How to Choose a Chiropractor
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How to Choose a Chiropractor

How to Choose a Chiropractor

Having the largest chiropractic college in the world right in its backyard, Atlanta can be a confusing place to find a chiropractor. Similar to finding a dentist, medical doctor, mechanic, or hair dresser it is important to do research if you’re looking to find out who is the best chiropractor in Atlanta. In today’s article we’ll discuss how to choose a chiropractor and provide questions you should ask yourself and the chiropractor you’re visiting.

Choosing the Best Chiropractor

There are certain strategies I feel are very important when seeking to find a chiropractor that give you and your family the best care.

1. How thorough is the consultation?

The first day in a chiropractic office is what sets the tone for the relationship and is the determining factor for what the patient will need. In our office we use the first visit to analyze the entire spine to figure out:

  • Can we help this person?
  • If so, how long will it take?
  • How often will we need to see them?

These questions are important in the first day and should be asked by the chiropractor your visit. This will help you achieve your goal and not waste your time.

To give you an idea of which tests we utilize here is a list of what 99% of each client receive on their first visit:

  • Blood pressure: Research shows chiropractic can lower blood pressure better than two medications
  • Spirometer: This detects lung capacity and how much air a person can blow out. We track this number since our office specializes in corrective care and as the patients posture improves they are able to increase their lung capacity
  • Grip strength: Each patient should be stronger by roughly 10-20% on their dominant hand. By assessing this we can determine if there is soft tissue or nerve blockage not allowing for increasing grip strength.
  • Nerve scans: We use digital thermography to assess the nerves in the spine to detect stress on the nervous system. This can help us locate pinched nerves and see where the problem is coming from.
  • Postural assessment: Each person receives a front and side view picture so we can track to measure if the spine is moving back into it’s normal position.
  • Digital x-rays: It is important to have a set of x-rays done on the spine to measure the curves and make sure it is straight on the front view but has 3 smooth flowing curves on the side view. Since we are one of the only offices in Atlanta to specialize in corrective care we use these first x-rays as a base in order to help our patient get as close to normal.

2) Do they adjust on the first visit?

When I look for chiropractors in other states for people that need them the first question I ask is “Do you adjust on the first visit?”. If the chiropractor adjusts on the first visit this means I immediately hang up the phone and call the next chiropractor.

Personally, if I was visiting any healthcare provider or personal trainer I would prefer they perform all the testing and gather as much data as possible then follow-up with me the next day or two days later to review their findings.

3) Are there classes to learn more about the body and how it works?

An area I feel we specialize in which I would hope more healthcare providers followed suit is education. The term doctor literally means teacher and unfortunately this is not the case in our healthcare world.

Our office holds 4 classes a month to help our patients know what they can do at home to achieve the best results and keep their bodies healthy. Two of these classes are our Natural Healthcare Orientation which is the first class each patient will attend to explain to them how they got their spine in this situation and steps to take to get the best results in the quickest amount of time.

4) What is the follow-up protocol to track progress?

Most doctors track progress based on symptoms and how their patient feels. Unfortunately, this does not work as they are a lot of people walking around who feel great but they have heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases that do not show symptoms until the latter stages. This is why our office focuses heavily on objective results versus subjective results.

We re-evaluate the spine using all of our technology to strategically show someone is getting better not because their symptoms are going away. This is very important in healthcare as most people only care for their health when they are symptomatic but neglect their health when they are asymptomatic.

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How to Choose A Sports Chiropractor
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How to Choose A Sports Chiropractor

 

If you play sports and are looking for how to choose a sports chiropractor, this article is for you! If you’re looking for a chiropractor who specializes in sports then it is important to think about your goals. Most of the athletes we care for have 2 goals:

  1. Not get hurt and be able to play sports forever
  2. Perform at their optimum potential and be their best athlete

We take these goals into consideration and use our resources to help each patient achieve those goals.

The first thing to look for in a chiropractor who specializes in sports is one who plays sports and is fit themselves. Personally, I have been an athlete my whole life competing in marathons, Ironman’s, crossfit competitions, and other local weightlifting events. The worst advice someone can take is from someone who is not athletic and has no idea on how athletes function.

One of our best athletes Emily Bridgers, top female crossfitter in the Southeast, says “I don’t know how someone who works out regularly does not get adjusted”.

Emily came in feeling great but, upon further review of her hips, she had imbalances and one hip was higher than the other. Through our specialized corrective techniques she was able to balance her hips naturally and is now competing at her highest level while feeling her best.

On July 25th – July 27th she will compute on ESPN in the Crossfit Games in California.

We tell all of our athletes: “If you want to train at an elite level then you must take care of yourself at an elite level.”

This is why chiropractic is a staple for a healthy body as well as adding in other tool such as massage, foam rolling, yoga, and acupuncture. The key to sustained health and longevity is being proactive and taking steps to betterment BEFORE pain shows up.

Your Turn

What are some of your favorite sports to play? Leave comments below!

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Best Pediatric Chiropractor in Atlanta
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Who is the Best Pediatric Chiropractor in Atlanta?

Best Pediatric Chiropractor in Atlanta

Who is the best pediatric chiropractor in Atlanta? Well, this depends on how you define someone as being the “best”. In my opinion, the “best” person to take care of you and your family is a chiropractor who you trust, will educate you through the process, and who has received advanced training in pediatrics.

What Should You Look For

1) Find someone who you trust and feel comfortable with. Whenever choosing any health care provider, find someone you can connect with. Follow your intuition and choose a provider who makes you feel comfortable when you walk into the office.

2) Find someone who explains what they are doing and why they are doing it. The Chiropractor should explain what is going on with your child, what impact it might have on him/her, and what to expect during care. This allows you to be educated throughout the process and make informed decisions regarding your child’s health.

3) Look for a Chiropractor who has received advanced training in pediatrics. Parents can look on the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA) website, icpa4kids.com, to find Doctors who specialize in pediatrics and pregnancy. This website shows any chiropractors who have obtained post-graduate training in pediatric care.

At Corrective Chiropractic, we care about the health of you and your family! Our mission is to serve and educate the Atlanta community about true health. Dr. Savy has received advanced training in the management of infants, children, and pre-and postpartum women and is also certified in the Webster Intrauterine Contraint Technique. If you have have any questions or would like to make an appointment to get your child checked, please call our office at 404-355-5499.

Your Turn

Do you have a chiropractor you trust to care for your child? What criteria did you use to select your family’s chiropractor?

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What Does The Chiropractic Roller Table Do?

What does the chiropractic roller table do

May people ask us about the roller tables we have in our office, more specifically they ask “What does the Chiropractic Roller table do?” and “What benefits do they provide?”.

A differentiating factor between us and most chiropractors is, following the adjustment, we have everyone lay for between 5-7 minutes in our tranquility room on the “roller tables”. Most people call these “roller tables” but for us they are known as Spinal Stabilizer Tables. These tables actually stabilize the spine post-corrective adjustment.

Since we specialize in corrective care, it’s important that people do not go back in their car and head straight in front of a computer. It is important to relax for at least 5 minutes to allow the adjustment to hold itself in place. The “roller tables” help this relaxation process.

These Spinal Stabilizer Tables roll up and down the spine massaging the disc spaces. These disc spaces are the cushioning between the spine and help them stay hydrated. The more stimulation these discs receive the healthier and taller you will feel and look.

Your Turn

Have you ever laid on a roller table when visiting a chiropractor?

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Is Chiropractic a Cult
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Is Chiropractic a Cult?

Is Chiropractic a Cult

Over the past 5 years a few people have often asked me “Is Chiropractic a cult?”. This question presents an unfortunate outlook that I will be discussing in this article.

Cult vs. Lifestyle

People sometimes associate chiropractic and cult because, unfortunately, chiropractic to them is different and not common amongst our society. Also, people who tend to adopt utilizing chiropractic as a lifestyle also tend to adopt working out and eating well as lifestyle. Some people also deem these to be cult lifestyle because of the person’s passion towards being better.

What frustrates me about this is how people who adopt this lifestyle tend live a better quality of life and are generally happier.

An accurate statement would be, if cult comes from the word “culture”, and used when people are doing something similar, then people who eat garbage food, live a sedentary lifestyle, and not use chiropractic, are part of a cult? Some would argue they are part of a cult that is bound to live a lifestyle of chronic problems and decreased quality of life.

Bottomline, we are all part of a group that leads a certain lifestyle and lives a certain way. For me and my family we choose to live one of abundance, health, and prosperity. Which do you choose?

Get Involved

We’d love to hear your take on the topic, please leave comments below!

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Should My Baby Be Checked By A Chiropractor?

Should my baby be checked by a Chiropractor

One of the most common questions I’m asked is “Should my baby be checked by a Chiropractor?” The real question: “Why is your baby NOT under chiropractic care?!?”

Before we can answer why infants should be checked by a chiropractor, we have to understand what chiropractic is. Chiropractors work with the nervous system- the information highway that coordinates all of our bodily functions including breathing, digestion, and immune responses. When the spine is misaligned, the nerve messages are interrupted and result in impaired nerve function. If left uncorrected, this can dramatically affect the health of a child. Chiropractic adjustments correct the misaligned vertebrae and restore proper nerve function, allowing the child to live each day at their maximum potential.

Why would my baby have nerve interference?

A recent study showed that 80% of infants have some sort of nerve interference from the birth process. Unfortunately, this problem is under-publicized and under-treated. During the average birth, a doctor will use 60-90 lbs of pressure to pull the baby out of the birth canal. The likelihood of nerve interference only increases with additional birth trauma: prolonged labor, drugs used to increase contractions, vacuum/forcep extraction, or cesarean section delivery. Imagine the effects this can have on the infant’s spine and nervous system!

What happens when there is nerve interference?

In most cases, infants may not present with any symptoms initially. Other times, newborns may experience colic, irritability, difficulty feeding or latching, eczema/skin irritations, digestive issues, sleeping problems, or neurological defects due to impaired nerve function. If this is left undetected and uncorrected, these problems may develop into learning difficulties, sensory impairments, asthma, allergies, ear infections, hyperactivity, or other health problems as the child matures.

So why is chiropractic important this early in life?

Given that 65% of a child’s brain and nervous system development occurs during the first year of life, it is imperative to ensure that your baby has every opportunity to maximize nerve function during this crucial period! Each child deserves to live life at his or her optimal level.

Is chiropractic safe for kids?

Chiropractic is extremely safe for children and adults! Infants are adjusted much differently than an adult counterpart because of their small size and age. The infant adjustment consists of a gentle fingertip contact applied to specific areas of the spine.

Get Involved

Do you take your children to a chiropractor? We’d love to hear your reason for starting, or not starting, care for your entire family. Please leave comments below!

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Crossfit Open Winner, Emily Bridgers & Corrective Chiropractic

Over the past few months I have had the privilege of taking care of Crossfit Open winner for the Southeast, Emily Bridgers. Emily trains at an elite level and works hard to make sure her body is in peak performance. This year she finished 9th in the World and has her eyes set on California this Summer.

The great thing about Emily is she thinks different and is open to growth. When we reconnected in February I explained to her what chiropractic was and how it could help her overall performance. I shared with her that through realigning the body and balancing the nervous system, her body will be able to function at its peak.

Our office in Atlanta is different than other chiropractic offices. We focus on corrective care and reworking the structure to reduce stress on the nerves and improve biomechanics. Click Here for an article about the benefits of corrective chiropractic.

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Can Chiropractic Help a Herniated Disc
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Can Chiropractic Help a Herniated Disc?

Can Chiropractic Help a Herniated Disc

We find that people often freak out when they find out they herniated a disc. A lot of these people then run straight to the MD for medical procedures. But did you know that chiropractic can help a herniated disc?

While there are the instance of herniations caused by car accident, slip and fall, or other trauma, disc herniations commonly happens over time. Similar to how the heart takes time before it develops into heart disease, discs can take only so much stress before they eventually herniate.

They’re Like Jelly Doughnuts…

I like to compare discs to jelly doughnuts. Jelly doughnuts have a fluid center, and if you step on the doughnut fluid comes out. Discs are much like this jelly doughnut in that when you put too much stress on a disc, fluid will eventually come out.

The key to treating herniated discs is being proactive and taking care of your body before it happens. A tool that you could use along with your chiropractor, before the herniation or while the disc is herniated, is a wobble chair.

Dr. Bernini did research and found that full range of motion exercises for between 5 – 8 minutes were essential for daily metabolic interchange. He also found this important to the disc in that it helped uptake nutrition as well as eliminate waste products to maintain hydrated discs, ligaments, and tendons.

Our office prides ourselves on being the best structural chiropractors, below is a picture of wobble chairs in our facility for patients to use to improve their disc health.

Wobble Chair

Get Involved

Have you ever asked yourself, can chiropractic help a herniated disc? Perhaps you’ve received care from a chiropractor or MD for a herniated disc? We’d love to hear your story either way, please leave comments below!

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Can Chiropractic Help Digestive Problems?

Can Chiropractic Help Digestive Problems

Every month our office sees numerous people who suffer from some form of digestive problem. So, for today’s article, we’ll answer the patient question “Can chiropractic help digestive problems?”.

Whether it is acid reflux, bloating, constipation, irritable bowel, or some other digestive disorder, most of these problems can be resolved with chiropractic adjustments and lifestyle changes.

The nervous system controls every cell, tissue, muscle, and organ system in the body, and interference from everyday stress can disrupt this system. The nerves in the lumbar and sacral area are directly related to digestion, so when the body is under a state of stress, the nerves stay hyperactive, which negatively affects digestive processes.

The Role of Stress

For example, if someone is chasing after you, your body is under stress , so it does not expend energy digesting food. Rather, your body will use its energy on the innately driven physiological responses to keep you safe. This kind of acute situation can be easily changed by various means. However, in today’s world, many people develop chronic stress due to lack of interest in their careers, constant sitting, toxic diet, sedentary lifestyles, or negative thinking, all of which rot the spine and lead to bodily shut down.

Structural chiropractors are well trained on how to reposition the vertebrae in place, so stress is removed from the nervous system, thereby allowing the digestive system to work more efficiently. A case study done a few years ago shows a woman who suffered with IBS symptoms once or twice a week for 5 years. After her first adjustment, she noticed an ease of symptoms, and quickly all her digestive problems disappeared. At her follow-up visit 2 years later, she was still symptom free.

Chiropractic for Infants with Digestive Problems

In 2008 a study showed how chiropractic can also help with infants who have digestive disturbances. Researchers chose 3 infants who had infrequent bowel movements ranging from once a week to once every 3 – 4 days. Parents of these infants tried laxatives and other medical procedures recommended by their primary care providers to regulate their babies’ digestive tracts, but they had little success. Then, the infants began chiropractic care for anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months, and all 3 infants experienced immediate improvement and began to have bowel movements on a daily basis.

The bottom line is that when we take stress off the nerves and the nervous system, the body is able to function at its fullest potential and digest foods more easily.

Get Involved

Have you, or anyone you know, found chiropractic to help with their digestive problems?

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Can Chiropractic Help Heart Disease?
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Can Chiropractic Help Heart Disease?

Can Chiropractic Help Heart Disease?

When people think of heart disease, many usually think of clogged arteries or a sedentary life with little exercise to strengthen the heart muscle. What many people don’t know, though, is that Chiropractic has been showing to help your heart. So, todays article is for those wonder, “can chiropractic help heart disease?”

We live in a World where at least 50% of the population will suffer from heart disease and not because of genes or age but because of our lifestyles. Many people around the World live longer and rarely get heart disease, but it is because of their more proactive lifestyles, which have been instilled in their cultures.

Beyond eating healthfully and exercising regularly, chiropractic can drastically impact our heart health in a positive way.

What Research Has Found

Recent research by medical provider Dr. George Bakris out of the University of Chicago Hypertension Center found that a misaligned spine can lead to high blood pressure. He took 50 patients with high blood pressure and gave half of them a real chiropractic adjustment and the other half a series of fake adjustments.

Those with the real chiropractic adjustments experienced improved blood pressures as systolic (top) numbers lowered by 14 mm. In conclusion, receiving a chiropractic adjustment lowered blood pressure better than 2 medications and has zero side effects.

Heart Disease & Posture

As many of you are aware our office focuses on structural correction to combat the postural patterns to which we subject our bodies everyday. The most common pattern is Anterior Head Syndrome where the head is shifted forward over the ears.

According to Rene Cailliet, the University of California’s Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, “This posture can add up to 30 pounds of abnormal leverage pulling the entire spine out of alignment and may result in the loss of 30% of vital lung capacity.” As forward head posture decreases lung capacity, it prevents the body from effectively oxygenating cells. This can lead to asthmatic conditions, blood vessel problems, and heart disease.

Therefore it is so essential to see a corrective chiropractor to make sure your head tilts back and the curve in the neck is structurally sound.

More To Come

For those who think chiropractic is solely for improving neck pain, back pain, and headaches, this month is dedicated to teaching chiropractic care’s positive effect on the heart. Stay tuned for great opportunities to learn why getting your spine corrected and maintained exponentially increases your quantity and quality of life, especially for your heart.

Get Involved

We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave comments and questions below for our next articles relating to chiropractic and your health.

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