Chiropractic Improves Posture - Chiropractor Kitchener, ON

Posture

From the front, the ears, shoulder and hips should be even.From the side, the ear, shoulder, hip and ankle should be in alignment. 

Good posture not only affects your health, but how well your clothes fit.

What People Notice

Slumped shoulders, downcast eyes or a sagging midsection send subtle clues to others around you. Your posture is the first thing people notice about you.

Your posture often reveals underlying spinal problems such as vertebral subluxations. It harms a child’s development, impairs an adult’s mental health and compromises your health.

Thorough Examination

During our examination, we notice postural distortions such as:

• Head tilt to one side
• Forward head carriage
• Lowered shoulder
• High or rotated hip
• Unnatural stride
• Contracted leg length
• Unusual shoe wear
• Weight imbalance

Poor posture is one of the ways your body deals with stress. Notice the posture of someone who is depressed, frightened or angry! If the eyes are a window to the soul, then your posture is a window to your health!

Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Silence Those Sinuses! - Chiropractor Kitchener, Ontario

Silence Those Sinuses!

While it’s not specifically a treatment for sinus headaches, many report improvement with chiropractic care.

You know the feeling…your head is congested and your face hurts. You press on your cheeks and there’s pain – the pain that can only come from an inflammation in your sinuses. And then…there’s the headache that usually accompanies the sinus congestion. Let’s face it – you feel downright miserable.

Sometimes the symptoms of a migraine and a sinus headache can be confused, however, sensitivity to light and sound and nausea generally accompany migraines.

Symptoms of a sinus headache may include:

• Pressure and pain in the areas of the forehead, eyes and cheeks
• Nasal congestion and stuffiness
• A yellow or green discharge from the nose
• Extreme tiredness
• Chills and fever
• Swelling in the face

Natural remedies that may alleviate some of these symptoms include using a nasal saline (salt) rinse or spray, breathing moist air to help drain nasal passages, avoiding cigarette smoke and drinking plenty of water.

A visit to our practice may also help. Many have reported improvement with chiropractic care. Restored nerve communications to the head and neck can often help reduce sinus pressure and improve sinus drainage. It is a safe and natural alternative to prescription and over-the-counter medications that may leave you feeling fuzzy-headed and tired, or that may produce additional side effects that only address symptoms, rather than the cause of your discomfort.

Fairway Chiropractic Centre -:

Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our website: www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Hypertension Hope - Chiropractor Kitchener

Hypertension Hope

A new study shows chiropractic care can have a significant influence among those with high blood pressure.

Have you been diagnosed with hypertension, more commonly known as high blood pressure? If not, would you even know you had it? Do you know what the symptoms are? Usually there aren’t any – that’s why it’s called the “silent killer.” Many people discover they have it through some catastrophic, life threatening, and often fatal event, such as a stroke or heart attack.

Those who do have symptoms generally experience headaches, blurred vision, and dizziness – and these symptoms may lead them to their medical doctor where hypertension is diagnosed after a blood pressure check.

Since one in four adults are diagnosed with high blood pressure, this is a condition that requires careful and frequent monitoring, especially if there is a family history of the disease.

Causes of hypertension? The list is extensive – and emotional stress, obesity, genetics and kidney failure rank high on that list. However, other conditions such as substance abuse, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, pregnancy, high cholesterol, thyroid disorders and certain prescription medications may also contribute to its onset.

Treatment for high blood pressure usually includes one or more of the following – medication, exercise, diet therapy, smoking cessation, reducing alcohol consumption and weight loss.

However, the results of a promising new study recently appeared in the Journal of Human Hypertension, WebMD, Science Daily and on a number of television news shows. The study was conducted by George Bakris, MD, director of the Hypertension Center at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and Marshall Dickholtz, Sr., DC, of the Chiropractic Health Center in Chicago.

Fifty participants with diagnosed high blood pressure participated in the study; 25 received specific adjustments to the first vertebra of the spine, known as the atlas. The other 25 received “sham” adjustments (placebo). Immediately after, the 25 who received the “real” adjustments experienced a significant decrease in blood pressure, while those who received the sham adjustments showed no change. The results remained the same eight weeks later.

It is also notable that although participants took no blood pressure medication during the eight-week study, the “real” atlas correction had the effect of two blood pressure medications taken in combination.

Finally, chiropractic is getting some notable press from the medical community and with good reason. When you address causes of illnesses, rather than just alleviate symptoms, through spinal corrections that “free” up the nervous system to work as it is intended, real miracles occur.

Fairway Chiropractic Centre -:

Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Stretching Your Health - Chiropractor Kitchener

Stretch your muscles instead of stretching to reach the sugary snacks!

It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon and you’ve been sitting at your desk all day. You debate running to get yet another cup of coffee to stay alert, because what you really want to do is curl up in the corner of your cubicle and take a nap! This is the time to do some “desk stretches” to revive your energy. Without the caffeine!

We often find ourselves sitting tense at our desks in front of a computer monitor for hours. Our wrists start to hurt, our necks get sore, we slump over in our chairs and our shoulders and upper backs feel tight.

Here are some stretches to do at your desk to reduce tension. Try them now:

• Shoulder Stretch
  Lift your shoulders up to your ears until you feel a slight tension in your neck and shoulders. Hold for 3-5 seconds and relax shoulders. Do this 2-3 times at first sign of shoulder or neck tension.
• Neck Stretch
  Tilt your head to one side, trying to touch your ear to your shoulder. Hold the stretch for 10-20 seconds and then return to normal. Repeat the stretch on the other side.
• Spine Stretch
  Raise arms over head. Stretch your right hand to the ceiling and hold for 3-5 seconds, while you exhale. Relax. Repeat with the left hand.
• Lower Back Stretch
  Place your hands on the edge of your desk and roll your chair back. Lower your head between your outstretched arms and arch your back while you exhale. Inhale, raise your head and arch your back in the other direction.

Do these exercises whenever you first notice the tension or stress from impending deadlines or long periods of sitting. While they’ll never take the place of your chiropractic adjustments, they’ll help keep you alert without resorting to caffeine or a sugar fix.

Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

No Need For a Referral - Chiropractor Kitchener - Waterloo - Cambridge Ontario

No referral necessary.

You don’t need a referral or permission from anyone to see a chiropractor in Kitchener.

However, if you expect financial assistance from certain insurance plans, some policies dictate that certain approval steps be taken before commencing care. Sometimes these are granted freely and sometimes it’s virtually impossible.

Be careful that you don’t allow your health to be compromised by the profit motives of an insurance company or the petty bias or jealousy of a gatekeeper who doesn’t understand chiropractic!

It’s your body, your health and your future.

Questions? Concerns? Give us a call at (519) 748-5535 and put your mind at ease.

Or

Visit our website: www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Stop yo-yo dieting for good! - Chiropractor Kitchener

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I’m not talking about yo-yo tricks like “Walk the Dog” or “Rock the Baby.” I mean, does your weight go up and down?

We’ve been led to believe that maintaining our weight, fitness and spine is a once-in-a-while thing, rather than a lifestyle habit.

Some of our patients even take this approach with their chiropractic care, stopping as soon as they feel better. Since their soft tissues and muscles never strengthen, they relapse. And the process begins again.

Proper nutrition, rest and exercise, plenty of water and an interference-free nervous system are lifestyle choices.

True health is a journey, not a destination; a process, not an event; a habit, not a diet.

Spinal Curves!

Spinal curves allow the spine to support 10 times more weight than it could if it were straight.

Your spine is made up of interconnected bones that provide numerous benefits to the body including:

• Shock absorption
• Balance
• Flexibility
• Movement

The spine delivers these benefits through its spinal curves.
During embryonic development, the spine has only one curve, called a kyphotic curve. Later, as a baby begins to experience significant motor development, such as sitting, crawling and walking, muscles begin to develop. As these muscles strengthen, they cause the formation of secondary curves, called lordotic curves.

Four types of spinal curves:

• Cervical Lordosis
• Thoracic Kyphosis
• Lumbar Lordosis
• Sacral Kyphosis

These curves are important because they allow the spine to support 10 times more weight than it could if it were straight. This is why it is important to follow the procedures for proper lifting. If you bend at the waist to pick something up, the spine straightens, putting you at far greater risk for injury than if you bend at the knees, maintaining the spinal curves, when lifting.

If you don’t have a chiropractor, we’d like to be yours. Contact us to schedule a no-obligation consultation today. For more details visit our website http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

A Free Report on Back Pain Relief from Fairway Chiropractic Centre

Pain of any kind is a sign something’s wrong. Some people silence the pain with drugs. But that would be like removing the battery to silence a smoke detector!

Six Choices

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If you suffer from low back pain, you want relief. Besides the painful symptoms, it’s distracting and interferes with your life. It disrupts your sleep, changes your personality, reduces your patience and is a constant reminder that something isn’t right. Here are the choices:

1. Ignore It

Actually, this is the most common approach. Hoping it’ll go away or resolve on its own is often the first strategy. The fact that you’re reading this suggests that you’ve already tried that. Unfortunately, when spinal problems are ignored or neglected, the underlying problem usually worsens.

Pain pills or muscle relaxers can numb the pain, but ignore the underlying cause of your problem.

2. Medication

All too frequently the next stage is some type of pain medication. Besides the possibility of addiction, drugs merely numb the pain, ignoring the underlying problem. The pain is gone as long as you take the drugs. Until it doesn’t work any longer. Then the dose is increased. Like merely making the minimum payment on your credit cards, you never really solve the problem.

3. Therapy

Some people are sent for physical therapy. And while it has its place, especially in the rehabilitation phase of an injury, stressing malfunctioning spinal joints to “harden” them can be destructive. (If the front end of your car is out of alignment, driving more, or faster, won’t help!)

4. Bed Rest

About half of all back surgeries fail, while producing irreversible damage and prompting more surgery!

Related to ignoring the problem or postponing action is modifying your daily activities. This can include asking for lighter duty at work to leaving things undone around the house. Research shows that bed rest and reduced activity can actually slow the healing process. Moving, which is often painful with impaired spinal biomechanics, is essential for proper healing.

5. Surgery

When drugs no longer work, drastic surgery actually starts to sound good. This may involve permanently cutting away spinal structures or fusing joints. Besides the considerable risks, success is so rare (only about 50%) the common result even has a name: Failed Back Surgery Syndrome.

6. Chiropractic

While it shouldn't be the last choice, it often is. Specific chiropractic adjustments can help the spine “right itself.” By restoring the way your spine works, nerve involvement causing your pain can be eased and your body can heal. And while chiropractic care has broader use than the relief of back pain, we’ve helped many with this all too common condition.

Exercising misaligned spinal joints just can’t restore proper function and reduce the irritation to nearby nerves.

What’s Going On?

The nerve-rich facet joints on the back side of each spinal bone are a common cause of back pain. The pain can be a sign these interlocking “fingers” aren’t moving right.

The discs between spinal bones can be involved, too. Stress, either physical, emotional or chemical, can cause the disc to weaken, allowing the soft, pulpy material in the middle to bulge, putting pressure on nearby nerves.

Sciatic Pain is Common

Back pain may start in lower back extend down one or both legs. It typically worsens with periods of sitting or standing. This is called sciatica.

This is usually a sign that the discs between the spinal bones of the lower back are encroaching upon the nerves. Disc bulging crowds nearby nerves, causing irritation and inflammation. Coughing, sneezing or other kinds of movement can be painful.

Take This Simple 'Contracted Leg Length' Test

Improving joint motion in the lower back with a program of safe and simple chiropractic adjustments has given relief to millions. One of the ways to see if you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care is to take this simple at home test.

Many foot, knee and lower back problems that we help every day create the appearance of a short leg.

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Step 1

Have the test subject wear a pair of hard soled shoes and lie across a bed, face down, with arms relaxed at each side. (The head must remain straight down throughout the test.)

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Step 2

Apply equal pressure with both thumbs to the arches of each shoe. Are both legs of equal length when the bottoms of the shoes are parallel?

  Left leg short    Right leg short    Equal length

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Step 3

Bend both legs to a 90° angle so the bottoms of the shoes are parallel with the floor. Does one leg appear shorter?

  Left leg short    Right leg short    Equal length

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Evaluation

A difference of greater than 1/4” in any of the positions is clinically significant. Uneven leg length is a common sign of spinal problems that often respond to chiropractic care. Find out if we can help.  Call Fairway Chiropractic Centre now to arrange a more thorough examination!

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Still Skeptical?

Taking a shower at home is more dangerous than benefiting from today’s chiropractic care!

If you’re still not sure, or have tried chiropractic in the past without the results you wanted, we understand. To help you reach an informed decision, we provide this information as a public service. Here are some other action steps to consider:

• Email Us. We appreciate the opportunity to field questions, clear up concerns and put prospective patients at ease before coming to our office. 
• Ring Us. You don’t need a referral from a medical doctor or anyone else to begin chiropractic care. If you want to explore an issue privately, ask to speak with Dr. Steven Murdoch. 
• No-Obligation Consultation. Arrange a private face-to-face consultation with Dr. Steven Murdoch.  These 10-15 minute visits are helpful in getting your questions answered and specific concerns addressed.

“It all starts with you,” says Dr. Steven Murdoch  “If we think we can help, we’ll tell you. And if we don’t think we can help, we’ll tell you that too and refer you to someone we think can.”

If you don’t have a chiropractor, we’d like to be yours. Contact us to schedule a no-obligation consultation today. For more details visit our website http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Try Media-Free for a Better Life!

Consider how many hour are wasted amusing ourselves watching television!

Have you noticed changes in your children’s personalities -- increased irritability, impatience, even hostility? Or have you seen them even in yourself? Do you notice that time seems to fly away from you, and that the contentment and peace you once cherished appears to have vanished?

Try looking at the amount of time you and your families spend ingesting the output of our major media: television, radio, even printed materials. And if a little voice tells you those could be the guilty parties, try a radical concept that’s gaining popularity: go media-free for a trial period of thirty or forty days.

You’ve probably heard for years the familiar complaints about the effects of television. Well, the news is that these ill-effects have become more proven and more dire with every passing year. It has become an established fact that TV watching leads to poor dietary habits, inactivity (and all the resulting health effects, even an increased risk of juvenile diabetes!), and a host of behaviour ills, including a greater likelihood of teenaged viewers starting to smoke!

Yet in our advertising-driven, sensationalistic times, even the other forms of media can cause stress, anxiety, and a feeling of disconnection from our surroundings. Going “without” these time-wasting, attention-sucking diversions can actually add hours to your day and open up your life to the kinds of enrichments you always wanted to enjoy but “never found the time for.”

Your kids will tell you they’re bored at first, but boredom passes quickly and usually turns to creativity. Soon you’ll find your family taking hikes, playing games, engaging in conversation, and much more. One thing they won’t be doing: missing the hours in front of the tube.

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor -:

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor in Kitchener is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

What are Fibroid Tumors?

The good news about fibroid tumors is they are rarely cancerous. The bad news is they tend to develop during a woman’s peak reproductive years and they can affect your ability to become pregnant.

Many believe these common tumors are the result of increased estrogen levels, especially from birth control drugs.

Fibroids are the most common type of tumor found in the pelvis and they are generally located in various spots in the uterus. Normally, you wouldn’t even be aware that you have them, unless they grow excessively large or cause discomfort. They rarely develop before the age of 20 and are non-existent before the onset of puberty, leading many to believe that they may be an adverse reaction to estrogen production. Generally, they shrink in size and can actually disappear in post-menopausal women who do not take estrogen supplements.

Pregnancy, a time when there is increased estrogen production, and the use of birth control pills that contain estrogen, may cause fibroids to grow bigger and more rapidly.

Most women with fibroid tumors experience no symptoms at all. When they do, they generally complain of pain and excessive bleeding during menstruation, which may not be noticeable at first. But then the woman’s periods may begin to last longer, and sometimes there is constant bleeding. Another symptom may be an enlarged stomach due to the stretching of the uterus that results in the intestines being pushed upward.

Fibroids are usually discovered during an annual gynecological examination when a mass may be detected. Many doctors will perform an ultrasound to properly diagnose the mass.

While hysterectomy was once the treatment of choice for fibroids, there are far less invasive alternatives. Some researchers in the field of natural health believe that deficiencies in certain trace minerals may be responsible for the growth of fibroids. Trace mineral supplements and certain herbal remedies, when combined with chiropractic care, have shown promising results.

Surgery and the use of pharmacological agents should always be the last resort for treating any health problem. Try natural, safer, less-invasive methods first!

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor -:

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor in Kitchener is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Give Your Medicine Cabinet an Overhaul

We use so much medication in our culture that we build special cabinets just to hold it all! Have you checked yours lately?

When was the last time you took a good look into your medicine cabinet? You most likely clean your bathroom with some degree of regularity, so why not your medicine cabinet? If you’re like most of us, there’s probably some stuff that’s been in there for years!

Here are some ways to give your medicine cabinet a makeover:

• Toss out expired medications. Most medications lose 10% of their potency within a year’s time, and 90% may or may not be effective, depending on the drug. Some supplements, such as fish oil, may even become rancid after the expiration date.
• Get rid of makeup products that have been around for a year or two. Unlike medicines, makeup has no expiration date, but the anti-bacterial components usually break down after a year or two. Mascara has the shortest shelf life and should be changed frequently because it may contain bacteria harmful to your eyes.
• Toothbrushes and razor blades tend to grow bacteria and staph relatively quickly and need to be replaced often.

Now, that you’re rid of all the old stuff, let’s talk about things you should have in your medicine cabinet, things like:

• Toothpaste
• Aloe for burns
• Bandages and antiseptics for scrapes and cuts
• Herbs and essential oils such as chamomile, ginger and lavender

In other words, you don’t need much. Taking the time to clean up this one area of your home may have some profound effects on the future of your health!

Dr. Steven Murdoch Chiropractor:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Can Chiropractic Improve Your Game?

Golf can result in injuries anywhere in your body!

It’s been called the “gentleman’s game,” but more and more women are joining in as well. Many schools and colleges have teams and it’s considered the perfect game for networking or negotiating important business deals.

We’re talking about golf, and golf courses are big business, from building them to maintaining them, as more and more players are getting into the game!

So… how can chiropractic care help you to improve your golf game?

• Many golfers suffer from chronic low back pain. Back pain responds exceptionally well to chiropractic adjustments, increasing mobility and range of motion.
• Chiropractic care can help to improve posture and flexibility, two components of longer and more powerful drives.
• We become less flexible with age and immobility (working at a desk job, sitting in a car driving everyday) contributes to that as well. Swinging a golf club requires collaboration on the part of many joints from the feet up to the hands, including ankles, knees, hips, spine, elbows and wrists. Lack of flexibility contributes to many repetitive motion injuries in the joints. Chiropractic care attempts to address, correct and prevent joint injuries.
• When combined with stretching and corrective exercises, chiropractic care is a cost effective, all-natural way to improve mobility… which translates to consistency during the four – five hours it takes to play 18 holes.

Fancy new high-tech clubs, shoes with the right spikes and the latest golf attire do nothing to improve your game. However, increased flexibility and mobility can certainly improve your golf score. Just ask the pros – nearly 75% of them receive regular chiropractic care while on tour each year.

Jeffry H. Blanchard, golf professional and author of The Geometry of Golf stated, “The chiropractor is the perfect choice to evaluate, educate, treat, condition and train those who choose to play golf.”

Dr. Steven Murdoch:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

Seven Reasons to See a Chiropractor

Seven reasons to visit a chiropractor

Do you know someone we could help? Here are seven reasons to send them our way.

1. Effective. Because the nervous system controls every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body, and the primary focus of chiropractic care is the restoration of nervous system integrity, chiropractic care can be helpful for a wide range of health care problems. 
   
2. Natural. Simply put, chiropractic care doesn’t add chemicals or foreign substances to your body. And chiropractic care doesn’t remove parts or take things out. Instead, chiropractic care seeks to restore proper control and regulation of your body so health can return, naturally. 
   
3. Safe. Chiropractic care is safe. So safe, even newborns get adjusted to correct the spinal trauma from the birth process. Chiropractic care is tailored specifically to each patient’s health problem and individual health goals. 
   
4. Few adverse effects. There are no warning labels required for chiropractic care. In fact, most "effects" of chiropractic care are considered positive effects, such as better balance, more energy, increased vitality, extended endurance and improved coordination. Even the rare instances of muscle stiffness or other reactions are often signs that healthy changes are being made. 
   
5. No obligation. Tour our website or schedule a complimentary consultation to find out if you’re a good candidate for chiropractic care. If you are, we’ll invite you to begin care. If you’re not, we’ll recommend someone we think can help you. 
   
6. Delighted patients. If those critical of chiropractic had any real basis for their objections, chiropractic would have disappeared a 100 years ago. However, it continues to thrive due to high levels of patient satisfaction. It simply works. 
   
7. Smart choice. It makes sense to correct the underlying cause (loss of proper nervous system control of the body) rather than numb the body with drugs. Research shows that those who are more highly educated choose chiropractic care.

If you know someone that you think we could help, please send them our way, or at least share these reasons why chiropractic care makes sense.

Dr. Steven Murdoch:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net

How Does Your Nervous System Work?

The nervous system in your body is made up of two parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system.

Right now, it’s taking care of millions of details to keep you alive.

The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system. The spinal cord transmits sensory messages to the brain and motor messages from the brain. Sensory nerves carry messages from receptors to the brain. If you touch a hot iron, pain receptors tell your brain to move your hand. Motor nerves send signals from the brain to the muscles in the body. These nerves help us to do things such as walk, kick a ball or pick up an object.

The peripheral nervous system transports the messages between the central nervous system and the body. It consists of cranial and spinal nerves that carry messages to and from every cell in your body.

Part of the peripheral nervous system is called the autonomic nervous system. The actions of the autonomic nervous system are generally involuntary. It controls actions such as breathing, your heartbeat and digestion ~ actions you don’t even have to think about!

The autonomic nervous system is made up of the sympathetic system that alerts the body when there is an emergency or danger. When this happens, your heart beats faster, your blood pressure rises, and your pupils dilate in what is called a “flight or fight” response. The parasympathetic system returns your body to normal once the danger has passed.

Chiropractic care is designed to improve the integrity of the nervous system so that everything works the way it should. That is why it is important to have your spine checked at regular intervals.

Dr. Steven Murdoch:

Chiropractor Kitchener Dr. Steven Murdoch is the proud owner of Fairway Chiropractic Centre in Kitchener, Ontario. He offers family chiropractic care at his Chiropractic office.

For more information visit our Website: http://www.fairwaychiropractic.net