Chiropractic for Health

Spinal manipulation in chiropractic medicine has evolved greatly since the first high-velocity adjustment performed by D.D. Palmer in the late 1800s.  The scientific merit of spinal dysfunction and therapeutic benefits of spinal manipulation for neuromusculoskeletal conditions were challenged in the early days of chiropractic.

Now, with more research and evidence based outcome measures chiropractors have embraced,  chiropractic has been generally accepted for back pain, neck pain, sciatica, joint problems, sprains, strains, osteoarthritis, herniated discs and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

In fact, scientific evidence has indicated that spinal manipulation is a safe, mild-to-moderate pain reliever for lower back pain, neck pain and headache, and recent health care guidelines have listed it as a viable treatment option for symptoms that do not respond to self-care, and may even be the best, first line of treatment for many of these MSK conditions.

And as research continues, we are finding out that the high velocity, low amplitude “popping” style of adjustment techniques aren’t the only hands-on techniques that provide measurable relief. Softer, lower force or “Low-velocity, low amplitude” adjustments involving the hands and even instruments and machines, and various other adjustments incorporating many specialized movements can be just as effective for those looking for MSK pain relief.

So, there’s no need to be nervous about the noise, You can choose many different styles of chiropractic care!

A 2009 evidence-based report on population, health and total health care spending suggested that chiropractic care of back pain and neck pain provides higher satisfaction, superior outcomes and more cost-effectiveness than other commonly-utilized back and neck pain treatments, which can include simple rest, medications, surgery and more.

Adapted from: Evolution of Chiropractic Medicine in Health Care; peer reviewed and published 2009, in Spine Health. Click here for full article.

Schedule your chiropractic visit here

Chiropractic and Degenerative Disc Disease

Chiropractic research on disc degeneration has gained attention in recent years. Several studies have explored the effectiveness of chiropractic care in managing disc degeneration and related symptoms. Here are some key findings from relevant research: A systematic review published in The Spine Journal in 2018 assessed the outcomes of chiropractic treatment for degenerative disc disease. The study concluded that chiropractic care can provide significant improvements in pain reduction and functional outcomes for patients with disc degeneration. Another study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in 2014 evaluated the long-term effects of chiropractic care for chronic low back pain, including disc degeneration. The findings suggested that chiropractic treatment can lead to sustained improvements in pain and disability over a one-year period. In a randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics in 2009, researchers compared the effectiveness of chiropractic care and exercise therapy for chronic low back pain with disc degeneration. The study concluded that both treatments can provide significant pain relief, but chiropractic care showed additional benefits in terms of disability reduction. 

While these studies suggest that chiropractic care can be beneficial for individuals with disc degeneration, it is important to note that individual outcomes may vary. It is advisable to consult with a qualified chiropractor or healthcare professional to determine the most appropriate treatment approach for your specific condition.

Infrared Therapy

Chronic Pain a Chronic Problem

An estimated 20% of American adults suffer from chronic pain, contributing to skyrocketing healthcare bills, lost productivity, and poor quality of life across the nation.

Infrared light therapy is a modern approach to chronic pain management. Free from harmful chemicals and the risk of dependency, light therapy is a more natural method of healing your body from the inside out.

Rather than simply masking pain, infrared light therapy works differently to treat the underlying condition, enhancing tissue repair and performance, and allowing your body to perform at an optimal level of health and wellness.

How does it work?

Near-infrared wavelengths can penetrate deep into the muscle and joint tissue to alleviate pain, increase circulation and decrease inflammation. Infrared red light therapy provides compromised cells with extra energy to accelerate the natural repair of compromised tissue cells, foster cell production, and restore homeostasis within the body.

Light energy stimulates the release of nitric oxide, causing blood vessels to increase in diameter (vasodilation) and allowing more blood flow, oxygen, and other important factors to be delivered.

This increase in oxygen and nutrients, along with stimulation of the light energy emitted from red- and near infrared LED devices increases ATP production, which activates pain relieving pathways. This decreases pain and inflammation, and increases tissue regeneration in the localized area.

Consider adding LED light therapy to your health and wellness care.

Questions? Feel free to explore more on my blog, the Celluma LED therapy website (this is the FDA approved LED therapy panel we use), or contact me here.

Greens are good for your Grey Matter

Spinach may be a nutritional powerhouse that feeds the body, and the mind. A new study finds adding more spinach and other leafy greens to your diet could slow down cognitive decline as you age.

Be like Popeye…

Researchers followed more than 950 older adults for up to a decade. At the start, participants filled out detailed questionnaires about their daily food and beverage intake. Then, they underwent a battery of tests annually to assess cognitive abilities.

The researchers found that men and women who ate one to two servings of green leafy vegetables per day had the cognitive ability of a person 11 years younger than those who consumed none. They looked more closely at individual nutrients and found that vitamin K, lutein, folate and beta-carotene were most likely helping to preserve brain function.

The lead researcher says, “increasing consumption of green leafy vegetables could offer a very simple, affordable and non-invasive way of potentially protecting your brain from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”

From MedLine Plus

Chiropractic and Degenerative Disc Disease

Chiropractic for Health

Spinal manipulation in chiropractic medicine has evolved greatly since the first high-velocity adjustment performed by D.D. Palmer in the late 1800s.  The scientific merit of spinal dysfunction and therapeutic benefits of spinal manipulation for neuromusculoskeletal conditions were challenged in the early days of chiropractic.

Now, with more research and evidence based outcome measures chiropractors have embraced,  chiropractic has been generally accepted for back pain, neck pain, sciatica, joint problems, sprains, strains, osteoarthritis, herniated discs and other musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions.

In fact, scientific evidence has indicated that spinal manipulation is a safe, mild-to-moderate pain reliever for lower back pain, neck pain and headache, and recent health care guidelines have listed it as a viable treatment option for symptoms that do not respond to self-care, and may even be the best, first line of treatment for many of these MSK conditions.

And as research continues, we are finding out that the high velocity, low amplitude “popping” style of adjustment techniques aren’t the only hands-on techniques that provide measurable relief. Softer, lower force or “Low-velocity, low amplitude” adjustments involving the hands and even instruments and machines, and various other adjustments incorporating many specialized movements can be just as effective for those looking for MSK pain relief.

So, there’s no need to be nervous about the noise, You can choose many different styles of chiropractic care!

A 2009 evidence-based report on population, health and total health care spending suggested that chiropractic care of back pain and neck pain provides higher satisfaction, superior outcomes and more cost-effectiveness than other commonly-utilized back and neck pain treatments, which can include simple rest, medications, surgery and more.

Adapted from: Evolution of Chiropractic Medicine in Health Care; peer reviewed and published 2009, in Spine Health. Click here for full article.

National Chiropractic Health Month

Why Choose Chiropractic?

Chiropractic is the third-largest primary health care profession, surpassed in number only by doctors of medicine and dentistry. Doctors of chiropractic treat about 35 million Americans annually.

This October during NCHM 2023, DCs nationwide will share information about chiropractic’s non-drug approach and encourage those who have been sidelined by MSK pain to consider chiropractic care alone or in conjunction with other treatments as a way to feel better and return to what matters most. Follow along on handsdownbetter.org and on Instagram @handsdownbetter.

Chiropractic Care for Arthritis Pain

Many studies support chiropractic to be effective in pain management, patient satisfaction and cost containment when compared to pharmaceutical as well as other forms of health care for those with arthritic pain.

View full article from Arthritis Health here.

There are a variety of manual (hands-on) therapies that some people find helpful in managing their arthritis symptoms. One of the more common treatments include manual manipulation, which is one very common form of chiropractic care.

Chiropractic and Arthritis

Chiropractors have become an integral part in pain management, frequently working side-by-side with massage therapists, acupuncturists, medical doctors, physical therapists, and others in a group or multidisciplinary setting.

While some people with arthritis say they benefit from chiropractic manipulation, certain types of manipulation such as the commonly employed “high velocity low amplitude” (HVLA) thrust manipulation (this is the type that commonly leads to the joint “popping” sound) can carry serious risks for certain people, such as those with active, inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis and those experiencing certain stages of ankylosing spondylitis. Luckily, there are many choices chiropractors have to reduce the likelihood or risk of serious side effects ( drop table, instrument assisted adjustments, joint distraction and mobilization, to name a few).

Better joint motion => improved quality of life

Along with joint manipulation, chiropractors have a number of other tools that can be beneficial in reducing inflammation, reducing chronic pain and improving joint motion, thereby improving your quality of life!

Talk to your provider about things you can do / they can do, to help relieve the joint pain associated with arthritis.

Contact / Schedule with Dr. Caroleigh here

References:

Muller R, Giles LGF. Long-term follow-up of a randomized clinical trial assessing the efficacy of medication, acupuncture, and spinal manipulation for chronic mechanical spinal pain syndromes. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2005;1(28):3-11.

Sarnat RL, Winterstein J, Cambron JA. Clinical utilization and cost outcomes from an integrative medicine independent physician association: An additional 3-year update. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2007 (May);4(30):263-269.

Shengelia R, Parker SJ, Ballin M, George T, Reid MC. Complementary therapies for osteoarthritis: are they effective? Pain Manag Nurs. 2013 Dec;14(4):e274-88. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2012.01.001. Epub 2012 Mar 21. Review. PubMed PMID: 24315281; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3857560.

Chiropractic Adjustments are Uniquely Effective at Improving Joint Function

Reference: Haavik and Murphy (2012) The role of spinal manipulation in addressing disordered sensorimotor integration and altered motor control. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 22(5):768-76.

Dr. Heidi Haavik explains the science regarding chiropractic and it’s effects on joint mobility.
Screenshot: DrLeeTV

It is a fundamentally important job of the brain to perceive, move, and control a motion segment or joint, and to recognize whether or not that joint is painful or pain-free.

When this input is altered from a lack of proper joint motion, so too is the ability of the brain to perceive, move, and control that joint, and this can also lead to pain. (Garbage in, garbage out as the expression goes.)

But can chiropractic REALLY help joint motion, thereby sending positive information to the brain about the joint’s motion (and likely it’s level of pain)?

Turns out, the answer is YES!

Thanks to over a decade worth of painstaking research, we now know that chiropractic adjustments do improve sensory input (what the joint feels like while it’s at rest / static) and the sensorimotor (how the joint feels when it moves) integration of brain’s processing of that information from any given joint segment.

An improvement in function most likely leads to and improved ability to perform activities of daily living, and may also reduce pain and other symptoms thus providing a significant improvement in quality of life.

Screenshot: DrLeeTV

Think of it like this… the spine is like the “armor” around our spinal cord. And our spinal cord, part of our Central Nervous System (CNS), is the information superhighway receiving input from our body and our surroundings, and sending out information on how we need to respond to said information. A “dent” in our armor, like chronic postural overload or an acute trauma like whiplash, will slow or distort incoming and outgoing stats. These “dents” appear to normalize following high velocity, low-amplitude manipulation; aka manual chiropractic adjustments (**The study centered around manual adjustments, there was no information regarding a lower velocity, low-amplitude manipulations.**)

Take-Home Points:

The era of having to “believe” in chiropractic is over. Chiropractic science is as valid as medical science or dental science and the evidence for chiropractic adjustment far exceeds any other intervention with respect to restoring joint function, reducing symptoms, and improving quality of life.

When you follow the science – it leads you toward chiropractic adjustments!

What are you doing with your brain?

After this, your brain will not be the same, thanks to neuroplasticity.