My first chiropractic mentor always made an impact with his audience by relating chiropractic to familiar, shared experiences in their lives. His favorite was romance and sex, and yes, his seminars were packed!

My favorite was giving examples associated with food or eating. It was fun to create, and people could relate to it successfully. The only problem was that by the end of the presentation, everyone was starving. I'll save food for another time. This month, our popular culture focuses on Valentine's Day, so let's invite all the lovers of the world to appreciate chiropractic. Let's talk about women, sex -- and chiropractic.

Among the variety of human experiences, great sex has the profound impact of connecting us more fully to our humanness, to others and to the divine. While sex is sacred in that life can come from this union, humans are also designed for pleasure, not solely procreation. Yes, Innate designed us for both possibilities, and whether great sex is a dream, a memory, or part of your every day, to have this experience enriches life.

A literature review addressing female sexuality reveals a frequently cited national survey published in JAMA [1] of people aged 18 to 59, indicating that sexual dysfunction was common among women (43%). A statistic that reflects the status of women's sexuality and rates dysfunction this high hopefully will invite review.

Many health professionals have become sensitive to reevaluating criteria that is deemed the basis for diagnosis of a disorder, but may be sweeping and generous, almost difficult to be excluded from. Recent examples of this type of approach (i.e., ADD and restless school kids), left many questioning the quality of such an inclusive overview. Types of dysfunction listed included the most common finding, low sexual desire and painful intercourse.

There is resistance to the medicalization of sexuality, and women search for resources that celebrate rather than categorize them. USA Today [2] reports that the emergence of high profile shows has brought more attention to approaching women's sexuality and desire with respect, but that "buying your doctor tickets to The Vagina Monologues is not the only option for women who want more open communication with health care workers, most important is becoming a well-informed advocate for your own health care."

For women looking to maximize their health, an important step in becoming a well-informed advocate for their own health care is to choose and experience chiropractic care. ("Chiropractic First") [3]

Chiropractic care is delivered to enhance improvement in a woman's nervous system. This is a unique and essential approach as the nervous system is responsible for coordinating all functions in the body/mind union, including how successfully women respond to stress. Through chiropractic care women have the potential to restore health and advance both wellness and an overall improved quality of life.

Interference to great sex can come from a variety of stresses. The above-mentioned JAMA article listed pelvic trauma, side effects of medications, neurological disorders and stress or anxiety (i.e., from work) and there's no doubt that women are walking into our practices with these types of concerns and experiences.

After participating in a surface EMG screening at a corporate environment, a woman came in to the office to be introduced to what chiropractic care could offer her related to an unresolved musculoskeletal concern. As we reviewed her history, another story began to spill out.

She had been to a frustrating assortment of medical providers to receive help, or at minimum, an explanation and understanding of what very personal and stressful changes had occurred in her body. She had developed physical symptoms of painful intercourse, and this had affected quality of life for her and her family.

No diagnosis was offered, her experience was viewed as a mystery and the treatment option offered her was vaginal cortisone shots. This treatment was declined, on the rationale that she thought it appropriate to identify the cause first in order to create a treatment program that could be effective.

I acknowledged the woman's history and reassured her that her spine would reveal her story. As I began palpating, there was no mystery, it was apparent that she was subluxated and where her nervous system was holding stress, was inefficient and blocked. As I made my way to her lumbar spine, their presentation was so distorted I had an image in my mind of an accordion that had been dropped and twisted.

I asked her to think back and remember if she had any trauma that she had not mentioned, any falls, etc. Searching, she realized that she had fallen while horseback riding and the horse had rolled over on her lower back. I explained about the location of the nerves to her sexual organs and reinforced the overall concept of subluxation. When I asked about timing, she said that her symptoms had begun occurring after this incident.

In that moment, her world changed, and she said "let's get to work." We followed an appropriate care plan and let Innate do its job. It was a pleasure to watch her go through care and improve her life. I have an open adjusting room, so she used a "code phrase" to let me know when she tested to see how her health was changing, but all you had to do was look at her.

There were also many additional improvements in her health and quality of life, and that speaks of another benefit of chiropractic care: that we view the body as a whole, connected system, rather than separate, disassociated pieces. An adjustment in the pelvis can have global, not just linear impact, affecting the whole body/mind union, not just a specific spot in the pelvis.

Likewise, the documented benefits of chiropractic care are not limited to shifts in local symptoms (pelvis bad...pelvis good), but may affect the entire human experience, including improvements in physical state, mental/emotional state, response to stress, life enjoyment and overall quality of life. [4]

Subluxations that may be associated with chemical stress are also to be considered, as JAMA reports a common cause of female sexual dysfunction is the side effect of medications. These include antidepressants, high blood pressure medications and birth control pills. The Harvard Women's Health Watch [5] reported on SSRIs which are commonly prescribed for depression and are proposed to affect serotonin levels (examples include Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft).

Their most commonly associated side effects are failure to reach orgasm and diminished libido, and the article notes that patients find it helps to choose a "drug holiday" from the SSRI they are taking when planning a romantic encounter. I wish I could reach all those women and let them know that many under chiropractic care restore their health and taking a drug holiday is not a brief respite, but a proud lifestyle.

Mental/emotional stress was also listed as a causative factor interfering with sexual experience. While external stress will always exist, more telling is how our internal stress system exerts influence on our health and well-being.

People's feelings affect their health. Research shows that a person's spinal pain and disability are better predicted by levels of financial stress and job satisfaction than by an X-Ray or CT scan. The association between mental/emotional stress and the states of wellness or illness are where I feel real excitement in research exists, and where the impact of chiropractic stands out, including exploring how the internal system advances its ability to respond to stress efficiently, develop new strategies and impact the immune system.

It's important women consider that what those responding to the JAMA survey were indicating by their results may not be dysfunction, but rather may be found in the description and distinction between wellness and illness as offered by Dr. Donald Epstein, creator of Network Spinal Analysis: "Wellness is that state in which you are relatively invincible, you feel alive, vital and confident, experience a high state of well-being, and your circumstances of the moment do not easily upset your internal state. Illness is the state of concern about your mortality, your health, a state in which you feel limited, challenged and worried, you feel as if something is 'wrong.'" [6]

It's clear that a woman in a state of wellness has the potential to enjoy the full variety of life experiences differently than a woman in a state of illness. Wellness is not only a concept within the chiropractic lifestyle, it's an essential that our foundation is based on. It is reality for those who receive the benefits of chiropractic care.

Every chiropractor can know with conviction that when women search for an advantage to promote wellness, the answer is found through their hands.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone, and I look forward to seeing you at the WCA Summit in April.

1. www.medem.com/MedLB/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZSAC20NAC&sub_cat

2. www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlight/2001-02-20-williams-monologues.htm

3. "Chiropractic First" by Terry Rondberg, D.C., available through the WCA (800/347-1011)

4. www.health.harvard.edu/page.cfm?name=btwd/womens#17

5. www.innateintelligence.com/research.htm

6. www.innateintelligence.com/Diseaseandwellness.htm