Newsletter: May 2004

• From the FAQ files: How might I react to my first treatment?
  
• The Power of Prayer - Yes, it really does work
  
• Quote of the month
  

After your first chiropractic treatment you may experience a number of reactions that are unexpected and surprise you. These may include temporary pain in different areas of your body, general aching or sleepiness, feelings of increased alertness or euphoria, or improvement in other functions such as easier breathing or better digestion.

Why is this? These are simply your body's early responses to the effects of chiropractic treatment. Chiropractic joint adjustment in one area of the spine may influence the function of your body in other areas in two ways. Firstly, it can change the functional or movement patterns of joints throughout your spine. For example, improving the function of joints in your low-back may affect the function of joints in your pelvis or mid-back or neck causing temporary discomfort as your spine adapts. Secondly, spinal adjustment or manipulation sends a stream of nerve impulses into your central nervous system which controls all your body functions. This may result in a variety of short and long-term beneficial effects.

Don't worry about any early unexpected reactions to your first chiropractic treatments. These will generally be quite normal. Please discuss them with Dr. Larry, who will be pleased to give you a fuller explanation if you wish.

The Power of Prayer - Yes, it really does work.

Clinical studies continue to show prayer heals. Dr. Larry Dossey revealed the results of a second phase study at Duke University on the power of prayer. The MANTRA project at Duke is headed up by cardiologist Dr. Mitchell Krucoff and nurse practitioner, Susan Craven. The results show that heart patients who receive prayer have 50 percent to 100 percent fewer side effects than those patients not prayed for.

If patients agreed to be part of the study they were randomized and the "prayer" patients' names went to prayer groups around the world. First names only were sent via e-mail to Buddhist groups in Nepal, Hindus in India and Jewish groups in Jerusalem. Catholic nuns, Unity Village Missouri and Protestants in North Carolina also participated.

The full report on the study will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, according to Dossey. It will be the first time a heart journal has published a study on the effects of "distance" prayer. Dossey also noted hundreds of other studies on the power of prayer that, until now, have been mostly ignored by the allopathic, or traditional medical community. However based on the Duke study Dossey concluded, "There's no going back. This is a huge transition in medicine. Medicine will not be able to retreat from the impact."

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Contact the office:
Dr. Larry Smith D.C., B.P.E.
Chiropractor

P.O. Box 307
255 Island Highway
Parksville, British Columbia
Canada V9P 2G5