September's Product of the Month!

Posted by: The Balancing Center

And we’re back to school after a (hopefully) relaxing and (oddly) mild summer break. Today is the first day back for Chicago Public Schools. Besides new supplies and new teachers, school means new exposure to more people and more stress. The last thing any student or parent needs is a compromised immune system, especially when this time of year can be so exciting!

To support your immune system and the immune system of your child, The Balancing Center recommends the supplement Immune (fittingly named) by our trusted partner-in-health, Orenda. You might have heard us mention it before and we’ll continue to mention it because we have seen so many experience so many benefits from it!

Immune boasts a signature formula of “immune response ingredients.” They are designed to boost the process of “glucuronidation,” which describes how certain naturally occurring chemicals and acids in the body detoxify your cells and your system. Some toxins are easily stored and stuck in fat; Immune helps to make those toxins water soluble and thus easier to flush from your body. In general, Immune supports your body’s innate ability to balance its varied and complex systems.

A little help can go a long way. Combined with regular chiropractic adjustments, more exercise, healthy foods, and less stress, a supplement like Immune can support you and your system during the excitement and hubbub of a new school year.

This is why The Balancing Center has chosen Immune to be the Product of the Month for September! Purchase a bottle of Immune at the office and receive a $5 discount on this wonderful supplement.

Our stock usually flies off the shelf so remember that you can also purchase Immune online and have it shipped directly to your home! Click here and select the “Get Started” icon in the top right corner of the page to shop for Immune and other Orenda products. If you have any questions, give us a call at (312) 787-7222 or schedule an appointment.

Destress and detox for the new school year!

Going Green!

Posted by: The Balancing Center

We are honored and ever grateful to have hundreds of patients visit our office and receive our care. Those hundreds of patients mean we also have hundreds of files and thousands of sheaves of paper stored in our office. Beyond providing wonderful chiropractic and therapeutic care, what better way to honor our valued patients than to help reduce our paper impact on the environment?

On September 1, 2013, The Balancing Center plans to do just that: we’re switching to an electronic medical record system called ChiroTouch and ditching those outdated paper files. We’re going green to better serve our patients and our world.

Our new electronic records system means faster and easier service. Patients can choose to be reminded of their appointments via convenient emails. We can track treatment and care plans with greater efficiency and that means we can take even better care of our patients.

Over the next month we’ll be shifting from paper to PC and we ask that you pardon our administrative “dust” as we establish the foundations of our new system. Now is the perfect time to update your information, sign-up for those email reminders, and smile for the picture we’d like to take to include in your new, electronic file.

If you have any questions, give us a call or, even better, schedule an appointment and address them with us when you’re in the office. We are constantly striving to serve you better and look forward to seeing you soon!

The "Kneed" for Alignment

Posted by: Lindsay

The other day as I was finishing up my run, I heard someone call out from behind me, “Hey, a little tip!” A fellow runner catches up to me and points to my right leg. “I’m a PT and I noticed you run with your foot turned out. You should pull your foot in or you could damage your knee.”

I replied that I had been told this before and shrugged, since I tried my best to keep my foot straight (apparently to no avail) and I didn’t know what else to do. She ran one way, and I ran the other, wondering how long before I did that damage to my knee.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. Dr. Dan is teaching me some Foundational Movement Practices, having me “twist and turn” and feel the connection between my hip bones and my legs. I’m twisting and turning in my seat and then he has me twisting and turning as I walk.

“Like the models on the catwalks,” says Dr. Dan. We have a laugh about how more people need to walk like models.

The next day on my run, I decided to “twist and turn” as I jogged down the sidewalk. Why not, after all? This practice is designed to help me move better, so why not see how it does that?

Not even a minute into my new, FMP-powered run, I noticed that my foot was landing straight. I stopped twisting and turning from the hip and tried to see if my foot turned out again and sure enough, it reverted back to what it was doing before. I started twisting and turning again and felt the alignment from my foot to my hip. I must have looked like a gangly crazy person, hopping and jumping down the street.

But then I noticed how much easier it was to run, how much power I felt I suddenly had. My feet would hit the ground and almost sink into it a little bit and then rebound up as if propelled. I felt like  runner. (A big deal for someone who vehemently despised running for almost all of her life.) Two words that capture this experience: more leverage.

The Foundational Movement Practices get you (and got me) more connected. The different parts of your body can work together the way they should, with and not against gravity, in fluid and dynamic tension, in order to give you more power.

And after just one short lesson, I was running correctly, with gravity, with more power. I won’t have to worry about damaging my knee. Instead of needing therapy to exercise, exercise is now my therapy.

Since then, I’ve been hoping to find that PT who initially called out to me. Just to say, “Look! Look what I’ve learned!” And then to recommend she send her clients over to see if some of our care might help them in the same way.

Straight Teeth, Straight Spine

Posted by: The Balancing Center

Whenever a patient is hesitant to commit to consistent and long-term chiropractic care, I like to talk to her about dentistry.

Two common reasons you might see the dentist: 1) you have a toothache and 2) your teeth are crooked. Toothaches tend to be quicker fixes--cavity fillings and root canals might require one or two visits to the office. But if your teeth are crooked, that means an orthodontist, braces for two or more years, and a retainer after that for several more years or maybe permanently.

One common misconception about chiropractic care is that it will provide you with lasting, significant relief after one or two visits. For certain kinds of back pain, this might be true. But more often, this is not the case. And this is why I like to talk about dentists with hesitant patients.

Very often, backaches and back pains are not like cavities. Because backaches and similar pains often come from misalignments in the spine, backaches require a treatment plan similar to one for braces. As those of you who've had braces know, this is not just one or two visits.

Just like braces gradually remold your teeth, chiropractic care gradually resets the alignment of your spine. Braces need periodic tightening and maintenance. A spine needs periodic adjustments to keep its correct alignment. Just as you might need to wear braces and visit your orthodontist for months or years, you might need to visit your chiropractor for spinal adjustments for month or years.

Some people don’t want to hear that and that’s understandable. Not everybody likes to hear that they need to alter their lifestyle or spend more money or that his or her pain won’t be fixed immediately.But reality doesn't change whether you like it or not, and your spine is unlikely to realign itself.

And you could always look at it like this: wouldn't it be wonderful to boast a straight spine along with that winning smile? The benefits of long-term chiropractic care are almost countless. A straight spine can mean fewer allergies, alleviated asthma, less back pain, fewer colds, a clearer head, no more headaches, just to list a few. Long-term commitment means long-term health--the results might not be immediate, but they can be profound and lasting.

So if you desire to not only get out of pain but improve your overall, long term health, a commitment to chiropractic care might be just what the dentist ordered.