Things Change, Times Changing

Doc B on Health and Fitness... Moving Forward

This is my first post written in 2018!

• there is a previously published post for 2018 which was originally written in 2015 and sat unpublished because I walked away from this blog... then forgot about it.

I am dedicating this post to re-purposing "Doc B on Health and Fitness".

Before:
I was in the midst of struggling to juggle 2 fledgling businesses, my chiropractic practice, and Linked Athletics (the brain-child of coach Brian Barry and myself). This struggle gave rise to a scarcity mindset, which began the desperate search for patients and clients. It also found its way into the writing that I had done. When I look back to the previous posts I can see anger to some degree or another (usually directed at the medical profession or fitness profession). Because desperation begets rejection when your selling a product or service, I found that neither of my businesses were doing well nor my blog taking off.

Fast forward:
I have not coached at Linked Athletics since 2015. I had worked full-time at Linked for just over 3 years, but I could no longer put in the 50+ hours per week with no return on my time invested. Three years of working 7 days a week at both jobs, twice I worked over 100 hours in a week, with no income from Linked and hitting a pay-ceiling in practice had come to an end. I realized that I had to choose one or the other and focus only on that. Since the practice was the only business generating an income, and I had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a chiropractic education, I decided to end my time as a performance coach...

• Not a day goes by where I wish I could have done it differently.
• I miss coaching. I miss the classes, the brainstorming sessions, the creativity, the clients, working with coach Brian. I often look upon those 3 backbreaking years fondly.

Since 2015:
I have become Primal Blueprint Certified, as well as a certified Primal Blueprint Health Coach (legacy). I took all of the courses through the ICPA (International Chiropractic Pediatric Association) to become certified in family and maternal chiropractic care. I could not find the time, and money but mostly the time, to finish the final exam, but I feel no need or urgency. If, and when, the time becomes right, I will finish the course's final exam and earn that piece of paper. For now, I have all of the knowledge they can impart and I have discovered that I am delighted to work with women throughout their pregnancy. I am also taking online classes through the Academy of Chiropractic to take myself from chiropractor to chiropractic expert.
I incorporate the movement strategies we developed at Linked Athletics to better help my patients rehab and grow stronger. I am constantly falling back on the techniques and treatments from the ICPA when I work with pregnant moms and kids. I utilize the Primal Blueprint lifestyle strategies as tools to aid in my patient's, usually poor, lifestyle choices. I also donate my mind to Linked in mapping and fine tuning workout programs for it's clients. Coach Brian and I often communicate and create strategies for Linked clients.

2018:
My continuing education continues with the Primal Blueprint with a Primal Endurance mastery class and a Keto Reset mastery class. My aim is to expand my depth of knowledge of the Primal lifestyle and to move closer to "primal expert" level. As funds become available, I am also in the midst of my 3 year plan to continue the Academy of Chiropractic courses. The Academy is partnered with S.U.N.Y. Buffalo Medical School and The Texas College of Chiropractic to offer the best and most up-to-date information on the path to becoming a chiropractic expert ("primary spine specialist"). When completed I will be eligible to become an expert witness in the State of Georgia... exciting.

I also married in late 2014. My family (wife, 2 kids, 3-legged dog, hairless cat) define my life. The biggest career decision I had ever made, leaving coaching behind, was easier because I had to consider my families needs before my own. Becoming a husband, then father, has unequivocally changed me and I am better for it. I am a better doctor, friend and human being because that part of my life is filled with the right person... and people.

Moving forward with Doc B on Health and Fitness:
My aim for this blog is to consistently write about health and fitness... Sounds like before? Not quite.
This blog's original purpose was to create a space for me to vent and share the art & science of Linked Athletics, and THAT is how I related the blog health & fitness. I would throw in some chiropractic art, philosophy and science too, but the purpose was more about "Linked-is-better & the-other-guy-sucks".

The change to this blog is about me. My experiences. My findings, whether research, observational or clinical. It is about my lifestyle changes, my choices, my clinical experiences, my workouts, my Primal Blueprint journey, my chiropractic expert journey, my meditations, my work with pregnant moms, and potentially anything else for which I can think. I will always try to connect health & fitness dots, and I will steer clear from politics, but I want this blog to represent-me-more, other-stuff-less. I should probably mention that I plan to “clean-up” the previously unpublished posts, so if they seem a bit “xfit-is-bad-ish”, the reason is because they were written when xfit was my biggest business competitor, (I maintain many of my criticisms for xfit, but I either don’t care anymore or they have addressed the issue).

That's it for now

Thank you for reading,
Brendan Malloy, D.C.

10 reasons parents take their children to see a chiropractor:

10 Reasons Parents Take Healthy
Children To Chiropractors

Excerpts By Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani June 24, 2011 (Original author)

"Some adults may wonder why more and more children are starting to see chiropractors. That’s a good question and the answer is simple: whether we have a large spine or a tiny little spine, if that spine is creating nerve distress then our magnificent bodies may not operate smoothly…"



The nervous system is the ‘Master Controller’. 

• “Every organ, system and function of the human body is under direct control of the central nervous system”  -Gray’s Anatomy
• “An intact nervous system will lead to optimum functioning of the human body”  -Dorland’s Medical Text
• “All body systems would be immobilized without the nervous system. It controls and regulates every body activity down to the workings of the tiniest cell”  -World Book Encyclopedia of Science

If the master controller’s communication becomes fuzzy, distorted or damaged then we can experience all sorts of “errors”. Colic or irritability, an inability to suckle and breastfeed, poor sleep, developmental delays, digestion issues, asthma, behavioural problems, low energy, inability to concentrate, headaches, etc (the list is endless) could be the “errors” expressed in babies and children. The body’s ability to self-regulate is the key to it functioning at peak level, therefore, no matter the end result or symptom expressed, all roads to ‘optimal health’ lead back to correcting the “errors” and righting self-regulation. 

“While chiropractic may be able to help with a number of health issues, our focus is not treating or curing ailments; our focus is ensuring the nervous system has every opportunity to work efficiently and effectively.
Can you cook at night with the lights out?” - Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani

ie, if the nervous system was like the lighting system in your home, and if the lights start to dim, you might not be able to cook dinner very well. Banging into furniture, tripping and hurting yourself, feeling frightened are all possible outcomes. How the dim lights influence you precisely will vary but the issue is still the same – there is a communication problem between the wiring and the the light globe which needs detecting and fixing.

“In the same way, chiropractors spend years studying the nervous system to be able to detect and correct these ‘communication errors’ in the body.”


So: “How do little kids get nerve irritation?”

Nerve irritations (or as chiropractors define it: vertebral subluxations) occur as a part of normal daily life. They result from physical, chemical and emotional stressors, or ‘insults’, to our health. Examples are, and not limited to, bad posture, prolonged postures, sleeping on our stomachs, knocks and falls, poor food choices, dehydration, exposure to chemicals and toxins, and stress and anxiety. Preliminary & ongoing research suggests that even before these lifestyle stressors have an impact, nerve irritation may occur in the uterus from awkward positioning, restriction of movement, and exposure to toxins. Subluxations or nerve irritation may also occur from birth complications such as long labours, very fast labours, or forceps or caesarean delivery.

“While research to support how effective chiropractic for children is not yet extensive, parental satisifaction with results achieved is compelling in its own right.” - Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani


More research into the benefits of chiropractic for babies and children is greatly needed and is ongoing, chiropractic for little people has been shown to be gentle, safe and effective. Babies can be, and in my opinion should be, checked by chiropractors very soon after birth and special techniques have been developed to carefully correct any subluxated areas. When we appreciate how the nervous system may be hindered and impaired it makes sense why more parents are having their child’s spine and nervous system assessed.

10 reasons parents take their children to see a chiropractor:

1. To encourage good neural plasticity (brain and nerve development). 
2. To support their child’s overall health and wellbeing. 
3. To help strengthen their child’s immunity and potentially reduce the incidence of colds, ear-aches and general illness. 
4. To assist with colic and Irritable Baby Syndrome. 
5. To help with asthma, breathing difficulties and allergies. 
6. To encourage good spinal posture. 
7. To help improve their child’s ability to concentrate. 
8. To assist with behavioural disorders. 
9. To help alleviate digestive problems. 
10. To assist with bed-wetting and sleep issues. 

Health is the greatest asset, and there is no better example of healths importance than with children and babies. In our household we utilize the skill and knowledge of homeopaths, Chinese medicine practitioners, chiropractors (obviously) and wellness-oriented physicians. I urge you to explore all possibilities you have to strengthen your child’s health.

Graphed and imported from the works of Dr Jennifer Barham-Floreani.

As always, thank you for reading.

My best to you,

DocBDC