This following case history is but an example of many that I routinely see in my practice. Some cases are more complex and some less…each case is different and as my mentors have admonished (and I often find myself repeating)….” Anything can cause anything”. A case in point: A few months ago a long time chiropractic patient of mine came in for a routine spinal checkup. He incidentally reported that he had recently visited an orthopedic specialist due to an un-resolving knee problem. His medical treatment consisted of a steroid injection and ongoing anti-inflammatory medication. He was told by the specialist that knee surgery was likely to be the next best option. Because he still had the knee pain I asked if I could evaluate it and possibly help with some solution. My brief evaluation revealed a hidden immune challenge within the knee. He began taking specific nutritional support and changed a few dietary habits, and his knee pain resolved within a couple weeks. Over time we have discovered that whenever his dietary “bad habits” return his knee problem returns within a few days after his … (in this case) sugar indulgence. As is well documented, sugar consumption dramatically lowers the body’s immune response and “feeds the bugs.”

This patient does have degenerative arthritic changes in his knee as evidence by x-ray, and no doubt that there is a mechanical or musculoskeletal factor. But the good question arises…. What biochemical (nutritional) factors, like toxicities or nutritional deficiencies are also present and actually preceed, contribute and/or cause the arthritic degeneration? The commonly held belief that our joints get arthritic and wear out just because we are getting older is a short sighted and costly belief. If the body is continuously fed real, unadulterated food it can continuously repair and regenerate even after significant degeneration has occurred. In this FUTURE DOCTOR practice I witness the body’s amazing ability to heal when neurological interference is removed by the correct spinal adjustment and when given the specifically targeted nutritional support that it needs to detox or repair.

“The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and the cause and prevention of disease.” Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931)

– Dr. Timothy Pence, Greenbrier Chiropractic Center.