I'm sure most if not all of you have heard that there is contention between Medical Doctors (M.D.) and Chiropractors (D.C.). I knew before going into the school that there was an underlying discontent most MD's had with DC's and vice versa. Everyday I go to school, we hear something that pertains to this problem. It astonishes me that still after all of these years, after all of the patients that have been helped, some MD's continue to believe and teach the public false information about chiropractic. Chiropractic can and has been distorted by many people and most problems I think come from false facts floating around.

I will admit there are few rogue chiropractors running around stating that they can cure everything and that MD's are worthless along with all types of medicine, but please keep in mind that that is NOT chiropractic. I personally believe that both DC's and MD's can find a common ground and be useful in both of their respected fields. It's quiet obvious that if you were to fall and break a bone you are not going to run to your chiropractor's office. There are limits to chiropractic as there are with any medical profession.

Somewhere in our history we decided that medicine and surgery was the best route to fix all health conditions. And that all other routes were to be ignored and thought of as insignificant compared to an allopathic view point. I can't understand why, if so many patients have been helped must the standard medical doctor still fight against chiropractic. Many believe that chiropractic is a new age option for health care, but in fact there is strong evidence that accent civilizations would perform spinal adjustments for health. There is both accent Egyptian and Greek writings and pictures of this procedure being done. Chiropractic is anything but new. DD Palmer claims to be the inventor of chiropractic but in fact he was a little late. He was in fact the first in that time era to realize the significance of the spine related to disease and furthermore allow chiropractic the future it has today. There is a great quote I ran across the other day and it says, “Look well to the spine for the cause of disease.” This is a quote from Hippocrates the "father of medicine" the ancient Greek physician. Hippocrates and other Greek physicians in many writings warned people to be aware of an over use of medicine that in fact would hinder man. Keep in mind that the Hippocratic oath created by Hippocrates is the oath that MD's take today. The oath has been distorted so much from its original state that it is almost unrecognizable. In the directly translated Hippocratic oath, it states that a physician will not prescribe a deadly drug that will cause death. Why is it then that JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) quotes prescribed medicine as being the United States third largest cause for death?

Don't get me wrong I am all for MD's and allopathic medicine, but I just can't stand the profession putting down chiropractic saying it is superior when the profession itself has so much to work on. Maybe it's right that they take the Hippocratic oath, because some tend to be hypocrites. Like I said I believe medicine has its place. Medicine has conquered many diseases that were once thought to be incurable, and has helped many rid themselves of cancer and other horrible diseases. The real question is do we need medicine for everything? Are we saying that our bodies were not built correctly to be able to handle the common cold, or to overcome most cases of chickenpox? Do we constantly need medication for migraines? I only worry about the constant use of medication because of the harmful side effects that it places on our body. As consumers we believe that we are fully warned about side effects of medication when in reality the FDA does not make clear all side effects of drugs. Moreover doctors who prescribe do not teach the patients enough about the medications. Take a common over the counter medication, Aspirin, which many people have taken. Did they know that it has been linked to stomach irritation that may lead to bleeding from the stomach? Also, the constant use of antibiotics is becoming a larger problem that isn't being talked about. I don't have time to delve deep into the problems, but just know that there is an increasing problem of antibiotic resistance in microbes, and that they are also becoming much more prevalent; both in the community and particularly in hospitals. Unfortunately, we have very few types of antibiotics that are able to continue to combat these bacteria. The more we prescribe antibiotics for simple things our body was designed to fight off, the stronger these microbes get year after year and the weaker our own immune system gets. Last year the FDA struggled to find a flu shot because the common flu had morphed so much and so fast they couldn't keep up.

If we take a stronger look at the birth control pill we will see that most of us have never heard the truth of the many problems that can occur upon consumption. The birth control pill is pumping synthetic estrogen into many women’s bodies, and they are unable to process it because humans don't have the enzyme to break it down, thus causing a toxic build up and toxic effects. Some of these toxic build-ups can cause such things as Pulmonary embolisms, Diabetes, Adrenal disturbances, Blood clots, High blood pressure, Gallbladder disease, UTI's, Fibroids and even Sterility. Also it has been proven that women who take birth control pills have lower bone mineral density (BMD), especially in the spine. Another great quote I heard is, " Today, newer lower dosage birth control pills maintain high popularity, despite their continued serious health risks for women." "Let me give you my opinion in a straight forward manner: I don't advocate the use of birth control pills. Yes, they are effective at preventing unwanted pregnancies, but the risks far outweigh those benefits." (Carolyn Dean, M.D.) It is things like this that are now being pushed on our nation as if it were candy. Children as young as the age of 9 are being placed on oral contraceptives in order to control acne. Do these risks outweigh the consequences of acne?

Our body is built on a simple premise, if you don't use it you lose it. I'm sure most of us that sat in college and didn't work out half as much as we did before can attest to that fact because many of us lost muscle. Think about the millions of elderly who suffer from osteoarthritis who don't use their bones the way they used to. They don't apply the needed pressure on them to keep them strong. They now ache everyday because of the osteoclast activity. It's the same for our immune system. If we don't allow it to work and use constant medication as a crutch, we will slowly lose it.

I am really only writing this because I'm confused as to why medical doctors and the AMA strive to put an end to something that has so few risks when it can't come within 1/10 of the numbers of patients hurt by medications and surgery each year.
It’s no wonder why MD's malpractice insurance is so much higher then DC's. On average a DC pays $1,500-$2,000 for a yearly malpractice policy. Just a fraction of an MD's.

Again this is not an attack on MD's or their profession. I just believe that if MD's are going to teach others about chiropractic they should get their facts right. Like I said earlier, both MD's and DC's can find a common ground and strive together to bring people to their optimal health.

A Little More Than Half Way!

It's been a while since I last posted. So far I have definitely settled into the Palmer routine. It's actually really easy to do. It only consists of a few things getting up early going to class, getting home late from class and studying till I fall asleep. It's actually not that easy it takes the most self discipline that my mind can handle. But when I do buckle down, what an amazing thing my brain can do. Its able to bring in a massive quantity of new information and connect with old information and then with even more new information its able to conclude an answer or a diagnosis or able to find a problem. I'm just fascinated by our brains and the capability that they have. We don't give them enough attention or credit for all that they do for us.

We were able to watch a surgery done on a 8 year old boy who was suffering from Cerebral Palsy. This disease was causing many problems in the boys essential motor functions thus not allowing him to have a normal life. The surgeon was able to dive deep into the boys medulla spinalis and expose a portion from L1 to about L4. She then cut through the dura mater and tested each root one by one to find the roots that were impairing this boys motor function by not sending the correct signals to the brain. As the surgeon stimulated the roots the boys limbs would automatically flex even though he was unconscious. It was just an amazing thing to see the wonders of our CNS and sadly the problems that can occur from defects in such a crucial area of our body. I think all of us in the room would have loved to see this young boy work with a chiropractic adjustment schedule for a couple months and watch the improvements be made without such an extreme invasive surgery. But non the less it was amazing! On a side note the neuro surgeon was born with spine bifida. And it was amazing to see her and hear her story of struggles with her disease and to see all she was able to accomplish.

We are currently studying all the spinal cord fasiculi (tracts) in CNS. And it is literally mindbogglingly to understand and grasp. But one by one they come together and little by little I am able to see how our CNS works with the rest of our body. In this course it takes weeks just to understand a portion of the brain the size of a head of a tac. But that portion like the "Pons" is so significant without it we would not live.

I am finally understanding Bio-Chemistry a little more. Even though my lab group and I had to re-do the hour and a half long lab because we failed to achieve the needed outcome of the experiment. But the lecture information and exams are going better. Spinal anatomy seems to go 100 mph everyday and I spend most of my time in lecture just trying to keep up and then heading home to decipher what I wrote down. In Embryology we learn about some of the most amazing steps and process that must happen in order for humans to reproduce and the strict timeline a females body follows when pregnant and the amount of coordination that it requires for a fetus to come to full term. Gross Anatomy is great as ever we are now on the lower limbs and able to study much larger structures unlike the posterior and anterior antebrachium of the upper limbs. And Neuro Physiology is going as best as it could go. Some how Palmer needs to just liven that class up a little.

We are now heading into next week loaded with four exams. We have an exam everyday but Wed. We have an Embryology exam, a Spinal Anatomy exam, a Neurophysiology exam and the big CNS exam.

Even though it is tough for me to come home after 10 hrs. of school and continue to study for another 5hrs. My fire is still cooking. Only 4 1/2 weeks left in the trimester but who's counting?

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on. "

--Franklin D. Roosevelt

The Bombardment of Tests!

The first round of tests at Palmer are almost over with. I took my Bio-Chem exam last Thursday, my Spinal Anatomy exam Monday, my Gross Anatomy lecture exam Wednesday and today Friday my (CNS) Neuro Anatomy exam and only one remaining this Monday and that's a Neuro Phys exam. I find some people when talking about the first round of exams talk about it as if it was or is no big deal that they barely studied and were not worried about it. I'm not going to lie or sugar coat it that by far was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I will be honest here I didn't expect it to be that bad of a first round. But lets just say on one of those exams I'm still feeling the wounds from being dragged over the coals.

This type of week was unlike any in undergrad. Normally you have a test or two coming up that you can prepare for for a while in advance and you are on a semester schedule where you sometimes have months between tests. But not any more before all of these exams were given we had started on new testable material for exam #2. So while I was studying for exam one I was putting myself behind already for exam #2 because of the massive overlap in information and lecture. So after the first round I am already playing catch up.

I learned something about myself while studying for this material. Pulling an all nighter for (CNS) Neuro Anatomy or for any class for that matter is absolutely terrible. Two friends and I had the bright idea to study 13hrs straight from 6:00pm to 7:15am and take the exam at 7:30am. Come 4:00am and on my 5th Mtn. Dew (which is ironic because I'm studying about Calcium disodium EDTA, Brominated vegetable oil, Sodium benzoate, Caffeine and their terrible side effects all which are in Mtn. Dew in high amounts) I start to laugh uncontrollably and wander from my studying. And it becomes more of a struggle to stay awake than to learn the material. But all in all it was a memorable time I just wish the things I remember were of Neuro Anatomy.

Its crazy to think that I will be starting my 7th week in the DC program. As I'm sure it is very obvious I'm staying very busy with school work and have little if any time for anything else. I look at fellow class mates who have a family with 4 or 5 kids and I just can't comprehend the amount of energy it would take to be a student a husband and a father of 5.

But still even after this week of grueling days and nights I am just as excited to have this opportunity to attend this awesome school. I have found in order to get through the school I must stay motivated and lately have been thinking of just how important these classes are. Really these classes aren't for me they aren't for a grade or a degree they are so I can help others with their health. So if I slack I'm not only hurting myself but future patients.

I am also greatful to have such great friends who I am able to attend school with. Without them the days would drag and trying to find a better study group would be near to impossible. We all have our strengths and are able lift each other where others may lack.
Thanks guys!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."
--Airstotle

Student Council

I have never got involved with any school I have ever attended. And considering I am going to be at Palmer for a long time I thought I would just jump right in and try to get involved. So two weeks ago we had a representative from student council come by and say that there were about 10 positions open for election if any of us wanted to run. I decided this was my chance. So I ran for a coveted position (class representative). And later that week both me and the girl running against each other were asked to give speeches. And she really came prepared, she had a lot of background in both student and civil government so after she concluded her speech I figured I had no chance. So I made my speech which mainly consisted of a lot of jokes and maybe a little friendly smear campaign. But the crowd seemed to love it. And later we were told the results. And I had the majority of the vote and was elected into the position of First Trimester Representative of Class 113.

I really didn't expect to win but am excited for this opportunity. And what an opportunity to be able to help my class become more involved at Palmer and to be able to serve them so their time here is more enjoyable. The people in student council are amazing. They are one of the most helpful and excited about Palmer bunch of people I have met. Starting Palmer and student council in the summer allows us the opportunity to experience the annual homecoming extravaganza right off the bat. And to be elected into student council a couple days before the big event was an experience. The council always throws a large party the first day of homecoming and last night I had the chance to help with that. We served the local Mexican restaurant Azteca to over 600 people while listening to live bands and a great student talent show. The best thing was that it was a family event. Many students brought their wives and children and were able to experience the homecoming kick off together. My class is awesome they are all very energetic about chiropractic and the school itself.

I found out that being in student council comes with some perks. And the best one is the chairs. I know that may sound silly but the chairs in the class rooms at Palmer need to be lets say updated. But in the Student Council office we sit around this sweet large round table with nice leather chairs. And not to mention the job comes with a little stipend. So all in all so far Palmer is awesome. I think what makes Palmer is the people. Since being there I have had the opportunity to meet some fantastic people who really care about chiropractic and what it can do for everyone.

“Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
--Vince Lombardi

Week #3

Has it been 3 weeks already? It seems like such a blur. Somedays I get home after class and just fall on the couch and wonder what did I get myself into. You start to realize the work load that is put on you never has a break. And the sad thing is most professors started out slow and now they are really turning on the heat. From here to the end of October I have at least 1 quiz and 1 Exam every week. And one week there is an exam and quiz everyday! So I guess you could say the pressure is on. In undergrad it always seemed that Saturday was a break from school and you looked forward to it. But now Saturday I am stuck studying either at home at the library or in an open lab. Its actually the best day to study because I get the most done. But with all that said I haven't grown tired of it and don't think I will. Even though it is a lot of work I feel honored to have the opportunity to wake up everyday to go to one of the finest health care institutions and learn about our bodies from head to toe from inside to out.

I think the most exciting part of the school so far is the Gross Anatomy(where we work with cadavers) and CNS labs we go to. This week in CNS lab we had 30 stations and at each station there was either part of or a whole brain with different things being pointed out. I sat down at a station thinking it was just an empty skull and quickly learned otherwise as I turned it around and saw the face was still intact. This scared both me and the others at the close by stations (it was more or less just unexpected, not gross). But what an opportunity that lab was, we were able to see a brain tumor created in the dura mater and how the brain adapted to it by creating a cavity around it. Also we were able to identify the vessels that are just above the brain stem that most strokes occur in. The brain itself with all of its inner workings is just flabbergasting.

Our Professor in that class is Dr. Gale R Lewellen ( who also is the former stake president for the Davenport Stake) is absolutely amazing. He may have one of the hardest classes to teach but he really allows you to understand and is always willing to explain and make you excited about the subject. Week three was challenging but fun. And I hope to have many more of the same.

"The runner-doctor knows that health has nothing to do with disease. Health has to do with functioning and wholeness and reaching your level of excellence. My health has to do with my life style, with moderation of the soul and the body. It is a matter of discipline of my total person"
"From the athlete, we learn that health is not merely to do with disease, any more than sanctity is the absence of sin. Health, the athlete tells us, is a positive quality, a life force, a vital characteristic clearly recognizable in those who have it."
--George Sheehan, M.D., Running and being

Day 1 & Day 2

So it's begun! I have waited so long for this, and to have it finally here is exciting. As the days got closer to beginning 1st trimester, friends in upper tri's said they felt bad that I had to go through the beginning 3 trimesters, the hardest of the 10. Most students dread these inconceivably hard first 3 tri's because the work load can cripple you if you take your eye off it for a few seconds.

I'm currently taking 31 credits

Neuroanatomy(with a Lab)
Embryology
Gross Anatomy(with a Lab)
Spinal Anatomy
Rights & Responsibilities
Information literacy
Biochemistry(with a Lab)
Philosophy
Neurophysiology


So far things are going good. We are in class from 7:30am to about 4:00pm and sometimes 5:30pm for Labs. I have to say that I'm really excited about the material being taught. It is so interesting. Well, most of the material is interesting. I would drop Biochemistry in a heartbeat if I could. It is by far the craziest class. I have never been a big chemistry buff, and to have taken 4 classes of chemistry already.... I really don't want another 2 of biochemistry. We have roughly about 140 to 150 students in our class not including the students who are retaking courses, so that usually bumps our class sizes up to about 170 or so.

Right now I am learning how to time manage better than ever. To be able to take such a load of credits one must plan out study time everyday. I'm really excited to wake up everyday to learn the new information. Most of my professors have been at the school for over 30 years and publish in some of the most highly ranked publications on chiropractic in the world. They are specialties in their fields to say the least. Most come to class motivated to share the knowledge with us and motivate us to be just as excited.

So far Palmer is great, a lot of work but great.

"I studied the lives of great men and famous women, and I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm."
--Henry Truman

"I Dare You to Move"

This journey started a while ago. I guess you could say that it started back when I was playing baseball. I had been pitching for many years, and the art of pitching put a large strain on my body. The fundamentals needed put a significant amount of that strain on my back. It is a repetitive motion with no room for error or tweaking to shift the pain. As I would release from the middle of my wind up, a sharp pain would shoot through my back and would interfere with the delivery of the ball to the plate. It would also hinder my ability to last in later innings. This was a problem if I were to continue. My mom suggested I see her chiropractor who happened to be my best friends' dad at the time. He was able to work with me to help the pain subside without changing my windup or delivery. This was all done through chiropractic adjustments and specific stretches to increase my muscles to support my back in the needed motions of pitching. This was a problem on and off the field. Shortly after I stopped playing baseball (and stopped my chiropractic visits) my pain came back. My wife Liz had countless opportunities to watch as my back would seize up without notice and I would fall to my knees. Also, my diaphragm would flex expelling all my air for a few moments. I would have to slowly stretch out and wait for the muscles to loosen up so I could walk and stand upright again.

This is what has driven me to want to come to Palmer College of Chiropractic. I started out looking at the requirements to attend such a school and they looked hefty. At that time I only had a few junior college credits, and didn't have such a direction in a career. I quickly decided that the schooling just to get there was too hard and not meant for me. As time went on and I got married, I realized I needed to settle down and pick something, but pick something I loved and wanted to do and that would provide both monetary means and time with my family.

Liz had the opportunity to work for a chiropractor in Utah, and I had expressed to him that I once looked into being a chiropractor, but got scared away by the schooling and prospects of success in the career. He explained as long as I was driven to complete it I would get through the school and success would come with work put into the business. This motivated me to look into attending a chiropractic school once again. I was currently attending UVSC and noticed that many chiropractic schools had dates to come a give presentations at the school. So my friend Marc and I attended these, and I knew from the beginning of the meeting with Palmer College of Chiropractic that this was the school I wanted to attend. The philosophy and fundamentals were aligned with what I wanted to do. The fact that they are known as the "Harvard" of chiropractic schools didn't harm my decision either. I figured if I was going to do this I might as well go to the best school. I found out what I had to do and the prerequisites needed to enter the program. Both Liz and I prayed and felt this was the right decision. So we packed up and moved to "nowhere" Davenport Iowa, the birth place of chiropractic. I can remember as we rolled into town and saw our "site unseen" apartment. We both questioned what we had done, but as time has gone on we have been reassured time and time again that this was the right choice.

So, I started my journey of the prerequisites: 2biology classes, 2 chemistry classes, 2 organic chemistry classes and 2 physics classes along with another 36 credits of bachelors classes at Palmer.

I now have completed my Bachelors of Science degree and am preparing to start grad school. This is a funny thought if you knew me in high school. I couldn't care less about my grades in high school. This is obvious if you look at my graduating accumulative GPA of 1.95( I didn't even have a 2.0 is that even possible?) All I cared about was sports, music, and other stupid stuff. It's funny what joining the church, getting married, and making new friends will do to you(it has changed my life 180 degrees).

And now the time has come. So many hours of study, and so many stressful nights before exams and to think the hard stuff hasn't even begun, I can only sit back and laugh. I've been told that this school will be the hardest thing I have ever done, but in the end will have a great reward. Considering the first year and half mimics med. school minus the pharmacology classes, and each trimester will be an average of 30 credits and 9 to 10 classes compared to my usual 15 credits is hard to swallow also. I am sure if Liz is by my side, and I do the things that I am supposed to, mentally, physically, and spiritually, I will make it through and enjoy the time spent here.

I decided to create this blog because I wanted to document my journey through Chiropractic school, and considering my handwriting looks like a 3rd grader and I can't even read it, I figured I better type, and what better way then by blogging. So this blog is my experiences and knowledge gained of the miracle of chiropractic as I excel, stumble, fall and pick myself back up again through Palmer College of Chiropractic. Here's to the future.....

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever."
-- Lance Armstrong