To watch the recording of the workshop and get all the great information, watch here!
In this blog, we will get into the science behind the sick cycle, why some are more prone to it than others and what you can do about it!
What if we told you that you can find relief for more than 12 hours and 24 hours at a time? What if there was a natural way to boost your immune system so you can end the sick cycle? There are steps you can take to boost your system so it can heal and thrive like it was intended to.
A is for Adaptability!
It all comes down to adaptability of our body. Adaptability is the ability to adjust to new conditions. For instance, a couple of weeks ago in Minnesota; we went from 60’s and sunny, to a snow storm, to rain, back to warm and sunny. That shift in weather requires a lot of adaptability on our part.
We all were exposed to that crazy weather whiplash the other week. We all experienced it but only some people responded intensely to it. Why is that? Is it an issue with what they’re around environmentally? Do some people just have good systems while others don’t? Why is it that some kids constantly struggle with a sick cycle (from allergies, ear infections, asthma, congestion to coughs that never end) and others don’t?
It’s all about adaptability! There is no such things as good and bad systems; it has to do with their system’s ability to adjust to the new conditions INTERNALLY. If it was truly an external problem (the weather and the seasons), we all would have a sick cycle. So what causes some people to be more adaptable internally than others?
Air Traffic Control: The Nervous System
Our nervous system is the air traffic controller of our body: controlling every cell, organ, gland and tissue in our body!
The role of the nervous system is to perceive the environment and coordinate the behavior of all the cells in our body. Adaptability is impacted when the body perceives the environment but has trouble with coordination in the body! If there is no coordination, the body can’t behave and respond like it should. Imagine if air traffic control decided to shut down and not show up at the Airport one day, what would happen? Absolute chaos!
The nervous system has two sides to it: Sympathetic and Parasympathetic.
Image from Well Aligned Media
Sympathetic is the gas pedal of our nervous system. This is our fight or flight response. It tells our body how to respond if there is a heightened situation. For instance, being stuck in a room with a mountain lion. You want your body to go into protection and survival mode and give you as much adrenaline has possible, right?
On the flip side, we have the Parasympathetic, which is the brake pedal of our nervous system. This is our resting, digesting, relaxing, growing and healing state.
Ideally, you want to have an even balance between the two. Back to the mountain lion example, you wouldn’t want to have to stop running to pee when you have a lion chasing you right? Of course not. When that threat is gone, you want your body to come off that gas pedal and re-engage that brake pedal so your body can be balanced and in a state of ease.
Three Stresses of Life
Balance is ideal, but it is very common in our society to be stuck on that gas pedal. The reason for that? Stress!
Stress has three branches: our thoughts, traumas and toxins.
- Thoughts:
- Emotions (anger, sadness, worry, anxiety)
- Relationship dynamics with friends, family, co-workers
- Self-Talk & Mindset
- Constantly plugged into social media: constant input makes us question, compare and judge ourselves harshly
- Traumas:
- Fall, slip, accident
- Posture: The way we sit and carry our body’s alters how our nervous system is stimulated, activated and how it perceives our environment.
- Birth Trauma: Commonly overlooked, especially in adults. How we entered this world plays a massive role on our neurological health. Being delivered with forceps, vacuum assistance, c-section, being in the NICU; all things that are very necessary to save lives, but are stressful nonetheless. How we recover from that life saving stress is what is critical.
- Toxins:
- On our bodies: lotions, sprays
- Around our bodies: cleaners, detergents, pollution
- In our bodies: foods we eat (gluten, dairy, sugar), medications, vaccines
I am not saying just one thing on this list will cause an issue and be a tipping point for our system. It is the culmination of the different types of stress. It is truly a recipe that we keep adding to until finally something has to give.
When too much stress comes our way we get a subluxation, a nervous system interference.
How does this impact our Immune System?
How does this play into our immune system? Well our nervous system controls EVERYTHING in our body! If the nervous system is imbalanced, stuck in a stressed state, then it is not going to function the way that it should. A nervous system imbalance causes the immune system to be imbalanced.
There are two parts of the Immune System:
- Attack Response:
- Initial, immediate, short term response
- Produces symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, coughing, inflammation, congestion, ear infections, etc.
- Memory Response:
- Recognizes and remembers something it has experienced before
- Knows how to respond appropriately
- Long-term immune response
What would you do?
Let’s divert for a second. Let’s say you and your family are going out for a nice long camping trip in the middle of nowhere. You realized while unpacking that you forgot to bring extra water but you notice there is a creek nearby.
If you were thirsty, would you just dip your hand in the water and drink it right from the creek? Probably not.
What should you do? Boil it first! Why would you boil it? To raise the temperature and kill of any bugs that may make you sick, right?
Symptoms are NOT the enemy!
That example wasn’t just a random camping 101 lesson. Boiling water from a creek kills off bugs so you don’t get sick. The same goes for a fever. The purpose of the fever is to raise the temperature of the body so it kills off bugs. If that is the purpose it is serving our body’s, why is it more common for people to suppress the natural, healthy response instead of letting it run its course?
Symptoms we experience are messages from our body trying to tell us what is going on.
- Fever: Increase body temp to kill off bugs
- Coughing: Get the invaders out
- Congestion: Traps the bugs in a particular spot
- Inflammation: Locally warms the area
- Diarrhea: Gets it out of the body quickly
The sought after 12 and 24 hour relief items at the drug store are reducing those symptoms that are critical in the attack phase. Those drugs don’t boost our immune system or make us healthier faster; instead it suppresses our immune systems even farther.
We know very well that all of the relief sought out is with good intention. No one likes to feel miserable and it’s very difficult to watch your child be uncomfortable. But if the body can’t properly have an attack immune response, then the memory response can never be developed and strengthened!
Balance is KEY!
The nervous system needs to be balanced between the gas pedal and brake pedal, not stuck on one or the other.
The immune system needs to be balanced between the attack system responding appropriately and the memory system being built up and strengthened.
Both systems need to be in a state of balance. If one or both are off balance, that is when the sick cycles set in with constant coughs, cold, ear infections, allergies, you name it!
Why am I Constantly Getting Sick?
One of the biggest questions we hear from parents is ‘why is my family constantly sick’?
There are 2 big reasons:
- Interventions:
- Necessary and needed at times, but not all the time
- Medications, steroids, suppressants inhibit the attack response
- Prolongs the sickness since our body can’t work it out with symptoms
- Weakens our immune system further since attack can’t fully engage, which means no memory response will engage
- Antibiotics
- Likely got rid of any infections but it also got rid of the good bacteria in our gut
- 70% of our immune system is in our gut!
- No good tummy bugs = more susceptible to even more sickness
- Suppresses natural defense system even further
- Low Adaptability:
- Imbalanced nervous system (stuck on gas or brake pedal)
- Imbalanced immune system (attack and memory phase’s inhibited)
- Both need to be in a state of balance to work
Why on Earth is a Chiropractor Telling Me This?
Chiropractors are doctors of the nervous system. We are trained to detect a subluxation (nervous system interference), correct it over time so the body can heal and thrive like it was intended to!
Adjustments are not only relaxing and feel awesome, but they:
- Boost our immune function by 48%
- Increase chemical messengers in our body
- Remove the built up stress and tension that we store in our body’s
- Most importantly, it INCREASES OUR ADAPTABILITY!
- Adjustments balance our nervous system, which balances the immune system
- Brain and body can communicate like it’s supposed to
- Energy is restored to the body
- Foot comes off the gas pedal, slowly engages the brake pedal
- Allowing the immune system to get the correct input
- The body can coordinate and behave the way it was intended = ending the sick cycle!
Will I Never Get Sick Again?
If I get adjusted, will I never get sick again? I WISH we were making genies like that but it’s just not possible.
However, as I just went over, adjustments are powerful. When the little ones and family’s in our office feel something coming on or they’re currently under the weather, that is the BEST TIME for them to come in for an adjustment.
Alot of people feel hesitant coming in to get adjusted when they’re sick because they don’t want to get others sick. Here’s the thing, we have some highly adaptable, balanced people in our office! Honoring your body when it needs support is what you need at that time!
We often hear that:
- Their child had one day of intensity after their adjustment
- They spiked a fever, got diarrhea, had booger goo like a faucet was running
- The attack system was engaged from the adjustment and they kicked the sick the next day
- We hear from parents in the thick of their congestion, sinus infection and cough that they were able to kick it faster than ever before
This means, more time being healthy and happy together as a family and less time being sick!
When our nervous system is balanced and strong, the immune system is naturally boosted since air traffic control can coordinate and behave properly. This creates ADAPTABILITY!
Action Steps for Hope, Happiness and Healing
We have 5 big action steps:
- Lower chemical stressors in your life: be mindful of what is on or around you body, but in particular we want extra attention on the foods being eaten. Taking a spring break form gluten, dairy, sugar and soy will be beneficial to your body, especially if you are under the weather. These foods are known to create inflammation in the body and we want to bring the body’s focus to kicking the sick instead of focusing on kicking the extra inflammation.
- Supplements are your friend. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and a natural immune booster. Vitamin D is an immune booster and is essential for man people here in MN since we don’t get as much natural light as we should. Fish oil is a natural anti-inflammatory. Probiotics help build up the body’s good gut bacteria again. Probiotics are CRITICAL to do especially after a course of antibiotics. As I mentioned before, the antibiotics wiped out the infection and the good probiotics, so we need to work to restore our body’s good tummy bugs!
- Lower emotional stressors: how are we doing mentally, emotionally and spiritually? Being intentional about our mindset and creating positivity in our lives as well as taking time to PAUSE! One of our favorite ways to pause in the day is with mediation. It could be 5 minutes, it could be an hour; just take time to focus on your breath and do NOTHING!
- Intention mindful movement is imporant. This could be running, going for a walk, riding a bike, whatever feels good to you! We are big advocates of yoga. Most people spend their day at a desk, hunched over a computer, phone or tablet. Yoga not only opens our posture, but it strengthens our body as well. Yoga is WONDERFUL for kids that struggle with asthma to open up their chest, making breathing easier.
- The last and probably the easiest step is to come get scanned. The only way we can be certain that this is the missing link for you, your family, child or loved one is having the opportunity to see the scans and understand the 3 T’s or stresses in your life. The scans show us where the stress and tension is stuck in the body, as well as how balanced your nervous system is. We live our lives through our nervous system, let’s make sure it’s as balanced as can be!
We would love to end the sick cycle for you and your family so you can enjoy each and every moment this Spring! No more missing out on the fun because of sick days! Give us a call or reach out here to set up the appointment for you and your whole family.