(Excerpted from Dr. Norton’s new book: Where Does It Hurt?  Surprising Stories and Insights for Releasing Pain and Restoring Whole Body Health) – **See Below for Special Pre-Publication 2 for 1 Sale - Ending December 31st -Hurry

Christmas is often a time for people to reflect on the previous year and consider the many blessings in their life. I hope that you’re aware of many this year. But how can pain that you may be experiencing, which feels like a curse, turn out to be blessing in disguise?

“I Desperately Need Sleep!” (Carlos’s Story)

Carlos told me he had injured himself working out. “The pain in my lower back and left leg were so bad that I didn’t sleep for ten days straight,” he said. When he went to have some prescriptions filled by a local pharmacist, good news. This pharmacist, a long-time patient of mine, suspected I might be able to help Carlos and told him about me.

Carlos was 56 years old although he felt 80 and ready to be put out to pasture. His debilitating pain barely permitted him to walk. His medical doctor told him he had a pinched nerve and a torn thigh muscle, and sent him for physical therapy. He also prescribed Darvocet®, Vicodin®, and Neurontin®, which were all new to Carlos because he was a healthy guy who didn’t use medication. “I was taking them like candy and they would only help me for about 45 minutes. Then I’d be in excruciating pain again.”

None of this solved anything or afforded him any sustainable relief, so he got an MRI that didn’t contribute any new ideas. By the time Carlos appeared in my office, his pain had been ongoing for nearly six weeks. Sabotaging every aspect of his work and home life, it had kept him awake 24/7 for ten days straight. No wonder he was exhausted and at his wits end.

Carlos had previously suffered one side impact and three rear-end car accidents, which had left behind a complete loss of his normal neck curve and some resultant arthritic decay. His lower back x-rays showed a significant twisting misalignment but no degeneration. His neck condition proved to be the longer-term problem and appeared to lead to his lower back and leg complications, as it often does.

Our most dramatic findings were his half-inch-short leg (due to the twisting of his spine and pelvis that I measured when he lay down) and severe hyperactivity and asymmetry (indicated on both the motor and autonomic aspects of his nervous system computer scan).

(Join us next month to find out what happens to Carlos)

Visit Our Website and the "Ask Dr. Norton" Health Forum!

Visit Dr. Norton's web site. The Norton Chiropractic Wellness Center web site is packed with a vast amount of news, tips, and health information. Also check out and interact with our new Ask Dr. Norton Chiropractic Health Forum. If you are experiencing pain, or just want more information on your health or how we do business, please stop by!

News & Events

1. Shout it from the rooftops and let there be dancing in the streets! Dr. Norton’s new book Where Does It Hurt? Surprising Stories and Insights for Releasing Pain and Restoring Whole Body Health finally arrived on Christmas Eve. Orders may be placed at www.WhereDoesItHurtBook.com or by calling 559-490-9550. Christmas isn’t the only occasion to receive or give something special and how many gifts could be of greater value and importance than the gift of diminished pain and greater health? Consider the people in your life that may be suffering with pain or illness whose quality of life could be dramatically improved with your help. Don’t forget that change starts with you. Have you picked up a copy for yourself yet?

2. Our special pre-publication sale of limited edition numbered/autographed copies of Where Does It Hurt? is winding down at Norton Chiropractic Wellness Center. If you act immediately you can still get in on it by calling 559-490-9550 or by going to www.WhereDoesItHurtBook.com. During our “Receive and Give the Gift of Health” pre-publication sale you may purchase one copy of this hardbound book and receive a second one FREE to share with a friend! Call or go online today to order because this sale will end on December 31st.

3. Dr. Norton will be doing a book presentation and signing at Russo’s Bookstore in Bakersfield, CA. at the Marketplace Center on Saturday January 5th at 1:00. If you are in the south valley area or know someone that is, we encourage you to come by and check it out. Call 559-490-9550 for more details.

4. On Friday January 18th from 4-8 at Norton Chiropractic Wellness Center in Fresno, CA., there will be a celebration honoring Dr. Norton for 25 years of service as a doctor of chiropractic and for the release of his new book Where Does It Hurt? Signed copies will be available for purchase. Call 559-490-9550 for more information and to RSVP your attendance.

Visit our Center!

Norton Chiropractic Wellness Center (View Map) at 5670 N. Fresno St. Ste. 102 in Fresno, Calif. Call us at (559) 490-9550 or contact us here.

If you are in the California Central Valley call Norton Chiropractic Wellness Center at 559-490-9550 or visit us online at www.DrMatthewNorton.com for a virtual tour and to schedule an appointment to see if we can help you.

You will also appreciate the valuable tools on the Learning Resources page of the website if you are not in our area!

Healing Hints

1. If you have pain or illness symptoms that you’ve been inclined to see as a negative burden to be blotted out, I encourage you to reconsider your perspective and approach. Use the pain or other clues of system disturbance to locate the deeper underlying cause and then do whatever you can to correct that issue. The pain could be your greatest gift.

2. If your work puts you in a position of interacting with individuals in pain or you have friends or family that are suffering, you have a powerful opportunity to influence and guide them toward finding the cause and a real solution. You could be the voice that gives them back their quality of life. Be willing to take a risk by speaking up.

3. Previous injuries, especially car accidents, even when perceived to have been minor, are commonly the beginning of a long, slow downhill slide into chronic pain. Please don’t take even the slightest injuries lightly. If you do, it could be one of the most unfortunate decisions of your life.

4. Back pain, neck pain, and headaches are three of the top causes of chronic pain and disability. They typically result from a combination of initial physical injuries later complicated by the superimposition of mental/emotional stresses.

5. Chronic pain and disability aren’t always able to be resolved and undone once present. It’s always much easier to prevent them. However, if addressed by seeking to correct the cause as early and completely as possible rather than simply trying to mask or manage the symptoms you can often be successful.

6. A thorough chiropractic spinal and neurological assessment ASAP may well hold the answer for returning your health, vitality, and pain-free state, or better yet, prevent you from losing it in the first place. Contact us at Norton Chiropractic Wellness Center at 559-490-9550 to schedule an appointment for an evaluation before another week passes. It could change your life. Go to www.DrMatthewNorton.com for more information.

About Dr. Norton

Dr. Norton unites his passion for learning, teaching, and healing with a compassion for those who are struggling with pain and illness or not performing at their peak. He brings to his work a high level of academic achievement and cutting-edge bodymind research. However, he also brings a deeply caring heart transformed by difficult personal life experiences. Read more.