Nutrition ConsultationsDr. Hans is now available for nutrition consultations in his clinic. Dr. Hans was a nutritionist before he studied to be a chiropractor, worked with one of the largest weight loss companies in the United States and also was in private practice.

Whether you want to lose fat, build more muscle, strengthen your immune system, get more energy, and stay as healthy as possible, the right nutrition program can change your health and life significantly. Here is a description of what you will get when you sign up for a Nutrition Program with Dr. Hans:

Nutrition Program

  1. Nutritional analysis of your diet taken from a personal, 4-day food intake record that you will complete before your consultation with Dr. Hans.
  2. Dr. Hans will analyze your blood exam results if necessary, and make suggestions based on his findings, in order to help you reach your fitness goals.
  3. A 90-minute consultation at his clinic where he will explain in detail a new nutrition program for you based on your unique eating habits and personal goals.
  4. A handout with details of your new nutritional program including which foods to include and avoid, healthy and delicious recipes, and other health related recommendations to make sure you are on track to reaching your fitness goals.

Bonus: For the first 90 days from the day of your consultation, Dr. Hans will help you with any challenges that you may have as you go through your new nutritional program, by answering questions or by helping you through challenges. You can contact him at his email or through WhatsApp and he will respond within 24 hours.

Healing with Sound Dr. HansWhen we think of healing, what generally comes to mind? Going to a doctor? Taking some prescribed medication? How about psychotherapy for mental and emotional problems that affect so many people nowadays?

More and more people are exploring alternative forms of healing like chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, and nutritional counseling that address more than just physical symptoms. These non-invasive approaches focus on releasing a person’s natural ability to heal themselves, not only on a physical level, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Another alternative method of healing is through the use of sound.

Sound healing has been around for centuries. It was used in the ancient civilizations of India, Tibet, Europe and Africa. The Australian Aboriginals and Native American Shamans use vocal and repetitive sound vibration with instruments created from nature in sacred ceremony to adjust any imbalance of the body, mind and spirit. Many claim that healing through sound was also used in ancient times by the priests of ancient Egypt and in Atlantis.

The Tibetans are particularly well known for having mastered sound, not only through the use of chanting as the foundation of their spiritual practice, but as well as with their specific use of bells, chimes and metal bowls to heal people physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Sound healing works, because like all matter, the human body is not solid. It is energy held together by specific frequencies. Sound vibrations of specific frequencies have a very powerful effect on healing our body because when we are vibrating at an “off” frequency due to the stresses of life, our body gets off balance, resulting in pain and other symptoms. If we remain in this state, eventually we develop chronic pain and other health problems.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Hans has been using two of the most powerful instruments of sound healing along with chiropractic treatments; Tibetan Metal Bowls and Quartz Crystal Bowls. Both Tibetan and Crystal bowls produce strong vibrations that have a profound healing effect on our body and work directly through the central nervous system.

Not only can these sound vibrations be heard, but can be felt very deeply in our body. The results are profound. They help calm the mind and induce a deep state of relaxation very quickly, which is necessary for the body to begin the healing process. The bowls also unblock regions of stress in the body by restoring a normal and healthier frequency to the areas in question, resulting in pain reduction and a greater mental, emotional and spiritual connection.

As you can see in the pictures below, the Tibetan Metal Bowls are placed directly on the spine, one at a time, and the Crystal Bowls are played off the body by a few centimeters, with the person either laying down on the side or sitting.

Dr. Hans uses the sound healing bowls during his chiropractic treatments but offers additional, more intensive vibrational healing sessions using both the Tibetan and Crystal bowls. For more information contact his office.

Since making Aliyah to Haifa from the United States in July of 2009 with my wife and three children, I have given thousands of chiropractic spinal treatments to Israeli patients ranging in ages 2 weeks to 95 years. I have seen enough x-rays, CT scans and MRI’s to tell you that in my 20 years of practice I have never seen the degree of spinal damage as I have seen these past four years, especially amongst the younger population.

Patients in their early 20’s are showing up in my office with spinal damage that usually occurs with normal aging in the 40 to 50 year old group, including damage to the cartilage (the discs) between the spinal bones that give stability to the spine, act as shock absorbers, and protect the nerves. Many patients experience radiating pain from the spine to the arms and legs and spinal degeneration problems which are normally seen in the later years in life. Many people are taking pain killers on a daily basis, which have undesirable side effects, and frequently miss work due to the pain. Besides the financial loss involved, this also leads to significant mental and emotional stress.

“I never had any back problems until I got out of the military”

I keep hearing the same thing from many of my patients: “I never had any back problems until I got out of the military.” Although not all patients that I have seen have suffered spinal injuries due to military service, an alarming majority of them have. There is no question that the physical, mental and emotional stress one has to endure in service is causing damage. The long hours and heavy backpacks that soldiers are required to wear during training put abnormal pressure and stress on the spine that lead to injury.

Symptoms of spinal injury

Symptoms associated with spinal injury are:

  • Neck pain
  • Upper and lower back pain which are sometimes accompanied with pain, tingling and/or numbness to the arms, hands, legs and feet
  • Headaches, migraines and insomnia are also symptoms of possible injury to the neck.

These two x-ray images of the low back show the difference between a healthy spine (Fig 1) and one with spinal damage (Fig 2).

The healthy spine has wide spaces (the dark spaces) made up from normal spinal discs between the spinal bones (the white square shaped areas) that cushion our back, act as shock absorbers and protect the spinal nerves. The damaged spine shows a decrease in space between the two lower spinal bones from damaged, flattened, dried out discs.

It all begins in school

Although spinal damage is more evident during and after the military, it doesn’t begin there.  It begins when young school children carry backpacks that are too heavy for them. The backpacks are loaded with too many books and the children lean forward in an attempt to balance the weight on their body so that they can walk. This places abnormal stress on their spine. Sooner or later these kids will end up with spinal problems including:

  •  Scoliosis– From carrying the backpack on one shoulder only
  • Nerve damage in the neck and shoulders resulting in pain in those areas-From backpack straps that are too thin
  • Stress fractures in the spine– Too much of a weight load on the back

In my practice I see children between the ages of  10 to 17 that complain of neck and back pains that are not normal for this age group, unless there is a congenital spinal deformity or if the child was involved in an accident.

And gets worse due to dehydration

Your spinal discs are mostly water and will dry out and break if you do not drink enough. Early signs of disc damage in an MRI show up as a loss of water in the disc.  To determine how many liters you need per day, divide your weight (in kilograms) by 30 (ex. somebody weighing 70 kg is going to need 2.3 liters per day). You’ll know your body is well-hydrated if the color and odor of your urine is neutral.

There is no substitute for water

Drinking carbonated drinks in place of water damages your spine over time. The phosphoric acid in the soft drinks stimulate your body to remove calcium from your bones in order to balance the abnormal acid build up in the blood. This weakens your spine and leads to future problems.

Soft drinks, coffee, juices and flavored water are NOT replacements for the real thing!

Simple solutions to prevent spinal damage and unnecessary suffering for you and your children

 Children

 Make sure your child’s backpack weighs no more than 15% of their body weight.

  1. Buy a backpack with wide shoulder straps.
  2. The backpack should be worn in the upper to middle back.
  3. Buy a backpack with a waist belt, if possible.
  4. If your child complains of neck pain, back pain or headaches, don’t ignore them. Get them checked immediately.
  5. Make sure your child drinks enough water.

Adults

  1. Drink water!
  2. If you experience symptoms of spinal injury that I already mentioned, don’t  ignore them. Get yourself checked.
  3. Although taking pain medication may help you feel better for a short while, unless the root of the problem is corrected, you may suffer damage to your spine that will be difficult to fix in the future and may affect your quality of life in the long term.

Dr. Jacob Hans is a family chiropractor trained and Board Certified in the United States. He is also a member of the Israel Chiropractic Society.  Dr. Hans specializes in treating problems of the spine. You may reach him at his Haifa clinic on the Carmel at 054-940-1289.