We were recently listening to favorite artist Lauren Daigle’s “Look Up Child” – and we thought to ourselves, this should be our theme song for Caring Medical Florida! For more reasons than one, this song is appropriate now! “Where are You now, when darkness seems to win, where are You now, when the world is crumbling?” She goes on to say, “Oh, I hear You say, look up child…” Further on in the song, “You’re not threatened by the war, you’re not shaken by the storm, I know You’re in control, even in our suffering, even when it can’t be seen, I know You’re in control.”
For two reasons, we just want to encourage our readers to look up. It is certainly easy to start feeling down regarding the happenings in the world today. But God is in control. We are still blessed. During these uncertain times, people feel more isolated, lonely, anxious, and depressed, causing even more stress, which in turn can weaken the immune system, causing people to feel unwell – and the cycle builds and repeats.
Love and relationships can break this cycle. Our good friend Marylou reminded us the other day, “You will always be filled by whatever you are hungry for…and eventually you will be consumed by whatever has filled you.” Let’s focus on the good. We can still show love, kindness, and compassion to each other. Let’s be intentional. Let us be the lights in the darkness. Share a smile, talk to someone you encounter at the grocery store or on the beach. Look up, child!
The second way we encourage our readers to look up is by actually – LOOKING UP! As you know, we run The Hauser Neck Center as a branch of Caring Medical FL. What we discover every day using our dynamic testing procedures is quite astounding. Dynamic tests mean that we are analyzing symptoms while a patient is in motion, not just lying flat (when the symptoms do not present themselves.) We utilize digital motion x-ray, cone beam CT scan, and high velocity ultrasound to assess blood flow to the brain, heart rate variability, and more. Patients with seemingly bizarre, transient, and often horribly disabling symptoms finally find answers.
One of most disturbing and widespread symptoms we find is related to what we call “Brain Toilet Obstruction.” In short, it often goes like this – sudden anxiety develops; depression, lethargy, and emotional numbing creep in; cognitive decline follows, resulting in loss of focus and inability to work. Why? The short answer is that the stretching of the posterior cervical ligaments that hold the facet joints, the spinous process of each vertebrae leads to instability in the cervical spine and neck pain, which leads to loss of the natural curvature of the neck which pushes the head forward. Compression of the arteries and veins in the cervical spine is what causes the brain obstruction. These structures are too loose and move where they are not supposed to move. Tightening them using proliferative injection treatments can be curative, but the process is more complex.
People must change their habits to change their lives. If they continue to look down (specifically at the cell phone or computer) for many hours per day – this problem will never stop and will only further accelerate. So when we say, “look up, child!” we mean it. Constant scrolling for hours each day, coupled by many hours of TV or computer watching is killing our brains. Work to reduce or eliminate social media scrolling, put your phone away. Develop proper ergonomics for your computer set up – feet flat on the floor, abdominals contracted, shoulders back, chin slightly up. Look up, child! Your brain with thank you!