“I bent down to tie my shoes this morning and wasn’t able to straighten up; my back was seized!” “After carrying the grocery bags inside the house, I started to feel numbness in my right arm!”

These are sentences I hear regularly in my practice. While the effect is often described as symptoms, bending down or carrying grocery bags is rarely the cause of the problem. Unless one suffers a trauma such as a fall, or a car or sporting accident, the injuries that take us by surprise are often the result of an accumulation of stress on our body – the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

This principle is an accepted concept with respect to our teeth. We understand that a cavity is not directly caused by the piece of cake eaten last Sunday. Why not apply this same principle to the rest of our body?! We try to limit our intake of sugar, we brush our teeth and floss daily, we visit a dental hygienist and/or a dentist periodically, and why?! Because we want to keep all our teeth! We want to avoid their deterioration and ensure good dental hygiene.

At the Optimal Health Centre, we encourage our patients to do the same for their spinal health. Just as we take care of our teeth, we must develop good habits to keep our spine healthy. Your chiropractor can guide you with respect to the best spinal exercises you can do at home, and by evaluating the alignment of your spine.

Our body is consciously aware of only approximately 10% of pain signals; this is why pain is often one of the last symptoms to appear and one of the first to disappear. Don’t wait until it is too late and there is degeneration. Brush your teeth and make an appointment with your dental hygienist; improve your joint mobility, stretch your muscles, and make an appointment with your chiropractor for an assessment of your spinal health. After all, your spine protects one of your most precious assets – your nervous system!

In health,

Dr. Josée