health

How can we help more people, better?

Dr. Gordon Elder discusses what chiropractic is and what to expect from him as a Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractor in Lubbock, TX

Helping more people in the best way possible is our goal.

I’m very open to using other professionals. Health is too big for any one person or any one profession.

Chiropractic; modern chiropractic started in 1895. People have been manipulating joints and bones since the beginning of time, evidently. We know the Egyptians did it, the Asians have done it the American Indians... In Europe, there was a profession called the “Bone Setters”. But modern chiropractic where we have taken western science and married it to the manipulation of joints has been around since 1895. In 1895 is was seen as a competitor to medicine, to chemistry, and surgery. And there was some bad blood between medical doctors and chiropractors. It still exists even today, however, many years this is. But they really are two separate and distinct sciences. They are both interested in getting and keeping you healthy. Chiropractic in general has many, many different techniques. There are over 200 different techniques. Some are better than others. All of them work for some people.

The question is:

“Can we help more people, better?”

So my goal as an Upper Cervical Chiropractor is to do the least possible and let your body do the most possible work because then you’re going to be stronger. You’re going to be healthier. You’re going to need me less. So we want to be as accurate as possible. We take some very precise X-Rays that look at the actual shape of your joints. We can see how they are supposed to line up. We can see how they are misaligned if they are. We correlate that with some neurological tests to see: is that misaligned bone actually putting pressure on nerves? Because if it is; it may be keeping itself from healing itself and pulling itself back. So then we decide which joints it is that actually need to be treated, to be fixed. And we slide that bone back into place, let it go back to normal. And make sure it stays that way; make sure it gets strong.

So the type of chiropractic that I practice; the Blair Chiropractic Technique is very precise and very accurate, as accurate as we can be. Now does that mean that we have reached the end and there is no more progress? Oh, I hope not! I want to help even more people. I hope there is more research done; more research that I can avail myself of, maybe that I can do myself to help my patients even more along the lines I have chosen.

However, I’m very open to using other professionals. Whether that be physical therapists, massage therapists, medical doctors, colon therapists. Because health is not… It’s too big for any one person or any one profession. My goal when a patient comes in to see me is; let’s fix the nervous system so your body can work as well as it can. And then if there’s something still left over, let’s find out who you can now go to and get the best effect from because the nervous system is working the way it is designed to.

Your Body is Your Best Doctor!

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Everything in the body is controlled by the brain, including things like the immune system and hormones.  The brain talks with the rest of the body through nerve fibers. The brain and nerves together make up the nervous system.

Most nerves travel from the brain down through the spine, or back bone.  The weakest part of the spine is the neck (also known as the cervical spine), especially at the very top where it joins the head.

Inside the spine all the nerves are grouped together to form the spinal cord.  The most important part of the spinal cord is also at the top where over ten billion nerves come together in an area the size of your thumb!

The Problem

The top bone in the neck can slightly dislocate from the head, creating a misalignment.  A misalignment that causes interference to the nerves is called a Vertebral Subluxation.

In order to reduce some of the interference to nerves the body will change its posture to protect the nerves in the neck. Many symptoms are related to this change in posture rather than the original problem: the Vertebral Subluxation.

Symptoms of the Vertebral Subluxation can be almost anything.  Low back pain, pain between the shoulders, neck pain, and headaches are among the most common, but any breakdown in health may be a result of the Vertebral Subluxation.

Treating symptoms or just loosening up the spine, does not fix the original problem and the symptoms will just come back or show up somewhere else.

The Solution

The solution is to find the original problem and fix it only!  Once the blockage at the top of the neck is removed there is no longer any reason for the body to compensate with bad posture and so it begins to grow back into its normal shape.  The combination of these two things permits your body to heal properly.

All chiropractors adjust the neck.  Only Blair Upper-Cervical chiropractors take into account the fact that no two bodies are the same, and the inside is as different as the outside.  Specialized x-rays allow for the design of a very light adjustment tailored especially for each individual body and condition that will slide the bone back into place without twisting or “popping” the neck.

Most people report that the first adjustment was so gentle they couldn’t tell that something had actually happened until their symptoms started to change and go away.

Because of the precision of the analysis and adjustment, most people require about 90 percent fewer adjustments than with most other chiropractic techniques.

The Results

Does this really work?  In Dr. Elder’s practice alone, he has seen the health of hundreds of patients improve after a Blair Upper-Cervical adjustment.  Although he does not specifically treat the following health conditions or symptoms, his patients report improvement or complete freedom from:

Your body has wonderful healing abilities.  Dr. Elder is committed to a chiropractic technique that gives your body the opportunity to restore itself naturally.

Posted in Chiropractic Clinic and tagged arthritisfatigueheadacheshealinghealthhigh blood pressuremuscle weaknesspainrecoveryTMJ Syndromewhiplash

Kids and Chiropractic

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What is more precious than a child? What does a parent want more than to make sure that their child is healthy, happy and strong?

Kids need good foodgood sleep, mental stimulation and plenty of exercise. The foundation of all these things is the brain as it guides and makes us of these resources to grow a strong, straight and healthy body as well as a resilient mind.

One of the first things an embryo develops is the nervous system, made up of the brain and nerves, in order to guide the growth of the fetus. It continues to control and coordinate every part of the body throughout life.

The neck is the weakest part of the spine, and it carries the most nerves to and from your brain and the rest of your body!

A neck injury, from delivery, sports, a car accident, playing, can cause a neck bone to move and get stuck in such a way that it blocks some nerve flow right at the base of the brain. There is over 10 billion nerves at the top of the neck! When something interferes with those nerves, it can cause health problems anywhere else in the body.

After a neck injury, the body will begin to twist in order to relieve as much pressure as possible from the base of the brain. This can lead to scoliosis and arthritis later in life.

The Solution Is To Fix the Mechanical Problem First!

Then let the body do what is was made to do and grow back into health.

All Chiropractors adjust the neck, but only Upper-Cervical Chiropractors take into account that no two bodies are made the same, therefore we can fix the problem without any twisting or popping at all!

Posted in Kids and tagged childrenChiropracticexercisehealth