Dr. Forman

Don't Mask Pain and Discomfort, Treat It

Chiropractic care and pain management in hauppauge, NY

If you've recently sustained an injury or are experiencing back and neck pain

many medical specialists will prescribe narcotics or muscle relaxers and recommend you "take it easy" until your body heals itself. However drugs will only mask the pain and your body may not be able to correct some issues such as improper spinal alignment

What if you could instantly reduce pain and speed up recovery

At the Spine & Wellness Center of Smithtown

we specialize in treating pain and discomfort caused by sports injuries, strained muscles, improper alignments and more through chiropractic care and massage therapy. Our natural treatment methods have been practiced for thousands of years and are further enhanced by our holistic approach and modern technology

So stop masking the pain and waiting for recovery.

Start feeling your best, living your best by seeking chiropractic care and massage therapy in Hauppauge, New York at the Spine & Wellness Center of Smithtown

Tried of living with back and neck pain

Seek chiropractic adjustments in hauppauge, NY for back and neck pain

Some over-the-counter medicines claim to reduce back pain up to 24 hours.

If you find yourself reaching for the bottle of temporary relief every day, why not seek a better solution? A chiropractor will assess the cause of your pain and recommend quick, often very relaxing, chiropractic adjustments to treat the pain, not mask it for another day

To speak with a local chiropractor in Hauppauge, NY

about treating and eliminating your back and neck pain, schedule your appointment at the Spine & Wellness Center of Smithtown

Could extremity pain be caused by back or neck issue

Treat extremity pain with chiropractic care and massage therapy

The spine is a hub of nerves that affect nearly every part of your body.

light injuries and misalignments in the back or neck can irritate these nerves and cause pain throughout the body, especially in the extremities. Trust our chiropractor to determine if an issue in your back or neck is the cause of pain in your arms or legs and then recommend the best solution to alleviate your discomfort

If your pain is the result not of a back injury but of a muscle strain we can treat your pain through effective massage therapy.

Instead of continuing to live with your pain or waiting around for it to go away on its own, consider feeling your best and living your best now with chiropractic care and massage therapy at the Spine & Wellness Center of Smithtown

Chiropractic

Dr. Forman is the clinic director of the Spine and Wellness Center of Smithtown

which is dedicated to excellence in holistic healthcare. Dr. Forman is complemented by Harold St. Aubin, licensed massage therapist, as well as Dr. Paul Bernstein, podiatrist, specializing in problems of the foot and ankle, and Dr. Jean Futoran, M.D. specializing in pain management and neurodiagnostic testing.

The Holistic Approach

The holistic approach to healthcare is understood to mean that good health is based on the interdependence and proper functioning of all your body systems.

The proper functioning is based on the integration of the neuromuscular and skeletal systems as they are supported by nutrition, exercise, rest and attitude. This results in a multidimensional/interdisciplinary approach with the understanding that there may be many different causes to a particular problem requiring the skills of a variety of health professionals

Our expertise in the treatment of the spine as well as the upper extremity (shoulder/elbow/wrist/hand) and the lower extremity (hip/knee/ankle/foot) enables us to treat a diversity of problems.

The relationship of a problem in the lower extremities due to the lower back or a problem in the upper extremities due to the neck has been well documented. The knowledge of these relationships has allowed us to treat such problems as the twisted ankles of joggers or racquetball players, carpal tunnel syndrome or tennis elbow, as well as the traditional problems such as lower back pain, headaches, arthritis and scoliosis. This knowledge coupled with good old fashioned caring has allowed Dr. Forman to create a truly special place for healing

The Chrysalis Program

Dr. Forman has created the most comprehensive program for personal transformation that has ever been put together, The Chrysalis Program.

The Chrysalis Program is a blend of eastern traditions and western holistic approaches. The eastern traditions include yoga, tai chi, Qigong and breathing techniques. The more traditional western holistic approaches include chiropractic treatment, massage therapy, sound nutritional principals for an anti-aging/anti-inflammatory lifestyle, cardiovascular exercises, strength training, flexibility and relaxation exercises. This program will help you achieve your personal goal, whether it's weight loss, improved health or increased energy and vitality

Dr. Forman is also available for lectures at your community organization.

Credentials

Clinic Director:

Clinic Director of The Spine & Wellness Center of Smithtown

Doctor of Chiropractic, New York Chiropractic College, 1986

BA, State University of New York at Albany

Certified Chiropractic Sports Practitioner

Board Eligible, Diplomate American Chiropractic Board of Sports Practitioners

Certified Fitness Trainer, International Sports Science Association

Postgraduate Education

Radiology of the Spine & Skeletal Disorders, Dr. Erhardt 100 hour program

The Biomechanical Progression of Scoliosis

Chiropractic Sports Injury Certification

Interdisciplinary Approach to the Treatment of Musculoskeletal Problems

Treatment of Soft Tissue Injuries

Treatment of Trigger Points

The Biomechanics & Treatment of the Lower Extremity

The Biomechanics & Treatment of the Upper Extremity

Diplomate of Chiropractic Sports Injury, Three Year Post Doctorate Program on the Prevention and Treatment of Sports Injuries

Public, Corporate & Civic Programs Sports Programs

Hosted own radio program, "Fitness For Life"

Articles published on: Stress Management, Osteoporosis, Headaches

Adult Education: Prevention of Back Injury

Standard Microsystems Corp.

Norstar Bank Corp. Headquarters

Hauppauge Industrial Association

AHRC

Skills Unlimited

Island Manor Nursing Home

Ronkonkoma Senior Citizens

Bohemia Historical Society

Smithtown Library

Islandia Civic Association

Hampton Inn

Sample Programs

Include:

Anti-Aging

Stress Management for the New Millennium

Prevention of Back Injuries

Prevention of Sports Injuries

The Power of Goal Setting

Customized Programs

Raising Healthy Kids

If drugs are harmful enough to stop when you're pregnant, what makes them less harmful when you're not?

How to cure the common cold

Without medicine it takes 7 days, with medicine it takes a week.

You've heard this classic punch-line about fighting the common cold, and there is truth in this statement. When a child in America starts sniffling or sneezing, the first line of defense that most parents use is a jog to their medicine cabinet.

In 2004, over 3 million prescriptions for five drugs were prescribed to children without adequate studies being conducted on their safety and effectiveness.

Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group.

The Food and Drug Administration was recently quoted as saying that the side effects of many cold medicines are not usually serious

but that severe and deadly side-effects are not only possible, but are becoming more common everyday.

Prescription drug errors double a person's risk of dying in the hospital and cost an estimated $2 billion a year. (Tim Friend, USA Today)

During a five year period in the late 1980's, more than 650,000 children had been reported as severely "ill" as a direct result of taking over the counter drugs, so says the Center for Poison Control.

The most common drug given to sick children - antibiotics - is actually a suppressor to the immune system!

The Journal of American Medical Association found that Amoxicillin is not effective and concluded that children who took the drug for chronic ear infections were 2-6 times more likely to have a recurrence of fluid buildup.

Dr. Ron Pero, former head of the New York Preventative Medicine Institute and Environmental Health at NYU did a study that showed that

"chiropractic patients have an immune system that is 200% stronger" than people who do not receive chiropractic care.

There is a very good possibility that your children will suffer from the same symptoms you, as an adult suffer from.

Other Info

It was recently reported in The Journal of the American Medical Association

that the medical profession accidentally kills someone every 7 minutes, making them the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in this country.

Much of the sickness and colds children "catch" can be dramatically reduced by naturally boosting their immune system.

Children that have received chiropractic adjustments often become far less prone to sickness - and there is a very good reason for this.

200 pediatricians and 200 chiropractors surveyed to determine differences found in the health status of their respective children raised under the different health care models.

The 'chiropractic' children showed a 69% otitis media free response, while the 'medical' children only had a 20% otitis media free response.

van Breda WM; van Breda JM. A comparative study of the health status of children raised under the health care models of chiropractic and allopathic medicine.

J Chiro Res 1989; 5:101-3 / Mantis ID: 10048.

Chiropractic care is the science of removing blockages or misalignments in the spine (called subluxations) so that proper communication from the brain to the body can take place.

Info

What else can a trip to your friendly neighborhood Chiropractor Do for You?

Our job as chiropractors is to remove interference (subluxations) from the master control system of the body - the nervous system.

As you might expect, the body is able to function at its optimum level without the interference, and that's how and why people feel great under chiropractic care. It works because it makes perfect sense!

The outside-in approach is what modern medicine is all about, it's not chiropractic.

Medicine treats the symptom not the cause. We cannot get health from a pill, lotion or potion. Sickness and health come from within.

The theme of our practice (and our life) is to live life to the fullest with intense amounts of fun and energy.

This lifestyle can and should be free of drugs and medications so that symptoms or health problems are not masked, but corrected and/or prevented.

Other Services

You will find research on how drug-free chiropractic care can help some of the most common health problems. Click below to find out more - You will be VERY surprised by what you read!

Allergies

Dr. Erin Elster, DC (Upper Cervical Specialist - July 2003)

"In a person with allergies or asthma, the immune system reacts to harmless substances such as plant pollen or animal dander. This creates allergy symptoms (stuffy nose, watery eyes, skin rash, etc.) or asthma symptoms (wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath). An asthma attack can result from an allergic reaction. Asthma sufferers are more susceptible to having colds develop into bronchitis, which can trigger an asthma attack."

Early Warning Signs Of Asthma and Allergies

The cost of asthma is estimated at more than $12 billion annually, with direct costs exceeding $8 billion and lost earnings due to illness and death adding up to nearly $5 billion. If drugs were the answer and medical treatment was effective, why are more people getting asthma and why are more people dying every year because of it? There has to be a better way! Dr. Len Schwartz," Introduction to Chiropractic" September 2003 New research indicates chiropractic could be beneficial for some individuals suffering from either allergies or Crohn's Disease. According to Japanese researcher Dr. Yasuhiko Takeda, president of the Information and Blood Circulation Research Institute in Osaka, disorders of the mid-to-lower back could have a significant effect on the immune function of certain allergy and Crohn's disease patients. While additional research is needed, the preliminary results are both promising and exciting. SOURCE: JVSR. March 2003, Vol 4, No.4.

Breathing changes

Sneezing

Moodiness

Headache

Runny/stuffy nose

Coughing

Chin or throat itches

Feeling tired

Dark circles under eyes

Trouble sleeping

Poor tolerance for exercise

Arthritis

Source: RAND, 1991.

The September 21, 1999 issue

The September 21, 1999 issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine reports that chiropractic is the most popular and by far the most effective of the wellness disciplines for patients suffering from rheumatologic diseases such as arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Arthritis is the name given to more than 100 different diseases that cause pain, swelling, and limited movement in joints and connective tissue.

One out of every six Americans suffers from some form of arthritis, and unfortunately, the condition can last a lifetime.

In 1997, Americans made an estimated 629 million visits to practitioners of "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM)

compared with just 388 million visits to primary care physicians that same year. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that many arthritis patients used CAM, and that chiropractic was the most frequently used type of care.

Even more significantly, chiropractic was also near the top of the list in terms of the number of patients who regularly used CAM

and the number of patients who found CAM helpful for their condition.

Source: Rao JK, Mihaliak K, Kroenke K, et al.

Use of complementary therapies for arthritis among patients of rheumatologists. Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 1999: Vol. 131, No. 6, pp409-16.

The Annals of Internal Medicine (of all places) published the results of a survey of 232 people who had arthritis and were under a rheumatologists care.

Of those 63% responded to the survey by saying they were using some form of "complementary care" as named by the study. Of those people 31% were using chiropractic. These number may themselves be grossly under reported as only 45% of the patients told their doctor about using the other forms of care.

These reported numbers translate to over 19% of the public who is seeing a rheumatologists is also seeing a chiropractor.

And if less that half of the patients are telling their doctor about it the actual number may be twice as high.

Possibly the most impressive statistic was that 73% of those trying chiropractic found it helpful.

The reasons given why people said they tried the non-medical care was to control pain, because they heard it helps, because it is safe, because it helped someone they know, and because their prescription medication wasn't working.

In a study of geriatrics by the Rand Corporation it was found that 96% of the population studied who use chiropractic had not used nursing home services in the three years before the study.

81% of those who had received chiropractic care didn't need the use of a nursing home, a 15% less nursing home usage by the chiropractic patients.

74% of the people under chiropractic care did not need the use of a hospital in the three years prior to the study versus 53% of the study group not under chiropractic care; a 21% difference.

Should Arthritis Patients Exercise?

Source: Handout on Health: Rheumatoid Arthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. Jan. 1998, revised Nov. 1999. Available from http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/arthritis/rahandout.htm. Questions and Answers about Arthritis and Exercise. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. May 2001. Available from http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/arthritis/arthexfs.htm.

Should Arthritis Patients Exercise?

Exercise is critical in successful arthritis management. It helps maintain healthy and strong muscles, joint mobility, flexibility, endurance, and helps control weight. Rest, on the other hand, helps to decrease active joint inflammation, pain, and fatigue. For best results, arthritis patients need a good balance between the two: more rest during the active phase of arthritis, and more exercise during remission. During acute ystematic flares or local joint flares, patients should put joints gently through their full range of motion once a day, with periods of rest. To see how much rest is best during flares, patients should talk to their health care providers.

Asthma

The Effect of Combining Manual Therapy with Exercise on the Respiratory Function of Normal Individuals:

A Randomized Control Trial

Objective

The objective of this study was to explore the effect of combining manual therapy with exercise on respiratory function in normal individuals.

Methods

The study design was a randomized control trial. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) were measured in 20 healthy, nonsmoking individuals before and after 3 interventions: exercise only, chiropractic manual therapy only, and manual therapy followed by exercise. The participants, 18 to 28 years of age, were randomly allocated to a control and 3 intervention groups. Each participant underwent 6 sessions of interventions over a 4-week period.

Results

The exercise only group showed a significant decrease in FVC (P = .002, generalized linear model (GLM)) and FEV1 readings (P = .0002, GLM). The manual therapy only group showed a significant increase in FVC (P = .000, GLM) and FEV1 (P = .001, GLM). The group that received both manual therapy and exercise showed increases in FVC and FEV1 immediately after manual therapy followed by an additional increase after exercise. The overall increase in this group was not statistically significant. Participants in the control group showed no change in FVC or FEV1.

Conclusions

Manual therapy appears to increase the respiratory function of normal individuals. The potential for this intervention administered before exercise to permit additional tolerance within the respiratory system that could allow an extended exercise program than was previously possible is discussed.

Source

Engel RM, Vemulpad S. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. September 2007; Vol. 30, Iss. 7

A study published in the November / December 2000 issue of Today's Chiropractic gives some insight into the use of chiropractic in combating asthma.

Forty seven patients were observed for a two year period. They had been medically diagnosed with persistent asthma ranging from mild persistent in 11 cases, moderate persistent in 28 cases, to severe persistent in 8 cases. The care rendered consisted of specific chiropractic adjustments. The range of visits was from 14 to 44, with the average being 26 during the study period.

All 47 of the study patients showed "a marked improvement ranging from 87 to 100 percent."

Their symptoms improved as well as a decrease in their usage of acute asthma attack medication. Even more impressive was the fact that all of the patients in the study reported maintaining their improvement after a two-year follow up.

Childhood Asthma and Chiropractic

It is estimated that up to 15 million people suffer from asthma. Of those, 14.8 million are children under the age of 18. In 1993 alone, there were 198,000 hospitalizations for asthma. In that same sample year, 342 people under the age of 25 died due to this problem. In money terms, the direct cost of managing a patient with severe asthma has been estimated at more than $18,000 per year.

Asthma Drugs and Side Effects

Source: Asthma and chiropractic. Garde R. Chiropractic Pediatrics. Vol 1 No.3 Dec, 1994. Source: www.drmikekrantz.com/asthma.htm.

The traditional medical treatment for asthma is anti-inflammatory and bronchodilator drugs.

In some cases, treatment included syrups such as Preventils, which is usually prescribed on a "taken as needed" basis.

The combination of the drugs above promotes drowsiness and may be habit forming.

A patient denied of medication feels they can not breathe properly without it, thus becoming irritable. In some cases they become so irritable that they bring on an asthma attack." Source: www.drmikekrantz.com/asthma.htm

From the abstract Case review of a 6-year-old boy who has had asthma since 1991 and his condition since chiropractic intervention.

Child was prescribed aerosol inhalers (Beclovert and Vertolin) using them every day, up to three times a day. Adjustments were delivered to the cervical, thoracic and lumbar areas. Significant progress. Could run during soccer games and almost never used his inhaler. Slept more soundly. Hardly ever had bouts with mucous clogged nasal passages. Nasal inhalant use stopped.

Asthma Sprays Don't Work Asthma Shots Ineffective

Source: The New England Journal of Medicine in February of 1992.

Allergy shots used as treatment of asthma in children appears to be ineffective.

Studies have proven there were no significant benefits with the shots given to children with moderate to severe asthma. Dr. N. Franklin Adkinson Jr., John Hopkins University.

Nearly 40 million Americans - 25% of the total population - suffer from asthma and other allergy diseases

From: Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER)

October 24, 2002 Des Moines, Iowa

Patients afflicted with asthma may benefit from spinal manipulation in terms of symptoms, immunological capacity, and endocrine effects, an audience was told on October 5 at the 9th International Conference on Spinal Manipulation in Toronto. The investigative team, headed by Ray Hayek, Ph.D., has been conducting a trial at 16 treatment centers in Australia involving 420 patients with an average age of 46 in an effort to find out what effects spinal manipulation has on symptoms, depression and anxiety, general health status, and the levels of immunity as reflected by the concentrations of both an immunoglobulin (IgA) and an immunosuppressant (cortisol). This investigation draws from several references in the scientific literature which suggest that different forms of manual therapy (including massage) improve the symptomatology and lower cortisol levels in asthma patients.

Dr. Hayek reported

Dr. Hayek reported that only the patient group which underwent spinal manipulation (by any of four commonly used manipulative treatment protocols) displayed significant improvement in asthma symptoms and depression and anxiety scores.

Simply experiencing structured interviews at the treatment centers or being monitored at home did not yield these improvements.

In addition, patients actually undergoing spinal manipulation displayed dramatic increases of IgA and decreases of cortisol through the posttreatment period, suggesting that there were physiological consequences to their manipulative treatments reflecting increased immunological capacities which would be expected to ward off subsequent asthmatic attacks.

These biochemical changes not only suggest that the effects of spinal manipulation are more far-reaching than commonly believed, but that they may be more long-term as well.

The gain in immunological capacity achieved with the simultaneous loss of the immunosuppressant cortisol and the increase of the immunoglobulin IgA following spinal manipulation would be expected to reduce the incidence and severity of pathogenic invasion of the airways. There would be less of a risk under these circumstances of compounding the symptoms of asthma.

The immunosuppressing mechanism of glucocorticoids is believed to occur by their reducing the permeability of capillaries

decreasing the migration of white blood cells in inflamed areas, suppressing the release of interleukins, and inhibiting the production of proteolytic enzymes by stabilizing the lysosomal membranes which release them.

This followed contacts that the Director of Research at FCER was able to make with the Australian research community in 1995

Taking into consideration the expertise of the investigative team as well as the fact that Australia's 2 million asthma sufferers have given the Island Continent the dubious distinction of being the asthma capital of the world.

It has been carried out with the support of research grants exceeding a quarter of a million dollars

from both the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER) and the National Chiropractic Mutual Insurance Company (NCMIC). This research, which may be highly influential on the future of the chiropractic profession, is still in need of funding. To contribute to this important project, please call FCER at 800-637-6244,or donate via the Foundation's secure website at: https://www.fcer.org:448/html/asthma_donate.asp

This research represents one of approximately 50 projects administered by FCER

since 1990 in the effort to document both the theory and practice of chiropractic to increase its effective integration into healthcare systems worldwide. The conference at which these results were presented is an international forum which FCER has sponsored at different locations worldwide for the past 14 years.

Back Pain

Back Pain and Chiropractic

Source: Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Verhoef et al. (1997)

"patients suffering from back and/or neck complaints experience chiropractic care as an effective means of resolving or ameliorating pain and functional impairments, thus reinforcing previous results showing the benefits of chiropractic treatment for back and neck pain."

Source: The Manga Report (1993)

"for the management of low-back pain, chiropractic care is the most effective treatment, and it should be fully integrated into the government's health care system."

In the past year over 75% of Americans had back problems.

Almost two thirds of those patients were more satisfied with chiropractic therapies than the care given by a medical doctor. Seventy percent of Americans feel it is important to include chiropractic in their health care plan.

ACA's Booklet, American Perception of Practitioners & Treatments for Back Problems

Source: 2004 Dr. Joseph Mercola.

A team of researchers has identified a catch-22 of lower back pain. Those with lower back injuries can worsen their pain by avoiding using hurt muscles. Other muscles, including those in the abdomen or on the sides of the torso, contort to compensate, leading to greater pressure on the spine and damaging discs.

Back Pain Is The Leading Cause Of Limitation!

Source: 1995-2004 Life Extension Foundation.

According to the National Institutes of Health (Harris et al. 1999), lower back pain is one of the most significant health problems in the United States, with back pain being the most frequent cause of activity limitation in people younger than 45 years of age: 65-80% of all people have back pain at some time in their life.

Source: Finneson BF. A lumbar disc surgery predictive score card: a retrospective evaluation," Spine (1979): 141-144

Researchers state of the 300,000+ spinal disc surgeries as many as 90% are unnecessary and ineffective.

Source: Bigos S, et al. Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, Clinical Practice Guideline No. 14. Rockville, MD, U.S.

Public Health Service, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0642, Dec. 1994. Public Health Service, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0642, Dec. 1994. Annual costs of back pain in the U.S. range from $20 to $75 billion, and as much as $100 billion worldwide.

Source: 1998-2004 ICBS, Inc.

It is estimated that more people see chiropractors for back problems than for all other ailments combined. Chiropractic spinal manipulation has been recognized by the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research as an effective therapy for acute low-back pain. Chiropractic treatment has been found to be more beneficial to patients with persistent back and neck complaints than other forms of manipulation. Research in Great Britain found chiropractic to provide "worthwhile, long-term benefits" for patients with low back pain in comparison to hospital outpatient management. This study also found chiropractic benefits to persist for a three-year period, indicating long-term benefits. For patients with uncomplicated, acute low back pain, chiropractic has also been found to be effective. A cost comparison study of back-related injuries showed the number of work days lost for patients treated with chiropractic to be nearly ten times less than that of patients treated under medical care. Also, average compensation costs for chiropractic care were $68.38, compared to $668.39 for patients treated with standard, non-surgical treatments.

Low Back Pain Facts

Source: Bigos S, et al. Acute Low Back Problems in Adults, Clinical Practice Guideline No. 14. Rockville, MD: US Public Health Service, US Dept. of Health and Human Services, AHCPR Pub. No. 95-0642, Dec. 1994. Source: 1998-2004 ICBS, Inc. In August 1999, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Kansas, presented a study aimed at determining the cost and effectiveness of treating back pain with chiropractic compared with other techniques. The results showed that 38 percent of the patients chose to seek chiropractic care rather than medical care.

80-90% of all adults will suffer with low back pain some time in their life.

Low back pain is the leading cause of disability for people under 45 years of age.

Low back pain is the second leading cause of visits to doctors' offices.

Low back pain is the third leading reason for hospital admissions.

Annual costs of back pain in the U.S. range from $20-$75 billion, and as much as $100 billion worldwide.

Statistics indicate a yearly prevalence rate of 15-20% -- approximately 32 million cases.

Does Back Pain Go Away on Its Own?

Eighty percent of people suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.

Back pain is the second most common reason for visits to the doctor's office, outnumbered only by upper-respiratory infections. Most cases of back pain are mechanical or non-organic, i.e., not caused by serious conditions, such as inflammatory arthritis, infection, fracture, or cancer.

What Causes Back Pain?

The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles.

You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. While sports injuries or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of movements-for example, picking up a pencil from the floor-can have painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.

Back injuries are a part of everyday life, and the spine is quite good at dealing with these often "pulled" muscles.

These very minor injuries usually heal within 1 or 2 days. Some pain, however, continues. What makes some pain last longer is not entirely understood, but researchers suspect that the reasons may include stress, mood changes, and the fear of further injury that may prevent patients from being active. In addition, sometimes a painful injury or disease changes the way the pain signals are sent through the body, and, even after the problem has gone away or is inactive, the pain signals still reach the brain. It is as if the pain develops a memory that keeps being replayed.

Will Back Pain Go Away on Its Own?

Until recently, researchers believed that back pain will "heal" on its own.

We have learned, however, that this is not true. A recent study showed that when back pain is not treated, it may go away temporarily but will most likely return. The study demonstrated that in more than 33% of the people who experience low-back pain, the pain lasts for more than 30 days. Only 9% of the people who had low-back pain for more than 30 days were pain free 5 years later.

Another study looked at all of the available research on the natural history of low-back pain.

The results showed that when it is ignored, back pain does not go away on its own.2 Those studies demonstrate that low-back pain continues to affect people for long periods after it first begins.

What Can I Do to Prevent Long-Term Back Pain?

If your back pain is not resolving quickly, visit your doctor of chiropractic.

Your pain will often result from mechanical problems that your doctor of chiropractic can address. Many chiropractic patients with relatively long-lasting or recurring back pain feel improvement shortly after starting chiropractic treatment.3 The relief they feel after a month of treatment is often greater than after seeing a family physician.

Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective spine pain treatment.

It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.

How Can I Prevent Back Pain?

Don't lift by bending over. Instead, bend your hips and knees and then squat to pick up the object. Keep your back straight, and hold the object close to your body.

Don't twist your body while lifting.

Push, rather than pull, when you must move heavy objects.

If you must sit for long periods, take frequent breaks and stretch.

Wear flat shoes or shoes with low heels.

Exercise regularly. An inactive lifestyle contributes to lower-back pain.

What Should I Tell My Doctor of Chiropractic?

Before any treatment session, tell your doctor of chiropractic if you experience

Pain goes down your leg below your knee.

Your leg, foot, groin, or rectal area feels numb.

You have fever, nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness, or sweating.

You lose bowel control.

Your pain is caused by an injury.

Your pain is so intense you can't move around.

Your pain doesn't seem to be getting better quickly.

Carpal Tunnel

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most expensive of all work- related injuries. Over his or her lifetime, a carpal tunnel patient loses about $30,000 in medical bills and time absent from work. In 1998, an estimated 3 of every 10,000 workers took time off from work because of CTS. Half of them missed more than IO workdays. CTS typically occurs in adults, with women 3 times more likely to develop it than men. The dominant hand is usually affected first, and the pain is typically severe. CTS is especially common in assembly- line workers in manufacturing, sewing, finishing, cleaning, meat packing, and similar industries. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, according to recent research, people who perform data entry at a computer (up to 7 hours a day) are not at increased risk of developing CTS.

What Is CTS?

CTS is a problem of the median nerve, which runs from the forearm into the hand. The median nerve provides sensation to the palm side of the thumb, index, and middle fingers and regulates the function of some small muscles in the hand that move the fingers and thumb. CTS occurs when the median nerve gets compressed in the carpal tunnel-a narrow tunnel at the wrist-made up of bones and soft tissues, such as nerves, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. The compression may result in pain, weakness, and/or numbness in the hand and wrist, which radiates up into the forearm. CTS is the most common of the "entrapment neuropathies"-compression or trauma of the body's nerves in the hands or feet. A similar condition in the foot is called tarsal tunnel syndrome.

What Are the Symptoms?

Symptoms usually begin gradually. Burning, tingling, itching, and/ or numbness in the palm of the hand and thumb, index, and middle fingers are most common. Some people with CTS say that their fingers feel useless and swollen, even though little or no swelling is apparent. Since many people sleep with flexed wrists, the symptoms often first appear while sleeping. When this happens, some people feel the need to "shake off the numbness." As symptoms worsen, they may feel tingling during the day. In addition, weakened grip strength may make it difficult to form a fist, grasp small objects, or perform other manual tasks. Some people develop wasting of the muscles at the base of the thumb. Some are unable to distinguish hot from cold by touch.

Why Does CTS Develop?

Some people have smaller carpal tunnels than others, which makes the median nerve compression more likely. In others, CTS can develop because of an injury to the wrist that causes swelling, over- activity of the pituitary gland, hypothyroidism, diabetes, inflammatory arthritis, mechanical problems in the wrist joint, poor work ergonomics, repeated use of vibrating hand tools, and fluid retention during pregnancy or menopause. In some cases, no cause can be identified.

How Is It Diagnosed?

To avoid permanent damage to the median nerve, CTS should be diagnosed and treated early. A standard physical examination of the hands, arms, shoulders, and neck can help determine if your symptoms are related to daily activities or to an underlying disorder. Your doctor of chiropractic can use other specific tests to try to produce the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. The most common are:

Laboratory tests and x-rays can reveal diabetes, arthritis, fractures, and other common causes of wrist and hand pain.

Sometimes electrodiagnostic tests, such as nerve conduction velocity testing, are used to help confirm the diagnosis. With these tests, small electrodes, placed on your skin, measure the speed at which electrical impulses travel across your wrist. CTS will slow the speed of the impulses and will point your doctor of chiropractic to this diagnosis. These tests can also help determine if some other condition is causing your complaints.

What Is the CTS Treatment?

CTS treatment should begin as early as possible under a doctor's supervision. Initial therapy includes:

Resting the affected hand and wrist

Avoiding activities that may worsen symptoms

Immobilizing the wrist in a splint to avoid further damage from twisting or bending

Applying cool packs to help reduce swelling from inflammations.

Some medications can help with pain control and inflammation.

Studies have shown that vitamin Ek supplements may relieve CTS symptoms.

Chiropractic joint manipulation and mobilization of the wrist and hand.

Stretching and strengthening exercises, soft-tissue mobilization techniques, and even yoga can be helpful. Scientists are also investigating other therapies, such as acupuncture, that may help prevent and treat this disorder. Your doctor of chiropractic can discuss those therapies with you and help you prevent the return of CTS.

Occasionally, patients whose symptoms fail to respond to conservative care may require surgery.

The surgeon releases the ligament covering the carpal tunnel. Today, this outpatient procedure is typically done with an endoscope-a camera that the surgeon uses to see inside the carpal tunnel. The majority of patients recover completely after treatment, and the recurrence rate is low. Proper posture and movement as instructed by your doctor of chiropractic can help prevent CTS recurrences.

How Can CTS Be Prevented?

The American Chiropractic Association recommends the following tips:

Perform on-the-job conditioning, such as stretching and light exercises.

Take frequent rest breaks.

Wear splints to help keep the wrists straight.

Use fingerless gloves to help keep the hands warm and flexible.

Use correct posture and wrist position.

If needed, your doctor of chiropractic can assess your work situation and advise you on restructuring your workstation, job tasks, and handling tools or tool handles, to help you position your wrists naturally during work.

Your doctor of chiropractic can help educate your employer about CTS.

To minimize workplace injuries, jobs can be rotated among workers. Employers can also develop programs in ergonomics-the process of adapting workplace conditions and job demands to workers' physical capabilities.

Your doctor of chiropractic has the knowledge, training, and expertise to help you understand what your problem is and, in many cases, manage it successfully.

Remember, however, that the treatment program can be successful only with your active participation. If your doctor of chiropractic feels that he or she cannot help you, he or she will direct you to another health care provider. Reference: 2002-2004 RedNova.com.

It is not uncommon for pregnant women to suffer the effects of carpal tunnel syndrome.

This is due to the hormonal changes and increased edema (fluid) in the extremities. Subluxation plays a major role in the formation of carpal tunnel in pregnant women. ICA International Review of Chiropractic, Jan./Feb. 1993.

Since 1985, when the U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) accepted that there were "traumatogens" in the workplace and demanded that repetitive motion disorders be reported.

The recorded incidence of cumulative trauma disorders has skyrocketed (Figure 3). About 277,000 cases were reported in 1997, compared with fewer than 50,000 in 1985. CTS has been the fastest growing category, recently accounting for more than 40% of all work-related disabilities. An estimated 26,000 CTS patients in the United States undergo surgical decompression each year. Median time lost from work is about 32 days per patient, more than for any other cause, including back pain. Source: US Department of Labor.

Colic

Infantile Colic

What is colic? Colic is a term used to describe a seemingly healthy baby who cries persistently and often violently for no apparent reason. This distressed behavior is believed to be a reaction to pain. Medical studies have proven that chiropractic treatment on infants with colic has proven to be a more effective treatment for the condition than using drug therapy. Avoiding dairy products, like cows' milk, has been shown to be effective, but chiropractic may be a better solution. Source: For the Love of Children, Dr. Louis R. Briegel, II & Stacey A. Stefanski

Infantile Colic responds well to Chiropractic Care

Infantile colic is commonly described as persistent and often violent crying for no apparent reason in seemingly healthy and thriving infants. The August, 1989 issue of the Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics reports that 94% of a group of 316 children with infantile colic responded very favorably to Chiropractic care. The study involved infants with an average age of 5.7 weeks at the beginning of the study and included reassessments at 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. The infant's mothers were provided a diary and kept track of the babies symptoms, intensity and length of the colicky crying as well as how comfortable the infant seemed. 94% of the children in the study showed a satisfactory response to Chiropractic care within 14 days from the beginning of care. "The results occur shortly after the treatment has been initiated and show both a reduction of the daily length of the colic periods and a reduction of the number of colic periods per day."

Colic and Chiropractic Treatment

If you have a colicky baby, and other forms of treatment don't seem to be helping very much, you may want to investigate taking your baby to a chiropractor. As your child is being born, the neck and back vertebrae can go out of alignment due to the stretching and compressing of the body as it emerges into the world. If your delivery included a prolonged pushing stage, forceps or vacuum extraction, or other form of assisted delivery, the chances of a misalignment are great. If the misalignments, called vertebral subluxations, are big enough, the functioning of major systems in the body can be compromised. The digestive system can be affected and ineffective digestion of breast milk and formula can cause major discomfort in your baby, leading to colic episodes. The adjustments that a chiropractor will do on your baby is basically applying gently pressure with the finger to areas on the neck and back. You may see your baby totally relax before your eyes as the misalignments are corrected. As with selecting any health care provider, you need to ask questions first. In this case, "Have you adjusted other infants?" would be most important. Ask for referrals that you can contact if you are unsure. Chiropractic care can be very valuable in helping to calm the colic tendencies. Reference: 2000 - 2004 ColicHelp.com.

Ear Infections

How Big Of A Problem Is It?

*Journal of the American Chiropractic Association, August 2002, Volume 39, No.8. **Chronic Recurrent Otitis Media: Case Series of Five Patients with Recommendations for Case Management. Peter Fysh, DC; Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics, Volume 1, No. 2, 1996. Statistics:

Almost half of all children will have at least one middle ear infection before they're 1-year old,* and two-thirds of them will have had at least one such infection by age 3.

Of these, almost half will have had repeated bouts.

Ear infections are the most frequent primary diagnosis made at visits to U.S. physician offices by children under 15 years of age.**

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that otitis media is the most common diagnosis for a physician's office visit by children under 15.

Specifically, children under two have the highest rate of visits to a physician's office for otitis media

From 1975-1990, office visits for otitis media increased by 150 percent.

Children under 15 accounted for 24.5 million more visits to the physician's office, or an increase of 81 percent office visits for the diagnosis and treatment of otitis media.

What is the CAUSE?!

Source: Shannon Hines, M.S, http://www.momshelpmoms.com/earinfections.html.

Why Do Ear Infections Happen?

Babies and small children are particularly prone to otitis media because they get lots of colds and partly because their eustachian tubes (which connect the middle ear to the back of the throat and nose) are shorter and more horizontal than those of grown-ups. Source: Shannon Hines, M.S, http://www.momshelpmoms.com/earinfections.html.

How Do They Happen?

Source: Dr. Stu Warner, Parker Seminars, Miami, 2003

During a cold or another respiratory infection, these tiny tubes can become inflamed and swollen, trapping fluid in the middle ear. When viruses or bacteria multiply in the fluid, the result is a painful infection.Misalignment of vertebrae and/or muscle spasm can press on structures that drain the middle ear.

Source: Ladies Home Journal, October 1998 "Chiropractic Adjustments for Chronic Ear Infections."

Reoccurring ear infections account for over 35% of all pediatrician visits in the United States. Sometimes these infections are due to bacteria and sometimes these are due to a virus. The most common medical care for this situation has been antibiotics, even though antibiotics have no effect on viruses.

Who Is At High Risk?

Source: (Niemela M, Pihakari O, Pokka T, Uhari M. Pacifier as a risk factor for acute otitis media: A randomized, controlled trial of parental counseling. Pediatrics. 2000;106(3):483-8). Pacifiers Are Linked To Increase In Ear Infections...

The study included 490 children under 18 months of age who were cared for at 14 well-baby clinics.

The experimental cohort exhibited a 29% reduced risk of acute otitis media, compared with controls.

Youngsters in both cohorts who did not use pacifiers continuously enjoyed 33% fewer acute otitis media episodes than did children who used pacifiers continuously.

Chiropractic Approach to Ear Infections

Ear problems can be excruciatingly painful, especially in children.

With 10 million new cases every year, ear infections (otitis media) are the most common illness affecting babies and young children and the number one reason for visits to the pediatrician-accounting for more than 35 percent of all pediatric visits.

Almost half of all children will have at least one middle ear infection before they're a year old, and two-thirds of them will have had at least one such infection by age 3.

The symptoms can include ear pain, fever, and irritability. Otitis media can be either bacterial or viral in origin, and frequently results from another illness such as a cold. For many children, it can become a chronic problem, requiring treatment year after year, and putting the child at risk of permanent hearing damage and associated speech and developmental problems.

Standard treatment for most cases of otitis media is with antibiotics, which can be effective the culprit is bacterial.

(antibiotics, of course, do nothing to fight off viruses). But, according to many research studies, antibiotics are often not much more effective than the body's own immune system. And repeated doses of antibiotics can lead to drug-resistant bacteria that scoff at the drugs, while leaving the child screaming in pain.

Frequent ear infections are also the second most common reason for surgery in children under 2 (with circumcision being the first).

In severe cases for example, when fluids from an ear infection haven't cleared from the ear after several months, and hearing is affected specialists sometimes prescribe myringotomy and tympanostomy, more commonly known as "ear tubes." During the surgical procedure, a small opening is made in the eardrum to place a tube inside. The tube relieves pressure in the ear and prevents repeated fluid buildup with the continuous venting of fresh air. In most cases, the membrane pushes the tube out after a couple of months and the hole in the eardrum closes. Although the treatment is effective, it has to be repeated in some 20 to 30 percent of cases. And this kind of surgery requires general anesthesia, never a minor thing in a small child. If the infection persists even after tube placement and removal, children sometimes undergo adenoidectomy (surgical removal of the adenoids) an option that is effective mostly through the first year after surgery.

Before yet another round of "maybe-they'll-work-and-maybe-they-won't" antibiotics or the drastic step of surgery,

more parents are considering chiropractic to help children with chronic ear infections. Dr. Joan Fallon, a chiropractor who practices in Yonkers, New York, has published research showing that, after receiving a series of chiropractic adjustments, nearly 80 percent of the children treated were free of ear infections for at least the six-month period following their initial visits (a period that also included maintenance treatments every four to six weeks).

Chiropractic mobilizes drainage of the ear in children.

And if they can continue to drain without a buildup of fluid and subsequent infection, they build up their own antibodies and recover more quickly explains Dr. Fallon. She'd like to see her pilot study used as a basis for larger-scale trials of chiropractic as a therapeutic modality for otitis media.

Dr. Fallon uses primarily upper-cervical manipulation on children with otitis media, focusing particularly on the occiput, or back of the skull, and atlas, or the first vertebra in the neck.

"Adjusting the occiput, in particular, will get the middle ear to drain. Depending on how chronic it's been and on where they are in their cycle of antibiotics, children generally need to get through one bout of fluid and fight it off themselves." That means, for the average child, between six and eight treatments. If a child's case is acute, Dr. Fallon will check the ear every day, using a tympanogram to measure the ear and track the movement of the eardrum to make sure that it's draining. "I'll do adjustments every day or every other day for a couple of days if they're acute, and then decrease frequency over time."

Dr. Fallon, whose research garnered her the acclaim of child rearing magazines like Parenting and Baby Talk, often sees great success when she treats a child for otitis media.

"Once they fight it themselves, my kids tend to do very well and stay away from ear infections completely. Unless there are environmental factors like smoking in the house, an abnormally shaped Eustachian tube, or something like that, they do very well," she says."I have two large pediatric groups that refer to me on a regular basis. In the winter, when otitis is most prevalent, I see five or six new children each week from each group," says Dr. Fallon. "It's safe and effective and something that parents should try, certainly before inserting tubes in their children's ears."

Headaches

Chronic Migraine Patient Improves With Chiropractic Care

Source: Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research, February, 2001.

The August 3, 2003 issue of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research reports

that a patient suffering from chronic migraine headaches for a number of years responded very favorably to chiropractic care.

The case study involved a professional ice skater who experienced a concussion after falling and hitting her head on the ice.

Before the fall, the patient reported no health problems. After the concussion, she began to have tension and migraine headaches that continued for 12 years.

After deciding to visit a chiropractor, examination revealed that she had a subluxation in the upper part of her neck and a program of adjustments was begun.

Within three months of beginning chiropractic adjustments, the patient had no more headaches. One year after the initial adjustment, she still remained symptom free.

The authors concluded that there was a link between the patient's concussion, the subluxation and the headaches.

Commentary: We would agree.

The fact that the symptoms appeared so soon after the all and resulting concussion and the fact that the symptoms cleared up after beginning chiropractic care certainly suggests that the resulting subluxation was a contributing factor to the migraine headaches.

However, many times after an injury such as the one this skater had, pain or other symptoms do not show up for some time, often years later.

Like your teeth, it's not a good idea to wait for symptoms of spinal problems to show up before getting your spine checked. A program of regular chiropractic wellness care will find and correct spinal problems before they have been there long enough to cause symptoms.

A February, 2001 report from the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research finds

that chiropractic patients experience improvement in the frequency and severity of their headaches.

The study, a literature review performed at Duke University in Durham, NC, collected information from more than 2500 sources.

According to the report, Chiropractic adjustments "appeared to result in immediate improvement in headache severity" in patients experiencing cervicogenic headache.

How Common Are Headaches?

Source: American Chiropractic Association Website (www.amerchiro.org).

If you have a headache, you're not alone.

Nine out of ten Americans suffer from headaches. Some are occasional, some frequent, some are dull and throbbing, and some cause debilitating pain and nausea.

Headaches have many causes, or "triggers."

These may include foods, environmental stimuli (noises, lights, stress, etc.) and/or behaviors (insomnia, excessive exercise, blood sugar changes, etc.). About 5 percent of all headaches are warning signals caused by physical problems.

There are two ways to categorize headaches:

Source: 2004 The Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research; Source: Brad McKechnie, DC, DACANDynamic Chiropractic, 11/12/02.

Primary Headache

include tension-type, migraine, and cluster headaches and are not caused by other underlying medical conditions. More than 90% of headaches are primary.

Secondary Headache

result from other medical conditions, such as infection or increased pressure in the skull due to a tumor. These account for fewer than 10% of all headaches.

Ninety-five percent of headaches are primary headaches, such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches.

These types of headaches are not caused by disease. The headache itself is the primary concern.

"The greatest majority of primary headaches are associated with muscle tension in the neck,"

says Dr. George B. McClelland, a doctor of chiropractic from Christiansburg, VA, and member of the American Chiropractic Association's (ACA) Board of Governors.

Today, Americans engage in more sedentary activities than they used to, and more hours are spent in one fixed position or posture.

This can increase joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp, causing your head to ache.

Most persons afflicted with mild recurrent or isolated headaches do not consult physicians, therefore, the true incidence is unknown.

One recent survey demonstrated that in some populations, 70-90 percent of subjects questioned admitted to having at least one headache in the previous year, with a similar incidence reported in children. Another study conducted in Scandinavia indicated that 75 percent of children reported having had significant head pain by 15 years of age.

Have a Splitting Headache? Chiropractic Care Can Help

If you have a headache, you're not alone.

Nine out of ten Americans suffer from headaches. Some are occasional, some frequent, some are dull and throbbing, and some cause debilitating pain and nausea.

What do you do when you suffer from a pounding headache?

Do you grit your teeth and carry on? Lie down? Pop a pill and hope the pain goes away? There is a better alternative.

New research shows that spinal manipulation

the primary form of care provided by doctors of chiropractic - may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck.

A report released in 2001 by researchers at the Duke University Evidence

Based Practice Center in Durham, NC, found that spinal manipulation resulted in almost immediate improvement for those headaches that originate in the neck, and had significantly fewer side effects and longer-lasting relief of tension-type headache than a commonly prescribed medication.

Also, a 1995 study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found

that spinal manipulative therapy is an effective treatment for tension headaches and that those who ceased chiropractic treatment after four weeks experienced a sustained therapeutic benefit in contrast with those patients who received a commonly prescribed medication.

Types of Foods Which May Cause Headaches

Source: American Chiropractic Association Website (www.amerchiro.org).

Foods such as chocolate, coffee, sodas and cocoa contain high levels of caffeine.

Foods with a high salt or sugar content may cause migraines, resulting in sensitivity to light, noise, or abrupt movements.

Alcoholic beverages can dehydrate you and cause headache pain.

Other headache sufferers may want to avoid not only caffeine, but also high- protein foods, dairy products, red meat and salty foods.

Headache Triggers

But to get to the bottom of the problem, you first need to find out what is causing your pain.

Headaches have many causes, or "triggers." These may include foods, environmental stimuli (noises, lights, stress, etc.) and/or behaviors (insomnia, excessive exercise, blood sugar changes, etc.). About 5 percent of all headaches are warning signals caused by physical problems.

Ninety-five percent of headaches are primary headaches, such as tension, migraine, or cluster headaches.

These types of headaches are not caused by disease. The headache itself is the primary concern.

"The greatest majority of primary headaches are associated with muscle tension in the neck,"

says Dr. George B. McClelland, a doctor of chiropractic from Christiansburg, VA, and chairman of the American Chiropractic Association's (ACA) Board of Governors. "Today, Americans engage in more sedentary activities than they used to, and more hours are spent in one fixed position or posture. This can increase joint irritation and muscle tension in the neck, upper back and scalp, causing your head to ache."

What Can You Do?

The ACA suggests the following:

If you spend a large amount of time in one fixed position

such as in front of a computer, on a sewing machine, typing or reading, take a break and stretch every 30 minutes to one hour. The stretches should take your head and neck through a comfortable range of motion.

Low-impact exercise may help relieve the pain associated with primary headaches.

However, if you are prone to dull, throbbing headaches, avoid heavy exercise.

Engage in such activities as walking and low-impact aerobics.

Avoid teeth clenching.

The upper teeth should never touch the lowers, except when swallowing. This results in stress at the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) - the two joints that connect your jaw to your skull - leading to TMJ irritation and a form of tension headaches.

Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to help avoid dehydration, which can lead to headaches.

In addition, the ACA and its Council on Nutrition suggest you avoid the following food "triggers":

Avoid caffeine. Foods such as chocolate, coffee, sodas and cocoa contain high levels of the stimulant.

Avoid foods with a high salt or sugar content. These foods may cause migraines, resulting in sensitivity to light, noise, or abrupt movements.

Avoid drinking alcoholic beverages. These drinks can dehydrate you and cause headache pain.

Other headache sufferers may want to avoid not only caffeine, but also high-protein foods, dairy products, red meat and salty foods.

What Can a Doctor of Chiropractic Do?

Source: 2004, American Chiropractic Association. Dr. McClelland says your doctor of chiropractic may do one or more of the following if you suffer from a primary headache:

Perform spinal manipulation or chiropractic adjustments to improve spinal function and alleviate the stress on your system.

Provide nutritional advice, recommending a change in diet and perhaps the addition of B complex vitamins.

Offer advice on posture, ergonomics (work postures), exercises and relaxation techniques.

This advice should help to relieve the recurring joint irritation and tension in the muscles of the neck and upper back.

"Doctors of chiropractic undergo extensive training to help their patients in many ways - not just back pain," says Dr. McClelland.

"They know how tension in the spine relates to problems in other parts of the body, and they can take steps to relieve those problems."

Other Info

Source: Nilsson N, Christensen HW, Hartvigsen J. The effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1997;20:326-30

New research shows that spinal manipulation - the primary form of care provided by doctors of chiropractic - may be an effective treatment option for tension headaches and headaches that originate in the neck.

Source: Dr. Finnigan is the author of Life Beyond Headaches, http://www.beyondheadaches.com/Headaches.html#CD

It has been estimated that up to 23 million people in the United States are chronic migraine sufferers, and that 3.4 million women and 1.1 million men have more than one serious headache per month.

Immune System

Source: Gregory R. Salmond, D.C. http://www.gmrcreations.com/Salmond/chiropra.htm.

Over the years, chiropractic physicians have reported success in treating a variety of conditions associated with bacterial and viral infection.

Manipulation of the vertebrae has an influence on neurologic function, lymphatic drainage, blood flow and muscle tension. Recent research by Patricia C Brennan, Ph.D., suggests that manipulation may also have a great effect on certain aspects of immune function. Her group showed that when the thoracic spine (mid-back) was adjusted, the respiratory burst cycle of white blood cells was enhanced. Manipulation is thought to stimulate immune function, in part by promoting the release of endorphins long associated with improving immunity.

Understanding the Link Between Chiropractic and Your Immune System

by Dr. Paul Newton.

It's usually about this time of the year when I start hearing comments like "Gee, I haven't been sick yet this year!" or "Our family hasn't had any colds this winter!"

People are quite surprised by how much better their immune system is working since they've been under chiropractic care. These people understood that the nervous system controlled and coordinated every other system in the body but they didn't believe it until they experienced it first hand.

When a new person begins chiropractic care, we spend a great deal of time and effort to educate him/her about the body's capabilities when the nervous system is free of stress.

We explain how every system in your body requires non-stop direction and feedback from the brain and spinal cord to make sure it is doing its job perfectly. This includes the immune system.

Most grasp this concept rather enthusiastically because they realize that their body wants to be healthy and it just needs a chance to do it on its own.

The problem we encounter occurs when this new person comes down with something, runs to the doctor and gets put on antibiotics. The old belief system overrides all concepts of self-healing because an infection made them sick.

Oddly enough, many people do get sick shortly after beginning chiropractic care.

As discouraging as this is to most, this is a very positive healing response. Have you ever, in a moment of inspiration, decided to clean up your desk, your office, your basement etc. because you felt it would have a positive impact on your life? You didn't like the way you were operating and decided that things needed to change. Your body does the same thing.

When you get adjusted and your body releases stress that has been preoccupying most of its systems, your body gets inspired and decides to change the state of affairs.

It doesn't like all the critters that have taken up residence so it mounts an immune response to kill them all. This makes us feel discomfort and we have been taught through experience that this means we are sick. Most of us just want the discomfort to stop so we ask our doctor for something to make it go away. We take some medicine and demotivate the body, forcing it to return to its original state.

Chiropractors have been telling people this for years and it is very exciting for us to finally see some scientific proof.

New research in the area of neuroimmunobiology has shown that there are nerve endings in the body's immune tissues. Scientists now believe that the nervous system and the immune system may be connected. It's always nice to have some scientific validation!

So do I think all medicine is bad? No.

Sometimes when we let our bodies get so run down that many of our immune responses are ineffective, life-threatening infections can take hold in places where bacteria can never get in a healthy person. Take pneumonia for example. This disease that used to affect and kill only very sick people is showing up routinely in the public. Antibiotics may be necessary to remove the immediate threat but once the infection is under control, is that person really healthy?

If you're sick of your yearly bout of bronchitis or afraid of what your kids bring home from school, it's time to build up your defenses.

Regular chiropractic care is an integral step towards perfect health. You and your family need regular adjustments to keep your systems in perfect working order.

Source: Life College, Atlanta, GA, USAResearch on Upper Cervical Adjustments and CD4 Cell Count

Chiropractic works on the body's immune system and its cells through the nervous system, because the CD4 (T4) cells of the immune system have tiny nerves going to them. Chiropractic adjustments correct for interference to our main nervous system (brain and spinal cord), which then has a positive effect on the rest of our nervous system and body.

Source: Dr. Christopher Kent ICA Convention Atlanta Georgia, 1999

Did you know that the nervous system directly and indirectly controls the immune system. It's called - psychoneuroimmunology.

Source: Fidelibus JC. An overview of neuroimmunomodulation and a possible correlation with musculoskeletal system function.J Manipulative Physiol Ther 1989;12(4):289-292/Medline ID: 89361050

There is an increasing body of evidence that the nervous system is capable of modulating the immune response. It is theorized that spinal fixations may adversely affect the immune response through somatosympathetic reflexes. Spinal manipulation can correct the spinal fixations and may eliminate the adverse affects of somatosympathetic reflexes.

Source: David S. Sobel, MD, MPH, The Healing Brain, A Scientific Reader, Edited by Robert Ornstewin, PhD and Charles Swencionis, PhD The Gilford Press, New York, 1990

Psychological stress can produce physiological changes that suppress the immune system making us prone to illness. Positive feelings and states of expectancy, can work not only to enhance our health but to eliminate disease.

Leg Pain

Author: Dr. David L. Phillips Published on: June 12, 2001.

The American Chiropractic Association sponsored a study to try and determine what people were doing about their back pains.

800 adults were surveyed, all of whom were suffering from chronic low back pain at the time of the survey. To properly frame this study it's important to realize that 80% of people will have at least one incident of lower back pain sometime in their lives. The second most common reason to visit a doctor is back pain, and the cost of this so-called benign condition is over $90 billion dollars in the US alone; which is, evidently, about 1% of the gross domestic product. According to the article, lower back pain is the most common cause of disability in people under 45. With all these facts in mind, knowing what people do to try and help their pains and where chiropractic fits in is very relevant.

Some of the survey's findings were surprising.

85% of people surveyed had suffered from lower back pain for 3 years, 71% for 5 years or more, so you can readily see that we are not dealing with the general population here. The causes of pain listed by those surveyed ranged from an injury or accident (18%), degenerative disc disease (12.5%), herniated disc (10.3%), arthritis (10%) to "nothing" (2.6%).

For 65% of these people when their pain first began, their first treatment choice was medicine, their GP or family doctor.

18.8% chose to see a chiropractor. Of course, the most common form of treatment was drugs: 27% analgesics or narcotics, 25% OTC meds such as Tylenol or Advil, 19.6% used muscle relaxants and 18% took nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. Many people actually took a combination of these drugs. 10.8% the 800 people surveyed used chiropractic to control their pain.

So, in spite of all these drugs, it would appear that most people found their treatments to be largely ineffective because 40% reported their back pains as "severe" or "very severe",

while less than 31% felt that their pains were "under control" or "completely under control". Over 40% of those questioned said that their pains were "not under control" or "not under control at all". Sad isn't it? All those drugs, with their inherent and potentially lethal side-effects and such poor results; drugs for chronic lower back pain simply don't work that well.

Here's an interesting thing: 64.4% of people said that they would consider seeing a chiropractor and over 80% answered that they would prefer to avoid medications.

So you need to ask yourself, "If the drugs they are taking are mostly ineffective, if they would prefer not to take drugs at all, and 2/3's would consider going to a chiropractor, why aren't more going?" That's a great question, and I wish I had an answer. Perhaps it's the cost. In some circles, chiropractic care is seen as expensive and elitist. Maybe it's our image, we are often perceived to be somewhat "kooky", and a few chiropractors admittedly do go "over the top" with their claims. We have had a pile of bad press in the past couple of years, but that's not really new. Our critics in medicine seem to go to great lengths to discredit us in the media. But perhaps we, as a profession, need to do more public education. Chiropractic is a wonderful and effective alternative. We offer people a choice as a safe, natural and drug-free method of pain control. Not just lower back pain, but neck, shoulder, arm, hip and leg pain as well. Why not give us a try? Source: This study was written up in the October 7th, 2004 edition of Dynamic Chiropractic, our profession's largest periodical.

Growing Pains a.k.a. non-specific leg pain.

As many as 10-20% of children may complain of vague leg pain on a recurrent basis. The diagnosis commonly provided is, "growing pains" The pain is usually unilateral and is located deep in the leg most commonly in the thigh, knee or calf. This type of leg pain typically occurs at night when the child is in bed and lasts 30 minutes to one hour. Systemic signs and symptoms are absent and x-ray findings and blood tests are normal.

The problem is most likely caused by sacroiliac subluxation on the side of leg pain and usually responds immediately to adjustments of the associated area.

Source: By: Peter N. Fysh, D.C., B.App.Science - International Review of Chiropractic - January/February 1993

As a chiropractor who has been in practice for 28 years, I have seen hundreds of cases of sciatica.

Most times these conditions clear up relatively quickly with spinal adjustments to the lower lumbar vertebrae and sacroiliac joints. But occasionally, a case of sciatica will prove to be chronic and difficult to respond. A sciatic sufferer sometimes needs to be what he is known as "patient" while I continue to do what I do "practice".

Sciatic neuralgia is mostly caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve as it exits the lower spine from between the lumbar vertebrae.

These vertebrae can irritate or "pinch" the nerve due to one or more physical scenarios. A loss of normal motion between these bones can result in an irritation of the sciatic nerve. A degenerative process in the intervertebral disc can cause mechanical pressure to the nerve. A misplacement of one of the vertebrae can mechanically pinch the nerve. A swelling, protrusion or herniation of the disc can also pinch the nerve.

All of these conditions respond well to chiropractic care, some quicker than others.

An actual herniation of an intervertebral disc, however, is an extremely tough clinical condition for a chiropractor to deal with alone. These patients are generally in very acute difficulty, often completely disabled, barely able to arise from bed and in excruciating pain. These patients require strong analgesics and even narcotics often times do not give them adequate relief. Acute sciatica is said to be the worst pain that a human has to endure next to stones in the renal ureter.

The sciatic nerve arises from the spine in the lower 3 lumbar vertebrae and is the longest and largest nerve in the body.

As it passes through the upper gluteal region, it is frequently as thick as your thumb. When it becomes inflamed it creates a condition which we call sciatica. Not all leg pain is sciatica, but virtually all sciatica involves leg pain. Usually felt in the back of the thigh, calf, ankle and top or bottom of the foot, sciatica often causes sensations of burning, cramping, tingling, numbness and depending on the level of acuteness, degrees of pain ranging from an aching nuisance to throbbing to extreme and overt pain. In severe cases, absent or diminished reflexes and wasting or atrophy of muscles can occur. In rare instances, a patient can even lose bladder and bowel control.

Causes of sciatica are varied.

It can result from a sudden trauma, a strenuous attempt to lift, pull or push something, a false or sudden rotational motion, or even the jolt of a violent sneeze or cough. Most times, however, sciatica is the result of cumulative or repetitive small traumas. Sciatica may appear suddenly or gradually and may first be noticed while walking or slouching in a chair. It is often the result of some trauma that occurred months or even years before. Generally, I have noticed, the sciatic sufferer has had a history of minor low back occurrences, which they have chosen to ignore. And because that soreness that they felt upon arising each morning always went away after a bit, the person assumed that AM pain was "normal".

Sciatica can also be related to various non-spinal conditions, such as constipation, advanced diabetes, tumors and even some vitamin deficiencies.

Other musculoskeletal conditions can result in a bout of sciatica. Spasms, hypertonicities, and bursitic conditions in and around the hip and gluteal region can also irritate the sciatic nerve.

Sciatica is ultimately about inflammation of the nerve.

Therefore, rest, ice when acute and care not to cause further irritation, will cause the pain to eventually resolve by itself. However, if the original cause is not identified and corrected, further episodes are a very real possibility. This process of spontaneous resolution may take weeks and often is not complete; often leaving the individual with residual leg or hip pain, numbness, muscle weakness, and reduced stamina, especially with walking.

It is best with these conditions to get some professional advice as early attention can often mean much earlier resolution.

As chiropractors, we have been recognized as experts in the area of low back problems and sciatica for decades. Consequently, it would behoove someone suffering from sciatica to seek the help of a reliable and experienced chiropractor.

Muscle Pain

Call it what you will. Muscle stiffness? Muscle spasms? Muscle fatigue? Or choose one of the more ominous and scientific names like fibrositis, fibromyalgia, muscular rheumatism, myofascial syndrome, or myositis. Whatever the name, there's still pain and pain is not normal! Maybe the problem is something a little harder to pin down. For example, do you or anyone you know experience

Constant pain between the shoulder blades?

Incessant neck, shoulder or hip pains?

Occasional numbness or tingling in the arms or legs?

There is really only one course of action (after a more serious medical diagnosis has been ruled out): a visit to your chiropractor.

Don't settle for what we have seen so many others in constant pain settle for--a lifetime commitment to Advil for pain relief. Why? Because in time whatever pain-relieving pill you're popping is going to begin to work less and less, ultimately requiring larger doses or stronger medications. It's expensive. It's inconvenient, it doesn't work (it only masks the pain for a short time) and it's no way to live!

If you think about it, all a drug does is treat the symptom or effect of the problem.

Do you really expect your health problem to go away by only treating the effect?

Neck Pain

Chiropractors that specialize in the treatment of neck pain attempt to improve the function of the joints and the nervous system by adjusting vertebral subluxations.

Manual spinal adjustments are the key to chiropractic treatment, and, in fact, the word "chiropractic" is derived from the two Greek words "cheiros" and "praktikos," which together mean, "done by hand." Chiropractic adjustments are very popular in the United States, with as many as 40 million Americans receiving regular treatments. Source: Neck Reference.com - May 01, 2002

Neck pain is a common neuromusculoskeletal disorder in the United States, with an estimated prevalence rate of 13 to 18 % within the general population.

Doctors of chiropractic commonly treat patients with neck pain. In fact, a study involving 7,527 patients revealed that 12.7% presented to DCs complaining of neck pain and a study by Wolsko, et al. found that chiropractic was used by 20% of 644 patients with back or neck pain. Source: Michael Haneline, DC - American Chiropractic Association - October 2004

183 adults were randomly selected to receive manual therapy, physiotherapy (PT) or care from a general practitioner (GP) for six weeks.

All of the patients suffered neck pain for a minimum of two weeks; 66 percent had received some form of treatment for the condition prior to enrolling in the study.

Manual therapy consisted of a variety of interventions, including hands-on techniques such as low-velocity spinal mobilization,

a technique the authors noted is utilized frequently by doctors of chiropractic. Spinal manipulation was not provided, however. Treatment sessions lasted 45 minutes once per week, for a maximum of six sessions.

Physiotherapy consisted of postural relaxation exercises, stretching and functional exercises, but the mobilization techniques offered in the manual therapy group were discouraged from use.

PT treatments were offered twice a week (30 minutes per session) for a maximum of 12 sessions. Source: Dynamic Chiropractic, 2003.

Risk Factors for Neck Pain

Source: Michael S. Goldstein, PhD1, Hal Morgenstern, PhD2, Eric Hurwitz, DC, PhD3, and Fei Yu, PhD3. (1) Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095, 310-825-5116, msgoldst@ucla.edu, (2) Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095, (3) Department of Epidemiology, UCLA, School of Public Health, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095.

More and more people are now making their living sitting at a desk.

The use of computers have risen astronomically and many of us spend eight to ten hours a day slumped over the keyboard and staring at the monitor. When we sit with our head in a forward bent position, the posture that most desk workers assume, the ligaments that hold the facets together and the muscles in the neck are put under tremendous strain. In addition the normal forward curve of the neck becomes reversed causing more stress upon all the surrounding tissues of the neck. All of this can lead to spinal problems including disc herniation and subluxations, which are the main causes of spinal nerve irritation. Besides pain, spinal nerve irritation in the neck can cause symptoms including headaches, eye problems, giddiness, arm and hand pain and paraesthesia, as well as shoulder pain. Source: Chiropractic Care Pte Ltd

GP care consisted mainly of a "wait and see" approach that included advice offered by a general practitioner, along with an educational booklet.

Drugs were prescribed if necessary, but patients were encouraged to await "spontaneous recovery." Patients had the option of 10-minute follow-up visits with the doctor every two weeks.

Outcomes of care were measured at the start of the study and at 3-, 7-, 13- and 52-week intervals.

At 26 weeks' follow-up, patients received a mail-in questionnaire. Among the outcomes measured, patients rated their perceived recovery from neck pain; intensity of pain, functional disability and utility with questionnaires.

Manual therapy was considered "the most effective treatment" in the study.

After seven weeks, recovery rates in the manual-therapy group were 68 percent, compared to 51 percent and 36 percent in the PT and GP groups, respectively. Differences in recovery rates remained statistically significant at the 26-week mark, and were still superior for manual therapy at 52 weeks.

The association of psychosocial factors and chronic neck pain is well established.

The UCLA Neck Pain Study offers an opportunity to address these concerns. Three-hundred-thirty-six neck pain patients presenting to a large managed-care facility between February, 1998 and June, 2000 were randomized to 8 treatment groups in a balanced 2x2x2 factorial design: spinal manipulation with and without heat therapy and with and without electrical muscle stimulation; and spinal mobilization with and without heat therapy and with and with out electrical muscle stimulation.

Two-hundred-sixty-nine patients (80%) were followed over six months.

Primary outcome measures are average and most severe neck pain intensity over the past week, and neck-pain related disability. Psychosocial factors (perceived occupational stressors, locus of control, sense of personal responsibility for one's health, perceived social support, and seeing oneself as sickly) varied considerably among the study participants, but were not related to clinical outcomes. The results were consistent across all treatment groups. Chiropractic care appears to be equally effective for patients regardless of their psychosocial situation.

Sports Performance

"Chiropractic just makes you feel so much better. When I walk out of the clinic, I feel like I'm about three inches taller and everything's in place. And as long as I see the chiropractor, I feel like I'm one step ahead of the game." Athletes and Chiropractic make a perfect team. Chiropractors are showing more and more athletes how to increase and improve their athletic performance by keeping their spine and nervous system free of interference.

Tom Brady 3 Super Bowl Championship Rings MVP award winner Quarterback - New England Patriots

"Being a chiropractor patient has really helped me immensely." "...lifting weights and seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis has made me a better golfer. I've been going to Chiropractors for as long as I can remember. It's as important to my training as practicing my swing."

Tiger Woods - PGA Professional

"Dr. Andrew Klein, the official chiropractor for the 2000 U.S. Olympic medical staff, identified a key reason why athletes have taken to chiropractic: it keeps them in top shapewithout the use of drugs. "Athletes have come to rely on manual therapy because the list of banned substances [for the Olympics] is so long, and also because they feel it enhances their performance."

Source: Aca Journal, September 21, 2000. Chiropractic Care: Backing up Olympic Athletes

90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by movement of the spine.

Source: Dr. Roger Sperry, Noble Prize recipient for brain research

In one study of fifty athletes, 25 received Chiropractic care and 25 athletes served as controls. They used 11 separate tests to measure different aspects of athletic ability. After 6 weeks, the chiropractic group had shown an 18% improvement in eye-hand coordination, while the control group had only shown a 1% response. After 12 weeks, the Chiropractic group had exhibited more than 30% improvement.

Source: Lauro A. Mouch B. Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. 1991; 6:84-87

More and more professional sports teams are utilizing chiropractic care for their team members. 45% of the trainers themselves had been to a chiropractor; 71% of the trainers had worked professionally with a chiropractor; 77% of the trainers have referred players to a chiropractor; 100% of the trainers revealed that some players use a chiropractor without being referred by the team doctor; 81% of the trainers agree that there is a role for chiropractors in the NFL; An additional 12% of teams that do not have chiropractors on staff refer players to chiropractors.

Source: 2003-2004 Connecticut Chiropractic Association

Dennis Hall, Olympic silver medalist in wrestling, says, "Chiropractic speeds my recovery time, improves my flexibility, helps my breathing and allows me to wrestle without pain and perform better."

Source: Today's Chiropractic, Nov./Dec. 1996, Muscle and Fitness Magazine - Nov. 1995

The Brain is protected by the skull, and the spinal cord is surrounded by 24 moveable vertebrae - these are like the "circuit breakers" of the nervous system. Your brain monitors every cell, muscle, gland, organ, and system in your body by sending and receiving information via the spine. One would deduce that if you want your entire body to function at its maximum potential, you need a nervous system that is CLEAR of any and all interference. Chiropractors are the only doctors in the world that are specifically trained to locate, analyze, and correct vertebral subluxations. Vertebral Subluxations are vertebrae that have misaligned and cause nervous system interference When the spine and nervous system are clear of interference, your body can function at its maximum performance! And that's why Chiropractic has become an essential part of every major sports team. It's the NEW drug-free secret weapon!

Source: Dr. Len Schwartz, Sports Performance and Chiropractic, March 2000 - Philadelphia, PA 19115

A recent study published in the March/April 2002 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, (JMPT) examined the usage of chiropractic care by National Football League teams throughout the US. The Journal article reported on the results of a survey of NFL trainers on their usage and referral to chiropractic care. Participants of the survey were head athletic trainers of the 36 National Football League teams. They were all men, and all had at least 17 years of experience and had served with their present team in their current position for a minimum of 1 year. The results of the survey showed that 45% percent of the trainers themselves have been treated by a chiropractor. Presently 31% of NFL teams use chiropractors in an official capacity as part of their staffs. However, even though not necessarily on the staff of the NFL team a full 77% of the trainers have referred to a chiropractor for evaluation or treatment. Probably the most telling result of the survey is that 100% of trainers agree that some players use chiropractic care without referral from team medical staff. In addition to NFL players, many athletes from many sports depend on chiropractic care. One such athlete is John Stockton, a professional basketball player and future hall of famer. In an April 2, 2002 article that appeared in the Toronto Star, writer Doug Smith asks and answers the question concerning John Stockton's longevity, "What is the secret to John Stockton's continued success on the NBA basketball court at age 40? A Good Chiropractor." When asked to explain his usage of chiropractic John's response was, "I'm not a good enough expert on what that (chiropractic) entails, but it's not just adjustments, it's balancing muscles and overall health." John then added, "it's been great for me, and for my family."

TMJ

Over 2,500 out of approximately 3,000 newborn infants, ranging in age from one hour to 21 days old,

have been treated for breast feeding difficulties over a seven- year period with chiropractic spinal adjustments and cranial and TMJ procedures. The newborns were all delivered without drugs by a midwife either at the Gentle Birth Center (a free-standing birth center) or at home. The babies were all very healthy at birth, and the majority were seen by the pediatrician within a 24-hour period following birth. Birth trauma seems to occur in all babies, especially to the cranium. All the babies were unable to breastfeed with ease utilizing proper technique. All babies treated exhibited a unilateral or bilateral TMJ syndrome as the primary cause. In all cases, AK cranial and TMJ procedures, and/or Upledger cranial procedures, eliminated or greatly improved infant breast feeding performance after only one adjustment, in 90 percent of newborns seen within 21 days after birth. The newborn is usually seen once a week for 2-4 visits. From clinical experience, the most dramatic and powerful single adjustment with a 99.9 percent success rate in eliminating and/or preventing breastfeeding difficulties occurs when the newborn is adjusted several minutes to 48 hours after birth. Source: Victoria Arcadia, DC -, Dynamic Chiropractic, 2003.

Temporal Mandibular Joint Syndrome or TMJ as it is more commonly called, is a condition of facial pain in the joints of the jaw caused by misalignment of the Jaw.

TMJ can be a frustrating and sometimes debilitating problem. Since it is a problem of the jaw, it affects us in some of the most common activities of daily living such as eating and talking.

A 41-year-old woman

who sought chiropractic care with complaints of pain at the TMJ on both sides, ear pain, ringing in the ears, vertigo, decreased hearing ability, and a sensation of pressure or fullness in both ears. She also reported that movements of her jaw while talking or chewing provoked pain at the TMJ.

Before seeking chiropractic care she was treated for her TMJ by two medical doctors.

She was also referred to an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist, who diagnosed her with TMJ syndrome. Additionally, she was referred to a dentist for the problem. Medical recommendations were to apply heat to the area, reduce talking and yelling, and change her diet to a soft diet. Even with all this medical and dental care her symptoms steadily continued to get worse.

Eventually she sought the care of a chiropractor.

After an examination it was determined by the chiropractor that the patient had an Atlas subluxation, (first bone in the neck). Care was begun by a series of adjustments. After only a few visits the patient reported significant improvement in her symptoms. After two and a half months she reported complete relief from the TMJ symptoms. She also reported a decrease in the frequency and severity of her headaches. Prior to starting chiropractic care, she was experiencing 1 to 2 migraine headache attacks per month. The effects of the chiropractic care were long term as shown at her 1-year follow-up where she had not experienced any headache symptoms for a period of 9 months and her TMJ complaints had completely resolved. Source: January 2002 edition of the peer reviewed scientific journal, the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, (JMPT)

There are potential solutions to the anguish of TMJ pain, and evidence suggests chiropractic may provide the best option.

A recent study revealed that chiropractic treatment using a specific adjusting instrument eased patients' discomfort after only three visits a week for two weeks. Before treatment, patients reported TMJ-related symptoms lasting an average of eight years, but following chiropractic care, they experienced reduced pain and improvements in other symptoms, with no noted side-effects. Source: DeVocht JW, Long CR, Zeitler DL, et al. Chiropractic treatment of temporomandibular disorders using the Activator adjusting instrument: a prospective case series. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, Sept. 2003:26(7), pp421-5.

TMJ Symptoms

TMJ disorders affect about 20% of the population, and that 20% spans all age groups, pre-teen, teens, young adults, the middle aged, and seniors.

Pain in the TM Joints associated with Jaw movements

Intermittent locking episodes

Limited range of vertical opening

Facial pain a sense of facial muscle fatigue

Noises in the TM Joints associated with Jaw movements (clicking, snapping, crunching, etc.)

Grinding of teeth at night

Secondary symptoms associated with TMJ disorders include:

Ear aches not associated with an infection

A sense of fullness in one or both ears

Frequent headaches

Ringing in the ears

Neck Shoulder pain

Whiplash

Chiropractic treatments for whiplash

Introduction to whiplash

Chiropractors are specialists in treating non-surgical spine injuries and commonly treat whiplash injuries from car accidents. The job of the chiropractor in helping his or her patients overcome the pain and disability associated with whiplash is to: Diagnose the source of the pain from the whiplash injury Treat the most important dysfunction Teach the patient to return to a more normal lifestyle The process of rehabilitation from a whiplash injury requires a concerted effort between the chiropractor, the patient and any other professional assisting in the case. The likelihood of success of recovering from whiplash is enhanced by a continued focus on restoring normal function with the help of the chiropractor. After a whiplash injury, chiropractors take a systematic approach to establishing a diagnosis, including:

Patient history

Chiropractic examination

Working diagnosis

Chiropractic treatment plan

Chiropractors' evaluation of patient history for a whiplash injury

Review specific information regarding the car accident

The chiropractor will review specific information regarding the car accident, such as:

What was the vector of the crash (i.e., rear-end collision, head on collision, side impact collision, etc.)?

Was the patient wearing a seatbelt?

Did the patient or the vehicle strike any other objects after the crash?

Was the patient aware of the impending impact?

How was the patient's head positioned at time of impact?

What was the collision speed and damage amount?

The chiropractor will also ask questions about the whiplash injury:

Where is the exact location of the patient's pain?

What is the quality and character of the patient's neck pain or back pain?

What movements, positions or activities either increase or decrease the patient's neck pain or back pain?

Finally, the chiropractor will ask about any other symptoms that may be related to the pain, such as numbness, tingling, weakness, dizziness, or blurred or double vision.

Chiropractor's examination of a whiplash injury.

Next, the chiropractor will examine the patient to assess, in the immediate stage, whether serious whiplash injury is present that may require hospital and/or surgical referral, and to identify specific tissues that have been injured. The chiropractor will conduct a neurological examination which involves a cranial nerve examination, sensory, motor and reflex examination of the extremities, and tests for injury in the brain. Maneuvers will be carried out by the chiropractor that stresses certain tissues to see if they have been injured by the whiplash. The chiropractor will perform motion palpation, designed to assess the mobility and pain reactions in the joints of the spine. The muscles of the spine will be examined by the chiropractor for areas of congestion called myofascial trigger points, which are common sources of pain after whiplash.

Chiropractor's working diagnosis of a whiplash injury

From the history and examination, the chiropractor will establish as a "working diagnosis" - a clinical impression of the most salient features of the whiplash injury. Based on this diagnosis of the whiplash injury, the chiropractor will then determine whether any additional tests (such as x-rays, MRI, EMG or blood tests) are required. The chiropractor will obtain reports from any tests that were done through the emergency room or at previous consultations with spine specialists to avoid unnecessary duplicate testing at the chiropractic clinic. Once all the necessary information has been gathered, the chiropractor will make a determination as to the best course of action required to bring about maximum recovery from the whiplash injury in the shortest time possible. This may mean referral by the chiropractor to another spine specialist or a chiropractic treatment plan.

Whiplash Injuries

The primary injury is to the soft tissues.

The initial injury causes an increased mobility of the injured joints (increased flexibility).

Many injuries can result in chronic symptoms.

With time, symptoms may become chronic because of clinical instability.

The most common site of injury is at the lower part of the neck.

Other Info

Medicine doesn't cure anything our inside-out approach says that the body has the ability to heal itself.

Chiropractors are the only doctors in the world that recognize and embrace the fact that the body is a self-regulating,

self-healing organism. That means that your body works to function at its optimum potential from the inside-out (via the master control system of the body - the nervous system).. Modern medicine says that the body needs "help" to get healthy and prescribes medicine.

According to Dr. Guylaine Lanctot, MD:

The bottom line is that the medical systems are controlled by financiers in order to serve financiers. Since you cannot serve people unless they get sick, the whole medical system is designed to make people sicker and sicker. "It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US."

Dr. Joseph Mercola

When you go to a chiropractor, you will not get a prescription for a drug. You will however, learn about how your body works, how your nervous system works and how to get your body to function at its absolute best.