Category — Philosophy

Our team at Spectrum Wellness Center has had the honor of being invited to participate in a local Health & Wellness Expo on April 25th, 2009.  We accepted and are looking forward to helping make this event a success.  

It will be held in the Lower Moreland High School at 555 Red Lion Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.  The Expo is scheduled to run from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.  And there’s no cost for admission! 

We have the privilege of being able to set up a table, offer our services, and share our practice mission (Promoting Superior Health Through Natural Therapy) with the community.  We will be conducting free spinal checks, scoliosis screenings, posture evaluations, and massage.

At the same time, we will helping support the Community Links 10th Anniversary 5K Walk/Run and the Lower Moreland Community Links program, which benefits non-profit community groups in Lower Moreland, Bryn Athyn, and the surrounding areas.

This event will feature Dr. Mehmet Oz’s Healthcorps – Highway to Health, and Jami Appenzeller Yancey and her team at Philly Fit Magazine.  There promises to be many vendors, activities, and great tips on how to live a life filled with Health and Wellness.

We welcome you to join us and are looking forward to seeing you there!

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Author Unknown

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to speak to a small group of homeschoolers about our body’s joints.  We talked about the differences between fibrous joints, cartilaginous joints, and synovial joints.  We looked at the differing joint shapes and functions and compared them to real life examples.  Overall, I really tried to open their eyes and have them experience a sense of wonder as we investigated the body’s joints.

Then it got me thinking.  How often do we stand back in wonder about our own bodies?  When was the last time you stopped to think about just how amazing your body is?

It’s an extremely complicated and highly-organized “machine”.  In your busy life, you’ve probably become fairly good at multitasking.  But could you multitask 10 things at once?  How about 10,000?  Thankfully your body does an incredible job multitasking millions of functions at the same time. Take a minute to think about all the things your body does, without your help at all…

When you were first given life, you had nothing to do with your growth in your mother’s womb.  You started as a single cell and then grew to become a fully functioning baby.  All your parts “appeared” at the right time, in the right place, and grew to the right size.  First your brain and spinal cord form, then the heart and circulatory system, which begins beating at around 3 weeks!  Over the next few weeks, your body was woven together cells, tissues, organs, systems, bones, joints, muscles and skin.

All your limbs grew at the right time and to the right size.  It’s incredible if you stop and think about it.You eat food every day without having to produce the right enzymes to digest your meals.  Let alone managing the complex biochemistry needed to break the food down into your bloodstream to nourish all your body’s cells.

Your bodies is amazing and complex.  And if you think deeply about it, demonstrates the awesome wisdom, creativity, and love of your creator.

Glucosamine (glucosamine sulfate), chondroitin (chondroitin sulfate), and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) are widely used natural supplements used in the treatment of osteoarthritis (bone and joint).  They have been shown to be most helpful for knee pain, but reports have shown that they can help with all types of osteoarthritis. They are commonly used, especially in veterinary medicine, but their overall acceptance varies.

When patients ask me if they think a supplement can help them get rid of some pain, I tell them that for the best long-term outcomes, embracing a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise is the most critical. Healthy living is the key.  Let me tell you my story…

Starting in the year 1999, I personally had serious back and neck problems that stemmed from past injuries and degenerative spinal conditions. I had serious pain, loss of motion, and muscular weakness.  It became so bad, I could barely exercise or practice chiropractic.  As the pain became chronic, I had mild depression and discovered that life became very hard.  I didn’t want to just cover up the pain, so I refused to take medications.

I received good care that included various natural therapies and chiropractic care.  Both helped, but my problems really became minimal only when I adopted a lifestyle of healthy eating and regular exercise. I started focusing on core strengthening exercises and I began to eat a whole-food plant-based diet.  Within 30 days, my pain diminished.  Through my lifestyle changes, I was finally able to gain control over my back/neck pains.  I thank God that he has designed our bodies with the ability to heal… from the inside.  This is much better than just pain relief through medications.

I don’t believe there are any real shortcuts to true health… such as glucosamine, chondroitin, or MSM supplements.   Today in my practice, in addition to chiropractic care, I offer patients coaching on exercise, nutrition, and healthy living.  Spectrum Wellness is a holistic and integrative approach to wellness.

In short… I do recommend a superfood supplement, called Intramax, that does contain glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM.  Although supplementation can be of some help, any supplement should only be an addition to a foundation of healthy living.

Don’t believe what they tell you.  There is no pill that can replace a lifestyle of healthy living.  True health can’t be found in a bottle.  Here’s the truth… you can achieve superior health through a commitment to healthy living!

I just finished making some updates to the home page.  I reorganized the left and right side bars a bit.  The “Get To Know Us” section now has some indents.  Hopefully, it’ll be  easier to use.  I added a new FAQ section on the left sidebar, under the “What to Expect” section.

The new FAQ section answers some popular questions such as:

• Do you take insurance?
• How do chiropractic and other natural therapies work?
  
• Once I start, do I have to go forever?
  
• Do I have a “pinched” nerve?
  
• Won’t my body “re-balance”, correct, and get better on its own?
  
• Do I have to tip the massage therapist?
  

Check it out.  Also, please let me know if you have any other pressing questions that need answering.  I’ll do my best to answer it… may even added it to the FAQ section.

From now through February 21st, we are offering massage gift certificates at an amazing discount of 30% off our normal price!

That’s only $42 to give the gift of a relaxing 1-hour massage!  What a great Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one.

Valentine Bonus:

• Spend $75 and you will receive a FREE 30-minute massage for yourself!
• Spend $100 and receive a FREE 60-minute massage for yourself!

Call our office today at 215-938-8500, to take advantage of this offer.  Gift certificates can be emailed (PDF format), mailed via USPS (same day), or picked up at the office.

This month we are offering one-hour Hot Stone Massages for only $40.00! This is an incredible saving of $30.00 off our normal price! 

All massages are conducted by one of our professional Certified Massage Therapists in a private and comfortable treatment room. 

You can choose from these optional massage upgrades to make your massage extra special: 

• Paraffin Hand or Foot Treatment (only $10 more) 
• Peppermint Foot Massage (only $5 more) 
• Facial Cream Massage (only $5 more) 

Call 215-938-8500 to schedule today! 

Our team of female therapists specialize in multiple massage techniques. They are highly skilled in swedish, deep tissue, hot-stone, trigger point, prenatal, and more. It’s your choice. And whatever you choose, we promise to treat you with the highest level of skill, respect and care. Just relax and enjoy! 

This special will be offered only for a limited time. We are looking forward to seeing you… call us today!

I firmly believe that momentum is one of the most important wellness strategies.  You can use the concept of momentum to your advantage to help you achieve superior health.

Momentum is defined as”the driving force gained by the development of a process or course of events”.  

You can see the effects of momentum on the small scale… for a football running back to have a chance at breaking through opposing tacklers, he needs to be moving and driving forward with his legs.  His speed and ability to continually press forward are critical if he wants to gain yards.

On a larger scale… a  team of players, a town, a city, or a country may experience momentum from a long standing chain of events or actions.  Our country is now experiencing some “negative” financial momentum caused by events that the experts say dates back to the 70’s.

But in regards to personal health and fitness, you can exploit the principle of momentum for good purposes.  It’s a fairly simple process, but it requires your due diligence.

If you know you need to lose weight, don’t try a new diet.  Diets, by their very nature, can’t work long term.  They are meant to be only used for a short time and then stopped.  After stopping their diets, most people gain more than the original weight back and are worse off than when they started. Instead, use the strategy of momentum and adopt a healthier way of eating… a new lifestyle.  This consistent change in behavior will continue.  

If you know you need to be more active, do some exercise every day.  You can begin with as little as just 15 minutes per day!   As you exercise regularly, you’ll begin experiencing all the physical and mental benefits.  This will encourage consistent behavior… a new lifestyle.  Soon, your body will begin really look forward to the routine. You’ll soon be feeling better and you’ll eventually begin enjoying exercising. 

Remember that there will be obstacles to your health and fitness.  There always are!  Expect them and be prepared.  One of the best ways to prepare is to gain momentum.  

I’ve read that a habit develops after 40 days of consistent behavior.  I believe it.  So be diligent to continue your healthy habits.  Press on in 2009 and build moMENTUM!

As we finish off 2008, we’d like to thank all of our clients for their continued patronage.  We feel honored that you have entrusted us with your health and well-being. We really enjoy what we do and being a part of your lives.  We are looking forward to a great new year.

Some of the things we are looking to do this year…

• Improve this web site
• Adding exercises and pics to this site
• Adding exercise videos to this site
• Adding pics to the recipes

Wishing you and yours a healthy and happy new year!

Warmest regards,

Dr. Ken and the Spectrum Wellness Team

Last weekend I had the privilege of training with one of the top chiropractors in the country, Dr. Mark Charrette. I had to fly out of the Philly airport on Friday, and everything was going as planned until I boarded the plane.

Our flight out of Philadelphia was delayed by an hour as there was a security “issue” on the runway. While our plane was waiting for around 30 minutes, I glanced out the window and saw a police officer unload a police dog and jog toward the terminal. Soon after, two police officers entered our plane and slowly walked down the aisle as they scanned each face and compared it to a picture they carried. They left the plane without incident.

I wasn’t happy for the delay, but was thankful for the top-notch security in place. Our flight was given the okay and we took off. From that point onward, the flight was uneventful and we landed safely at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

It was strange traveling alone, without Laura and our four children. But the next day I was soon surrounded by so many skilled doctors and kept so busy, that the time passed rather quickly.

The focus of our training was on whole-body adjusting – a holistic approach to patient care. Some of the time was spent reviewing anatomy, biomechanics, and neurology. But most of the time was spent practicing the whole-body adjusting techniques.

We reviewed the protocols for:

• the foot and ankle
• the knee
• the hip
• the jaw
• the hand and wrist
• the elbow
• the shoulder
• the ribs

As you may know, I’ve been doing whole-body adjusting for several years now. Even so, I was able to “fine tune” my techniques and really become more confident in the whole-body holistic approach to patient care. As many of you have experienced at Spectrum Wellness, we take an integrative approach to care. You may have experienced massage therapy, nutritional counseling, exercise rehab, and other natural therapies in your care plan.

Because of my additional training we are now better able to handle many different body conditions not typically handled in a natural way. We can help various conditions including:

• neck pain and headaches
• shoulder and rotator cuff injuries
• chronic back pain and instability
• chronic knee pain
• plantar fasciitis
• TMJ dysfunction and pain
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• tennis elbow
• leg length inequality and pelvic dysfunction
• postural abnormalities

If you have any questions, feel free to give us a call any time. I set aside time each week for phone interviews, and would be happy to speak with you to discuss your condition and go over some of your options.

I had some free time on Sunday and had lunch in the hotel lounge, and was able to sample a variety of “Tex Mex” food. I was greeted by many friendly people, including several Dallas Cowboy fans wearing ten-gallon hats.

I was very thankful that the return flight went perfectly.  I was even blessed when our plane flew by Citizens Park at around 9:55 PM, and I got a bird’s-eye glimpse of game 3 of the World Series.  The Phillies ended up beating the Rays 5-4 that night.

I arrived home tired, both mentally and physically.  Overall, I had an enjoyable and very productive time. I can’t wait to see you in our center soon!