Cranial facial release (CFR) is a technique that is used to help with a variety of neurological or structural disorders. Patients who have been diagnosed with any of the following conditions may be good candidates for CFR.

• Seizures

• Bell’s Palsy

• Breathing Disorders

• Sinusitis

• Migraines

• Vertigo

• Sleep Apnea

• Post-Concussion Syndrome

• Snoring
   

CFR works by inserting small balloons inside of the nasal cavity and quickly inflating them. This technique is designed to unlock cranial fixations or induce mobility in the cranial systems.
 

How it Works

First, it is important to understand that our skulls are not made of a single solid bone — especially the bones that surround our breathing passageways. These bones are designed to move as we breathe to allow for an increased amount of air to enter our lungs. When these bones don’t move normally, they can cause a variety of issues related to breathing or even our neurological functions.

The CFR process is designed to free the bones and allow them to begin moving again which restores normal function and can reduce issues that patients are experiencing.
 

Treatment

The actual process of CFR may vary so you should discuss options with your medical professional. However, many patients will find that treatment takes place on four days scheduled within a seven to the ten-day period while the actual process of inflating the balloons takes less than three seconds.

Many patients report that the procedure feels like having water shot up your nose, but don’t report that there is any pain. CFR is a procedure that does not require an overnight stay in the hospital or long-term observation.
 

CFR Patients

CFR patients have typically tried many different options to help relieve the effects of their condition. CFR has been shown to not only improve many of the conditions listed above but is also very cost-effective, especially when compared to the cost of potential surgeries and recovery time.

There is no typical patient when it comes to CFR treatment. In fact, CFR has been successfully practiced on patients of all ages. Seniors are often treated for many of their conditions that may be associated with advanced age. While on the other end of the spectrum, CFR has been used to help infants who are experiencing a wide range of their own issues. As well as adults and teenagers who have also seen a reduction in the effects of many of the previously listed conditions with CFR treatment.
 

Amazing Successes

Dr. Stober, one of the pioneers of CFR utilized this technique in order to help children with Down’s Syndrome. One of the children that he helped was David Jones. Mr. Jones was treated with the BNS (Bilateral Nasal Specific) method of CFR. His care began in his childhood and continued when he was a young man. David attributes his treatments to an increase in cognitive ability. This allowed him to live independently and attend college. While attending college, he earned not just one, but two degrees. He felt so strongly about the benefits of this technique that he continued to educate others about its use.
 

Gaining Success

The CFR method increased in popularity when it was featured in the E-Channel and Celebrity News Magazine. Since then, more patients have started asking about and for this treatment.
 

Overview

If you have any questions about this procedure, please call and schedule an appointment to speak with your chiropractor today. They have specific and specialized training on how to perform the procedure and will be able to determine if the issues that you are experiencing are likely to be helped by the CFR technique. Many patients have already experienced success with this technique, so why not see if you can be next?

Anybody who has experienced back pain knows that they will do just about anything to relieve their discomfort and fortunately, there are many options available for patients suffering from back ailments.

If you have been experiencing lower back pain, you should schedule an appointment with a chiropractor. Your chiropractor will want to interview you and do an examination first to ensure that they fully understand your condition as well as any limitations that you may be having. After this assessment is complete, one treatment that they may suggest is a therapeutic adjustment.
 

What is a Therapeutic Adjustment?

Therapeutic adjustments are also called spinal or chiropractic manipulation and is a conventional technique that chiropractors use to treat lower back pain. An adjustment involves moving vertebrae that are not moving properly or have abnormal movement. These changes to your spine can move the vertebrae back into place or help to correct the movement that is causing you discomfort.
 

What Can I Expect to Feel During an Adjustment?

Adjustments typically involve short and fast arm thrusts along the vertebrae. These thrusts may cause an audible cracking sound when gas is released from the joint. These gases can include oxygen, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide. The release of these gases can also be accompanied by the reduction of pressure within the spine.

Patients often feel an immediate improvement in their pain levels and ability to move. Some minor discomfort has been reported, but it is typically associated with back muscles that are tense and is usually short-lived.

While you may expect your joints to “crack,” it doesn’t always happen, which can be due to a tense patient. Your chiropractor may suggest using ice, having you rest, or using electrical stimulation and massage in order to reduce the tension in your back.

Many people are beginning to use chiropractors for the treatment of a variety of health conditions. While chiropractors can help alleviate issues as they pop up, you should also consider visiting a chiropractor as part of your regular routine as many people believe that the frequency of visits directly correlates with the effectiveness of the treatment.
 

Why Make Regular Appointments?

While we have all experienced injury or sickness, our ability to rebound from those issues is often related to our physical condition beforehand. If we are in good overall health, our body can more readily compensate for an injury or illness.

This same theory can be applied to our spinal health. If your spine and associated joints are in good working order, you may walk away with minimal to no injuries from an activity that may debilitate someone else.
 

Fix Small Injuries Before They are Big

We often schedule appointments with our doctors or chiropractors when our issues become so severe that we cannot manage to get through the day without outside help. However, if you really pay close attention to the progress of your condition, you may find that the issue started much earlier. Poor sleeping habits, stress, poor diet, and excessive work hours can all lead to injuries or sickness.

If you are regularly seeing a chiropractor, they can often identify these issues when they are small. They may even be so minor that you haven't noticed them yet. If your chiropractor can correct these issues when they are minimal, you will rebound more quickly without having to experience the debilitating pain that the injury may have caused.
 

The Spine Controls EVERYTHING

Every message that your body sends to your brain has to travel through your spinal cord which is housed by the spinal column. If you are having an issue somewhere in your body, that issue, along with the remedy, must travel through your spinal cord. If you have a problem with your nervous system, that message can’t be delivered, and your body cannot correct the problem.

Many issues can be attributed to spinal health including headaches, intestinal health, and immune response.

Going to the chiropractor can be for a variety of reasons. While chiropractors typically focus on our backs, they are truly joint specialists that help to keep our bodies and joints in proper alignment. However, the effects of chiropractic care extend far beyond our joints. Chiropractic adjustments have been used to help a diverse group of ailments that include back and neck pain, pregnancy issues, ear infections, weight loss, digestive issues, and many more. The issues that can bring you into the office are as diverse as the methods to care for them, but here we’ve compiled a list of five common methods or techniques for the care of neck or back pain.
 

Diversified Technique

The diversified technique is likely to be used by your chiropractor if you are experiencing neck or back pain that is caused by a herniated lumbar disk. This is one of the most common methods used by chiropractors and offers almost instant relief for the patient. It is commonly associated with the popping or cracking of joints that allow for the release of the gases trapped in the joints which allow for reduced pressure on the joint and the nerves that pass through it.
 

Logan Technique

The Logan technique is a conventional technique that works by applying pressure to the spine which will help to realign your spine and joints. Your chiropractor may use this method if you are having issues with headaches or migraines. It also helps to improve or restore your balance and release tension throughout the spinal column.
 

Flexion-Distraction

Flexion-distraction involves stretching the spine along the axis to help bring the spine back into alignment. This method is used in patients who have scoliosis, joint pain, or other specific back pain ailments. This technique helps to reduce pressure on the spine from a bulge or a disk herniation in the lumbar spine, increases spinal motion, and reduces symptoms of sciatica. Typically, chiropractors will have a special table that is used just for this technique.

If you have been paying attention to what is happening in the medical community, then it’s likely that you have heard about holistic medicine. However, to really understand the practice takes more than just a passing reference to the topic. Holistic medicine is a type of medicine that is concerned with the entire person as a whole. This practice accounts for the body, mind, spirit, and emotions. The belief behind the practice stems from the idea that people can operate at their highest levels when all their systems are operating well and in balance with each other.

Practitioners of holistic medicine believe that if one of these systems is out of balance, all of the other systems in the body will be affected. In order to treat an individual, medical professionals may utilize a variety of techniques. For example, if a patient visits their doctor for a migraine, they may be prescribed pain medication and sent home. However, when a physician takes a holistic approach, they look at a myriad of potential factors that are influencing and causing the headache. Therefore, even though a patient may still be prescribed pain medication, issues with their diet, sleep patterns, stress, and spiritual outlook will also be reviewed and it is only after considering all of these factors that a treatment plan will be developed.
 

Holistic Options

Holistic medicine offers a wide variety of treatment options to treat underlying conditions and below we have compiled some of the most standard treatment options along with brief explanations. However, if you feel that holistic medicine is an option for you, you should consider contacting a holistic medical professional today for more information.

• Patient Education – Holistic medicine believes that every person can heal themselves. It is no surprise that when patients know more about themselves and their condition, they have better results in their treatment. Education may cover diet, exercise, and counseling as it relates to the patient's needs.

• Alternative Medicine – In order to treat the body as a whole, alternative medicine is another option that may be used as part of a patient’s treatment plan. These treatments may include chiropractic care, massage therapy, acupuncture, or naturopathy.

• Western Medicine – Sometimes Western medicine will offer an additional or complementary benefit. These treatments may include medications or medical procedures in order to correct any underlying issues.

Many people today struggle to maintain their waistline. There have been a significant number of studies that correlate our weight, or rather, excess weight, to shortened lifespans, reduced quality of life and an increase in various diseases. People are often focused on the newest fad diet or exercise routine to help them reduce their body fat percentages and maintain weight loss, but a visit with your chiropractor will add another layer to your ability to fight the battle of your expanding midline.
 

Chiropractic and the Impact on Weight

At the beginning of each January, weight-loss fads and gym membership applications skyrocket, only to taper off during the next few months. People often focus on one aspect of their lifestyle to reduce their weight, but these aspects by themselves don’t focus on an overall healthy lifestyle. If you can change your focus to living better for the rest of your life, you may start to find that you can bring some balance to your future weight loss endeavor. When used as a part of your weight loss routine, people who receive chiropractic care tend to see faster and longer-lasting results.

Chiropractic adjustments aren’t considered a cardio workout in themselves, but patients who are maintaining a healthy diet and getting regular exercise can really benefit from routine adjustments. Chiropractors can help to keep us free from injury, reduce fatigue, and help keep our digestive systems working properly which allows our bodies to readily process the foods that we eat to properly fuel a workout while disposing of waste.
 

A Properly Aligned Spine

Athletes at any level are at an increased risk for injury. The physical movements that we make when we work out can place additional stress on all our joints, making movement more difficult. When we feel pain in our joints, we tend to reduce the workload. Chiropractic adjustments help to keep your joints in their best physical condition and everyone knows, that when you feel better, you can work harder. Your increased output will result in more calories burned which when paired with proper nutrition, can result in big losses on the scale.

Many chiropractors are specifically geared to work with weight loss. In addition to specialized techniques that help keep you in the best shape possible, they can offer additional exercise and nutritional information. If you’re considering pairing your weight loss plan with chiropractic, please talk to your chiropractor. They are a wealth of underutilized knowledge.
 

There is a lot of information (and misinformation) that people can find online today. When it comes to chiropractic care, the misinformation can become difficult for many people to differentiate from the truth. Therefore, we have compiled a list of some of the most common myths and misconceptions about chiropractic care below. It is our hope that by understanding the truth about chiropractic care, patients will be able to better seek the care that they need and deserve.
 

Chiropractic is Dangerous

Many people have fears about having their neck and back adjusted or manipulated. While these fears are generally due to the perceived weakness of the neck and back from movies, chiropractors are specially trained to perform these techniques safely and effectively. In fact, chiropractic is safe for the elderly, infants, pregnant women, teens, and many other demographics. It is difficult to find medical procedures or even medications that are able to help this wide of a range of the patient population.
 

Chiropractic Treatments are Expensive

Many insurance companies consider chiropractic care a covered procedure, meaning that you may only be responsible for a copay, or potentially no costs at all, to receive your chiropractic care. Even Medicare and Medicaid offer coverage for chiropractic care.

Recent studies show that chiropractic care is one of the most affordable and cost-effective treatment options for patients. Studies like this have helped insurance companies justify and even prefer chiropractic care for their clients.
 

Chiropractic Care Must be Used for the Rest of Your Life

Many chiropractic patients visit a chiropractor for a specific issue. However, your chiropractor will be able to develop a specific treatment plan designed to best manage and correct your issues. At the conclusion of this treatment plan, the benefits are often so striking that many patients continue to see a chiropractor on a regular basis even though the original issue has been resolved and see these visits as routine checkups. If they decide to stop these visits, it does not mean that they will regress. In fact, there are studies to suggest that the benefits of chiropractic care last well after the last adjustment.
 

Chiropractors Aren’t Real Medical Professionals

The modern certification process for chiropractors is exceptionally rigorous. In fact, current chiropractic students complete more in-class instruction than medical students. Chiropractors must also complete a residency program and pass four national tests as well as the appropriate state board tests in order to receive their certification. Many chiropractors are also required to complete a full year of Ph.D. level nutrition classes. This means that not only are they medical professionals, but they are adequately equipped to help you with many of your health needs beyond the neck and spine.

Every profession today has some level of risk for employees to receive an injury at work. Office professionals are at an increased risk for the neck, back or carpal tunnel injuries. Employees that work in physically demanding positions can experience an injury due to the physical requirements or repetitive motions that they conduct throughout the day. No matter what profession you are in, injuries that are related to work are stressful and unfortunately, leave employees with the decision to continue working through their pain or take the time off to allow for the proper treatment and healing.

One recent study found that individuals who received chiropractic care as part of their injury treatment were able to return to work more quickly than those who did not. Additionally, people who reported receiving chiropractic care for neck and back pain had less than two hours of missed work per year as an average. It is essential to understand the types of injuries that many employees sustain in order to find the best way to treat those injuries.
 

Common Types of Work Injuries

• Force – Force injuries are caused by overexertion or strain on the muscles or joints. These injuries are typically the result of improper lifting or lifting objects that are too heavy.

• Posture – Poor posture or slouching can result in additional strain on the joints in your back and neck. This can be compounded when individuals are in an office setting and retain these positions for long periods of time.

• Repetition – Employees that repeat the same motion over time are at an increased risk for repetitive motion type injuries. These injuries occur because the muscles become fatigued and can no longer adequately perform the required movement, or because the joints can wear down over time.

• Stress – Emotional stress can manifest in physical injuries. Employees that are under constant or extreme stress often keep their muscles tensed and rigid which leaves them at increased risk of injury or accident.

If you have children of any age, it is likely that you have had an intimate experience with ear infections at some point in your life. Five out of six children will have experienced at least one ear infection before they are three years old as younger children are far more prone to ear infections. Luckily, as they age, they may “grow out” of them.

Researchers believe that younger children are more susceptible to ear infections because their eustachian tubes are shorter and angled which make them more prone to bacteria that can cause an ear infection.

While ear infections are the most common in children, they are an ailment that affects many of us throughout our lives. Ear infections are not only particularly painful and bothersome due to the sensitive nature of our ears, but can also threaten to leave lasting damage if they aren’t adequately treated.

Many people jump automatically to medications to correct the issue. However, some of the complications associated with medications, especially for children can be a cause for hesitation. If you are considering alternative options, chiropractic care is worth looking into.
 

Symptoms and Causes of Ear Infections

Ear infections are caused by a virus or bacteria that infects the middle ear. This can cause the middle ear to become inflamed and hold fluid that leads to a buildup of pressure. This pressure can be excruciating. Colds, the flu, and allergic reactions can all lead to ear infections as these illnesses can result in a swelling of the ear that blocks fluid from draining from the eustachian tubes, nasal passages, and throat.

While ear infections are often straightforward to diagnose in our own bodies, they often manifest in children who haven’t developed the ability to communicate their discomfort. In these situations, it’s important to know the range of symptoms for an ear infection.

These symptoms include:

• Fever

• Ear redness

• Ear pain (infants may pull or rub their ears) 

• Difficulty sleeping

• Fluid drainage from the ear

• Loss of balance

• Headache

• Diminished hearing
   

Treatment Options for Ear Infections

Medical treatment is often the first option that people use to heal their ears. Pain can be significant, and in some of these situations, doctors may prescribe pain medications that contain opioids. Opioid medications have been the target of many news reports and government policies due to their addictive nature.

Since opioids are very addictive, they have the potential to cause severe damage or death if they are not used properly and many patients have found that the potential risks are not worth their benefits. If you are concerned with using these medications, you may want to consider an alternative treatment option.

Chiropractic care is a great option for many individuals who suffer from ear infections. In fact, chiropractic care may even reduce the effects of chronic ear infections, or prevent you from ever getting an infection in the first place.

A 1996 study found that patients that used chiropractic treatment for their ear infections had a 93% improvement rate. With the success rate of chiropractic care, the lack of exposure to potentially harmful medications, and no invasive procedures, chiropractic care might be the exact treatment that you’ve been looking for. Chiropractic care for the treatment of ear infections is safe for children as well as adults.

Many people have some general knowledge about chiropractors, but not many know what to expect during their first appointment. While the process is not complicated, a lack of familiarity can create unnecessary stress and anxiety in patients before they even arrive in the office.

Here we have compiled some information to let you know what to expect for your first visit and hopefully ease any anxiety associated with your first visit.
 

Schedule an Appointment

While chiropractic offices pride themselves on being available to take care of your needs, it’s always a good idea to schedule an appointment in advance whenever possible. While emergencies do happen, scheduling visits in advance will allow for the more efficient service that you desire as well as the meticulous care that you expect.
 

Ask Questions

When you call to schedule your first appointment, it's generally a good idea to ask some initial questions or even interview your potential chiropractor. Just remember, while it is a good idea to ask any questions that you have, here are some that you should be sure to ask as the answers can vary greatly.

• Is the chiropractor licensed?

• What is their education and experience background?

• What is your chiropractor’s philosophy of care?
   

It may also be a good idea to call a few different offices to find the best fit for you. Your back pain can be a complicated process, and you want to know that you have a chiropractor who matches your specific needs.