Wellness In Space Cover Page Mac's First Visit Mac's First Adjustment Healthy Back Tips with Mac & Family Exercise Tips with Mac & Friends Mac's Healthy Lifestyle Certificate Download Entire Wellness In Space Coloring Book
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It has been documented that thoughts and emotions have a powerful influence over our physical health. There was an interesting study conducted at UCLA in the early 1990s where 14 professional actors were recruited to study the effects of emotion on the immune system. During the study, the actors were told which mood state they would be experiencing.
They then read the appropriate scenario, which was about 100 words long, and were told to create and experience a realistic mood by developing the scene and verbally and behaviorally acting it out while seated. Actors were encouraged to use their own personal memories to intensify the experience. Once the actors were in a particular emotional state, the researchers drew blood to measure any physical changes that may be associated with particular emotional states. What they found surprised everyone. Simply by shifting from one emotional state to another, the actors could stimulate or suppress their immune function. Subsequent studies have measured all kinds of physical changes that result from emotional states, such as changes in hormone levels, brain chemistry, blood sugar levels, even the ability to heal properly. In fact, the mind-body connection is so strong that an entire field of science has emerged called psychoneuroimmunology.
More and more scientific studies are published on a daily basis proving the idea that thoughts and emotions have a powerful influence over our physical health. This is one of the reasons why people are much more likely to get sick during job changes, holidays and other stressful times; or why people who are depressed have a much higher risk of developing cancer. How can emotions affect our immunity or resistance to disease? Research shows that the brain can release hormones and other chemicals that affect white blood cells and other parts of the immune system. Though the chemicals also have other functions, they are a link between our thoughts and our ability to resist diseases.For example, when people react to stresses with fear, their brains send a "danger" message to the body. Hormones are released to raise blood pressure and prepare muscles for quick action, as if to fight or flee from danger. The stress hormones also depress the disease-resistance system, and over time, can damage the brain, heart and digestive tract.Thoughts can cause physical abnormalities such as ulcers, indigestion, nervousness and high blood pressure. Thoughts can also depress the immune system, which leads to a wide variety of diseases. Whether a person experiences poor health, and how soon, depends on that person's heredity, environment, diet, and behavior.
An Australian study in the late 1970s showed that when one spouse dies, the other experiences a weakened immune system. This helps explain why grieving spouses have more diseases and a higher death rate than others of similar age. Other studies have shown that heart patients who are depressed have more heart problems than happier heart patients; depression was a better predictor of problems than physical measurements were.
Cancer is more common in people who suffer a major emotional loss, repress anger and feel helpless. Cancer patients who express their emotions rather than denying them seem to recover more often. The link between emotion and cancer is so strong that some psychological tests are better predictors of cancer than physical exams are. This does not mean that everyone who has cancer or some other disease has simply thought it upon himself. There are many factors involved in disease; even the best attitude is not going to prevent ill effects from genetic malfunctions and some chemical and biological hazards. A new study shows physical proof how one of those aspects - a strong and happy marriage - can be a boon to your health. According to the study, physical wounds take much longer to heal in marriages marred by hostility and conflict than those in which couples build a more pleasurable home life.
As our thoughts and emotions have such a powerful influence over our physical health, we must take proactive steps to regain our health through healthy thinking, relaxation, and positive affirmations. Explore this section for more on how to calm your mind and improve your health.
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Wellness Coloring Book
Category: Wellness4Kids
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Printable Games & Puzzles
Category: Wellness4Kids
Help Mac Find His Way to the Chiropractor! Help Mac Find His Way to a Healthy, Balanced Meal! Help Mac Find His Way to the Playground! A Visit to the Chiropractor Word Search Mac's Chiropractic Word Unscramble Mac's Cosmic Chiro Crossword
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Movement
Category: Health & Wellness, Life in Motion
Imagine waking up one morning with a frozen shoulder where you couldn't move your upper arm more than a few inches in any direction. How much would that impact your ability to do your job? How much would that affect your ability to drive your car or even to dress yourself? How much would that affect
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Heat Therapy
Category: Therapies & Techniques, Therapies
Most people have used heat at one time to sooth normal aches and pains — such as the use of a hot bath, a heating pad or even an old-fashioned water bottle. Even today, these types of heat therapy play an important role in chiropractic practice to increase circulation and relax the muscles. At the
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Cold Therapy
Category: Therapies & Techniques, Therapies
Applying ice after an injury is a common method for reducing pain and swelling. It is especially effective for athletes, who often experience sudden, painful injuries. This type of cold therapy, also known as cryotherapy, is used by chiropractors for the same purposes. Types of Cold Therapy Many types
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Cold Laser Therapy
Category: Therapies & Techniques, Therapies
Cold laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), uses light to treat various conditions. Unlike other types of laser light, cold laser therapy does not produce heat or vibration in the parts of the body being treated. Many therapists, including chiropractors and physical therapists,
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Manual Technique
Category: Therapies & Techniques, Techniques
Manual therapy, also known as manipulative therapy, is a physical treatment primarily used by chiropractors to treat musculoskeletal pain and debility. How Does Manual Therapy Work? This form of physical therapy takes a hands-on approach rather than using devices or machines. When a chiropractor uses
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Drop-Table Technique
Category: Therapies & Techniques, Techniques
Forceful spinal manipulation is not always necessary to treat conditions of the lower back, mid-back and neck. Gentle chiropractic treatment, such as drop table techniques, involves less powerful spinal maneuvering and slower, low-velocity movements that allow the affected joint to stay within its passive
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Active Release Techniques
Category: Therapies & Techniques, Techniques
When there is damage to muscles and other soft tissues including pulls, tears, or not being able to get enough oxygen (hypoxia), it can result in the body producing rough, thick scar tissue in the affected area. Scar tissue restricts the tissues from moving freely because they bind them and tie them
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Spinal Kinesiopathology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Spinal kinesiopathology is the unusual positioning or motion of the spinal bones, to the point where the patient’s ability to turn and bend is restricted. It is one of five components of vertebral subluxation complex — a set of symptoms and signs that affect the spinal column — and it puts the
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Chiropractic Care for Older Adults
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Who is Chiropractic For
As most older adults know, a single fall can change their lives. For instance, an independent individual may fall in his or her home and land in a nursing facility. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.5 million older adults went to emergency rooms into 2013 after falling. Of
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Pathophysiology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Pathophysiology means the function in an individual or an organ is disturbed due to disease, leading to a structural defect. In chiropractic care, it often presents when unusual bony growths, such as bone spurs, attempt to fuse malfunctioning joints, causing the spine to degrade, joints to become altered,
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Neuropathophysiology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Neuropathophysiology refers to pathophysiological conditions that affect the nervous system. A more recognizable term may be neuropathy. Neuropathy is not a single disease; rather, it is an umbrella term used to describe a host of disorders that affect various nerves in various ways, in various areas
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Myopathy
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Myopathy refers to a group of muscle diseases that are caused by muscular dysfunction that results in muscle weakness and waste. It is important to recognize that while some myopathic conditions can be caused by reduced nerve supply or excess nerve supply, the disorders do not stem from a neurological
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Chiropractic Care for our High-Tech Lifestyles
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Who is Chiropractic For
While technology creates many new possibilities for entertainment, connecting with others and getting work done, it also spawns new health problems. Ten years ago, nobody had “text neck.” Now many people are reaping the unwanted musculoskeletal consequences of tech overuse. “Text Neck” Instead
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Histopathology
Category: About Chiropractic Care, Vertebral Subluxation
Following a car accident, the bones of the spine may shift out of their original position or lose their normal motion, in what’s called vertebral subluxation complex. This condition is characterized by a set of signs and symptoms that affect the spinal column. Histopathology is one of its five major
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