We are not talking about symptom management here; we are talking about what you need to do to support your fantastic body as it functions, grows, heals, and faces all the challenges of 21st century life. The cells of your body have extremely specific requirements in order to function and to coordinate with the other cells.  

They have to maintain proper temperature, have the right amount of surrounding liquid, be the proper size, have the exact amount and type of nutrition particles available, and have the proper surrounding hydrostatic pressure.

Years ago, I saw a T-shirt on a rugby player that said "I'll rest when I'm dead".   Rugby players are known for their reckless decisions so we probably should consider the source and reconsider the statement.

Rest is actually a critical component of growth, healing, mood and productivity.  Due to the intelligent design of your nervous system, your body has the amazing ability to adapt to stress.  Systems automatically ‘turn on’ to protect you when you’re stressed, such as running away when a dog chases you (or other stressors).  

You don’t need to think about increasing your heart rate and blood pressure and pumping blood to your muscles so you can run faster.  Your autonomic nervous system does it automatically.

Likewise, when everything settles down and you’re relaxed, you don’t need to think about your body returning to a restful state (homeostasis).  It automatically does it.  

Your body will signal you that you’re hungry so you refuel, thirsty so you rehydrate or sleepy so you rest to recharge your energy. Your body is telling you the stress is over and it’s time to restore and heal.

• You need to return oxygen to the muscle cells. 
• You need to increase your inflammatory response in order to repair joints and muscles.   
• You need to begin digestion again to restore caloric input to all of your body parts.  
• You need to improve your concentration and productive thinking so you can think of better ways to deal with all of the ‘dogs’ chasing after you.

A state of rest is the only time that the above responses are efficient.

Aim for 8 hours of sleep per night so that your body has the full opportunity to clear waste products from your brain, boost your immune system, reduce chronic inflammation, restore acid/base balance, help glucose metabolism, heal damaged heart tissue, reduce pressure on vascular system, allow liver to detoxify blood and many more processes.

Another very important component of health is maintaining a clear nervous system.

Your brain and nervous system control everything that goes on in your body whether you’re thinking about it or not.  Whether it is a single nerve signal that tells a muscle to twitch or a continuous group of signals that allow you to concentrate or pulsing signals that make waves of peristalsis in your digestive tract, all activities are influenced and/or controlled by your nerves.

There are 33 trillion cells in the body.  All of them require constant nerve input.  If you interrupt any of the nerve signals, your body functions will decrease.  Some of these functions are immediately noticeable, such as back pain—you think of your back being out.  Some conditions, such as migraine headaches or digestion problems, you might not realize are a result of nerve disruption.

That is why it is so important to make sure that you have a clear nervous system at all times.  

Chiropractic adjustments are designed to open up where the nerve signal interference occurs so that the interference is reduced and your body functions optimally.

Gentle adjustments move the small bones of the spine out of the way of the nerves so that nerve energy is restored to all parts of your body.

Millions of people have been helped with many conditions including constipation, urinary urgency, back pain, headaches, low energy, joint pain, tingling, numbness, sciatica, and many more.  Many patients choose continuous care once their symptoms are better to assure that their nervous system stays unencumbered.

In addition, I personally believe that supplements are more effective when you have a well-adjusted spine and nervous system because the nerves control digestion, absorption and cell function.