Did you know that your heart can speak to you? Most know that we can do tests such as blood
pressure and pulse and even stress tests and an ECG (or EKG). One of the best things we can do on our own,
however, is to listen to what the body is telling us about our heart.
If we have pain in the chest or down the left arm we are
told to seek medical attention immediately due to a possible heart attack. Not everyone has these particular
symptoms. The heart’s referral pattern
is huge! Discomfort can be felt
in the chest, in either shoulder, down either arm, the hands, the upper back,
the neck, or the jaw. Most people do not
have all of these locations. Usually one
of these areas has been bothering a person for a while. My dad, for example, had soreness at one spot
on the chest that we had been working with for quite a while. And his acute pain was to the right of his sternum. Another patient had pain in his left hand
only. And another had pain in the left
shoulder.
Informing you of this large referral pattern is not meant to
scare anyone. It is my hope, however,
that the information is used to give you insight into your health. If you have discomfort in one of these areas,
tell your chiropractor and nutritionist.
The problem may be simply due to misalignments in your spine and
extremities or it may be your heart speaking.
One way I help determine if something is a chiropractic problem verses a
nutrition problem is to see how a patient responds to care. If an adjustment helps for only a very short
time (minutes to a few hours) it is more likely a nutrition problem.
If it is your heart speaking (or even another organ),
getting your nutrition balanced quickly is the best first step. This will likely include diet changes and
some supplements. Once the underlying
nutrition issue is being handled, the pain and discomfort experienced starts to
go away (sometimes very quickly).
So, the take home lesson today is to listen to the little
messages your body is giving you and get your body the help it may need to be
as healthy as it can be. A healthy body
will allow you to do more of what you were put on this planet to do!
