25Nov

Gas Pedal Versus Brake Pedal

November 25, 2020By

In our office, we talk about this concept of the gas pedal versus the brake pedal. For our nervous system to be in balance, the gas pedal should be balanced out by the brake pedal. Think of it like this: when we’re stressed, our body goes into fight or flight mode. Our blood flow moves from our internal organs to our muscles, our non-essential systems like digestion and reproduction get down-regulated, and our adrenaline and other stress hormones up-regulate to prepare us to run from the saber-toothed tiger that wants to eat us. Even though there are no longer saber-toothed tigers after us, our bodies respond the same way as if we were about to run for our lives. This response is managed by our sympathetic nervous system and what we refer to as the gas pedal. If we have a gas pedal then we must have a brake pedal and we do, it’s called our parasympathetic nervous system. This part of our nervous system is in charge of recognizing when the threat or stress event is over, pumping the brakes on those stress reactions we had during fight or flight mode, and helping us return to a balanced state.

Sounds simple, right? The problem is that stress in our modern world is much more complicated than whether there is a saber-toothed tiger chasing us or not. We experience stress in three ways: traumas (physical), toxins (chemical), and thoughts (emotional). We call this the 3 T’s of stress. These stressors can overwhelm our system and cause us to get stuck in a state of stress or gas pedal pressed to the floor constantly. This continued state of stress fatigues the body and mind and causes a state of dis-ease or a lack of ease in the body that can lead to illness and other issues. So, how do we pump the brakes if they aren’t naturally kicking in? With a chiropractic adjustment.

There is a nerve that runs from your brain down through your body called the Vagus nerve. This nerve can kick on the parasympathetic nervous system and essentially pump the brake pedal on that stress response. Chiropractic adjustments stimulate the Vagus nerve, which in turn helps pump the brake pedal on our stress response and bring us back into a state of balance or ease. Being in a state of balance allows you to sleep better, digest better, fight off infections better and a whole bunch more. Being in balance allows our body to perform at its best, the way it was meant to on every level. So when we talk about needing to pump the brake pedal, it’s because we’re seeing that the gas pedal is stuck on which means stress is stuck on. By giving you a great chiropractic adjustment, we pump the brake pedal on that stress response and help you get back to a state of ease.

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19Nov

Pay It Forward

November 19, 2020By

This is the time of year when we give thanks for all of the wonderful people and blessings we have. As our way of saying thank you to our community, every November we have a Pay It Forward campaign to collect non-perishable food for The Community Kitchen of Myrtle Beach. Located on Mr. Joe White Avenue, The Community Kitchen provides nutritious meals for hungry people and families in need in our community. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, they serve hundreds of meals to the hungry every day right here in Horry County.

Our mission each year is to try to collect a TON, literally 2,000 pounds of food to donate to The Community Kitchen. We’ve come close to that goal but we haven’t hit it yet. We have raised well over 1,000 pounds of food but we still strive for that 2,000 mark. Every year we compile a comprehensive food list with the organization that gives you lots of options for donating. Everything from grits to spaghetti sauce to canned fruits is on the list, so you can pick up whatever works for you while you’re out doing your regular shopping. Food donations can be dropped off at our office throughout the month of November. Normally, we try to deliver what we’ve collected before Thanksgiving but this year, we’ve extended the collection period to the end of the month. Be sure to grab a food list from our office staff to take with you when you shop.

As an extra way of expressing our gratitude to you this year, we’ve decided to raffle off some great prizes to pay it forward to YOU as well. Our first prize package is an Apple Watch, AirPods, and a 3 month membership to HOTWORX to inspire you to keep some movement in your life. Our second prize package is an RTIC soft-sided cooler, two RTIC tumblers, two beach towels, and a 3 month membership to HOTWORX to keep your bod ready for the beach over the cooler winter months. Our third prize package is a mystery kid’s prize. You can earn raffle tickets in four ways: donating to our food drive, leaving us a review on Facebook or Google, posting about us on social media (FB or IG), and referring a friend to take advantage of our $79 VIP special! We’ll draw the winners at the end of the month.

We are so thankful for all of our practice members, friends, and family. You’re our very special tribe and we couldn’t do what we do without you. So thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. Now let’s work together to Pay It Forward!

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