Shepherd Chiropractic Clinic « Creating a Healthier Community Through Chiropractic CareShepherd Chiropractic Clinic

Chiropractic and Ear Infections

Ear infections are an all too common experience during our growing years that are uncomfortable for both kids and parents alike!

What are symptoms of ear infections?

Ear infections often follow colds. Kids may be fussier,or complain of ear pain or fullness in the ears. Some kids will develop fevers although this is not always the case or they may wake up more in the middle of the night.

Why do kids get so many ear infections?

The tube that drains the ear is shorter and more horizontal than an adults. This is an easy path for bacteria or viruses from the back of the nose to travel to the middle ear. The diameter of this tube is also smaller,allowing mucus or inflammation to block this path.

What Is Chiropractic?

Our spine protects our spinal cord and all the nerves that run through our body. Each nerve in our body carries messages from the brain to specific tissues and organs and back again,making sure every part of our body is working properly. When this stream of communication is disrupted the body isn’t able to function correctly. Chiropractors detect areas of the spine that are misaligned and putting pressure on the surrounding nerves. These areas are called subluxations. With very gentle adjustments,chiropractors correct the subluxation and restore proper communication within the body allowing the body to heal.

How does this relate to ear infections?

Nerves in the upper neck supply the middle ear,including the tube that drains the ear,and vital parts of our immune system. Misaligned spinal bones in the upper neck can put pressure on these nerves,disrupting communication that maintains proper function in the ear. This can lead to increased pressure,decreased drainage,and a great environment for viruses or bacteria to replicate! Gentle chiropractic adjustments help the body heal from these viral or bacterial challengers faster! One study followed 322 kids,ages 27 days to 5 years,who were adjusted over a 6 month period. Approximately 80% of kids experienced NO more ear infections during that period! (Fallon JM. The role of the chiropractic adjustment in the care and treatment of 332 children with otitis media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997;Vol. 2,No. 2:167-183.)

What else can I do to reduce risk factors for an ear infection?

Breastfeeding for a minimum of 6 months helps strength infants’immune systems
If a child is bottle fed,hold him or her upright
Reduce pacifier use for children 6 months and older
Avoid cigarette smoke exposure

Once my child has an ear infection what can I do at home?

Bring them to the office to have their spines checked for misalignment
Watchful waiting…antibiotics can be useful with bacterial infections but recent research recommends waiting 24-72 hours before use to prevent overuse and resistance
A few drops of warm garlic oil (an anti-microbial agent) in each ear before bed
Decrease sugar intake as bacteria thrives on sugar!
Probiotics will help replenish depleted stores of good bacteria in the gut (often the case after antibiotic use) that make up a large part of our immune system

Shepherd Chiropractic Clinic
2343 West Silvernail Road Pewaukee, WI, 53072 USA
frontdesk@shepherd-chiro.com • 262-548-9000

Grow Health Into Your Body

Did you know that cells of the body grow strong when placed in an environment of love? PhD cell physiologist Dr. Bruce Lipton in his book Biology of Belief reports on experiments he conducted on cells that repeatedly showed that cells grow strong in environments that are nurtured and provide protection. “To fully thrive,we must not only eliminate the stressors but also actively seek joyful,loving,fulfilling lives that stimulate growth processes.” I want to stress to each of you the importance of your environment and it’s relationship to your health. Go out of your way to bring peace,love and joy to your environment and your body will display radiant health. People around you will notice there is something very special about your presence and you will be enhancing their health,their loved ones and our community’s health profile.

Improve Your Immune System with Regular Prayer

Yes,daily prayer has been scientifically shown to improve the immune system and lengthen your life. Make it a goal this year to give thanks for your blessings to the source to which they came for your were made in God’s image. God breathed into man life in perfect form function and intelligence. Get this “Big Idea”and all else follows.

New Injury Care:the first 72 hours

All new injury whether a fall and twist of an ankle or a high speed car accident,the following is the standard protocol for all my patients.

1. Ice the area of injury 15 min/hour and repeat as frequent as possible from injury onset up to the 72 hours.
2. Rest the area. Try to modify activities so not to put additional stressors on the area of injury.
3. Compress the area of injury. Eg. Ankle sprain use an ace bandage to wrap the ice over the area of injury.
4. Elevate the injured area above the level of the heart.
5. Gentle range of motion is helpful to initiate some level of function and to assist in improved fluid exchange.

After 72 hours we begin to transition from ice and move toward heating the area and increasing the range of motion. Moist heat is preferred as this will penetrate the area of injury better than dry heat applications. The goal of care from this point moving forward is to reduce pain and to put the body in the best position possible for a full correction avoiding chronic pain and scar tissue formation. Simple sprain/strain injury will take 2-4 weeks for pain relief. Severe sprain/strain injury will take longer and full recovery for disc sprains and or herniations can take months up to 1-2 years.

Caring for Kids

I have my own 2 beautiful children. When Susan and I started our family,I became instantly interested in doing everything possible to allow my kids to be the healthiest they could be. I enrolled in a 3 year post graduate level pediatric program which I completed in 2001. This program helped me navigate many of the potential pitfalls in raising healthy drug free children.I was able to check and adjust Sam and Sara with-in minuets of birth. Susan breast feed the children and fed them age appropriate organic baby food at the same time I would apply chiropractic adjustments and observation for my children. No drugs or vaccinations just good old fashioned tender loving Chiropractic care. Sam is 15 and Sara 13 both healthy and growing without any outside interference. This is a true drug free life and is available to each of you and your family as I will care for your kids in the same fashion. I have cared for children with severe disabilities and have seen tremendous improvements. I also care for many healthy children and watch them grow naturally without drugs,but with Chiropractic. Many new patients find it interesting when the waiting room is filled with families with young children but when educated they tend to also bring their children in to get a spinal check-up. Think about how much stress and potential injury the spine goes through in the birth process. Then add to that all the falls learning to move from crawling to walking. Then its to school and the injuries at the playground and eventually to the sporting events etc. All children should be checked to see how their spine is growing and whether it is positioned well and moving properly. I was lucky that my own mother brought me when I was 13 to her chiropractor. I was injured in a football game and had severe back pain for many weeks. Prior to going to the chiropractor I had seen medical doctors and physical therapy with no relief of the pain. I was adjusted and received such quick pain relief and good results that I immediately knew that this is something that I wanted to do as a career and here I am now 50 years old and have not needed to take any medication. I attribute my own good health to the chiropractic lifestyle I started as a young teenager. Come join me in this family drug free lifestyle. You and your family will be healthier while at the same time saving money.

New Wellness plans offered.

Over the 26 years I’ve practiced I have found that most patients want to maintain the improved health
that they had worked so hard to achieve with their initial intensive chiropractic care. Depending on
the severity of their spinal problems patients may require higher level of supportive care to keep them
healthy and moving to meet the demands of their busy lives. A great majority of patients will
participate at a one visit per month frequency, however some who have advanced spinal problems may
require 2 to 4 visits to manage their health.

As all of our deductibles and co-pays have risen over the
past years and our out of pocket health care expenses have increased,I have been able to provide my
services without raising my prices. Although this cannot continue indefinitely,I have committed to
freeze the prices again for the first 6 months of the 2012 calendar year. Cash rates for single
visits continue to be $45. You can save by pre-paying for 10 visits or more by 10%.

Most of my patients have their other family members under care and have found tremendous savings with
reduced health problems keeping them out of an expensive medical system. For family members who are
seen on the same day there is a discount for each member seen. I have been very happy to help teach
and lead families to better health without drugs or surgery.

Please ask the front desk for information on our family discount payment plans.

New Patient Eating Guide

Yes there is an eating component to your chiropractic care. Why you may ask does my diet affect my spine pain? There is a long technical discussion that I will summarize in one word,“INFLAMMATION”. Pain is the result of nerves being irritated past a threshold. Irritation around the nerves can be caused by tissue injury with a fall and misalignment of the spine or metabolism problems (INFLAMMATION) because of a poor diet. Chemical inflammation results in contributing not only to back pain,headaches and the like. Chemical inflammation from a poor diet is a causative factor of heart disease,cancer and diabetes. By reducing inflammation causing foods to your diet and adding “Anti-Inflammatory” foods you will prevent the 4 major chronic diseases that could shorten your life and at the same time help reduce the chemical inflammation that is affecting your back,neck or other body pain that you entered the clinic with. Here are a few helpful hints on how to reduce your inflammation with an improved diet.

1. If God made it,Eat it! Fruits/veggies of all kinds. Wash them to get any chemicals off the produce. High levels of anti-oxidants,vitamins and minerals to fuel every cells metabolism.

2. Fish,especially fatty fish like Salmon. Omega 3 fats are essential and cannot be produced by your body,which means you have to get them in your diet. Green leafy veggies and flax are also healthy sources. Glowing skin,and improved mood and concentration are a healthy byproduct of eating fish.

3. Avoid sugar like candy,soda,ect. This is hard,but it is critical to help prevent the inflammatory process. 4. Avoid highly processed foods. Look at the ingredient list and if you cannot pronounce the words or it sounds like a bad chemistry experiment avoid the concoction. Supplements that are anti-inflammatory and my list of to do’s. 1. Fish oil 2 grams. We have tablets and liquid which covers 100% of the fishy taste. 2. Vitamin D3 1-2 thousand international units daily. 3. magnesium 400-500mg/day

4. Green drink or other antioxidant like reservatrol (grape skin and seed extract).

This is a general guide and each patient may require specific recommendations in addition to this list. Please consult with Dr. Shepherd or Dr. Juckem for recommendations that are more specific for your condition and treatment.

Shepherd Chiropractic Clinic