A Visit to the Chiropractor is All it’s Cracked Up to Be ;)
Dr. Motley doing his thing *snap! crack!*
When we were young, my nanay would regularly bring us to a doctor who didn’t give injections but instead would bend and crack our bones back into their proper place (I now know that kind of doctor is called a chiropractor :)). It was scary at first but as soon as we felt the relief, nothing else mattered, and we could go right off to romping again.
Those were the days when we weren’t so concerned about pains and illnesses—all we knew was that nanay always knew what to do when we felt ill. Now that we’ve grown up and have our own lives to live, what nanay taught us certainly hasn’t been for naught.
I was reintroduced to this kind of treatment two years ago when the specter of my busy lifestyle started to take its toll: I was beginning to feel pains everywhere and I didn’t want to resort to swallowing pills to manage the pain. And so I began my search for alternative healing.
Dr. Heath Motley is my Chiropractic Physician. In layman’s terms, he aligns and adjusts my bones to give way to proper circulation and absorption of vitamins and minerals. He is a graduate of Life Chiropractic College – West in Northern Carolina, a certified Applied Kinesiologist, and a member of the College of Applied Kinesiology since 1997. He is also responsible for the good body alignment of famous wrestlers. Dr. Motley is also the editor in chief of the newsletter “In Touch” of the North Bay Chiropractic Society and has authored numerous articles in the field of health care.
Checking out the body's progress...
More chiropractic action...
Well, I wouldn’t trust him to wring my neck if he wasn’t qualified! Nobody wants to come out vegetable after a therapy session, right? And indeed, it has always been bliss for me after each therapy session (you know the feeling of wanting to sleep like a baby? That’s what it’s like). I can also breathe properly after every session.
Each session starts with a very soothing massage that makes use of a machine that has rolling wheels to loosen the tension accumulated in your body. Next is the renewal of electricity in your body which I called body battery charging: some electrodes are put on the parts of your body which are stressed, at which you experience a very comfortable feeling of being grounded. With these in position, hot compresses are placed on your back, which allows you to go into a deep slumber. After half an hour, you will be ready for your body adjustment by Dr. Motley.
The massage sends you right off to dreamland...
One session costs P1,800.00 for an hour and a half of therapy. Be sure to tell him where it hurts and he will expertly take away the pain. If you are taking any medications, it would also be helpful if you can bring them with you so he can check what supplements to give you. He also has a recommended diet that is similar to Atkins (low carb, high protein), and he has very strong views on diet and nutrition that turn conventional wisdom on its head (for instance: animal fats are good for you, cholesterol is not bad, soy is bad), which you can get an eyeful of in his blog: http://unchiro.blogspot.com/.
This is my favorite line of his: “Fat in the diet is not the problem. Avoiding it is.” Naturally, that makes me really happy, because that means I can have my chicharon and eat it too!
United Nations Chiropractic Center
6/F Physicians’ Tower
533 UN Avenue, Ermita, Manila
(+632) 521-4962, (+632) 524-7287
By wria on Feb 2, 2009
Ohhhh this is sooo true! It really feels like heaven whenever I go and visit my chiro. It’s really all worth it.
By Betty on Feb 2, 2009
I’ve always wanted to join Wria and Jo on their visits to Dr. Motley. Recently though I’ve been concerned about going because of the diet recommendations Wria tells me about, the core of which is to eat more animal products. Then there’s Dr. Motley’s strong stand against soy in the diet. Since I enjoy eating / drinking soy foods, the thought of going to Dr. Motley sort of makes me feel like going to the dentist after not having brushed and flossed for three months, hahaha!
After further reflection though, I realize that I’m guilty of absolutist thinking. I’ve studied the brochures that Wria has given me, and I’ve decided that somewhere in the middle, his recommendations and the others I follow somehow meet and overlap in a reasonable area. In the end, we can’t really take anything simplistically but we have to try and understand and apply the principles behind them.
Of course, my hesitation is just in terms of diet. In terms of getting my old bones back in alignment, sign me up!
By Heath Motley on Feb 2, 2009
Hi Dr. Motley Here. 1st let me say no one should eat chicharon. Thats a fat no one should eat. Thats a already polyunsaturated oil and should NEVER be ingested except in small amounts at best.
If anyone can find any redeeming features of soy please let me know. Soy milk should never be injested and is an industrial waste product. Please see my video’s about soy and other videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/mottdog2002
Find out more about soy and its many problems at:
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/
Also find out more about your health at these fine sites:
Educate yourself:
http://www.westonaprice.org
http://www.thincs.org
http://www.paleodiet.com
http://www.mercola.com
http://www.unchiro.blogspot.com (Mine - Dr. Motley’s)
http://www.spacedoc.net
By Heath Motley on Feb 2, 2009
Wow thanks for the great article by the way. Loved it.
Dr. Motley
By Heath Motley on Feb 2, 2009
But please don’t eat chicharon. It’s too fried. And in the wrong type of oils.
By Betty on Feb 9, 2009
Hi Dr. Motley!
Aw… too bad… I knew the chicharon thing was too good to be true. ;)
Seriously though, I did some research on the net and through some books and I’ve just gotten more overwhelmed by the soy controversy. On the one hand I understand the points raised by those against soy consumption, but for the most part I think the alarmist tone and attitude of many sites work against them. Food is just food, after all, and the focus and attention we place on some foods–both hailing them as saviors and health panaceas, as well as denouncing them as demonic and life-threatening–just confuse people even more.
In terms of the positive, soy is said to reduce LDL cholesterol, which is the basis for the claim that it’s a “heart healthy” food. The isoflavones in soy are also said to help relieve menopause symptoms (other references claim these isoflavones, being weak estrogens, can also act as an estrogen blocker and help prevent breast and other hormone-related cancers, but then again this is a hotly contested point; the naysayers argue that soy in fact causes cancerous growths, and the estrogen effect causes advanced puberty in young children).
Soy is also high in antioxidants and omega-3s; and since it is a complete protein, it’s ideal for people who do not eat meat for whatever reason.
I won’t go into the negative claims anymore, since these can be viewed in the sites you list.
I’m no doctor, but I do wish more balanced coverage regarding the soy controversy becomes available. In the meantime, my personal view is that heavily processed industrial soy products are certainly not the way to go–which is possibly why a lot of people have gone overboard and are experiencing the negative symptoms that have prompted so much controversy. Some sites I found useful (on the positive and more balanced side) are listed below:
women to women website on the soy controversy
fda consumer magazine summary on soy
Thanks for the links… I look forward to hours of informative (if sometimes hopelessly confusing) reading! :)
By Heath Motley on Feb 15, 2009
Another misnomer about LDL is that there bad, nothing could be farther from the truth. Actually high LDL, according to the medical literature, is a good thing. Remember, low cholesterol is bad, not high.
A recent study found increasing levels of LDL – and total cholesterol are associated with beneficial effects on memory in middle-aged women (J Neurosurg Psychiatry 2003;74:1530-1535)
The PROSPER trial recorded the highest survival rates in both the treatment and control groups among those with the highest LDL levels
Or the opposite effect:
NaturalNews.com) Patients who take the cholesterol drug torcetrapid, intended to increase levels of HDL (”good”) cholesterol and lower LDL (”bad”) cholesterol levels, have a 58 percent higher risk of death than similar patients who do not take the drug, according to a study led by researchers at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
And theres many studies that talk about the problems with Soy. westonaprice.org is a good one. And http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/ is a very good one that provides more literature on the problems with Soy.
Dr. Heath
By Heath Motley on Feb 15, 2009
Heres some more info on SOY from http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz
Soy Dangers Summarised
SOY DANGERS:
* High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
* Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic orders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
* Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
* Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
* Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body’s requirement for B12.
* Soy foods increase the body’s requirement for vitamin D.
* Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
* Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
* Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and added to many soy foods.
* Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.
SOY INFANT FORMULA — BIRTH CONTROL PILLS FOR BABIES
* Babies fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula.
* Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day.
* Male infants undergo a “testosterone surge” during the first few months of life, when testosterone levels may be as high as those of an adult male. During this period, baby boys are programmed to express male characteristics after puberty, not only in the development of their sexual organs and other masculine physical traits, but also in setting patterns in the brain characteristic of male behavior.
* Pediatricians are noticing greater numbers of boys whose physical maturation is delayed, or does not occur at all, including lack of development of the sexual organs. Learning disabilities, especially in male children, have reached epidemic proportions.
* Soy infant feeding—which floods the bloodstream with female hormones that inhibit testosterone—cannot be ignored as a possible cause for these tragic developments. In animals, soy feeding indicates that phytoestrogens in soy are powerful endocrine disrupters.
* Almost 15 percent of white girls and 50 percent of African-American girls show signs of puberty such as breast development and pubic hair, before the age of eight. Some girls are showing sexual development before the age of three. Premature development of girls has been linked to the use of soy formula and exposure to environmental estrogens such as PCBs and DDE.
By eloisa mercado on Feb 20, 2009
Hello.
I would just like to know the schedule of Dr.Motley.
I think I really need to visit him very soon.
Thanks!
Eloi
By wria on Feb 23, 2009
Hi Eloisa,
You may refer to his address and contact number written at the end of the post.
By genebhabeong on Apr 1, 2009
hi doctor heath motley..i know you are a great doctor.
just want to say that i really love to eat meat,by the way i dont care if someone would debate me about this comment of mine but i know how animals treat but i know also how meat meet my plate.so if u guys hate to eat meat JUST DONT EAT IT!im a vegetarian also before but im not feel contnted most of all im not happy,seem like theres something i have to eat.
By lacombe chiropractor on Dec 10, 2009
Hi there Dr. Heath Motley. I do have back pains due to my work. Can I visit to your clinic, cause Im afraid of injections..
By calgary chiropractor on Dec 12, 2009
Aw that is what is can say on what you do to your patient. I look like your really trying to crack all the bones of the patient. But I am sure that you’re a good Chiropractor practitioner.