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Case History

Bev, a married woman in her mid-forties and a full-time real-estate broker, complained of chronic fatigue, intermittent depression, chronic neck pain, intermittent low-back pain, and loss of grip strength and pain in her wrists. She also reported difficulty in falling asleep and staying asleep. She had been suffering from these complaints for almost three years. There was a history of cancer and heart attacks in her family.

A comprehensive kinesiological and chiropractic examination revealed why Bev’s health was declining and what she needed to do to recover.

Fight-or-Flight Response

Why was Bev’s health declining? Largely because her autonomic nervous system was chronically in fight-or-flight mode. In Bev’s case, emotional overwhelm had triggered the fight-or-flight reflex for the past three years.

Chronic fight-or-flight caused imbalances in Bev’s blood sugar regulation, digestive function, and neurotransmitter production. These imbalances in turn caused negative adaptation in other systems of the body. Each imbalance was diagnosed and corrected using kinesiology, chiropractic, meridian therapy (acupuncture without needles), and applied clinical nutrition. Gradually, Bev’s entire body was retrained to relax the fight-or-flight response and to use fat as well as sugar as an energy source.

Blood Sugar Imbalance

Three years of fight-or-flight had wrought havoc to the glands that regulate blood sugar, namely the adrenals, pancreas, and liver, and Bev was immediately given nutritional support for these organs. Blood sugar imbalance had also led to neck misalignments that caused weakness in her arm, forearm, and hand muscles and also contributed to her insomnia. To correct this, the doctor used a combination of chiropractic adjustments, acupressure, and kinesiology.

Digestive Imbalance

Chronic fight-or-flight led to strong imbalance in Bev’s digestive system, since the body shuts down to survival level all systems that take vital resources away from fighting or fleeing. You don’t need to digest a meal while running from a tiger!

With Bev’s digestive system operating at survival level, production of hydrochloric acid was dangerously low. This caused incomplete digestion of protein and malabsorption of minerals, and also led to a stomach infection, since the hydrochloric acid in her stomach was too weak to kill the bacteria.

Strong acid issuing from the stomach tells the pancreas and gall bladder to pour alkaline juices into the small intestine to neutralize the acid. In Bev’s case this did not happen. Over time, her systemic acid level grew dangerously high, and she became chronically fatigued and depressed. (Excess systemic acid is also associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.) To correct these imbalances, she received supplements to treat the stomach infection and reduce the excess systemic acid. After the stomach infection healed, she was given a hydrochloric acid supplement as well as specific mineral and vitamin supplements to encourage hydrochloric acid production in the stomach.

Neurotransmitter Imbalance

Neurotransmitters are chemicals that carry messages from the nervous system to virtually every part of the body. When the body is in fight-or-flight, certain neurotransmitters are produced in increased amounts in order to maintain a hypervigilant state. If the fight-or-flight response remains on for long periods of time, the body cannot keep up the demand for these neurotransmitters and becomes deficient in them. Bev’s depression, sugar cravings, anxiety, insomnia, and weight gain could be traced to chemical imbalances caused by neurotransmitter deficiencies.

Over the years, Bev had developed sensitivities to the vitamins and minerals needed to make neurotransmitters. Her body was able to utilize only a fraction of the nutrients supplied by both a daily multi-vitamin supplement and her food. Dr. Gertler’s approach was to eliminate her vitamin and mineral sensitivities using N.A.E.T and supplement her diet with natural minerals and activated vitamins. This approach cleared most of her depression and fatigue.

Emotional Overwhelm

The most consistent cause of Bev’s fight-or-flight response was emotional overwhelm. To help release the subconscious emotions hidden in her acupuncture pathways, the doctor relied primarily on Neuro-Emotional Technique (N.E.T.). This gentle method utilizes muscle testing to identify emotions, and acupressure points, kinesiological testing and chiropractic spinal manipulation to deactivate them. Bev was also taught the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), an effective self-healing method.

Remaining Imbalances

Subconscious emotions and imbalanced biochemistry were instrumental in causing imbalance in all eight of Bev’s basic systems. Imbalance in the blood sugar, digestive, and neurotransmitter systems led to imbalances in the other five basic systems: the hormonal, lymphatic, nervous, immune, and musculo-skeletal systems.

Hormonal System
Once Bev’s neurotransmitter system was balanced, she was given additional nutritional supplements to strengthen hormone-producing glands such as the adrenals, liver, and hypothalamus.

Lymphatic (Waste Disposal) System
The doctor used soft tissue techniques to open the main lymphatic valves (groin, armpit and chestbone areas). Bev was then instructed to do a specific “minimum movement exercise” for ten days. After that, she was able to perform true aerobic exercise on a regular schedule.

Nervous System
Unrelenting stress produces excess cortisone, which inhibits the mechanism through which the brain tells the adrenal glands to slow down the stress response. Bev was given specific supplements for several months to heal the brain’s communication with the adrenals.

Immune System
Since the primary immune system lies within the intestinal walls, supporting Bev’s digestive system was the first step in supporting her primary immune system. She was also given specific immune-strengthening supplements.

Stimulating the lymphatics reduced the toxic load throughout the body. Correcting the pH imbalance of the entire digestive track and desensitizing allergies reduced intestinal inflammation and took pressure off both the immune and hormonal systems. Soil-based probiotics were given to establish correct gut flora.

Musculo-Skeletal System
Bev’s musculo-skeletal system had to be addressed frequently. Allergies and blood sugar imbalance continually stimulated the fight-or-flight reflex, causing spinal misalignments in the neck and lumbo-sacral area. Muscle weakness related to dysfunctional organs such as the adrenals and liver also caused vertebral misalignments at the base of the skull, neck, mid-back, lower back and pelvis. These misalignments were adjusted numerous times until the organs regained their strength.

Holistic Approach

Using our holistic approach, Bev graduated into maintenance care after four months of active care.

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© Copyright 2004 Dr. Larry Gertler. All Rights Reserved. The content of this website may be used only for personal, noncommercial use. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Gertler is required.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Larry Gertler, D.C. This information is not intended as medical advice. No individuals, including those currently under Dr. Gertler’s care, should use this information to self-diagnose or self-treat any health-related condition. Diagnosis and treatment of all health conditions should be performed only by a doctor of chiropractic or other licensed health care professional.