Chapel Hill Doctors Trained in Functional Medicine

The Chapel Hill Chiropractic Centre is proud to offer the Chapel Hill community a functional medicine approach to health. Functional medicine is a method of treating the body as a whole, rather than the sum of its parts. Doctors trained in Holistic health realize the importance of a "total-body approach" to health that goes beyond the Western medicine approach, which typically focuses on individual organ systems of the body without much respect to the entire function of the body.

Doctors who focus on functional medicine may or may not use pharmaceutical drugs in their approach to patient health. At Chapel Hill Chiropractic Centre, our doctors utilize diet, clinical nutrition, and lifestyle modification to achieve optimum health, without the use of pharmaceutical drugs.

Our methods of detection are the cornerstone of our success....Applied Kinesiology and other methods of evaluation give our doctors a strong advantage in early detection and prevention of health problems, rather than allowing them to progress to a life-threatening problem or illness. Applied Kinesiology incorporates techniques used in many alternative medicine fields including, osteopathy, acupuncture, physical therapy, massage therapy, homeopathy, and also medicine.

A person trained in Applied Kinesiology must be a licensed doctor. Applied Kinesiology (or "AK"), is a method of muscle testing used to evaluate nervous system interference caused by chemical, physical, or even emotional imbalances in the body. AK is not meant to replace "standard methods" of diagnosing problems, yet it adds greatly to a practitioner's ability to discover hidden dysfunction in the body. When it comes to detection, Eastern and Western medicine methods of diagnosis are extremely powerful together, yet many Functional Medicine doctors prefer to use Eastern methods of treatment.

This combination of "Eastern/Western diagnosis" with "Eastern treatment" bridges a large gap between the two world of treatment styles, which is why Applied Kinesiology doctors are on the cutting edge of treatment and prevention...not the cutting edge of a surgeon's knife.

Inflammation- the Silent Killer

Inflammatory conditions account for many different physical ailments...most end with an "-itis"( which indicates something that is inflammed). The most common conditions are Arthritis, Bursitis, Tendonitis, Capsulitis, and Diverticulitis. So what do these all have in common besides an "-itis" ending?

You may be surprised to learn that inflammation is a contributing factor, if not the cause, of some of the most deadly diseases that Americans are fighting today...

The most commonly prescribed drugs in America are medications that manage Pain, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and High Cholesterol. The common denominator in nearly all of these conditions or diseases is inflammation.

Unfortunately, allopathic medicine and the current medical system do not have the ability or knowledge to detect inflammation and blood/tissue chemistry changes until they have reached a pathological level. This is a major problem when evaluating blood chemistry, since the changes occur in the blood long-after a condition has been present...often years. This doesn't mean that medicine can't detect it...but many of the methods available to do it aren't covered by medical insurance. Therefore, many doctors do not practice these methods.

The biggest concern, from the patient and consumer standpoint, is that our current Insurance system is not set-up to handle 'wellness care' or methods of detection that prevent diabetetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure well in advance. You have to acquire them first. Then, it is as if 'you' have something NEW...well, the truth is (as if you've been lied-to up until now), you've been developing the condition for years. The condition has a birth, a gray area of development(months to years), and then suddenly a "diagnosis". Certainly, genetics play a role in most of these diseases, but lifestyle factors and diet have shown time and time again that you are still in control of your health. "So, where did I go wrong", you may ask?

As we have all heard, Prevention is the Key. Inflammation is largely a component of the hormonal system and its ability to decrease an inflammatory response, which is the main function of the adrenal gland and a hormone called Cortisol. But what is causing the inflammation in the first place? Is it stress? Do we know what stress is and how the body responds to it?

Thanks to the lifetime work of Dr. Hans Selye, often called the "Father of Stress", the body has become very predictable in the way it responds to stress and inflammation. The alternative health community has embraced his work and used it to identify methods of early detection, including hair mineral analysis, saliva hormone testing, urine, live blood cell analysis, and other methods. Since healthcare is slow to change, it is unlikely to see these types of tests covered by insurance. Fortunately, these tests are relatively inexpensive and act as a "guide" to preventing many of the acute and chronic degenerative diseases that plague our nation.

Hiatal Hernia as a Common Cause for Acid Reflux Indigestion Heartburn and other Digestive Disorders

That burning feeling from the pit of your stomach isn't always due to acid reflux. Sure, some people do overproduce acid, yet a large majority of people also under-produce acid.

A simple history and symptom survey of a patient is not enough information to prescribe the common acid-reducing drugs such as Prilosec, Zantac, Tagamet, and Pepcid. Otherwise, serious digestive side-affects can occur and cause long term problems such as Osteoporosis, due to calcium dysregulation. There's no sense in taking Calcium Tums, you need acid to breakdown calcium, so avoid this marketing gimmick.

The fact is, as we begin to age our bodies start to lose much of it's zinc, which is absolutely necessary to produce acid in the stomach. So why are so many people taking acid-reducing drugs, particularly the elderly? Zinc is the mineral that allows the stomach's cells to produce acid. A simple aqueous zinc taste test or taste tally will often demonstrate a zinc deficiency.

Much of acid reflux (or the symptoms of acid reflux), including heartburn, indigestion, esophageal spasms, and eventually Barret's Esophagus, are caused by hypochlorhydria, or a lack of acid.

In order to tell if there is too little or too much acid, there are several options...the pH of the stomach can be measured directly or a simple acid challenge can be performed. Two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a 8-10 oz glass of water is sufficience enough to provide an "acid challenge" to the stomach. If this causes irritation, then it is likely that there is, in fact, too much acid in the stomach, yet many people indicate that the apple cider vinegar mixture provides relief of their stomach symptoms.

The idea to take away from this is that either too little or too much acid can cause symptoms of heart burn, acid reflux, indigestion, and pain in the chest. Most often it is too little acid.

A hiatal hernia is a common mechanical problem between the stomach and the diaphragm muscle (this muscle allows breathing to occur). In this condition, the stomach is pushed up into the diaphragm, which can cause a whole host of digestive problems as far up as the mouth and as low as the colon. Spasming in this area can make it hard to swallow food, create a feeling of something being "stuck" in the throat, impair proper digestion, TMJ dysfunction, and headaches as well.

Shortness of breath, symptoms of acid reflux, heart burn, indigestion, esophagus spasming, and sudden onset of neck and jaw pain are common indicators of hiatal hernia and hypochlorrhydria (low acid).

Chiropractors trained in Applied Kinesiology are able to easily detect such a dysfunction because of the additional training received in evaluating the entire body, particularly the digestive system. Hiatal Hernias can be manually reduced (using the hands) without the typical approach of surgery. In many difficult cases, the hernia may need to be treated multiple times due to the formation of scar tissue and myofascial adhesions. With proper home instruction and dietary evaluation, many stomach and digestive issues abate quickly.

Using Heart Rate to Set a Tempo for your 5K

Most discoveries are made by accident or serendipity. Is this really left to chance? I don't think so. When you search for something, you'll find it.

I would like to share my exercise experience so that other aspiring runners can benefit from my expertise as a doctor, chemistry & human biology major, and an athlete. If we use 25 years old as our prime, I'm a bit past that...but my knowledge and running results will prove to be useful evidence that our bodies don't wear out as we get older, we just keep re-hashing bad habits that cause our health to decline.

Heart rate training has been the most useful tool to gauge my body's ability to improve cardiovascularly...and avoid injury. What's that worth?! -Quite a bit, when a person realizes that exercise injuries are what curb out desires to stay fit.

By using your heart rate to gauge your exercise, your biochemistry can work WITH your body rather than AGAINST it. Applying these principles can and will accelerate your 5K times as shown by my personal results in this post. I live to serve as an example to others.

As a general rule, if you exercise by keeping your heart at a lower rate, you will soon be able to progress and speed up without causing your body to exert any more energy than needed.

For example, say you run a particular route near your house because it's your favorite. Keep track of your time. Purchase a heart rate monitor off of ebay. I got mine from EDiscount Bike on Ebay for around $40. This is a great deal. The brand is Sports Instruments, and mine was called the ECG model. It's perfect, and looks good compared to the expensive name brand ones that look like something from Star Trek.

Start off slowly. Most people's tendency is to run hard and leave themselves ragged at the end. Stop right now, the NO PAIN NO GAIN days are over, we're going to start exercising sensibly here...

Keep your heart rate at about 135-145. In this HR zone your body will have the ability to burn more fat rather than sugar for energy. What's the difference? you get about 9 times as much energy burning fat for energy in this HR zone that you do from sugar in a higher HR zone. I won't go into the biochemistry here...it's very simple math though (1 glucose=36 units of energy when burning fat compared to 1 glucose=4 units of energy burning sugar) The difference is the presence of oxygen to your muscles, so keep that heart rate lower.

At first this method will drive you nuts because you may have to walk certain portions of your run or slow down so much that you feel like "the tortoise". Keep at it, pretty soon you'l be able to complete the entire run without stopping. Hills and other terrain will eventually be a breeze too. Remember to keep track of your time, yet keep the heart rate the same. Take a quick look at my times below to see how it works...

for the chemistry and biology dorks out there...and interested athletes, doctors, etc, the chemistry is simple...When your heart rate is much above 150 you go into a CATABOLIC reaction, meaning that your body's tissues are not able to repair as quick as they are tearing down. Proteins are being eaten out of muscle, muscle fibers will begin to tear before long, and oxygen certainly isn't being used very well or circulated to your tissues...this is called Anaerobic activity and is burning sugar without the presence of oxygen. This is why sprinters never become distance runners, they can't handle it. They also aren't treating their heart in a friendly manner. This type of metabolism is detrimental to your health for long periods of time, yet is a much needed part of the body's stress response and Adrenal "Flight or Fight" Response.

The alternative is working-out and exercising in an Aerobic state (or as close to it as possible). This means that your body is still able to exercise, yet meanwhile make oxygen available to muscles, cells, tissues, etc. Your body likes oxygen, don't you? In the presence of oxygen, you can burn sugar from fat and make 36 ATP for each glucose you burn, while you only get 4ATP when burning glucose without oxygen.

Still not convinced?!

When I'm finishing my last 400 yards of a 5K or 10K, I'm sprinting. Nobody else I've run against has passed me at the finish. I'm not anywhere near to winning the races I run, but nobody has the energy left to beat me at the end because their gas tank is on empty.

If you grasp these principles, you'll do great. I wish someone had told me this when I played soccer in high school and college, it would have made a real difference.

Reviewing the times and date below, you can see that a break from conditioning tends to place me back where I started, yet it takes a short amount of time to get back to my previous exercise goals once I would begin exercising again and using the monitor. Notice that on 10-23-07 my 5K time was 32.01 and just 2 weeks later it was 26.45. That's a 5 minute 16 second difference, in just 2 weeks. AT the SAME Heart Rate! "Hello, McFly."

Be Well. Get Adjusted. Seek Chiropractic.

Running Times:

Heart Rate Zone- 145-155 Beats Per Minute

Note:(time in BOLD are race times, other 5K times are conditioning runs using the Heart Rate Monitor) All of the runs are done at a heart rate of 145-155. All race-day runs are not monitored, yet you can clearly see that they improve.

04-20-06 5K 33.33
04-23-06 5K 31.28
04-26-06 5K 30.19
05-01-06 5K 29.14
05-03-06 5K 28.23
05-04-06 5K 28.51
05-06-06 10K 43.55 Rocky Coast 10K-Boothbay, Maine
05-10-06 5K 27.58
05-12-06 5K 27.27

01-09-07 5K 32.56
01-12-07 5K 28.31

09-30-07 5K 21.31 Second Empire 5K Race
10-21-07 5K 21.07 St Augustine's 5K Race
10-23-07 5K 32.01
10-25-07 5K 28.59
10-27-07 5K Hooker Memorial 5K Race
10-28-07 5K 19.47 CASA 5K Race
11-06-07 5K 27.47
11-07-07 5K 26.45
11-10-07 5K 19.09 Ronald on the Run 5K
11-11-07 10K 42.13 Old Reliable 10K
11-20-07 5K 27.07

What is Applied Kinesiology

Over the years, many professions, including chiropractic, physical therapy, osteopathy, allopathy, and massage, have developed useful techniques and methods to alleviate chronic/acute pain, rehabilitate muscles, relieve headaches, remove sciatica, and provide comfort and healing to patients.

Applied Kinesiology is a method of diagnosing the nervous system and discovering intereference in the nervous system and related tissues, including muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, and vascular/lymphatic structures. Since George Goodheart discovered Applied Kinesiology in 1964, it has grown and incorporated many different techiques across a wide diversity of professions. Most doctors trained in Applied Kinesiology are Chiropractors, yet the technique is available for any licensed doctor to learn. Applied Kinesiology, an advanced method of testing the nervous system, takes years to learn and often a lifetime to master, making it much different than traditional Kinesiology, which is taught in some undergraduate colleges.

Muscle testing is the primary method by which Applied Kinesiologists diagnose nervous system imbalances. This testing ability allows a properly trained Applied Kinesiogist an added tool in uncovering underlying causes for a patient's condition. Muscle testing does not replace standard method of diagnosis, yet it complements them. This means that doctors trained Applied Kinesiolgy may also use other forms of testing to validate their findings, including x-ray, MRI, blood, saliva, hair mineral, or stool testing, etc.

"Patients prefer Applied Kinesiology methods of testing because it is more comprehensive than most musculoskeletal techniques in discovering muscle and joint dysfunctions."

The way in which our nervous systems are designed often allows for many different causes for our pain or discomfort. The brain and spinal cord, the master control system of our body, sends thousands of nerves to different parts of our body by way of the spinal column. At time, the same nerve that controls a muscle may also have control over a particular organ or gland. In this manner, a muscle injury can cause an impairment in an organ/gland, or a problem developing in an organ/gland will cause dysfunction in a related muscle. This is called "referred pain". A type of referred pain that many people are familiar with is left arm pain because of a heart problem, heart attack, etc. A second, less familiar syptom, is mid-back or right shoulder blade pain due to gallbladder congestion or "gall stones".

So why is there pain? And What can I do about it? Can a Chiropractor Help?

Chiropractic manipulation is very effective at relieving joint pain associated with muscle imbalances, particulary low back pain, neck pain, and headaches. In fact, pain relief is noted almost immediately by many chiropractic patients. Chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology offer an unbeatable pair, which combines the highly effective methods of diagnosis by Applied Kinesiology and standard Chiropractic exam, with the ability to use Chiropractic manipulation in conjuction with other popular methods such as physical therapy, massage, lymphatic release, myofascial release, cranial and sacral adjustments, as well as acupuncture.

What types of problems is Applied Kinesiology useful for?

This list can be very extensive, though many patients seek the advice of a Chiropractor-Applied Kinesiologist for joint pain in the spine and extremities (including foot, ankle, knee, shoulder, wrist, and any other bony articulation).

Other common problem that Applied Kinesiologists are able to help with are as follows:

Joint pain
Muscle Pain
Thyroid (hyperthyroidism/hypothyroidism)
Adrenal Gland Fatigue/Adrenal Gland Exhaustion
High Blood Pressure, Low Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Liver/ Gallbladder dysfunction (Gallstones, etc.)
Blood Sugar Imbalances, Diabetes and Diabetic condition
Acid Reflux, Hiatal Hernia, Heartburn
Sciatica
TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular Joint Dysfunction)
Numbness/Tingling in Joints
Female & Male Hormonal Balance

About the Author:

Dr. Ryan E. Fox is a Chiropractor and Applied Kinesiologist at the Chapel Hill Chiropractic Centre, located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He has been trained in over 600 hours of Applied Kinesiolgy and additional training outside of his Chiropractic degree, earned at Logan College of Chiropractic. Dr. Fox provides outpatient Chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology services as well as nutritional consultations, in-office or by phone. To seek further consultation, please call the Chapel Hill Chiropractic Centre at 919-968-4417 to reserve an appointment