By Dakota Tara Rose
Many things contribute to living a healthy lifestyle — diet, exercise, stress reduction, mental health upkeep, and the overall enjoyment of life. New modalities and cures for these health categories are popping up every day to support wellness. However, there is one thing that connects both brain and body that is often overlooked: the spine.
The spine is vital to every activity you do in your day from focusing in class to playing sports. Chiropractic medicine focuses on the nervous system and the communication between the brain and the body, the body and the brain, via the spine. This communication goes both ways and is essential to every part of your health and quality of life. Personally, I have been in chiropractic care from a young age and now see my chiropractor biweekly-and you should too.
Essentially, Chiropractic helps performance and health of all kinds. Physically, it aligns the body and helps heal injuries like concussions, trauma, and impacts of every kind. Mentally, it acts as a form of stress reduction by connecting the brain and body so they can communicate better. At its core, chiropractic is about balance. Through spinal adjustments, chiropractic balances the two primary branches of the nervous system: one focused on activity and the other focused on nutrition and rest. Imbalance in these parts of the nervous system can lead to diminished mental and physical “performance” and even disease.
Dr. Peter Fisk, DC is a chiropractor, based out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, specializing in Network Spinal Analysis (NSA). Dr. Fisk defines performance as the connection between what the body is doing in any one moment and what it will need to do in the next moment. “Your body needs to transition from one thing to another very quickly. Chiropractic enables people to make these types of transitions efficiently and effectively. It increases the efficiency of their performance. It could be athletic or musical but it is really human performance — whatever you are asking yourself to do, even the small things” says Dr. Fisk.
There are hundreds of different chiropractic specializations ranging from musculoskeletal and pain relief to neurological well-being. The spine is the central focus of most chiropractic methods because it, along with the skull, forms vital protection for the master operating system of life — the brain and spinal cord. Network Spinal Analysis or NSA is what Dr. Fisk practices in his office in New Mexico. NSA is a method utilizing minimal force to influence the areas of the spine that have the greatest impact on human performance. NSA forgoes the stereotypical “cracking” and “popping” in favor of light touches along the spine placed with the intent of unwinding stored trauma within the spine that is manifesting as tension or pain.
People in chiropractic care experience reduced pain, headaches, stress, compression, and self-critical tendencies, as well as improved physical well-being, immunity, focus, emotional well-being, and mental health. Furthermore, people under NSA care enjoy their lives more. They are more resilient and less disturbed by previous stressors. Additionally, patients are more attracted to things that will make them feel better and shy away from negative lifestyle choices. Reduced stress and improved body/brain communication lead to a better life overall.
To be healthy, you need clean air, water, shelter, and food. You need to be somewhat mobile and you need a healthy expression between your brain and your body. We can work on our mental health or diet or exercise individually but unless there is a connection between brain and body without interference we can never reach our true health potential.
So why start chiropractic care now? You’re not injured and your posture is fine. Camila Escobar, a junior at SMU has worked as a Chiropractic assistant, seeing firsthand the positive influence chiropractic has on patients. “College students should especially be going to see chiropractors because chiropractic is used preventively. Today, with devices and long hours spent bent over studying, students are straining their necks all the time” Camila says. Camila “highly recommend[s] [chiropractic] for anyone spending long hours on the computer or studying and for anyone interested in holistic health” – basically all college students fall into at least one of these categories today. “Better to start now rather than later when there is something really wrong” Camila encourages.
The best time to start the thing that will extend your life and improve your health is now. Why start working out? Why start eating healthier? Why start paying attention to your mental health? Chiropractic increases longevity and healthier, happy lives, so the real question is: why wait?
If you are interested in exploring NSA deeper, schedule an appointment with an NSA Chiropractor in Dallas today at https://nextlevelchirodallas.com/ or https://www.trinityfamilychiropractic.com/.
