Drain those sinuses!

For years I have taught people to manually massage the sinuses with their thumbs. A mother came in today and told me an awesome story about her 5 year old doing this at a basketball game.

So, these two mothers and some of their children are sitting in the stands and the one friend complains to the other about her cold and is blowing her nose and all. The cute little 5 year old 'trained' patient of mine, spontaneously reaches over and starts massaging her friends' sinuses to help her.

The mother of the 'massagee' asked the 'massager's' mother "What is your daughter doing to mine?" She then had to explain the sinus drainage technique and the why behind it! Great story or what? Are kids awesome or what?

Here are the basics of the sinus drain technique:

1.Using moderate pressure, use thumbs starting in the middle of the forehead (frontal sinuses) and push laterally or sideways towards the ears, repeat 2-3 times (especially if you feel a lot of 'gunk' or mucus underneath).

2.Start with thumbs on either side of the middle of the nose (maxillary sinuses) and again push sideways towards the ears as in step #1.

3.Start with thumbs under jaw and in front of big neck muscle (SCM-sternocleidomastoid) and push down towards collar bone.

This will help sinuses and eustachian tubes to drain, whether you are 1, 5, or over 50...and even a 5 year old can master it and do it on a friend!


Other sinus-mucus tips:
1.Avoid dairy (adds mucus that you don't want)
2.Do the "C" (vitamin C that is...lots of it...depending on one's size: 500-1000-2000mg at a time
2-3 times a day).
3.Use saline solution and squirt it up the nostrils (not for the faint hearted, but very helpful)

Good luck!

New Massage Therapist

This is Karli Stevens, and her dog Max. She is happy to be on board at the office and specializes in the following therapies:

Deep tissue massage
Swedish massage
Injury/Structural Integration
Advanced Cranial Sacral therapy
Shiatsu

Come on in for a massage...it's good for the body and the soul.

Another 'baby' turned in utero!!!

This just in...on Halloween a sweet Mommy came in and said: "Please help turn this baby, and help her to come out today!"

Minor request...reasonable in as much as she was one week overdue. She was at the point that it was fairly safe to guess that she was pregnant...

The baby had turned 'posterior' and that was making life challenging for both the wee one in the womb and for the mom. So, I applied the Webster Technique (see www.icpa4kids.com for complete details), and said a little prayer along with it.

Well, we didn't hear from Mom yesterday or today, so the suspense was killing us. Cheryl my fearless assistant called this Mom's good friend and this was the news:

Yes, she had the baby later that same day, actually at about 3 am Nov. 1st, but less than 12 hours of her visit here at the office AND only in labor for about 90 minutes, AND THE BABY WAS BORN IN THE NORMAL ANTERIOR POSITION!!!

Once again, the body has incredible wisdom if we will simply give it a little help and then get out of the way.

Dr. Bill's current record is 17 for 17 in helping babies to turn in utero prior to birth! The Webster technique has helped thousands of babies to be delivered happier and healthier!

Scary stuff...flu vaccinations...

We'll throw in a couple of halloween pictures...and then some scary stuff about flu vaccines...

Yes, that is my weak attempt at a 'beatnik'-hippie type guy...with hair! Cheryl is the witch and some weird guy named Erin is the goateed one...

An article from the Lancet just this Sept., talked about the dubious benefit that flu vaccinations are to the elderly.

There is little to no evidence that the flu vaccinations are of any benefit to the elderly, but that they may be in fact difficult for their aging immune systems to handle.

A misleading statistic is how many people die each year from the flu. It has been reported as high as 30-40,000 people a year. On a closer look, the actual numbers were only 257 and 753 in 2001 and 2002 respectively. (Flu Deaths Outrageously Exaggerated to Increase Vaccine Sales; Lew Rockwell.com, Oct. 9, 2004).

Think at least twice before advising anyone to get the flu vaccine...or it will be scary Halloween time for real!

Parenting without medicines?

Yes, it is possible to parent without medicines and drugs. There are some children who may in fact be medicine dependent (maybe less than 5%), the rest of the OTC (over the counter) and prescription medications are by and large unneeded and even harmful.

The classic medicinal 'chase' is for ear infections. Antibiotics are used, that actually lower the body's immune system and weaken the person's ability to fight the disease on its own. Often, this cycle of infection-antibiotic-weakened immune system is repeated time after time with multiple side effects.

Another classic is chasing away a fever (which is usually there helping the body fight off an infection of some kind) with a tylenol, aspirin, or some other anti-pyretic, (anti-fever). This lowers the temperature of the body in direct opposition to what the body is actually attempting to do!

Forgotten is the axiom, 'Let the body heal itself.' We are a self-healing magnificent-miracle making machine. Our body is working to heal itself 24-7. It needs some decent nutrition, cardio-vascular exercise, sleep, hydration and then it can do most of the rest on its own...it simply needs no interference.

Interference can come in many forms: physical, chemical, emotional, spiritual, etc. Physical can include traumas or injuries, and also subluxations or misalignments in the spine (the work of we chiropractors). Chemical can be medicines, bad air, bad water, bad nutrition. Emotional and spiritual are self-explanatory...

Trust the body not the OTC crud or the pharmacy. (Did you ever think that it's really not in pharmaceutical industry's best interests to get people well?). Don't rush to the medicine cabinet (or better yet, have one filled only with first aid stuff and homeopathic remedies), or to the ER.

You and your children will be glad that you did.

Are Vaccinations safe? Should I give them to my child?

Recently, the subject of vaccination safety and the link from vaccinations to autism is getting a great deal of press. There are still naysayers that state that there couldn't be any possible connection, (weren't there pretty adamant 'flat-worlders' at the time of Columbus as well), but the evidence continues to pile up.

Barbara Loe Fisher, president of NVIC (National Vaccine Information Center), continues to sound the alarms for parents to be informed, and to carefully consider this potentially life changing event of vaccinations.

Fisher has stated: "We have to do the scientific studies to really determine whether a policy of using 48 doses of 14 vaccines before age 6 is a wise policy."

The NVIC also recommends that parents ask themselves at least these eight important questions before allowing their children to be vaccinated:

1)Is my child sick right now? 2)Has my child had a bad reaction to a vaccination before? 3) Does my child have a personal or afamily history of vaccine reactions, convulsions or neurological disorders, severe allergies or immune system disorders? 4) Do I know if my child is at high risk of reacting? 5)Do I know how to identify a vaccine reaction? 6)Do I know how to report a vaccine reaction? 7)Do I know the vaccine manufacturer's name and lot number? 8) Do I know that I have a choice?
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What are the risks vs. benefits? What is the proof that vaccinations actually help in the first place? What is the evidence that vaccinations might be mildly to fatally harmful?

I was recently called by someone who had looked at my website. This father was rather desperately attempting to find 'mercury-free' vaccines. I wished him well in that search but also cautioned him to look at all of the possible side effects of vaccinations, not just the mercury.

Conformity to an idea or a practice in and of itself has little to no merit. To quote Eric Liddell from one of my favorite movies of all time, Chariots of Fire: When asked how far his pride would take him in defending his belief of not running track on a Sunday, he responded: "Just as far as my conscience dictates."

Get informed, look for resources, make a stand.

Dr. Bill L.

Cedar Hills and Alpine Parades and Summer Rap!

We just enjoyed the Cedar Hills, UT parade last Saturday the 21st of July. The Alpine parade is coming up on August 11th. Local kiddos who want to participate, let us know.

Here's our summer rap (without the music) that we have announced at all the parades:





Boost your health, and your immune system too-

Chiropractic helps your health to not be blue.

Bad backs, stiff necks, car accidents yes,

Chiropractic and wellness your bodies will bless.

Bring in your sick ones, from the big to the small,

In our groovy office, we always have a ball.

If you’re looking for ways to help your kids without pills,

There’s no better place to go then Dr. Bill’s!

Adjusted 3 week old 'inner tube' baby!

Last week I had the privilege of adjusting the cute little 3 week old baby girl whose Mommy had the famous 'inner tube' adjustment by the pool at 40+ weeks!

The mother was still very excited about her first 'non-posterior' delivery in 4 tries. She said how easy the labor and delivery was, and as a result, how easy it was on the wee one.

Typically, newborns have neck and cranial (head) issues from the birth process. This little girl's head was beautifully symmetrical, (yes, we measure it comparing sides), and she needed very little intervention by way of adjustment!

Another testimony of natural child birth in the right position (not posterior, breech or some way other than normal-anterior) is easier on Mom and baby!

Dr. Bill

6 week old with reflux

About 2 months ago, a wee little lad came into my office with a severe case of reflux. As his mother described it, it was all day long (after he ate) and it was of the projectile variety...not fun for anyone, especially the little guy. (He was being breastfed, and Mom was pretty careful about what she ate).

We checked him out to see if I could be of any help. On little tiny people, I do some hands on 'palpation' but their whole spine is only a few inches long (think about a 22 inch baby, take away the head and legs, and you've only got about 8-10 inches of spine left). I also do 'kinesiology' or muscle testing to see what's going on.

Well, he had lots of issues that I picked up both on the palpation and with the muscle testing. I gave him a gentle adjustment...and saw him later that week. I wish I could say that he was healed immediately, but that wasn't the case. Instead, he slowly improved from partial or whole days with greatly decreased reflux.

The insurance company bugged out about paying for a 2 month old getting adjusted more than a couple of times...so we went had to make other arrangements. Now I've seen him a couple of times a week for a few weeks and he is doing better...and most excitedly for Mom, he slept a whole 12 hours for the first time ever!

Go to the ICPA (International Chiropractic Pediatric Assn website www.icpa4kids.com for more information on reflux and other childhood conditions).

There are natural ways to help children without drugs and over the counter crud as well!

Dr. Bill

Baby Girl born natural and in right position!

Sorry to leave you all hanging, but the cute little girl that was in Mommy's tummy and the subject of my last blog simply took a while to come and say hi to the world.

Two weeks after her due date, she decided it was time.

Mom was able to have a 'natural' labor, and the little one came fast. For the first time in three deliveries (the wee one has two older brothers), Mom had no back labor AND THE BABY HAD TURNED AFTER OUR WEBSTER TECHNIQUE ASSISTANCE AND WAS BORN IN THE RIGHT ANTERIOR POSITION!!!

Needless to say, Mom, Dad, and new little girl were all happy!

Helping a baby 'turn' naturally while in-utero

I just had a unique and brand new experience after 25 years of practice. While at a water park, I saw an acquaintance that I hadn't seen in a while. She was obviously pregnant (swimsuits have a way of making that even more obvious than regular clothes) and she immediately said that she was happy to see me.

She had been thinking about coming in to see me at the office because she had heard from her sister in law that I could help 'turn' a baby who wasn't in the 'normal' presentation position while the baby was still in-utero.

I said that was true, and she even knew it was called the "Webster Technique". (Named after the founder of the technique and the ICPA (International Chiropractic Pediatric Assoc, Dr. Larry Webster). She then asked if I could help her right then and there as she was 2 days past her due date and the baby was in a 'posterior' position.

I said that I'd love to help her, but that she would have to lie face down, and I hadn't brought my adjustable table to the water park. Her husband then said, "How about using one of those inner tubes?" I said, "Well, why not?"

So, I had this 40 week pregnant mom lie down on the inner tube by a picnic table a little bit off to the side of the water park as the park was closing down. The Webster technique evaluates whether there is tension on the major ligaments that support the uterus: uterosacral, broad, and round ligaments.

In a very gentle and simple procedure there is light pressure applied to the sacrum and then to the opposite side on the abdomen addressing the different ligaments. Dr. Webster had over a 90% success rate with over 1000 pregnant moms. I personally have had the same rate but with only about 15 documented moms.

This is a far better approach than a medical procedure known as external cephalic version. The medical practitioner tries to turn the baby externally which can be very uncomfortable and can cause serious side effects.

To check out a Webster certified practitioner near you, go to www.icpa4kids.com. There is also an excellent article on the Webster technique in the ICPA's quaterly magazine Pathways new this month.

Tell your friends and others that there is an easy natural way to help a baby 'unwind' and go to the optimal position for birthing.

Dr. Bill

Are We Born to Be Healthy...or Sick?

A few of you know that I've been writing a book...for a while now. I'm enclosing a couple of chapters from the intro to the book to give you all a feel for it.

“Where do I turn for health?” is the major premise of this book. Are we looking for health ‘in all the wrong places’ and if so, what can we do about it? Are there non-medical and drug answers to some of the most common maladies on the planet, i.e. ear infections, headaches, digestive/respiratory/cardiovascular disorders, etc?

I have been a practicing wellness-oriented Chiropractor for over 25 years. I am also the father of six children and have specialized in family and pediatric chiropractic. I feel strongly about the need for a discussion on these vital subjects professionally and personally. I have seen the magic of healing from the body’s natural healing abilities and the sadness and horrors of placing too much trust in medicine and quick fixes.

Can we plan for health, or do we have to plan to avoid sickness? My hope is that these few pages can stimulate thinking and even better action to claim the health that is our birthright. This will be a review for some of you and for others a journey into new waters. This is a subject that matters. Your health and the health of your children and grandchildren depend on it!

Dr. Bill L.

Why should children receive chiropractic care?

Hello, I'm Dr. Bill Lawler. Some of you have never heard of pediatric chiropractic, some of you perhaps have heard of it, and others of you may already be practicing advocates of it.

Chiropractors are associated with taking care of 'bad' or painful backs. While that is true, the first adjustment ever given was to assist a man with hearing loss!

Therefore, we actually look at the spine as the 'gatekeeper' of nervous system interference. From birth trauma to the neck and head, to the zillions of falls that all children endure in learning how to walk, during play and in sports; their little spines are traumatized again and again.

As the little bones of the spine are prone to trauma, they can misalign and cause direct or indirect pressure to the nervous system. The adjustment of a little spine is gentle and particularly helpful during the developmental years.

That is why such conditions as: colic, ear infections, digestive issues, respiratory issues, chronic colds and decreased immune system function can often be improved by chiropractic adjustments and wellness care. Chiropractors have given millions of adjustments to children with amazing results.

The basic premise is that the body knows how to heal itself, if there is no interference to the nervous system, and the body is being treated in a wellness manner. Hence, the need for drugs, medicines, over the counter drugs can be greatly decreased if not totally done away with.

Check out the International Pediatric Chiropractic Assn. website at www.icpa4kids.com.