Shelton Washington Chiropractic Center - Dr. Damon Ernst

This newsletter is dedicated to your good health. Please accept our personal invitation to explore its contents and forward it to others you care about!!!

Dr. Ernst, Chiropractor and Clinic director for Shelton and Hoodsport Chiropractic. Dr. Ernst enjoys helping the patient reach their potential health and well being through chiropractic. Dr. Ernst and Shannon have 4 children and one grandchild.

Dr. Morson is our token Canadian chiropractor, contributing to the multicultural feel of the office- not really eh! He is a 2002 graduate of the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, and has been practicing chiropractic in the South Sound since 2003. He lives in Shelton with his wife and 4 young children, and enjoys aviation in his free time.

Dr. Norton graduated cum laude from Western States Chiropractic College in 1996. He and his wife Hati have 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Dr. Norton practices full time at Hoodsport Chiropractic and part time at Shelton Chiropractic Center. Dr. Norton loves to help people with their health and get them feeling better. He looks forward to helping you.

Shannon Ernst is our Office Manager and the better half of Dr. Ernst!! :) We have been in Shelton since 1998, We enjoy the beauty of this area and the small community. We have a great staff at Shelton Chiropractic and Hoodsport Chiropractic, and we are here to help you!

My name is Carolyn.. I've been at Shelton Chiropractic Center since 1999. My position here is Chiropractic Assistant. I can help you with all of your insurance questions and much more. If I can't figure it out, I'll have Shannon do it. :) I am the mother of 2, stepmother of 2, mother-in-law of 3 and grandma to 1!

Erika, Chiropractic Assistant. My Husband Curtis and I moved from North Bend to Shelton in 2005. Including Shelton Chiropractic I have eight years experience working with chiropractic. When I'm not at work you will most likely find me knitting on some project. Look forward to seeing you soon at Shelton Chiropractic Center.

Carolyne W. Chiropractic Assistant started at Shelton Chiropractic July 2007 she is learning the ropes and is eager to help you.

Kristin, massage therapist, joined Shelton Chiropractic in 2000. She specializes in deep tissue and personal injury work. Kristin also works part time as our office manager/massage therapist in our Hoodsport office.

Sara, massage therapist, joined Shelton Chiropractic this year. She lives in Shelton with her husband and two children. Sara employs several therapeutic techniques including hot stone massage.

Jennifer, massage therapist, graduated from Massage School in August of 2000 and has worked at Shelton Chiropractic since April of 2005. She lives here in Shelton with her husband and step daughter and she has a daughter due a few days after Christmas. She will be back after her maternity leave.

Chiropractic Helps Child with Seizures

In the Volume 6 issue of the peer reviewed Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics is a scientifically reported case study of an infant suffering from seizures who was helped by chiropractic.

The child in this case study was a 5 month old boy who, according to his parents, cried continuously, slept minimally, and experienced up to 8 seizures per day. Additionally, the child recently had surgery to close sutures on the left side of his head. The mother also noted that her son had a constant head tilt to the left and could not rotate his head and neck to the right.

The chiropractic examination on the child was difficult as it was noted that the infant was in severe distress and cried during the entire procedure. However, it was determined that there were problems (subluxations) in various areas of the neck, mid back and lower spine.

Regular chiropractic adjustments were started and continued for several weeks, followed by periodic follow ups. The outcome of the care was immediately positive as the number of seizures started decreasing after the first adjustment. Several weeks into the care the child seemed to have a regression for one day as he experienced five seizures in that day. However, following this episode he was seizure free for the next week. This was the first week of his life that he was seizure free.

By the sixth week of care the child's life had been drastically changed for the better. He was having no seizures between adjustments, he was sleeping all night and he was eating properly for a child his age. The case study noted that these improvements represented a significant improvement to the child's quality of life.

The author of the study, Nancy Brown, D.C., notes that each year approximately 150,000 children and adolescents have a seizure. She points out that seizures are a sudden onset of abnormal electrical discharges within the brain. She further points out that the medical approach is to medicate in order to suppress the abnormal electrical impulses. However, she points out that there is no way to suppress the abnormal impulses without suppressing the normal ones which would be needed for normal function and development. She states, "A chiropractic approach may therefore be of more benefit as it will correct the abnormal impulses not just suppress them."

Chiropractic and Imbalance

by Dr. Lyle Norton

Many patients have asked me, "What did I do that caused this pain? I can’t think of anything I did." The answer is imbalance. An imbalance caused your pain. What do I mean by that? There are many types of imbalances, all of them detrimental to your health. In the large categories there are four basic things to be balanced: the spiritual, the mental, the emotional, and the physical. If any of these large categories become imbalanced it is detrimental to our well being. Within the physical category there are many subcategories. There are nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes, calories, essential fats, and amino acids or proteins to name a few. There are also waste products (byproducts of metabolism) that need! to be balanced or eliminated from our systems. There are chemicals that come into our bodies through food products, hygiene or makeup products, environmental products like plastics, paint, insecticide, combustion, etc. There are also biomechanical forces that must be balanced, nerve energy that must be balanced, hormones and prostaglandins, etc. etc. etc. Anyway, you get the idea. Any of these subcategories can become imbalanced very quickly or very gradually depending on the circumstances. If we fall from a horse the onset is rapid, but if we are sitting at a computer the onset may be gradual. All of these affect our nervous system and most of them ultimately affect our joints, particularly our spinal joints because of their close proximity to the spinal nerve roots. When a nerve becomes irritated from a buildup of waste products or toxic chemicals that the body is trying to isolate by sending it to an area with no blood supply (i.e. your joints), the result is the same as falling off a horse. Pain and interruption of that nerve function to all the areas and organs it supplies! I don't mean that the entire nerve signal is interrupted, just a significant portion of it. Studies have shown up to 40% reduction of nerve energy without even direct compression of the nerve root. Chiropractic is a method of removing that nerve interference and irritation. It is just as effective when there is a buildup of waste products in a joint as it is if you have damaged a muscle and ligaments around a joint. In the case of the waste products, by restoring motion to the joint it increases the exchange of waste for nutrients through the facilitated motion. In the case of overt injury, it releases the tension, stretches, and mobilizes the structures thereby decreasing inflammation, accelerating healing and facilitating the remodeling process. In both cases it turns down the nerve irritation and facilitates healthy, balanced nerve conduction. By doing this, the balance of the entire body is improved because nerve energy is what provides the body with balance. These are just two examples of how chiropractic helps restore balance. Life is all about balance whether it is spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical. Whatever affects one, has an effect on the others. Chiropractic helps you to maintain that balance. Remember that you may not notice the effect of a gradual onset of imbalance at first. But given time, that imbalance will be manifested in a most unpleasant way. Keep your balance, see your chiropractor today!

Friends and loved ones you feel could benefit from Chiropractic, will receive their First visit for $25. Including Consultation, Exam, and X-rays if needed. (Normally $260.)

If you have a family member, friend or loved one, that you feel could benefit from Chiropractic care, we would be proud to consult and examine them as a personal favor to you using this special program. (You may also use this for yourself if you have not recently been into the office.)

The greatest gift we can give to someone else is the gift of drugless health. Please call our office for your appointment today.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for referring your family and friends to us!! We are honored by your confidence in us and we thank you for your generosity and your loving concern for others.

We extend a warm welcome to all of our new practice members!!!

Shelton Chiropractic Center



1635 Olympic Hwy North \| Shelton WA. 98584 \| 360-426-8060	The Office \| The Doctors \| The Staff