• The Journey into Wellness
• Wellness Planning What’s Your Plan?
• BackSavors Spinal Hygiene Programs

The Journey into Wellness

By Ron Kirk, D.C.

Everyone wants to be well and healthy. Surveys indicate that 99 percent of Americans list health as one of the two most important aspects of their lives. The chiropractic profession has embraced the concept of health promotion, asserting through the ACC Chiropractic Paradigm that the purpose of chiropractic is to optimize health. Toward that purpose we have been exploring ways to optimize our health and the quality of our lives in relation to wellness.

Wellness can be described as the full living of a healthy life at all levels: physically, emotionally, socially, intellectually and spiritually, as these dimensions of our selves interact synergistically. Wellness involves energetically engaging in the adventure of traversing life’s rugged terrain and finding transformation through the experience. Comprising a vast multidimensional domain, wellness is as rich in diversity and complexity as we are as individuals. We will need a map, a personal wellness plan to provide vision and direction in order to successfully traverse this domain and find joy in the journey.

Personal wellness planning provides a powerful individualized matrix helping us to transform the quality of our lives and achieve optimal wellness. Dimensions of wellness that individuals may incorporate in a personal wellness plan include (among others): spinal and neurobiological balance, physical fitness, optimal nutrition, intellectual development, emotional and social wellness and spirituality. Goals set in each dimension should simple, clear and measurable.

For illustrative purposes, I am going to share my personal wellness plan with you. For more examples of wellness plans and a full array of free interactive tools for wellness planning and health empowerment, I recommend that you visit www.life.edu and click on spinal hygiene/wellness. You will also find the interactive “Journey into Wellness” at this site. Email me with input, comments and suggestions at rkirk@life.edu. The sites are for you and your patients.

MY PERSONAL WELLNESS PLAN
(For a reasonably fit, 57-year-old, somewhat hyperactive American male chiropractor and wellness fanatic, who teaches health empowerment).

PURPOSE: To empower myself in wellness so that through God’s grace I may be of service to others.

NEUROBIOMECHANICAL BALANCE/CHIROPRACTIC: Get checked for spinal and structural alignment/balance weekly; get adjusted as needed. Perform spinetuning/stress busters several times a day, upon awakening and retiring.

EXERCISE/ACTIVITY: Average 60 minutes of moderate exercise/activity daily. Incorporate strength, endurance, flexibility, and coordination/integration activities. Include walking, hiking, swimming, biking and paddling. Participate in three 30-minute cyclic resistance training sessions weekly. Walk, reflect and pray with Ann 40 minutes daily. Work core musculature (abs, back, glutes, thighs) intensively three times a week for 20 minutes. Chart activity (calendar) daily.

DIET: Make healthy choices. Have good food readily available. My daily diet includes: several servings of fruit and vegetables rich in phytonutrients, flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals; two glasses of concord grape juice rich in resveratrol and gallic acid; foods rich in omega three fatty acids; whole grains; 1 liter of pure water; natural, high-quality supplements. Give thanks and enjoy eating delicious, healthy foods.

REST: plan for 8 hours of sleep nightly. Go to bed early. Avoid the Internet or TV late at night. I use the Sabbath for rest. Enjoy family and friends.

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT: I will explore new possibilities relative to health promotion and self-improvement by reading on average 15 minutes daily in newsletters, texts and journals: and conducting research related to chiropractic, wellness and health promotion and my courses.

FAMILY: Affirm, love, honor and pray for family members daily. Average 90 minutes of quality time with my wife daily.

SPIRITUALITY: I read scripture and inspirational literature 10-15 minutes daily. I pray, reflect and meditate approximately 30 minutes daily. practice thankfulness and forgiveness. Worship consistently and volunteer in service weekly.

Try making a trial plan which fits you, uniquely. Go for it! Capture your own imagination, then make it real. If you have questions about wellness planning, email me at rkirk@life.edu.

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Wellness Planning What’s Your Plan?

By Ron Kirk, D.C.

Ours is the age of technology and increasingly we function as its children. Many of us explore the realms of wellness and health in cyberspace, on TV or the printed page. We are knowledgeable about wellness and can talk the health talk. But how would we rate ourselves in terms of walking the walk, or hiking the hike, running the run, stretching the stretch and swimming the swim? How effective are we at the critically important process of translating our knowledge about health and wellness into consistent healthy choices and habits that comprise a healthy lifestyle?

Over the past decade or more I have been deeply saddened at the tragedy of a number of colleagues becoming disabled or dying during what could have been the prime of their lives. My friends and colleagues suffered predominantly from conditions such as cardiac or cerebrovascular disorders with preventable risk factors related to lifestyle. What about you and me? What is our health destiny and what influence do we exert over it?

As doctors of chiropractic we are conceptually well aware of many of the basic factors that comprise a healthy lifestyle including: exercise, nutrition, stress management and neurobiomechanical balance (being free of subluxations). Yet, in spite of our conceptual knowledge about wellness, most of us struggle with our health habits. The truth is that it is easier to read about wellness or watch a show about it than it is to actively engage in a healthy lifestyle. Reading and thinking about wellness are great first steps to getting there, but like a marathon, wellness requires consistent action

In teaching wellness-related courses for the past nine years, I have found, as Charles Corbin and Ruth Lindsey affirm, that goal setting and personal example (behavioral modeling) are potent processes for empowering individuals to transform the quality of their lives. Setting personalized wellness goals creates a forceful fulcrum for lifestyle improvement. Specific, measurable goals help to hold us accountable to ourselves and to others. Goal setting is an effective tool to lift us out of ruts like harmful habits or to begin new healthful behaviors. Goals harness an inner power of accountability. They provide tangible targets to strive for and accomplish in order to improve our current state of health.

Personal example (behavioral modeling) also provides powerful motivation for betterment. I get inspired when I consider that many leaders in the wellness movement began their quest for health in infirmity. Leaders like Paul Bragg, a pioneer of the health food industry in America, began life sickly and infirm. Bragg almost died of tuberculosis as a teenager, but through commitment to healthful goals and a natural, healthy lifestyle, he lived a long fruitful life, dying young (at 95) in a surfing accident in Hawaii. Others like doctor of chiropractic Jack LaLanne, though feeble in youth, still live hardy, vigorous lives. In his late 80s, Jack can still perform backflips and he continues to approach life with a zest, which many individuals half his age are lacking. He has set rigorous wellness goals and disciplined himself to achieve them. LaLanne’s life is a powerful personal example of transformational wellness in action.

It’s been said that our thoughts become words, which lead to actions. Our actions repeated become habits, which form our character, which ultimately determines our destiny. The pivot point in this sequence and the real battleground of wellness transformation is our habits. Habits have great capacity to harm or heal. Some of us who are the least healthy now (like the young Paul Bragg or Jack LaLanne) have the capability of making the most significant gains in wellness, if we are willing to wrestle with our habits. The good habits we develop in the process will help provide momentum and motivation to overcome deleterious habits which cumulatively cripple our potential for health.

To begin raising your level of personal wellness, you will first need to take an inventory or make an analysis of your lifestyle and habits. This will require some effort and honest introspection. This step is critical to your success because it will help you to prioritize your actions and prevent you from wasting your time and energy. Observe your health habits over a period of several days or weeks. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Once you have completed your health inventory you are ready to begin setting goals in particular domains of wellness from physical fitness to spirituality.

For purposes of illustration, because sedentary living and obesity are epidemic in America with 7 out of 10 adults getting little or no regular activity, I am going to offer improvement examples and goals geared toward improving exercise habits and increasing activity. This is an area of crucial need for many of us doctors and our patients. Currently it is estimated that 60 percent of the United States’ population is overweight or obese. Rates of type-2 diabetes are skyrocketing with a 50 percent increase over the past decade. Clearly, too many of us have been sitting idly by and observing these phenomena. It’s time to take effective action for ourselves, our families and our patients’ sake. We need to be leaders in this arena.

Once you have defined an area for improvement (our example is activity), you will need to create some goals for action. First, make sure that your goals are realistic, specific and measurable. Simply having a goal of becoming more active is not good enough. To be effective a goal must be measurable. For example, how many minutes a day will you be active? In what types of activity will you participate? The U.S. government recommends at least 30 minutes of light-moderate consecutive activity (such as walking) daily for at least five days a week. That’s a good place to start, provided you do not have physically disabilities (such as a cardiac or joint disorder) that prevent activity. If you have a physical limitation or have doubts about one, you may need further assessment before you get started. Completing a PAR-Q and You form for physical activity readiness will help you (or your patients) assess whether or not it’s safe to exercise.

Next, write down your activity goals and keep an activity calendar to record your progress. You can find an activity calendar (and PAR-Q and You form) online at www.life.edu/spinal hygiene/index.html. You may download or print this calendar for your personal or patients’ use. Put your calendar and goals in a place where they will confront you everyday. Mirrors or refrigerators are great places, which are not easily ignored. Choose activities that you enjoy. Wellness should be fun. Perhaps you have had a hobby like hiking, swimming or cycling that you have left behind. Why not get back into it on a gradual basis? Do the things that you love to do within your capabilities. Capture your own imagination. Turn off the omnipresent TV and go for a walk with your spouse or kids. Or workout while you watch.

If you engage in vigorous activity make sure you warm up and cool down for 5-10 minutes before and after the activity. A “basic back break” is great for this purpose, while enhancing your spinal health at the same time. Do you regularly perform some of the spinal stretches that you recommend for your patients? Many of us take much better care of our teeth than we do our spines. Let’s make spinal health a habit in conjunction with other forms of activity or exercise. To explore spinal hygienic activities go to www.life.edu/spinal hygiene/index.html.

As you progress in the activity domain of wellness, you may wish to refine your goals, focusing on strength, speed, endurance or flexibility. Define your parameters. Be specific. The website fitness.gov presents a clear comprehensive overview of fitness activities. In designing a personal wellness plan, make sure your goals are measurable so that you can be accountable to yourself or someone who will partner with you. Then, when you achieve your goals, celebrate the victory. See how much better you will feel and look as you develop the habit of being more active. You will have more energy and vitality, as you decrease your risk for the major deadly and disabling disorders of our society like heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some forms of cancer (e.g., colon, breast, uterine). Plus, you will a build a platform for empowering your patients in health and wellness.

By way of review to improve your level of wellness:

• Analyze which dimensions of wellness need improvement (activity and exercise are our examples).
• Write down realistic, specific, measurable goals.
• Assess for possible limitations (modify goals if necessary).
• Place your written goals where you will see them regularly.
• Keep an activity calendar (10 weeks) to record progress.
• Celebrate your victories. Enjoy your accomplishments.
• Refine and adapt your goals as necessary.

In addition to fitness there are multiple dimensions of wellness to explore, such as optimal nutrition, stress management, and making sure that our spines are aligned for optimal neurobiomechanical balance. Who’s checking yours on a regular basis?

Bibliography
US Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010, 2nd. Ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 Vols. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, November 2000.

Paffenbarger RS, Hyde RT, Wing AL, et al. “The Association of Changes in Physical-Activity Level and Other Lifestyle Characteristics with Mortality among Men.” N Engl J Med 1993;328(8):538-45.
Kaplan GAA, Strawbridge WJ, Cohen RD, et al. “Natural History of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Its Correlates: Associations with Mortality from All Causes and Cardiovascular Diseases over 28 Years.” Am J Epid, 1996;144(8):793-97.

Wei M, Kampert JB, Barlow CE, et al. “Relationship between Low Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Mortality in Normal-weight, Overweight, and Obese Men.” JAMA 1999;282(16):1547-53
Corbin, Charles B., Arizona State University-East, Welk, Gregory J., Iowa State University, Lindsey, Ruth, University of Texas-Austin. Concepts of Physical Fitness: Active Lifestyles for Wellness, 11th Edition, 2003.

US Department of Health and Human Services. “The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity.” Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Services, Office of the Surgeon General; 2001. Available from US GPO, Washington

American Heart Association. 2002 heart and stroke statistical update. Dallas, TX: American Heart Association, 2001.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes fact sheet: general information and national estimates on diabetes in the United States, 2000. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2002.

Blair, S.N. et al. Active Living Every Day. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001.

Brehm, B.A. “Maximizing the Physiological Benefits of Physical Activity;” ASCM’s Health and Fitness Journal, 2000.

Corbin, C.B., Pangrazi, R.P. and Franks, B.D. (editors). “Definitions: Health, Fitness, and Physical Activity.” President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest. 3(9)(2000): 1-8. fitness.gov.

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BackSavors Spinal Hygiene Programs
A new concept in personal spinal health

By Ron Kirk, DC

Last year in the months of October and November, Olympic coaches from 15 nations around the world came to Life University to participate in the Coaching Excellence Program. The month-long seminar was funded through Olympic Solidarity, a division of the International Olympic Committee. Life’s program held the distinction of being the only training program for coaches in the Western Hemisphere funded under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee. The coaches participated in a diverse series of over 30, cutting-edge training modules ranging from Tai Chi—taught by a seventh-degree black belt from China—to sports nutrition.
At the completion of the training camp, the coaches rated the modules. Surprisingly, Life University’s own unique spinal hygiene program a tied for the highest rating. Performance of the exercises promotes an immediate sense of spinal and neurological wellness.

What is now known as the BackSavors spinal hygiene program began approximately eight years ago with the formation of a multidisciplinary work group of health care professionals at Life University. After sorting out and refining the basic concepts of spinal health, the work group explored and then consolidated best practice activities which patients could perform on a regular basis to improve their spinal and neurological health.
After several months of study and weekly meetings, the work group developed the following set of definitions in congruence with the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease.”It stated:

Spinal hygiene is the science of maintaining a healthy spinal column and nervous system through personal, patient-active empowerment. Spinal hygiene includes the study and practice of proper postural habits, exercises to promote spinal flexibility, strength and resiliency, goal setting, stress management, proper spinal ergonomic habits and nutrition for optimal spinal health. Spinal hygiene is a natural complement to the practice of chiropractic.

Shortly after these definitions were created, and best practices were consolidated from physical cultural traditions from around the world, an elective course in spinal hygiene was developed. Soon after initiation of the course, controlled research was conducted at Life University that confirmed significant quality of life improvements in individuals performing spinal hygiene activities on a regular basis.

Over a period of several years, both this research and the spinal hygiene program were presented at annual conferences of the World Health Organization, the American Public Health Association, the World Federation of Chiropractic and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC). Spinal hygiene was formally incorporated in the ACC Chiropractic Paradigm.

Since its inception, the spinal hygiene program and initiative developed by Life University has received numerous commendations. Derek Yach, the executive director of the Noncommunicable Disease and Mental Health cluster of the World Health Organization, has applauded Life University’s efforts in the spinal hygiene initiative. Eric Ram, former president of the NGO Forum for Health affiliated with the World Health Organization, has praised this program and its potential for improving the lives of individuals around the world. The ACC presidents have commended Life University for its contribution to health around the world through its spinal hygiene program.

In March 2003 Life University made its spinal hygiene program available to doctors of chiropractic and their patients on a broad basis as BackSavors videos. Proceeds garnered through the videos are used to fund Leadership Through Service scholarships. BackSavors are designed to empower individuals to achieve optimal health and wellness. Each individual program of SpineTuning, StrongCore and StructureStretches lasts approximately one half hour, which is the amount of moderate daily activity recommended in Healthy People 2010. This initiative of the United States’ Health and Human Services Department includes physical activity, obesity and overweight as leading health indicators.

There are many well-documented reasons for becoming more physically active. As noted by the Healthy People 2010 initiative, increasing physical activity and fitness reduces the risk for heart attacks, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain forms of cancer. These are some of the major “killing” and disabling disorders of the 21st century. In an age of “techno-tension” and “keyboard calisthenics,” many fitness and health experts have recognized that we need more physical activity to revitalize the quality of our lives. Life University designed the BackSavors spinal hygiene workouts to fit this need for physical activity, by designing the workouts to simultaneously improve posture, flexibility, coordination, core strength and spinal stability, while remaining enjoyable

The health choices we make daily, our personal health habits and our lifestyles ultimately have a huge impact on our wellness and health destiny as individuals and as a culture. To learn more about the BackSavors program, call (800) 543-3203 or email alumni@life.edu.

To learn more about the Healthy People 2010 initiative, visit www.health.gov/healthypeople. This site gives a glimpse of the larger vision of increasing the quality and years of healthy life in our culture.
About the author: Ron Kirk, M.A., DC, has presented patient-active, health empowerment practicums and related quality of life research in venues worldwide. The former dean of the College of Chiropractic at Life University, he currently teaches health empowerment and spinal hygiene courses at Life University and serves on the board of the Georgia Governor’s Council on Fitness and Sport.

Good Reads

• Recommended readings for spinal hygiene and personal heath initiatives:
• Benson, M.D., Herbert. Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief.
• New York: Scribner, 1996
• Blair, S.N. et al. Active Living Every Day. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2001.
• Brehm, B.A. “Maximizing the Physiological Benefits of Physical Activity: ASCM’s Health and Fitness Journal, 2000.
• Corbin, C.B., Pangrazi, R.P. and Franks, B.D. (editors). “Definitions: Health, Fitness, and Physical Activity.” President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest. 3(9)(2000): 1-8. www.fitness.gov.
• Dennison, Gail E. and Dennison Ph.D., Paul E. The Edu-Kinesthetics Learning-Through-Movement Series: Brain Gym Teacher’s Edition, revised edition. Ventura, CA: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc., 1994.
  
  Etnier, J.L. et al. “The Influences of Physical Fitness and Exercise Upon Cognitive Functioning: A Meta Analysis.” The Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 19(3)1997:249.
• Gill, D.L. Psychological Dynamics of Sport and Exercise. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2000.
• Liebenson, Craig. Rehabilitation of the Spine. Media, PA: Williams & Wilkins, 1996.
• Spain, C.G. and Franks, B.D. “Healthy People 2010: Physical Activity and Fitness” President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports Research Digest. 3(13)(2001):1-16.
• Shephard D.C., Cadice and Kirk, D.C, Ron. Spinal Hygiene: A Patient Active Spinal Health Concept and Its Impact on Health and General Well being in an Educational Context, Journal of Chiropractic Education, Brooklandville, MD: Data Trace Publishing Co., (3)(1999):42-43.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010, 2nd. Ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996

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