The 3T’s of Chiropractic

When presenting findings to a patient as a chiropractor, a common question that comes up is “what do you think caused all of this?” As easy it would be to put the blame on one particular event or cause, your current condition is an accumulation of the stressors and the care you’ve allowed for your body over the years. A man named D.D. Palmer, who is known as the founder of Chiropractic, was able to explain how stressors affect not just your spine, but everyday life. He categorized them simply as Traumas, Toxins and Thoughts, also known as the “Three Ts”. The understanding of these stressors not only helped us understand what may have a negative impact on our health, but puts it into terms that we can seek to control in our everyday lives. Ultimately, these three stressors can either directly or indirectly affect the spine and nervous system, interfering with the body’s natural ability to function and heal. It’s best that we understand them individually so we know how we can have better control of our own health in a demanding and ever-changing society.

Traumas

Traumas are probably the easiest of the three to understand in terms of its impact on our health. This is easier understood as the physical stressors that affect our health. Traumas can be best described in two ways: single or repetitive. Single traumas are the ones that happen due to an isolated incident, which can be a fall, car accident, sports injury, etc. The one incident has enough impact on the body to damage tissue and the body is reliant on internal processes to heal the affected parts. Repetitive traumas are very common and can be even more dangerous than a single, isolated event. The body can undergo repetitive strain from our everyday habits, postures and activities, and can cause changes in our spine and health without us even noticing it. At some point, the accumulation of repetitive trauma pushes the body past its breaking point and leads to a more serious event. This is why people would complain about hurting their back after bending down to put on their socks or even from a simple sneeze. The body has undergone so much stress from our everyday lives that the body’s natural healing cannot keep up. What’s important to understand is that physical trauma, especially the repetitive in nature, can go undetected in the body from our everyday stresses, even allowing permanent change to occur, especially in the spine. Because of the brain and the body’s reliance on proper spinal alignment, it’s best to understand what physical traumas are impacting your health on a regular basis so you can make any necessary changes in your habits.

Toxins

Toxins consist of substances that go into our body and the substances that the body produces from all its work. Toxins are continuously being moved and filtered in and out of the body. This is dependent on the work the body is doing, but also in what you’re ingesting through food. When toxins accumulate and are not properly filtered out, this can lead to pain, but most especially inflammation in your body. The opposite is true when your body is being fed the proper nourishment. When inflammation is present in the body, the brain reacts in a state of stress, which affects how the body utilizes your energy and affects how normal functions in your body operate, such as healing. Allowing toxic substances into your body and also not having the proper functions to clear them out can lead to chronic changes and insensitivities, as your body isn’t able to keep up with the inflammation that accumulates. Also neglecting your body from the nourishment it needs can lead to many changes in your body, even in your spinal alignment. A spine under stress that isn’t getting nourished through water can lead to degenerative changes that become harder to reverse. Feed your body right!

Thoughts

This is simply understood as the mental stress that can interfere with the body’s natural functions. Thought can be constructive or destructive, both of which can lead to a cascade of chemical reactions in the brain so that we are able to adapt to our environment. When our thoughts are in line with our body’s natural functions, the body can function and heal at its greatest capacity. However, when our thoughts do not coincide with the body’s natural functions, this allows the body to move into a stressed state. A good example is when a person is unable to sleep at night because of the stressful thoughts accumulating in their mind. At a moment when the body is supposed to be at rest, the mind races with thoughts that go against the body’s natural function at that time. As a result of this, the body under stress not only releases hormones that in turn keep the body awake, but also deprives the body of its time to heal and recover. Stressful thoughts can also cause you to assume certain postures, tense up muscles and stiffness into joints. Practicing thoughts that keep your mind at ease or are in tune with your body will allow proper healing and function. Mindfulness and positivity go a long way!

How to Address the 3 T's

It’s always hard to pinpoint the cause of your problems to one particular stressor, as your current condition is a makeup of the stresses you encounter daily and the care you give to your body as a response to those stressors. Ultimately, the onus is on you to make the proper decisions to positively you impact your health and function. A good way to do this is to understand what Traumas, Toxins or Thoughts are affecting your body in a negative way and making the necessary changes to eliminate them as much as possible. Stressors in accumulation can lead to more chronic and permanent changes, so it’s also important to seek help from a health professional to make sure your health is in tip-top shape. Your Mississauga Chiropractor is well equipped to assess where your spine and health is at right now, and show you the proper strategies to move you towards a more optimal and congruent lifestyle. If you have any questions or would like to consult with our Chiropractors, feel free to call us at (905)821-4951.