June 2026 Healthy News from Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC: How Listening, Clinical Skill & Smart Tools Tips from your Chiropractor Protect Your Spine and Change Lives
THE CHIROPRACTIC DETECTIVE: HOW CAREFUL LISTENING AND CLINICAL SKILL CHANGE LIVES
One of the most rewarding — and perhaps least recognized — aspects of chiropractic care is the chiropractor's role as a thoughtful diagnostician who listens carefully, follows the patient's story, and pieces together clinical clues to get to the real source of pain. The careful chiropractic examination is key. Often that answer points toward a condition well-suited for chiropractic management; other times it opens the door to collaborative care with other healthcare providers, always with the patient's best outcome at the center. The following cases offer a glimpse into this kind of care in action. A young adolescent girl presenting with back pain, for example, was carefully examined by her chiropractor, whose observant clinical reasoning led to the identification of juvenile ankylosing spondylitis — a diagnosis that positioned her on the right path toward suitable long-term care. (1) A chiropractor's keen eye made all the difference for one patient whose neck and arm pain symptoms pointed not to a typical cervical condition but to a shingles infection — a discovery that allowed the care team to come together quickly and address both the patient's pain and the underlying cause. (2) The chiropractic office has also arisen as an important place where degenerative cervical myelopathy, a serious spinal cord condition, has been noted before causing lasting harm — including in a veteran whose chief complaint was actually lower back and leg pain — with chiropractors in both cases stepping up as patient advocates and facilitating timely referral for the care their patients needed. (3,4) These stories speak to something chiropractors do on a daily basis: listen deeply, think critically, follow the evidence, and collaborate freely with fellow healthcare providers to make sure each person finds their way to the care that will genuinely help them heal. Whether you are a patient seeking answers, a provider pursuing a collaborative partner, or simply someone who wants to more fully comprehend the full scope of chiropractic care, we invite our La Grande community members to experience firsthand how a chiropractor's dedication at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC to getting it right can make all the difference.
CHIROPRACTIC TIP OF THE MONTH: Could Your Smartwatch Be Your Spine's Best Friend to Remind You to Stretch?
Your spine puts in a full day's work right alongside you — and one of the simplest things you can do to protect it is to take regular movement breaks throughout your workday. We know that's easier said than done when you're focused and busy! But here's some genuinely exciting news from the research: a recent study in BMC Public Health discovered that office workers who paired a smartwatch with a break-reminder and exercise app experienced real, meaningful health benefits, making that little wrist buzz one of the smartest wellness tools in your corner! (5) If you already wear a smartwatch, start putting it to work for your spine by setting regular reminders to stand up, stretch, and reset your posture periodically. These micro-breaks add up in a big way, and your spine will thank you for every single one of them!
As always, we here at Dr. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC have your back — and your spine!