Asthma

Asthma... It is astounding how many people suffer from the symptoms of this auto-immune disease/disorder. We may be able to help people with asthma. Please feel free to contact us to set up an appointment for you or your loved one to see what chiropractic care can do for them our yourself. Scroll down and fill out the form and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

Now let me tell you about one case in particular that stands out for me. This patient was a teacher who had been living with asthma for the majority of his life. He discovered chiropractic through a massage coupon (who can't use a free massage right?). Anyway, he came in to an office and thought why not give chiropractic a try because his insurance covered chiropractic and he felt there was no harm in trying it. Now this patient didn't think it would have anything to do to help his asthma but he was experiencing some mild low back pain, knee pain and occasional headaches.

He had a bit of a surprise that at the young age of 22 that he was already in significant degeneration, showing signs of disc loss, and arthritis especially in his mid to upper back. The worst thing is that he showed signs of already being fused. The doctor recommended an aggressive treatment plan coming in daily in the beginning, then to three times a week, then twice and eventually down to once a week. This patient never missed an appointment and came in religiously even after his pain was not there anymore. What is more interesting than the absence of pain is that the patient started to notice after the first few months that he didn't need his inhaler as much as he had before.

You see, this patient was so asthmatic that a drastic change in temperature, walking past someone smoking, trying to exercise, all of which caused an attack. He would use his inhaler prior to chiropractic care 3-4 times a day 7 days a week. He needed to get his inhaler refilled every three weeks because it was empty. Many times he would end up in the hospital because he couldn't breathe and his inhaler was empty. This was no life to live but sadly he had no other way. Now fast forward to where we left off, a few months into care the patient started to not need his inhaler as much. He still got his refills every three weeks out of fear but there was still doses left. This was an odd feeling.

A few more months go by and he started forgetting his inhaler at home when he would go out, mind you this is the equivalent to forgetting your keys, not something you do at all. He started only needing his inhaler a couple times a week! What a huge life change right? But we are not done just yet. The patient started to be able to become more active started to go out and do things that he was fearful to do before because of not wanting another attack. It was freeing for him to be able to enjoy things this way. He kept up with his care. At this point he was being seen about once a week. Symptoms were nearly nonexistent but he continued to keep up getting adjusted. After all he didn't want his arthritis or degeneration to continue.

After about a year of care he was surprised to find that he didn't need his inhaler any longer. Every now and then he would notice some shortness of breath or signs that would be similar to the start of an asthma attack. What he did was go in and get adjusted extra and low and behold the symptoms would go away! To this patient it was more important to get adjusted and maintain a healthier spine and well being than just pain or symptoms though at times he still had some. Those times he would just get adjusted a little bit extra.

Fast forward again... It has been nearly 20 years since this patient has used an inhaler for an asthma attack! How is it that I know this much about this patient, well that is simple this patient is ME! This is the reason why I changed career paths from teaching to being a doctor of chiropractic. I changed nothing in my life in that first year other than chiropractic.

You see I was in a car accident when I was young and I had my feet on the dash of the car causing the impact to damage my upper back. At that time we didn't know about chiropractic or that I should have been taken to be checked even though at that time I didn't have any symptoms. I wasn't hurting or in pain from the accident, I was "Fine" "no injuries"; all of these things that I see on our Applications for Care all of the time. Statements like that make my heart hurt because I know what happened to me and I am concerned as to what may be the case for the person sitting across from me. This is why I treat all of my patients as I would treat my family. I don't want what happened to me to happen to them. I don't want things to progress to where they are fused. Yes I am fused, there is nothing I or any other chiropractor can do to reverse that. What we can do is work diligently to keep the fusions from spreading. Eventually this will happen, and with chiropractic care that I still receive regularly it will take a very long time to happen. I am thankful to Dr. Mike, and to chiropractic for saving my life. I can only imagine where I would be without this amazing care.

If my life has inspired you to reach out to us for yourself, a family member, a friend, or everyone you know please call and make your appointment with us to see what chiropractic care may provide for you.