Pseudo Angina

Spinal dysfunction and chest pain & breathing problems.

One prominent cardiologist, Kunert, from Germany, has shown links between spinal dysfunction and chest pain & breathing problems (often called pseudo-angina).

A neurologist, Lewit, from Prague, writes at length of his experimental and clinical experience using spinal manipulation to treat patients with respiratory problems, heart dysfunction, digestive problems, gynaecological disorders, migraine, vertigo/dizziness, and other conditions.

Grieve, a noted and well-published English physiotherapist notes that "all those experienced in manipulation can report a benefit from manual or mechanical treatment for conditions such as migraines, vertigo, subjective visual disturbances, feelings of retro-orbital pressure, dysphagia (difficulty with swallowing), dysphonia (difficulty with speech), heaviness of a limb, restriction of respiratory excursion, abdominal nausea and the cold sciatic leg".

The pseudo angina conditions require a short trial of treatment to determine benefits.



Headaches arising from the neck

Cervicogenic Headaches.

Headache is a common pain symptom, and a recent study shows that chiropractic can alleviate certain kinds of headaches.

Cervicogenic headaches originate in the neck, and they often start with some kind of neck injury due to trauma or an motor vehicle accident.

Researchers in this new study worked with 80 patients with chronic cervicogenic headaches.
Patients received either chiropractic adjustments or light massage.

Patients in the chiropractic group improved substantially more than massage patients. Not only did chiropractic patients have better scores on pain and disability tests, they also experienced a 50% reduction in overall symptoms. By the end of the study, they had a 33% reduction in medication usage and Chiropractic restores the normal flexibility and function of the spine to relieve cervicogenic head pain. If you're suffering from headache, chiropractic can be a safe and effective way to treat pain and improve your health.

Haas M, Spegman A, Peterson D, Aickin M, Vavrek D. Dose response and efficacy of spinal
manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized controlled trial. The Spine Journal 2010; 10: 117-128. ...research link



Athletic Performance

Many athletes use chiropractic to recover from injury or difficult workouts. A new award-winning study suggests that chiropractic can also improve athletic performance.

In this study, researchers examined the effects of chiropractic on 18 professional judo athletes in Brazil. Half of the athletes received chiropractic adjustments and the other half received a sham treatment. Researchers then evaluated athletes' grip strength using a device that measures muscle force.

Despite the fact that both groups maintained their regular training schedules throughout the study, the chiropractic group had substantially better outcomes. After just three treatments, the chiropractic group improved their grip strength by 11% on the left side and 17% on their right, while athletes in the sham treatment group had only improved by 4-6%.

This study is more evidence that chiropractic improves nervous system functioning, which in turn strengthens muscles.

Whether it's injury prevention or enhancing peak performance, chiropractic care can play a vital role in keeping your nervous system working efficiently.

You don't have to be a professional athlete to benefit from chiropractic. Call our office today to see how we can help.

Botelho MB, Andrade BB. Effect of cervical spine manipulative therapy on judo athletes' grip strength. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2012;35(11):38-44.



Older Adults

Older adults and the efficacy of chiropractic care.

A new literature review discussed:

With aging comes a number of new aches and pains. Unfortunately, research shows that although older adults are more likely to experience back pain, they are less likely to seek care for their pain than younger adults. It's important to know that you don't have to resign yourself to a life filled with pain.

Chiropractic care is a safe, effective treatment for a variety of conditions associated with aging. Research shows that chiropractic can help back, neck, and joint pain; dizziness; or pain from osteoarthritis, scoliosis, and spinal degeneration. A 2009 study found that older patients receiving chiropractic adjustments experience significantly less disability and pain compared to patients not receiving chiropractic.

Chiropractic works best when combined with exercise and nutrition. A recent study of older adults showed that those involved in physical activity had substantially less pain-related disability than non-active adults. By improving balance, gait, and strength, exercise and chiropractic can also play an important role in fall prevention.

The researchers pointed out that adequate nutrition and supplementation can also support fall prevention. Your chiropractor can coach you in making the right dietary and vitamin choices.

Chiropractic care is more than just treating pain. It's also about helping you lead a fulfilling, healthy life - regardless of age.

Dougherty PE, Hawk C, and Weiner D, et al. The role of chiropractic care in older adults. Chiropractic and Manual Therapies 2012; 20 (3): doi:10.1186/2045-709X-20-3.

Hondras MA, Long CR, Cao Y, Rowell RM, Meeker WC. A randomized controlledtrial comparing 2 types of spinal manipulation and minimal conservative medical care for adults 55 years and older with subacute or chronic low back pain. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapy 2009; 32:330-343.

Hicks GE, Benvenuti F, Fiaschi V, Lombardi B, Segenni L, Stuart M, Pretzer-Aboff I, Gianfranco G, Macchi C. Adherence to a community-based exercise program is a strong predictor of improved back pain status in older adults: an observational study. Clinical Journal of Pain 2012; 28(3):195-203.

Foot Orthotics plus Chiropractic eases low back pain

Foot Orthotics Plus Chiropractic Eases Low Back Pain

Did you know your feet may be to blame for back pain? The shape and arch of your feet affect how your body bears weight as you move. Having a high arch, decreased ankle flexion, or smaller drop of the… More...

The post Foot Orthotics Plus Chiropractic Eases Low Back Pain appeared first on Chiropractic News by ChiroNexus.



Sitting desk work dangers

Desk jobs can be killers, literally. Michael Jensen, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic, is talking on the phone, but his voice is drowned out by what sounds like a vacuum cleaner. "I'm sorry," he says. "I'm on a treadmill."

David Dunstan, an Australian researcher, uses a speakerphone so he can walk around his office at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne.

It is not that Jensen and Dunstan are hyperactive. Rather, both are exercise researchers looking into the link between sitting down and premature death. And what they have found is disturbing enough that they both make sure they spend most of the day on their feet.



High Heel shoe dangers

X-ray of person with high heal shoe.

X-ray of person with high heal shoe. Look at the front of the foot to observe the mechanical stress of the fore foot.



Diet

No diet is bullet proof and each one of us must find the diets that makes us feel best and which, in our view, gives us the best shot at health and happiness. We can greatly reduce our risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancers and other ills with diet, but we can't eliminate these risks. Will we live longer if we eat better? It's impossible to know.

Given these truths, here are some suggested guidelines for finding the right diet for you.

1. Your diet is good if it is helping you achieve normal blood sugar, decent cholesterol readings, low triglycerides and a good blood pressure. If you already have some of these problems, your diet is a good one if it is lessening these markers or allowing you to decrease your medications.
2. Your diet is good if it is allowing you to stay a a good weight. That weight doesn't have to correspond to a perfect BMI, but it should be as low as you can comfortably maintain and should stay relatively stable.
3. Your diet is good if your energy is good. If you are sluggish or have no energy to get out and move around, look at making a dietary change.
4. Your diet is good if it exposes you to the fewest carcinogens. We get enough exposure to cancer causing chemicals in our air, plastics, x-rays, and modern products. Avoidance of processing and additives is the basis for every healthy diet.
5. Your diet is good if you can believe in it and stick to it. If you are simply eating reflexively, without any specific thought, it's unlikely that your diet is healthy. The reason is simple: we are presented with few good choices. In order to eat well, we have to eat mindfully.
6. Your diet is good if you wake up without guilt.
7. Your diet is good if eating it makes you not only healthy, but happy.

This is the best we can do. But even this is a lot. In the meantime, don't waste your time feeling badly about the fact that you don't eat perfectly. Find your own way.

This article was by Barbara Berkeley http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/09/waste-time-finding-perfect-diet.html



Exercises and Activity

I often get asked about "muscle problems" and how to treat them with exercises and activity. There is a popular mis-conception that muscles are the prime cause of spinal issues. The vast majority of patients have a combination of a "nerve-muscle-joint" problem. The muscle represents no more than one third of the problem. I believe that the "nerve-joint" relationship is more important and once we restore the function of that system, then the muscles are then able to function properly.

Recent research has shown that "muscle problems" respond really well to chiropractic care. In fact one of my colleagues', Heidi Haavik, who has a PhD from Auckland University, has recently done research that has determined that one chiropractic treatment has the same neurophysiological effect as three weeks of exercises.

http://www.chiropractic.ac.nz/chiropractic-education/content/178/Research-News/

http://www.chiropractic.ac.nz/chiropractic-education/content/119/Current-Research/

Whilst it is important to stay busy and active, I believe that specific exercises are over-rated and have little benefit in sorting out issues in the spine.

You may not in the past have seen my YouTube clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NavAyvSrrqc

Feel free to have a look at it and if you feel inclined, please email me with any comments that you have.