SLO since 1996.

Put some money in YOUR pocket

Many people think that group health plans are less expensive than individual. That is FALSE i you were to compare the benefits and premiums apples to apples. California Assembly Bill 1672 says that any business group of two or more employees cannot be declined due to pre-existing health conditions. Since the passing of AB 1672 group health insurance carriers typically charge more for dependents because they are guaranteed issue. If your dependents are healthy you can save by having them apply for individual plans.
Ten years ago I was selling employer group plans that offered $5 office visit co-pay, $100 hospital co-pay, $5 prescription drugs co-pay, and lab and X-Ray were paid in full. Unfortunately, those days are gone. Since then premiums have increased about ten percent annually. We are left with two choices. Stay on the PPOs and HMOs that pay for everything while shelling out $800 or more a month for family coverage. Or, raise your deductible or decrease prescription coverage thus transferring more risk to you. Only a small percentage of people actually meet their deductible each year. If you are young and healthy you may want to purchase a higher deductible plan. Some of these high deductible plans can be paired with a Health Savings Accounts (HAS) which can actually let you save money pre tax that can be rolled over year to year. Before the deductible is met your health related expenses would be paid for with your HSA.
Honestly there are only a handful of plans that cover maternity these days. Take a look and see if your plan does. If you are not planning on having kids you do not need this benefit. This will be an easy way you can save immediately.
I’m not going to sugar coat this one. Stop smoking, eat a healthy diet, and exercise. You’ll be able to get the best rates available. Not to mention you will lose weight, lower cholesterol, and generally feel better.
Nathan Hedges is an independent insurance agent specializing in Health, Life, and Medicare supplements.  Nathan delivers objective information to individuals, families and small businesses.  Call today to make sure you are getting the most for your dollar. You can shop and apply online at www.nathanhedges.net or call 805-235-0913 for an appointment.