In March, there are a number of important birthdays – one of them is my dear Papa, who turned 77 at the beginning of this month. Ever since I was a little girl, my grandfather was an important person in my life; in fact, he was one of my very first “patients.”

While visiting my medical doctor was a terror for me as a child, I had no problem “playing doctor” with Papa. I recently came across a notebook that I wrote as an eight-year-old. Amongst drawings of horses, my friends, and funny-looking faces, were a number of doctor exam results – here is one example:

Docter [Doctor]: Hannah

Asstitant [Assistant]: Gabe [my brother – five years old at the time]

Paisent [Patient]: Manny [I always made Papa sign his own name]

Coughing, pain ears, tierd [tired], knee pains – over night, headacs [headaches]

Work: Reipr [Repair] Cars

Heart: normal

Blood: normal

Temp: 100

Legs: little high [my version of checking the knee reflexes]

Ears: Very waxy [I seemed to find that all my patients had waxy ears]

Metacation [Medication]: Coughing medisine [medicine]

I’d like to think that my fascination with being an eight-year-old doctor began because I enjoyed helping people, but truthfully, I think it was more the Papa’s hysterical faces while I was “giving him a shot” or telling him that he “needs his ears flushed because there is too much wax” that I found most enjoyable.

Today I enjoy being a doctor who doesn’t give shots, flush ears, or prescribe medications. While we may need doctors to help with those things, I decided to become a doctor who focuses on creating healing from the inside out as opposed to the typical Western medical model of trying to initiate health from the outside in. Can the body heal itself? Of course! When a child falls and scraps his knee, is it the band-aid that heals the knee? No, it is the body itself that does the healing!

But now, can this be applied to other health problems? Yes! We know that nerves control every part of our body – proper body balance, function, and healing are a reflection of the status of the nervous system. The spine should act as a protector of nerves as they exit the brain and travel to deliver information to the organs and other tissues of the body. However, accidents and injuries tear loose the connective tissues that hold the spine together. This creates a weakness in the structure of the spine that leads to breakdown of the body as it locks into a stressed position. Spinal misalignments interfere with nerve signals, resulting in an inability to deliver proper messages to the body. Organs and tissues fail to respond correctly. This process is degenerative and worsens over time.

However, we get used to living like this and resolve that our pain and physical limitations are “normal.” But this is not normal. Our body has the capacity to heal itself. NUCCA chiropractic and upper cervical care in Rockford restore correct spinal alignment which creates a whole-body healing effect. This kind of health is the result of proper body (structure) balance, which allows for proper communication of nerves to help the body function as it should be as well as . Are you ready to take the 1st Step in healing? If so, call the office (815.398.4500) and schedule a consultation – and I promise, I won’t be giving you a shot or flushing your ears!