Unlocking Your Potential
Dr. John Holland
I’ve been under the care of Dr. John Holland at Holland Chiropractic for 26 years, and he’s helped me recover from countless injuries. I credit him with enabling me to begin Unlocking the Cage (UTC), my sociological study and book that focuses on who MMA fighters are and why they compete. My research for this project would require me to get on the mat at the numerous gyms on my itinerary. Dr. Holland’s care was crucial in the early stages of UTC, when I was trying to get into physical shape to start the project.
The decision to jump back into the world of mixed martial arts was one of the best I’ve made, but it’s been hell on my body. As an out-of-shape 40 year-old, I attempted to jump in with pro MMA athletes and it wasn’t pretty. When I was in Southern CA it wasn’t a big deal thanks to Dr. Holland being so close, but on every single road trip I suffered an injury that would have sidelined me had it not been for chiropractic care.
Getting ribs massaged by Maurice Jackson at Syndicate
On my first trip to the East Coast, I tore the cartilage in my ribs and was in intense pain, until I saw Dr. Marc Saulnier at Saulnier Family Chiropractic in Norwood, MA. On my second trip to that part of the country, I was back in his office for upper back and neck pain stemming from a two-week trip up to Montreal, hitting ten gyms along the way. I visited Dr. Saulnier a third time after a cramped flight and subsequent workout at Lauzon’s MMA screwed up my low back. Every time I left his office I felt incredible. On the last East Coast trip, I injured my neck at 10th Planet in Easton, PA and was fortunate enough to find Dr. Ryan Mullen at Proactive Chiropractic in Rockville, MD.
While at Team Quest in Portland, OR, I made the mistake of jumping in with the pros for wrestling practice, and was repeatedly slammed, leaving me with whiplash. If it weren’t for Dr. Dale Johnston at Wilsonville Chiropractic, there’s no way I could have driven to my next team, let alone trained with them.
When I was cruising through the Midwest, I got demolished sparring at American Top Team in Oklahoma. Thanks to Dr. Brandon Mills at Mills Chiropractic in Oklahoma City, OK, I quickly recovered and was able to enjoy a week-long vacation with my family in the Ozarks.
Fabricio Werdum at Kings reminding me I’m not a fighter
A wrestling practice at Jackson’s-Winkeljohn’s in Albuquerque landed me at the office of Dr. Zandall Carpenter. The session with Dr. Carpenter was amazing, and I went from intense pain to relatively none.
I’m grateful to all of these doctors for seeing me on short notice, enabling me to train again, but, I also know that there’s more to it than that. Chiropractic adjustments improve more than just physical function; they improve every function.
Our nervous system controls every aspect of our existence. It is constantly at work, from seeing and responding to the world around us; to the digestion of every meal; to the maintenance of our blood pressure, moods, and cognition. We rarely think about this amazing system because it is always there working quietly in the background. It is typically only once we experience pain, which is a very small portion of what the nervous system is dedicated to, that we may begin to think about it.
Because the spinal cord travels through the spinal column, misalignments known as vertebral subluxations can significantly impair our overall health, function, and well-being. While the chiropractic adjustments of my spine were critically important to help me recover from the demands I placed on my body, they provided other essential benefits as well.
When I asked Dr. Holland why he became a chiropractor, he said it was to help people get better. He didn’t want to simply rehabilitate joints and fix sore backs. He wanted to remove the interference that prevents people from functioning at their full potential.
Based on the talks I’ve had with Dr. Holland over the years, and the in-depth scientific and philosophical discussions I’ve had with my brother, Dr. Steve Tullius, and Dr. Mattie Leto of Brickhouse Chiropractic in Boulder, CO, I believe I have a firm understanding of chiropractic’s unique and powerful contribution to health and human potential. Thinking of chiropractic as a last resort, as something only to be used for treating traumatic injuries from car accidents or serious sports injuries, is the equivalent of going to the L’Ouvre only to see the Mona Lisa, and leaving without viewing any of the other masterpieces that are there.
Click for D.C. resource website
Chiropractic’s greatest contribution to humanity is the fact that it recognizes that vertebral subluxation occurs as a result of life’s many stressors, much like cavities occur when we don’t take care of our teeth. Chiropractic care removes the subluxations so there is no interference to your nervous system, allowing your body to do what it is meant to do: express optimal health and function.
This is exactly why both of my children have received chiropractic care since they were a few weeks old. What parent does not want their children to experience their optimal health and potential? I encourage everyone to seek it for their own children, and see the many positive results, such as fewer and less severe illnesses due to improved immune system function.
Click to read why my children are adjusted
Chiropractic can also make a tremendous difference when all hope is lost. My brother has been seeing incredible results in children with both autism and epilepsy. Watch his videos and listen to the parents of these children to truly grasp the depth of what chiropractic is. Imagine what chiropractic could be doing in your life, and, if implemented on a global scale, what it could be doing for the health, well-being, and economic status of nations.
My book is designed to unlock the world of MMA, but my travels and experiences over the past few years have helped me understand that chiropractic unlocks our potential as human beings.
Chiropractic is gentle and safe, but it’s also very important that you find the right doctor. I recommend that you use one of these websites to help you find a chiropractor proficiently trained in the detection and correction of vertebral subluxation in both children and adults.
http://icpa4kids.org/Find-a-Chiropractor/
Thanks to www.nachotoonz.com for the artwork.
