So what's it all about?

Mental My first patient was a woman in her mid-50s. It was my second day of practice. She walked in with her head tilted so far to the right that her ear was almost touching her shoulder. After initial introductions she told me that she had been stuck in this position for six weeks. Being trained in "discovering the cause", I asked her if she had fallen or tripped or lifted something to cause her problem. Had she slept on her stomach or had a fender bender? "No" was the answer to all. Had she eaten something that upset her system? "No" again. Then I began to ask her about her job stress (none), her relationship stress (none), her financial stress (absolutely none, I was assured). She was a very secure, very wealthy single woman- and stress-free, according to her. That's where the frustration was. I knew she needed an adjustment but my real job was to figure out why she needed the adjustment and what had to be done so the bone, once adjusted, would have a better chance to stay in place. After a lengthy consultation which resulted in no real information, I asked `What were you doing just before this happened?" "Nothing," she replied. "No, you had to be doing something!" I tried to say calmly. "Well, only talking to my sister on the phone- when she told me that my brother had died six months earlier and no one told me." And right then- right in front of me- her neck straightened out and she was totally fixed. That's how dramatic emotional or mental stress can be.

Physical A regularly adjusted patient came in for her adjustment. She had nothing different to report, so we went about with our usual visit. While checking her electricity (she was usually completely electric) I found her to be in need of an ankle adjustment, which was uncommon for her. I asked her if she felt different in any way, and she replied that she did not. We started with the ankle adjustment, which was one of the loudest, biggest sounds I have ever heard. Immediately after she practically screamed "I CAN SEE!" "What do you mean you can see?" I asked. Her reply was that while on vacation she had suddenly lost all peripheral vision and could only see straight ahead ("tunnel vision"). But right now, after her adjustment, her visual field had increased to almost normal! She went on to tell me how after returning from vacation she had seen many doctors, all of whom agreed that her vision would never return to normal. After some conversation I uncovered the fact that she had tripped "up" a curb just before her change in vision. The ankle adjustment restored the function of her nervous system and it wasn't long before several more adjustments restored her visual field completely!

Chemical A patient came in complaining of chronic mid-back pain. It was, it seemed, a simple case of "get adjusted and be well". After several weeks and many adjustments the only thing we had accomplished was temporary relief and no change in the spasm that had plagued the patient for years. That's when my relentless questioning began. It made no sense to me that after many perfect adjustments the bone wouldn't stay in place and get us more permanent results. What had I missed? Sleeping position, job postures, habits, exercise, anything that might be causing the recurring subluxation. Nothing. He seemed to be a normal, happy guy- and in the seventies you didn't talk about emotional stuff, especially with a "normal" seeming man in his mid-forties. On to diet. He wasn't overweight and he looked great. He ate a normal healthy diet, so that wouldn't present a problem. In fact, his wife was a great cook who always prepared healthy home-cooked meals (remember this in the seventies?). Then the key information reared its ugly head: he drank two quarts of milk each day! As soon as we removed dairy from his diet, the bone stayed in place, the pain disappeared and everyone was happy.

 

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