What's on the Doctor's Mind?

Pair-a-Dimes

2012-02-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

Today I’mwriting about paradigms – pronounced, pair-a-dimes. “What is a paradigm?” youask. Merriam-Webster defines it as “a philosophical andtheoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline within whichtheories, laws, and generalizations and the experiments performed in support ofthem are formulated; broadly : a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind.” Blah, blah,blah. The Merriam-Webster kid’s version of the definition is a lot easier tounderstand. It says, “an example showing how something is to be done (aka: model).” In short, it’s a model around whichwe build our belief systems.

I’mwriting about this because of the different paradigms in our healthcare systemtoday. There’s a big difference between the chiropractic paradigm we implementhere at the office (and in our everyday lives) and the one most commonly seen inother physicians’ offices (medical doctors, osteopathic doctors, pediatricians,and the list goes on). I want to share what is at the very center of our beliefsystem so you can better understand where we’re coming from.

Thetwo main healthcare paradigms are Vitalistic and Mechanistic. Let me firstexplain what mechanistic care looks like. Simply put: it looks like intervention. It is anothertest to run, another diagnosis to make, another drug or surgical procedure toprescribe. Doctors spend every day looking for problems and a way THEY cansolve them. They are working againstthe body.

Chiropractorsfall under the vitalistic paradigm. As vitalists we believe that humans (andanimals for that matter) are born to be healthy and if the body is given theright support, we can continue to be healthy. We believe that the body has aninnate ability to heal itself and needs no outside intervention (drugs orsurgery). Of course there are exceptions to that, such as a life-threateningtrauma where drugs and surgery are needed for crisis care. For everyday illness(colds or flu) and cuts or scrapes, we take a “watch and wait” approach. Thebody knows what to do. As chiropractors, we are here to remove any interferencein the body’s innate healing ability. Chiropractors don’t “treat” anything. Werecognize that a patient may have low back pain or trouble sleeping or asprained ankle, but we are not here to treat it. We can adjust subluxations ofthe spine so the nervous system can function better and communicate to the bodyand initiate healing from within. We can also influence the bones of the extremitiesor the surrounding soft tissue in an effort to assist the body in healing, butit is always your body that does the healing, not the doctor.

Tous, it is vitally important to live a vitalistic lifestyle.

What have you done to be vitalistic today?

- Dr. Emily :-)

Is it just a JOB?

2012-02-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

At our office meeting last week, we were asked to write an essay to answer the following question: Do I see my job as merely a paycheck or do I see my job as an opportunity to change lives? Why?

I'm sure your first thought is, "They had to write ESSAYS?!" I promise, this isn't something we do often, or ever, for that matter. A writing we went, and the answers were nothing short of amazing. With permission from the staff, I am posting their responses. They are heart-felt and moving. Enjoy.

From Diana:

When I was in a car accident in 2005, I went to a doctorwith complaints of neck, back, and extremity pain. He gave me pain meds. I wentback a week later with the same complaints, plus I wasn’t eating or sleepingand everything hurt. He told me it would take longer for me to recover becauseI was “older”. I was 49 years old.

When it became obvious that an M.D. wasn’t going to help me,I went to a chiropractor for the first time. Dr. Drengler and her stafflistened to what I said. They took notes. They gave me therapy. But mostimportantly, they believed what I was telling them. And it made me cry.

After that, I became a firm believer in chiropractic andwhat it can do for the body. My spirits were lifted from below sea level toheavenly heights because the pain was beginning to resolve. I was eating andsleeping again. Even after I was doing so much better, I continued receivingchiropractic care and became a regular patient.

What Dr. Drengler and her staff did for me was more thantreat my pain with adjustments and therapies. They treated my heart and mindand soul with kindness and compassion. I wanted to be one of them.

When I applied for this job, I felt like I had walked into asanctuary. The room was warm and inviting, and so was Kris. I wanted to behere. After my interview, I knew more than ever that I wanted to be a part ofthis group of people who cared so much.

This job has never been just a paycheck to me. It’s been aplace where I have seen people of all ages respond to the wonder ofchiropractic. I’ve sat with people who have cried, like I did, when theyrealized we understood and believed and knew we could help. I am proud to be anintegral part of this office, and I look forward to coming to work every day. I’mjust lucky (and blessed) that I get to be paid for it.

From Traci:

I havealways taken every job as an opportunity to help others and to help them changetheir lives. I believe my "personal" job in this world is to helpothers. My job here at Smoky Valley Chiropractic is definitely an opportunityto help others get healthier, stay healthy, keep them improving in all aspectsof life (eating, moving, thinking well, positive attitude, etc.).

Every day Ibelieve we all help change lives. Whether we help a patient get on theadjusting table, help them with their coat, do a therapy on them or whatever itis we help them with. We are always there helping someone. Even telling someone"Good morning, Bob," we are being respectful and are genuinely givingthem some attention that they may not get otherwise. When giving that oneperson your genuine attention for two minutes they are so grateful and thatperks them up, which gives them a boost of positive energy.

I am apositive person and like to think of all the positive opportunities there arein life. My job here at Smoky Valley Chiropractic is one of the manyopportunities I have gotten. I appreciate the many opportunities I get here atSmoky Valley Chiropractic to help others on a daily basis. I try to always walkin the door ready for a full, fun, exciting day, with many opportunitiesawaiting me. There is always going to be ways to improve myself and I am alwaysready to learn more each and every day. Every day I walk in the back door witha positive attitude and think, "Today there are going to be so manyopportunities, I best get started now!" As I walk out the door at the end of theworking day, I think, "Wow, I helped change so many lives today!"

From Hannah:

I view my position at Smoky Valley Chiropractic as a way tochange lives. My job gives me the opportunity for so many things. To educate,assist, and lead by example for a healthier lifestyle.

My jobis so satisfying, that it is easy to keep a positive attitude which will helpinspire patients to have a positive attitude as well. By having that positiveattitude, people can encourage the production of “happy hormones” and chemicalsthat will overall improve their lives and function.

Workingwith patients who are actively seeking help to improve their lives makes iteasier for me to educate them with my knowledge so they can better understandour purpose and to find out other things that will benefit their lives bycoming to our office.

I usemy opportunity outside the office as well. By knowing and believing in all thebenefits of chiropractic, I can educate those that are close to me or take anopportunity to educate people who are unfamiliar or looking for another optionto medical care.

Withthe continued information I receive from my peers, I am always learningsomething new that I can pass on to someone else, and vice versa. I am not onlytaking the opportunity to change lives, but my peers are as well.

As you can see - this office is much more than just a job. It's a way of living. It's an opportunity. We want to thank each and every one of our patients for giving us the opportunity to be in their lives. Thank you - Smoky Valley Chiropractic Staff.

Mid-Week Motivation

2012-01-18T12:11:00.000-08:00

As a newprofessional in the area, I’ve been attending several networking groups to meetnew and interesting people – and that I have. This last week I attended aluncheon with Michael Schneider of McPherson College. He was our speaker forthe day and he was talking about things he learned on his way to being one ofthe youngest college presidents in the nation. He had some great points – somethat pertain only to business and some that pertain also to life. I’m a realsucker for motivational stuff, so I thought I would share. Who doesn’t need alittle pick me up here and there?!

Here’s what he had to say:

1. “It’s okayto make mistakes.” We’ve all heard that one before, but for some reason we tendto forget easily. He also said, “If you’re going to make mistakes, make them inthe forward direction and learn from them.” Make mistakes while you’re workingyour way to greatness (whatever that may be – personal, professional, etc.) andtake the knowledge you learn from the mistake and carry on your way.

2. “The accomplishmentis the QUEST.” Sometimes it’s not the end result that deserves the recognition,but the journey you took to get there.

3. “Alwaystake a swing when you’re up to bat. Don’t just let the ball go by.” Don’t letan opportunity pass you by. You’ll definitely strike out if you don’t take aswing.

4. “Patienceis a load of cr@p.” This one is more of a business principle than a life one.Patience in life will take you far, but in business you can’t just wait forthings to happen. You have to make them happen.

5. “Don’toverlook the people you surround yourself with.” Look to those around you forhelp and guidance. They are your closest and best asset.

6. “Get inspaces where you are uncomfortable.” It’s easy to stay inside your comfortzone, but magic happens when you get outside of it. Challenge yourself.

7. “Somepeople call it crazy. Others call it a vision.” I’m totally out of my mind, sodoes that make me a visionary?! ;-)

8. “Don’t letyour career define you. Define your career.”

9. “Successisn’t measured by how you fit in, but by how you stand out.” These last two gotogether nicely. You can do alright if you just go-with-the-flow, but sometimesswimming upstream will take you farther.

I hope these little pieces of wisdom can make you feel asgreat as they did me. Let’s go change the world!

-Dr. Emily

"F" is for Flu

2012-01-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

I hadn’t hadthe flu in years and years – until this year. My husband, Steven, works inlocal hospitals everyday fixing medical equipment and we’re pretty sure that’swhere it came from. Steven was the first to go down. He was praying to theporcelain god for a good 24 hours before he started to feel human again. Atfirst, I thought I might be spared, but 4 days later it was my turn. I didn’tget near as sick and after 12 hours was feeling almost 100% better! In allhonesty, I had a rib subluxation that hurt a lot more than the flu did – and mychiropractor, Dr. Loder, was on vacation! Suffering through my subluxation wasworse than suffering through the flu! All in all, the flu experience at ourhouse was a very mild one and I credit all of that to chiropractic. Keeping ourspine in line and our nervous systems working at 100%, our immune systems wereable to quickly mount a response and defeat the virus. We also live thechiropractic lifestyle at our house which includes daily exercise, eatingorganic, non-processed foods as often as possible, and taking daily whole foodsupplements including vitamin D. Recent studies show that vitamin D is actuallymore effective at fighting the flu than the flu vaccine. Vitamin D is dubbedthe “sunshine vitamin”, and since living in Kansas during the winter = minimalsunshine, vitamin D supplementation becomes even more important.

Then of course there’s Laramie, our4 month old – because she is exclusively breastfeed, she didn’t get so much asthe sniffles! Babies get powerful antibodies produced by their mother thathelps protect them from any and all “bugs” they may come into contact with. That’sone of my favorite things about chiropractic, how we learn to work with natureinstead of against it. Because I let myself get sick and didn’t try to cover upthe symptoms with medication, my body was able to mount a stronger response andpass on those fighting cells to Laramie.

Just in case the flu decides tovisit your house, here are some helpful tips on how to cope:

1. I know itsucks, but don’t try to stop the vomiting or diarrhea. Your body is trying toget that stuff out for a reason – it needs to worry about fighting the virusand doesn’t have time to worry about digestion.

2. Make sureto stay hydrated. This is one of the most common complications from the flu –dehydration. Water is easily absorbed and requires little to no actualdigestion. If tolerated, sip on some warm water with honey and lemon forelectrolytes. Avoid over sugary drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade.

3. Someoneonce told me, “The flu is nature’s way of telling you to take a day off.” I’dsay that’s rather sound advice. REST!!

4. And ofcourse – get adjusted! One of the most important times to get adjusted is whenyou’re ill. Don’t cancel your appointment. Let us know you’re feeling ill andwe’ll try to accommodate your appointment during a non-busy time or at the endof the day to reduce exposure for other patients. And don’t worry – we’ll besure to clean the table well to keep from spreading the virus!

Even though “F” is for flu, “C” is for chiropractic andmaking sure you’re getting adjusted regularly can keep you on your “A” game!

- Dr. Emily

New Year, New Tradition

2012-01-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

Here it is - 2012. Most people make resolutions this time ofyear and then promptly break them. So why not do something different this year?I have to admit, I got this great idea from a fantastic local photographer,Karilyn Sanders (who happened to do our maternity, birth, and newborn photosfor Laramie!). Her idea was to dedicate the New Year to a word. Just one word. Click HERE to read her blog.

I’ve decided that my word of the year will be PASSION. I amgoing to dedicate myself to sharing my passion for chiropractic and naturalparenting with those around me. It just happens that this New Year brings withit the beginning of my professional career as a chiropractor which will greatlyimpact the ability to reach my goal. I will literally have the opportunity to “touch”the lives of others through chiropractic. My goal is to help our practiceeducate those in the community that chiropractic isn’t just about low back pain– it’s about living life to its fullest potential. And those of you who I’ve talked to about pregnancy,birth, and child rearing know that I can go on for HOURS talking about all theways to support the growth of our future generations naturally. I’ve decided toput all that passion into classes about Natural Parenting. In fact, my firstclass is January 15^th and will be covering Natural Remedies forCommon Conditions, Natural First Aid, Baby Wearing, and Cloth Diapering. I’mreally, really excited about sharing this information. I’ve been harboring allthis passion for chiropractic and natural parenting during my years at school,and the time has finally come for me to let the cat out of the bag.

What is your word for 2012 and how are you going to expressthat word in your life?

- Dr. Emily :-)

Beating the Winter Time Blahs

2011-12-15T12:39:00.000-08:00

I’m not sure what happened, but this last weekend nothing gotdone at my house. I had a whole “To Do” list ready (I LOVE making lists!), butaside from going to the grocery store and making sure a little laundry gotdone, we were LAZY. Here’s a big secret… I didn’t even take a shower one day!Oh my! I won’t tell you which day it was in case you saw me in public that day.;-) My husband and I decided it was the cold, gloomy, crummy weather that justsucked all the motivation out of us. We vowed not to let it happen two weekendsin a row because neither of us felt good about our lack of productivity. Hereare some ideas of ways to avoid having a weekend like we did (I plan to followmy own advice!):

· Make a list (much like this one!) and put it somewhereyou can’t help but see it – like on the refrigerator.

· Cross things off said list. It’s very satisfying!

· Make plans with friends or family so someone iscounting on you. Invite people over for dinner or a game night. I don’t knowabout you, but inviting people over motivates me to clean the house likethere’s no tomorrow!

· Make it a point to get some exercise in – even if youdo nothing else the rest of the day, you’ll feel great knowing you didsomething good for your health.

· Shower. Don’t be like me.

· If you’re going to veg-out in front of the TV, atleast make it a true “veg” session and have some veggies for your snack insteadof junk food.

What other fun things do you do to beat the winter time blahs?

- Dr. Emily :-)

How I'm Staying Sane This Holiday Season

2011-12-09T07:56:00.001-08:00

This is such ahot topic this time of year. With all the Christmas cheer and cookies comes aheaping helping of Christmas stress. There are very few people who are immuneto this crushing disease. I certainly haveno immunity built up. But I am trying to lessen the load this year (especiallywith a new baby), and here’s what I’m doing:

× Getting adjusted. You might think this is a nobrainer, but it’s harder than you think to remember. We get busy in the officeand it’s easy to run out the door without an adjustment, but I try to make timewith Dr. Loder every week. Even I have to make an appointment so I won’tforget! :-)

× Cutting down on the gift giving. I have made a pointto tell those coming to family gatherings this year that I will not be buyingthem a gift and I don’t expect them to buy me anything. I only get small giftsfor the very small circle of people close to me (my husband, my parents, andLaramie of course!). The holidays are about spending time with your loved onesand not spending oodles of money.

× Getting enough sleep and exercise. Getting enoughsleep with a new baby means going to sleep when she does. And that happens tobe 8:30 pm. I may feel like an old lady, but I’m not a Scrooge when I wake up!I also make it a point to get 3 – 5 days of exercise in each week. Since I’mgoing to bed at 8:30 pm, I might as well get up at 5:00 am to go work out!

We had some other great ideas on ways to cut down holidaystress during our Beat Holiday Burnout day in the office.

What are some ways YOU’RE de-stressing this Christmas?

- Dr. Emily :-)

The World Wants to Know: What DOES Dr. Loder eat??

2011-11-29T07:44:00.001-08:00

The story behind how this post cameabout is an interesting one. I happenedto be hanging around Dr. Loder near the end of lunch one day and I witnessedsomething peculiar – he took a large spoon, dipped it into a jar of coconut oiland ate it like it was no big deal. Now, I’m a fan of cooking with coconut oilor putting it in my smoothies, BUT for those of you who aren’t familiar withit, coconut oil is a solid at room temperature – much like Crisco. The texture is a littledifferent, but not much! So in my book, eating straight coconut oil isright up there with eating straight Crisco, exceptfor WAY healthier, of course. Still weird though. This brings us back to whyI’m writing this. I know that Dr. Loder is an extremely healthy person and heonly eats healthy food, but I don’t really know WHAT he eats. And after seeinghim eat the coconut oil, I have a feeling it’s going to be an interesting read.

With no further ado, here is what atypical day looks like for Dr. Loder:

Breakfast
4 organic, free range eggs, over easy
2 handfuls assorted raw nuts
Standard Process protein bar
Organic strawberries and blueberries

Lunch
Raw broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (and not just a few – a very large container!)
Canned wild Alaskan salmon
1 handful assorted raw nuts

1 apple
Standard Process protein bar

All afterexercising for 50 minutes!

Dinner

Beef roast (Dr.Loder grows his own antibiotic free, hormone free and grass fed

beef)
Carrots, celery, onions
Assorted fresh fruit

1 oz. organicdark chocolate w/low sugar (Even Dr. Loder likes his chocolate – he’s justsmart about how much and what kind he eats.)

Supplements

Innate ChoiceVitamin D

Innate ChoiceOmega Sufficiency

Innate ChoiceProbiotic

StandardProcess SP Green Food

StandardProcess Catalyn

StandardProcess OPC Synergy

Just like Dr. Loder teaches at his Eat Well classes, there isno grain, no dairy, and very little processed food in his diet. And this reallyis a typical day for him. He didn’t just eat this way so I could write aboutit. He hasn’t always eaten this way though. As some of you know, Dr. Loder ismy step-brother and I remember his eating habits from when I was a child. He’sa little infamous for eating ALL my Easter candy one year! Ask him about thefood he used to eat, it’ll surprise you! Even though Dr. Loder didn’t starteating this way until later in life, he’s still healthier than many people HALFhis age! He made a commitment to his health, AND SO CAN YOU!

So there you have it, folks! Dr. Loder doesn’t just teach theEat Well, Move Well, Think Well program –he lives it!

-Dr. Emily :-)