THE ALARM BELLS ARE GOING OFF BUT ARE YOU LISTENING? (T9 AND STRESS)

The state of health in the UK is dire. The rate of disease growth is far outweighing the right solutions to correct them. 

As many of you know, I am a proponent of addressing the cause of disease rather than the effects. I believe a holistic course of action can flip our staggering numbers around. An exponentially growing state of un-health affects us ALL. If the hospitals are overcrowded, doctors maxed out, and pharmaceutical drugs continue to rise like this, we are buying ourselves time for unsustainable outcomes. 

The health of our people affect the health of our schools, offices, neighborhoods, public services, and ultimately our nation. Doctors like me feel it is more important than ever to begin educating the general public en masse so we can be a part of the solution rather than watch the current quick fixes crumble the health of our communities before our eyes. 

The Alarm Bells Are Going Off, But Are We Listening?

According to a report published by the Statista Research Department in January 2024, stress-related illnesses account for over $14.7 billion USD in healthcare expenditure per year in the UK.
 
The cost is growing exponentially.
 
Which is why I thought it important to talk about T9 by itself but, more importantly - stress, health, and working with your body instead of against it.

DID YOU KNOW THAT ALIGNING YOUR T9 CAN HELP EASE YOUR STRESS?
A simple adjustment of your T9 vertebra can ease stress, keep your feelings and mood more balanced, and give you greater peace of mind when going through everyday outside stressors. T9 is directly connected to your adrenal glands, which perform many essential functions in your body.

YOUR ADRENAL GLANDS: Produce cortisol and adrenaline, regulate your blood pressure, support your metabolism, modulate your immune function, influence moods and emotions, and maintain your fluid balance and sleep cycles.

IN OTHER WORDS THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT.

ALIGNING YOUR SPINE. IT’S AN INSIDE JOB:
With an epidemic of illnesses and chronic diseases rising faster than we can treat them, I believe that keeping your spine aligned is the key place to START. When your adrenal functions are out of balance, it starts a snowball effect of symptoms piling on one another. As time goes by, they worsen, but attention tends to focus on the most recent flare-ups rather than addressing the root cause.

Remember…inside out rather than outside in.

I discuss this every day with patients so they see and understand the importance of it but most people go about their health in this way. Each vertebra in your body plays a vital role in the health of the nerves that are connected to it. Your spine is made up of 24 freely movable vertebrae. You have billions of neurons within your spinal cord and brain, and trillions of nerves that make up the nervous system. They all work in harmony to keep you alive, well, and functioning.

Everything from your eyes 👀 reading these words to how your brain processes the information to how it makes you feel are all functions of your spine and nervous system working together. No one talks about or even thinks to talk about how essential the health of your spine is, and society has strayed far from looking to it as the core foundation of one’s health.

WHY DO WE LOOK TO THE SPINE ANYWAY?
No one really gets into great discussion as to why Hippocrates, the Father of Modern Medicine, is famously quoted as saying: “Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.”

Let’s think about this. Hippocrates was alive during the Classical Greek period (between 470 and 370 BC). He is renowned to this day by all walks of doctors and healthcare professionals. He opened the door to evidence-based diagnosis after shifting the sole focus from supernatural causes.

He believed that by looking, listening, and understanding what was going on in the spine as the starting point, one could then rule out a disruption of electricity or nerve supply as the cause of the disruption, interruption, or eruption. Not only could you analyze and treat symptoms more thoughtfully, but you could assure more success for the patient.

Imagine if you went to the mechanic because your car was spluttering as you drive, and they told you that you should buff out the surface paint scratches and repaint your car? Back in Hippocrates’ days, it was known how important and vital it was to find the root cause of dis-ease by working inside-out instead of outside-in. I believe that addressing the cause is a much better long term strategy than just trying to suppress symptoms. 

MODERN MEDICINE AND MODERN FIXES: THE GOOD AND BAD OF IT
While so many exciting advances have evolved from the days of Hippocrates, one of the biggest is pharmaceutical drugs. This really took off around the mid to late 20th century – with the 1980s marking a notable period of expansion, which is very recent when you think about it.

Pharmaceuticals have their place, especially for some emergencies or life-and-death situations. They can be remarkable for what they can do. However, a pill for every ailment is not the right way to go. Some modern fixes, though seemingly great, take away our body’s natural strength, resilience, and ability to fight and function well. Instead of weakening our system, it is vital that we continually strengthen it as much as we can, naturally.

We are living in a time of the highest stress rates ever, and we are treating the stress with drugs that have side effects longer than the symptom they are trying to treat.

In the UK, more medications are being dispensed for depression and anxiety than we have ever seen in history. Yet the number of people experiencing symptoms from stress (including young people pre-puberty) is skyrocketing.

I did a quick ask of AI: “What are the three main drugs for depression and their contrasting side effects.” This was the answer:

“Three main drugs commonly prescribed for depression are:

• Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs): Examples include fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), and escitalopram (Lexapro). Common side effects may include nausea, insomnia, headache, and sexual dysfunction.
• Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs): Examples include venlafaxine (Effexor) and duloxetine (Cymbalta). Side effects can include increased blood pressure, dizziness, drowsiness, and sweating.
• Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs): Examples include amitriptyline (Elavil) and nortriptyline (Pamelor). Side effects may include dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary retention, and increased heart rate.

While these medications can be effective in treating depression, they may also come with the risk of worsening symptoms in some individuals.”

At the rate that the use of these drugs is increasing as an "easy button" for relief, it seems the number of people "needing" them is also increasing. So what can you do?

Why It's Important To Understand Chiropractic Philosophy
When I attended Palmer College of Chiropractic, we were taught the art, science, and philosophy of chiropractic. We went through rigorous schooling equal to and sometimes more in hours than a medical doctor. We earned the same biology degree, but our main expertise was the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system working together in harmony for the overall functioning of HEALTH within the entire body.
 
Chiropractic education focused on how to keep patients well – IN HEALTH – from the inside out starting with aligning the spine, then working outward. The misconception is that a chiropractic adjustment helps you if you have a whiplash or sore back, but misalignments happen under a variety of circumstances depending on the individual. Everything from physical habits, mental and emotional traumas, a pattern of thinking, toxins in the environment, or malnourishment from eating too much processed food can cause our spine and nervous system to “speak up” and ask for attention.
 
Performing an adjustment is not about “cracking bones” but undoing vital blockages and giving life energy back to where it was lost.
 
Will You Help Spread The Word?
The bottom line is your body has an incredible ability to heal itself when given the right support and conditions. By prioritizing spinal health and taking a proactive approach to wellness, you can unlock your body's innate potential for healing and vitality. And most of all for a happy, healthy, long life.

If you found this information to be helpful and know someone who could benefit from it, please forward it and share it with them. 
 
Because everyone's health matters,

Dr. Michael