Part I: Foundation – Structure

Part 2: Nutrition and Spirit

Comprehensive Chiropractic – Healing the
Whole Person

“It’s like Homer of  The Simpsons. When his car’s oil light came on, he said, ‘I’ll fix that!’ and he put a piece of tape over the oil light.…The problem isn’t that the oil light is on – that’s just the indicator.” - Dr. Randall Ferrell

Comprehensive Chiropractic – Healing the Whole Person

Dr. Moss:  What would a treatment session with you be like? 

Dr. Ferrell:  Every treatment is different. There are many techniques I can use, so I pick a regime that is determined by a person’s body type, their emotional makeup, age, and sensitivities. Some people want to get to the root of the problem and just get on with it. They want me to take a more aggressive approach. Others may want to go slower for financial reasons, or because that is just their style. Many patients want to really explore why they’re having the physical problems they’re having, in other words, they want to know all about the physical, emotional, environmental, and spiritual issues their bodies are expressing.
    No matter what, I start out with an analysis of a patient’s posture – the foundation of the Pyramid of Health I talked about. I look at the physical and biomechanical aspects of their problem, and determine how it is affecting the rest of the body, or vice versa. For example, someone may come in complaining about pain in their hip. Upon examination, I can tell the problem is actually coming from a misalignment in their foot. This can be fairly easily corrected with adjustments and orthotics. Many patients who have carpal tunnel and want me to treat their wrist, actually have a misalignment in their neck that is the source of the problem. If the root of the problem isn’t corrected, I would be treating the symptom over and over. In that case, I’d be adjusting the wrist and providing only temporary relief. My goal is to determine and treat the root cause.
   Most times, I teach my patients exercises they can do at home to help with the process of correcting the root problem. Sometimes I’ll have them use fulcrums or blocks to help re-educate the physical system.
  With every new patient, I check their meridians or do a bioelectric nutritional scan to find what organs or systems need help.

Dr. M:  What is typical of the reason people come to you for treatment?

Dr. F:  Here again, there isn’t any typical. Some people want relief from their pain, which is pretty standard for chiropractic care. But also I treat people with allergies, learning disabilities, emotional issues, and chronic diseases. And then there are the patients who want to have the best health they can have, and those who are explorers that I mentioned before.

Dr. M:  Most people wouldn’t associate a lot of those with chiropractic. How do you explain your work?

Dr. F:  I work with the whole person. In order for illness to take hold in the body, that body has to have the right environment. Why do some people not catch colds or flu when they’ve been directly exposed to them? Often many factors are involved in creating the body’s environment, whether that environment is one in which an illness can thrive or one in which an illness can’t take hold. Genetics can be a factor, as can emotions and environment, and even karma. And then sometimes a physical problem just seems to need physical treatment. My job is to determine on what level we need to address the problem, and then to determine what in my “bag of tricks” will work.

Dr. M:  What is in this bag of tricks?

Dr. F:  I’ve been classically trained as a chiropractor, so all the structural knowledge and treatments that go with that. One of the most powerful diagnostic tools I have is called the master blood analysis. This is a combination of blood, hair, urine, and stool analysis, which gives me a comprehensive view of a patient’s health. And, with retests, also a way to track improvements. Sometimes people feel better, which is subjective, and then are presented with the objective findings of these tests, which can show them why they’re feeling better. And where they still need work. It’s a great way to track the body’s journey of getting back into balance, and what nutritional support they might need. This is again the philosophy that we are not treating the illness, we’re treating the patient.
   I’ve trained extensively in nutrition and various sound and light therapies. I work also with homeopathy and flower essences, and have a certificate in acupuncture, though in Massachusetts I legally can only perform acupressure. I’ve been trained in hypnotherapy.
   And I count on my intuition and spiritual guidance to lead me to the modality the patient needs. I might treat you with standard chiropractic adjustments, but I might also use tuning forks on your meridian points. I myself don’t know until the patient enters the room.
   I call this “comprehensive chiropractic” because that’s the best description I could think of for what I do.

Dr. M:  Well, I know from personal experience how unique and powerful your healing sessions are. I hope this interview has given an idea of how you work, though I know it’s hard to describe. This explains why most of your patients come to you through word of mouth. Your patients may not be able to articulate exactly what you did for them, but everyone around them can see the positive changes.

Dr. F:  That’s really my best explanation and advertisement. One of my patients told me about attending a party where there were five people talking about how I had saved each one of them from surgery. That was really heart-warming for me.