Category Archives: Chiro Blogs

Chiropractic

Cost Effectiveness of Chiropractic

The cost-effectiveness of chiropractic care vs. medical care

Medical care is expensive!

An average visit to a medical office ranges from $60 to $300+ depending on the doctor and nature of the visit. Even with insurance coverage, a deductible or large co-pay can quickly add up to a deep hole in your wallet. You leave the office only to go to a pharmacy to purchase prescription medications that may be harmful and/or addictive. By the end of it all, you owe about $1000 to the medical office because you hurt your back gardening last weekend. The pain medication eases the pain, but does not address the underlying injury by masking it. Once the medication is gone, the pain comes back, and long story short you become addicted to medication. This may sound all too familiar to you or someone you know.

The opposite view of healthcare

Same situation, but instead of seeing your family doctor for the pain, you decide to see a chiropractor. A typical visit at a chiropractic office costs between $30 and $60. Many chiropractors offer a free or discounted examination and x-rays, something you will never see at a medical office. The chiropractor’s goal is to get you out of pain AND fix the underlying issue so the pain doesn’t return. Since chiropractors do not use harmful medications, the pain relief may not be instantaneous, and can be discouraging to those looking for a “quick-fix.” Initial treatment periods may last a few weeks but the overall cost of care still remains much less than going to see a medical doctor.

Chiropractic

Sleep, Insomnia And Chiropractic

If you are having trouble sleeping at night, you are not alone. More than one-quarter of the U.S. population report they occasionally do not get enough sleep, while nearly 10% admit to experiencing chronic insomnia.1 In Canada, of those with sleeping difficul­ties, approximately 18% get less than five hours of sleep per night.2

For some, lack of sleep could be the symptom of another problem. Accord­ing to the National Institutes of Health, insomnia is sometimes related to neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, emotional disorders like depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress syndrome. Other possible causes include arthritis, asthma, headaches, hyperthyroidism, gastrointestinal disorders or menopause.3

For some people, lack of sleep is self-induced. Working long hours, taking care of the kids and increased stress-loads can lead to a restless night. Abuse of recreational drugs or alcohol, or too much caffeine may lead to less time spent in deep sleep at night.

If you find yourself experiencing sleep problems, your chiropractor would like you to pay particularly close attention because this could be detrimental to your health in a number of ways.  In a recent article written for Time magazine, Christine Gorman reports that sleep deprivation is responsible for slower reactivity times and poor memory. In fact, after about 20 hours without sleep, reaction times are similar to those with a 0.08 blood- alcohol level, making it significantly more dangerous to operate a motor vehicle.4

Some experts tell us that a lack of sleep may contribute to a greater incidence of all kinds of disease, due to its effects on immunity. According to Dr. Diwakar Balachandran, a sleep specialist from the University of Texas, all-nighters can decrease our body’s ability to fight off colds and flu.  Studies conducted in his labs have shown that T-cell counts decrease, and the concentration of inflammatory cytokines increase when a person is sleep deprived, thereby leaving him or her more susceptible to catching a cold or unable to recover from bacterial infections.5 

In other studies, sleep deprivation has been linked to obesity. In subjects exposed to two consecutive nights with less than four hours of sleep, hormone levels of leptin and ghrelin were altered. This resulted in a perceptive shift in hunger and a greater likelihood for these people to reach for candy, cookies and cake instead of vegetables, fruit and dairy products.6

How Do You Know You Have a Sleep Problem?

If a lack of sleep is starting to affect your concentration, memory or mood, you may have a sleeping problem. Chances are that it is just a case of nerves, or an inability to deal with life’s stress. But to be on the safe side make sure you have your physician perform tests to see what may be causing your sleeping irregularities. Early detection and correction lead to the greatest odds for recovery. However, most sleep problems are related to other conditions or situations.  So, do not look for traditional medi­cal prescription like sleeping pills to solve the problem. 

Sleeping cycles, also linked to night/day cycles (circadian rhythms), are known to influence brain chemistry. One substance in particular, melatonin, is a naturally occurring hormone that is secreted during the dark phase of the 24-hour cycle. Taken orally, this substance has been shown to influence sleep patterns and reduce the symptoms related to insomnia.7

Chiropractic Can Improve Your Sleep

If you do not want to have to take pills to improve your sleep, make your next step an appointment with your chiropractor.

In a recent study of 221 chiropractic patients, one third of the subjects who completed the required interview reported immediate effects on their sleep after a chiropractic adjustment. From this group of responders, a whopping 98% recorded improved results with chiropractic versus those whose sleep patterns did not get better.8

Pain, both acute and chronic, is another primary reason why people experience disturbed sleep. Whether it’s back pain, neck pain or headaches, chiropractic treatments have a long history of being able to help.

The vast majority of my patients notice more restful sound sleep after their adjustments.  For the few that don’t their are other therapies and suppliments that can be very beneficial.  Why suffer from sleepless nights call now for a complimentary consultation.

References and sources:

1. Sleep and Sleep Disorders: A Public Health Challenge – US Department of Health & Human Services – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/sleep/

2. Tjepkema, M. Insomnia-Statistics Canada 2005 (November), Health Reports Vol. 17, No. 1.

3. What causes insomnia? – US Department of Health & Human Services – National Institutes of Health. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ health/dci/Diseases/inso/inso _causes.html

4. Gorman, C. Why we sleep – Time 2004 (Dec. 17). http://www.time.com/time/magazine /article/0,9171,1009765-1,00.html

5. Mann, D. (Dr. Michael W. Smith, reviewer) Can better sleep mean catching fewer colds? Lack of sleep affects your immune system – WebMD.com. http://www.webmd.com/sleep­disorders/excessive-sleepiness– 10/immune-system-lack-of-sleep

6. Yager, J. Don’t overlook health benefits of sleep. Getting enough sleep can improve and lengthen your life – ConsumerAffairs.com 2010 (Aug.) http://www.consumeraffairs.com/ boomerific/2010/020_getting_enough _rest.html#ixzz17G2GOAMU

7. Melatonin. US National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health.  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/940.html

8. Jamison, JR. Insomnia: does chiropractic help? – J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 2005 (Mar-Apr); 28(3): 179-86

Chiropractic, Herniated Discs

Sacroiliac Joints And Chiropractic

“Sacro… what?” is probably the response you would hear from most people if asked about sacroiliac joints (SI). You may never have heard of them before, but the SI joints play vital roles in both body stability and move­ment. These large synovial joints of the pelvis join the triangular bone at the bottom of the spine (the sacrum) to the two big pelvic bones (the ilia) on either side.

Although these are crucial weight-bearing joints important for their part in the stability of the pelvis, they also move slightly for proper mechanics when walking or running. The SI joints can be affected by overex­ertion and injury. Your chiropractor is well-acquainted with the functional anatomy of these joints and will often adjust the SI joint to alleviate pain.

Too Much Strain Can Lead to Pain

As mentioned, one of the primary roles of the SI joint is to help maintain pelvic stability. The SI joints are surrounded by tough, fibrous ligaments. But if one or more of your SI joint ligaments become strained, you’re likely to feel pain directly over the SI joint.

When they get strained repetitively, these ligaments can lose some of their structural integrity, making your SI joints more prone to subluxate. Since the two joints work in unison, if one of the SI joints becomes unstable, the other joint can become restricted. Regular chiropractic adjustments may be needed to maintain a proper balance between mobility and stability.

 Alignment of the spine is dependent on the function of the SI joints. When an SI joint is improperly positioned, it is possible that the sacrum is also out of its normal position. When this happens, the lower lumbar vertebrae can subluxate, leading to a greater chance of an abnormal lumbar curve and appearing as conditions like scoliosis and hyper- or hypo-lordosis.

Any time the spinal curves are altered, it leaves you vulnerable to painful conditions in the lower back, such as facet irritation, disc herniation or muscle strain.1

Detecting SI Joint Trouble

The first clue is pain directly over the joint, usually only on one side. If the pain is greater when you bend back­wards, inflammation of the joint is the probable cause of your symptoms.

If the pain is greater when you bend forward, then you’re probably experi­encing strained ligaments around the joint. However, low back pain in general has been associated with SI joint problems in a large number of patients. In one study, close to 30% of patients x-rayed with lower back complaints showed either degenerative or inflammatory conditions affecting their SI joints.2

Local pain is not the only way you can tell you have an SI joint problem. Referred pain from these joints is often felt in the groin, and can also travel into the buttocks and down the back of the leg, mimicking sciatica or a lumbar disc herniation.3 If the SI joints are not functioning properly, this can lead to disturbances in your gait, which may cause hip, knee or feet problems.4.

What to Do About an SI Joint Trouble

First and foremost, you should get a chiropractic assessment. As a joint specialist, your chiropractor is uniquely positioned in the healthcare field to assess and treat any joint in the body.

For the first 72 hours after the onset of pain, you should attempt to limit your activities that cause soreness and apply ice to the affected area for 5-10 minutes at a time to decrease inflammation.

Restoring normal joint mobility is the next goal. If your chiropractor discovers that SI joint restrictions are part of the problem, chiropractic adjustments will be used to restore alignment and function. If joint instability is suspected, you may also be asked to temporarily wear an SI belt – a device that wraps around the pelvis to stabilize the SI joints.

Finally, your chiropractor may recommend specific stretching or strengthening exercises, combined with regular chiropractic adjustments, to balance the alignment of your pelvis in the long term.

Chiropractic

How Does Chiropractic Promote Overall Wellness?

Chiropractors know that adjustments are good for your general health. Millions of satisfied patients cannot be wrong. But what do chiropractors know that the rest of us do not?

They know the nervous system is the one system in the body that directly affects every other system. This is because nerves conduct sensory information from every part of the body and then delivers this information to the brain. Once there, the brain analyzes the information to determine what the body needs to maintain a healthy state. So the health of this system is paramount to the good health of the rest of the body.

Chiropractors recognize that misalignment in the spine can interfere with proper nervous system function. More specifically, chiropractors study the effects of vertebral subluxations conditions of the spine where alignment and/or movement patterns of the vertebrae are abnormal. When this occurs, imbalances cause irritation and inflammation. In turn this can cause interference with information that is transmitted along nerves and spinal cord. Chiropractors are the only health care professionals specifically trained to locate and correct spinal subluxations.

This is the principal reason why chiropractors should be called wellness doctors. Every time a chiropractor corrects a vertebral subluxation, the positive effects are felt in multiple systems simultaneously.

Where’s the Proof?

For decades, scientific research has focused on the use of chiropractic adjustments for low back pain, neck pain and headaches.1-3 In fact, there is now clear evidence to recommend chiropractors as the go-to professionals for spinal pain syndromes. However, with the rising popularity of wellness- based philosophies focused on non-traditional approaches to health, chiropractors are being asked to justify their role.

The traditional medical model of symptom-based healthcare is rapidly waning. We no longer feel we have to be sick to call upon a health professional for advice. Instead, we are focusing more on the detrimental effects stress has on our bodies, and the therapies that address the mind-body connection are getting much more attention.

In a recent report from the Center for Disease Control, the four most popular forms of alternative and complementary medicine were listed as: natural products, deep breathing, meditation and chiropractic!

People are casting their votes with their healthcare dollars and chiropractors are taking a leadership role in this new wellness model. As a profession whose core philosophy is about the optimization of the brain- body communication network, chiropractic can be viewed as a therapy with an emphasis on whole body health and wellness

Research is catching up to what chiropractors have known for years. In a recent study that reviewed all the available research to date, investigators found that “chiropractic adjustments, often for the purpose of correcting vertebral subluxation, confer measurable health benefits to people regard- less of the presence or absence of symptoms.”5 More people are seeking what chiropractic offers: optimization of health and an improved quality of life, with a spine free of vertebral subluxations!

In a multi-nation study involving hundreds of chiropractors and thou- sands of chiropractic patients, researchers sought to measure the incidence of non-musculoskeletal responses to chiropractic therapy. What they found was that a number of patients experienced systemic benefits from their chiropractic treatments whether or not they mentioned any symptoms in these areas at the onset of care. The most common benefits reported in this study were breathing (27%), digestion (26%) and circulation (21%).6

In yet another ground-breaking study, chiropractic adjustments were shown to actually decrease blood pressure, one of the leading causes for preventable death in North America (in relation to the incidence of heart-attacks and strokes). The study stood up to medical scrutiny and showed unequivocally that vertebral subluxations – of the upper cervical vertebra in this case – can be detrimental to the health of the individual, and not just a pain in the neck.7

From these research results, chiropractors clearly have a greater role in your health and wellness than just treating sore backs. Chiropractic care should be considered an invaluable tool for you to not only help you feel well, but to also help you be well.

References and sources:

1. Dagenais S, Gay RE, Tricco AC, Freeman MD & Mayer JM. NASS Contemporary Concepts in Spine Care: Spinal Manipulation Therapy for Acute Low Back Pain. Spine Journal 2010 (Oct.); 10(10): 918-940.

2. Bronfort G, Assendelft WJJ, Evans R, Haas M & Bouter L. Efficacy of Spinal Manipulation for Chronic Headache: A Systematic Review. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2001 (Sept.); 24(7): 457-466

3. Thiel HW & Bolton JE. Predic- tors For Immediate and Global Responses to Chiropractic Manipulation of the Cervical Spine. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2008 (Mar.); 31(3): 172-183.

4. Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin R. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States, 2007. CDC National Health Statistics Report #12. December 10, 2008.

5. Hannon SM. Objective Physiologic Changes and Associated Health Benefits of Chiro- practic Adjustments in Asymptom- atic Subjects: A Review of the Literature. J Vertebral Subluxation Research 2004 (Apr.): 1-9.

6. Leboeuf-Yde C, Pedersen EN, Bryner P, Cosman D, Hayek R, Meeker WC, Shaik J, Terrazas O, Tucker J & Walsh M. Self-reported Nonmusculoskeletal Responses to Chiropractic Intervention: A Multi- nation Survey. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2005 (Jun.); 28(5): 294-302.

7. Bakris G, Dickholtz M, Meyer PM, Kravitz G, Avery E, Miller M, Brown J, Woodfield C & Bell B. Atlas Vertebra Realignment and Achievement of Arterial Pressure Goal in Hypertensive Patients: A Pilot Study. Journal of Human Hypertension 2007 (May); 21(5): 347-352.

Chiropractic

How Chiropractic Treatments Work

Most of the benefits associated with chiropractic care are due to patients receiving specific chiropractic adjustments. Chiropractic adjustments work by helping to place your body in the proper position that then allows the body to heal itself. Safety is paramount. Indeed, as a holistic and alternative treatment approach, chiropractic adjustments can reduce stress placed on someone’s immune system, freeing up energy to be used towards disease prevention and maintaining homeostasis. Chiropractic care aims to address the whole body, enhancing patients’ ability to think, move and perform.

  • Chiropractors pride themselves on taking a natural, drugless approach to helping their patients reach their health goals. Essentially, the basic principle upon which the entire profession is built is that the body has the amazing, innate ability to heal itself (under the right conditions); it is the chiropractor’s job to help create an environment that facilitate this inner-healing process and where safety is assured.
  • Because the nervous system controls every cell and organ in your body, chiropractors focus their attention on the health of the spine being properly aligned. If the spine shifts out of its proper place, then adjustments are used to help bring the spine back into alignment.
  • At the core of numerous chiropractic miracle stories is a concept known as “vertebral subluxation.” When chiropractors use this phrase, they refer to mechanical compression and irritation to spinal joints and nerves.

Case in point: the very first chiropractic patient in history was named William Harvey Lillard, who experienced difficulty hearing due to compression of the nerves leading to his ears. He was treated by “the founder of chiropractic care,” David. D. Palmer, who gave Lillard spinal adjustments in order to reduce destructive nerve compressions and restore his hearing. After doing extensive research about physiology, Palmer believed that Lillard’s hearing loss was due to a misalignment that blocked the spinal nerves that controlled the inner ear (an example of vertebral subluxation). Palmer went on to successfully treat other patients and eventually trained other practitioners how to do the same. The first college of chiropractic was founded in 1897 and named after Palmer, called the Palmer Chiropractic School & Cure.

Lillard is just one example of a patient who was able to overcome a serious problem in part by receiving targeted chiropractic adjustments. For someone else, it could be that sciatica (nerve pain down the back of their legs) is compromising their quality of life, or for another person, gastrointestinal discomfort. When you consider how most cells and organs in your body are controlled by nerves traveling through your spinal canal, it’s mind-blowing to consider how vast the positive outcomes of realigning these nerves can be.

Complementary treatments to chiropractic include Spinal Decompression Therapy, which involves stretching the spine, using a traction table or similar motorized device, in order to relieve back pain and/or leg pain. Deep tissue massage therapy, acupuncture and physical therapy are considered other common complementary therapies.

Car Accident, Chiropractic

Chiropractic Care After A Car Accident

When it comes to car accidents, paramedics are often the first health care professionals who attend to your needs. Their job is to assess whether you should be rushed to the hospital for immediate medical treatment or deal with any life-threatening injuries right on the scene. Fractures, concus­sions, lacerations and other potential internal injuries will necessitate your escorted trip to the hospital.

What if the paramedics tell you that you are not injured enough to go to the hospital, but you still don’t feel quite right? In this article we look at frequent problems your musculoskeletal system often encounters after a car accident.

Common Injuries

Some people encounter pain and tension right away. For others, the symptoms may get worse over time.

Whether the impact occurs from the front or the rear, your neck is usually the most vulnerable area of your body in any motor vehicle accident. Car collisions involve rapid changes in acceleration and deceleration. Your body is held relatively still by a seat belt, whereas your head and neck are free to move.

This typically results in the neck moving very rapidly through an excessive range of motion, contributing to hyperflexion-hyperextension injuries that can affect soft tissues in the neck, as well as joint capsules and interverte­bral discs. Whiplash is the name often associated with car accident neck injuries.

Symptoms from whiplash may include any or all of the following:

Neck pain and inflammation, Arm pain, numbness or tingling, Headaches, Nausea, Dizziness, lack of concentration or clarity of thought, depression, anxiety, TMJ or jaw pain, mid or lower back pain even spinal disc symptoms.

Depending upon the degree of injury, your recommended course of action will differ. To determine what you should do, first consult with your chiropractor. Chiropractors are musculoskeletal specialists. They have the know-how to assess and treat almost any problem related to the nerves, muscles, joints and connective tissues of the spine.

Your chiropractor will conduct a physical assessment of you and determine the best course of action.

In some cases, early mobilization can lead to a much speedier recovery. If instability of the joints and tissues is suspected, your chiropractor may suggest avoiding movement too soon.

Most of the time it will feel best to remain immobile for the first 48-72 hours immediately following an automobile accident.  Your body will respond to any injury with an inflam­matory reaction. This makes the damaged area both swollen and pain sensitive. Attempted movements during this time will usually cause more pain. Muscles around the injured area tend to spasm – effectively splinting the area and preventing further damage. Muscle spasm can also cause greater compres­sion and/or irritation of the joints, leading to more pain.

This pain-spasm-pain cycle should be prevented as much as possible, especially early in the recovery process following a motor vehicle accident. Cooling the immediate area of injury with ice for 5-10 minutes at a time may help limit the painful effects of inflammation. In addition, resting or lying down during the first few days will ease the postural strain felt around the neck and shoulders, and help promote healing.

After this initial inflammatory stage, a patient is recommended to resume normal movements as soon as possible – within a reasonable range and within the patient’s pain tolerance. If immobility is prolonged, muscle atrophy and weakness can make recovery and rehabilitation from a whiplash injury more difficult.

If movement is not encouraged, muscle spasm can often persist, causing an increased compressive load on the discs and joints of the neck, potentially leading to chronic problems.

Vertebral subluxations in the neck and upper back are commonly found in those who experience car accidents. Therefore, at any stage of healing and recovery from whiplash-associated injuries, chiropractic adjustments can reduce pain and restore normal func­tion.

Car accidents may be a pain in the neck, but chiropractic can help!

References and sources:

1. Management of whiplash associated disorders– Sacramento (CA): International Chiropractors Association of California; 2009. 55 p.

Chiropractic

Chiropractic beats medication for neck pain!

For Neck Pain,Chiropractic and Exercise Are Better Than Drugs

Seeing a chiropractor or engaging in light exercise relieves neck pain more effectively than relying on pain medication, new research shows.

The new study is one of the few head-to-head comparisons of various treatments for neck pain, a problem that affects three quarters of Americans at some point in their lives but has no proven, first-line treatment. While many people seek out spinal manipulation by chiropractors, the evidence supporting its usefulness has been limited at best.

But the new research, published in TheAnnals of Internal Medicine, found that chiropractic care or simple exercises done at home were better at reducing pain than taking medications like aspirin, ibuprofen or narcotics.

“These changes were diminished over time, but they were still present,” said Dr. Gert Bronfort, an author of the study and research professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Minnesota. “Even a year later, there were differences between the spinal manipulation and medication groups.”

Moderate and acute neck pain is one of the most frequent reasons for trips to primary care doctors, prompting millions of visits every year. For patients, it can be a difficult problem to navigate. In some cases the pain and stiffness crop up without explanation, and treatment options are varied. Physical therapy, pain medication and spinal manipulation are popular options, but Dr. Bronfort was inspired to carry out an analysis because so little research exists.

“There was a void in the scientific literature in terms of what the most helpful treatments are,” he said.

To find out, Dr. Bronfort and his colleagues recruited a large group of adults with neck pain that had no known specific cause. The subjects, 272 in all, were mostly recruited from a large HMO and through advertisements. The researchers then split them into three groups and followed them for about three months.

One group was assigned to visit a chiropractor for roughly 20-minute sessions throughout the course of the study, making an average of 15 visits. A second group was assigned to take common pain relievers like acetaminophen and- in some cases, at the discretion of a doctor – stronger drugs like narcotics and muscle relaxants. The third group met on two occasions with physical therapists who gave them instructions on simple, gentle exercises for the neck that they could do at home. They were encouraged to do 5 to 10 repetitions of each exercise up to eight times a day.

After 12 weeks, the people in the non-medication groups did significantly better than those taking the drugs. About 57 percent of those who met with chiropractors and 48 percent who did the exercises reported at least a 75percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group.

A year later, when the researchers checked back in, 53 percent of the subjects who had received spinal manipulation still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, similar to the exercise group. That compared to just a 38percent pain reduction among those who had been taking medication.

Dr. Bronfort said it was a “big surprise” to see that the home exercises were about as effective as the chiropractic sessions. “We hadn’t expected that they would be that close,” he said. “But I guess that’s good news for patients.”

In addition to their limited pain relief, the medications had at least one other downside: people kept taking them. “The people in the medication group kept on using a higher amount of medication more frequently throughout the follow-up period, up to a year later,” Dr. Bronfort said. “If you’re taking medication over a long time, then we’re running into more systemic side effects like gastrointestinal problems.”

He also expressed concern that those on medications were not as empowered or active in their own care as those in the other groups. “We think it’s important that patients are enabled to deal with as much control over their own condition as possible,” he said. “This study shows that they can play a large role in their own care.”