ADD-ADHD

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Attention deficit disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a widespread affliction that we are just beginning to understand. Affecting 3-4 million children in the United States, and probably a larger number of adults, ADHD is considered the most common pediatric disorder. ADHD is a compulsive disorder, usually genetic in origin, caused by imbalances of neurotransmitters, the messengers that communicate between the neurons in the brain. It strikes in childhood and continues into adulthood. Fortunately, chiropractors have documented instances of effective treatment for children diagnosed with ADHD.

Up to 6 million children display symptoms and learning disabilities that are labeled as ADD/ADHD. They are often prescribed medications that have not been proven safe and effective, and may even have serious side effects. Research shows that many of these children may be pre-disposed to addictive behavior and obsessive/compulsive disorder due to a genetic variant, and that the medications can exacerbate substance abuse and other dangerous behaviors. Family chiropractors frequently see these children in their offices and correlate symptoms with both vertebral subluxations and lifestyle factors, including diet, lifestyle, and emotional stressors. As chiropractors, the ultimate goal of care is to improve overall function by reducing vertebral subluxations that interfere with life expression.

In one compelling case, a mother brought her seven-year-old daughter in for chiropractic evaluation. Her primary concerns were her daughter’s hyperactive behavior, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating in school, and aggressive behavior toward her sister.

After the mother filled out a behavioral and personality assessment and general health history form, the Torque Release Chiropractic technique was used to determine the location of vertebral subluxations. The patient began a regimen of chiropractic adjustments to her vertebral subluxations three times a week, along with craniosacral therapy. The mother and child were instructed on dietary changes and nutritional supplements that would support neurological function, and the mother received instructions on visual and kinesthetic communication techniques. During the course of the girl’s chiropractic care, her mother completed a weekly monitor of the child’s sleeping and appetite patterns as well as behavioral traits, rating them on a 1-10 scale. Over the course of her 90-day treatment schedule, these assessments reflected improvements in the daughter’s behavior.

Many chiropractors report anecdotal success with ADHD patients who have received subluxation-based chiropractic, and present research is revealing how subluxation-based chiropractic works. This is more understandable by taking a closer look at the pleasure center of the brain.

A State of well-being is manifest when the mesolimbic system’s brain reward cascade (Figure 1) of neurotransmitter mechanisms is expressed without interference. The vertebral motor units are in intimate relationship with the brain reward cascade mechanism by virtue of the nociceptive reflex from vertebrae to limbic system. This may explain a recent finding that only vertebrates have opiate receptors, suggesting that only vertebrates experience a state of well-being as we know it. Thus, if a subluxation is manifest, it interferes in our ability to experience a state of well-being. As research continues, new information will allow us to understand why subluxation-based chiropractic affords us the ability to develop greater self-confidence and improve our physical and mental well-being.

Addiction

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In the first days of its second century, chiropractic may be a bold, effective, and inexpensive treatment for the alarming problem of addictions. An estimated 20% of the U.S. population suffers from some form of addiction, and over 80% of all crime is traceable to substance abuse and addiction. According to the National Center for Substance Abuse and Treatment, addiction is implicated in 69% of drownings, 68% of manslaughters, 49% of murders, 50% of all traffic fatalities, and 35% of all suicides. Add to this deaths from drug overdose and substance abuse-related health complications, and you have a health problem of staggering proportions. Chemical dependency can be fatal.

According to recent research reported in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, subluxation-based chiropractic adjustments have demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in patients suffering from addiction. The purpose of this research was to determine if subluxation correction would allow for greater fulfilment of human potential in the arena of well-being, a fundamental principle within chiropractic philosophy. However, until now, no randomized placebo-controlled studies have put chiropractic’s philosophy to the test. Only studies that provided outcomes in the treatment of specific conditions or symptoms had been conducted (mainly limited to musculoskeletal intervention). This is the first time chiropractic research has been published in a journal of such international importance and prestige in the world scientific community. Nature Publishing Group’s flagship journal, Nature, is the highest-rated peer-reviewed scientific journal in the world.

Dr. Holder authored another study which was published last November, in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. Along with eight other internationally renowned scientists in human genetics and brain research, he/she established the first scientific model of the subluxation to withstand scientific scrutiny. Titled “Reward Deficiency Syndrome: A Biogenetic Model,” the article contains over 400 peer-reviewed references and is 112 pages, making it one of the largest journal articles to be published in a mainstream scientific journal. The concept of the Brain Reward Cascade and expression of human potential is one of the hallmarks cited in support of subluxation correction.

Dr. Holder chose addicts for the study population since addicts best represent those persons suffering from Reward Deficiency Syndrome (a lack of state of well-being) and its relationship to the Brain Reward Cascade. Therefore, the study was conducted at Exodus Addiction Treatment Center, a 350-bed Addiction hospital located in Miami, Florida. During the 18-month study, the patient population was divided into three test groups. Group One received standard addiction treatment including group therapy, psychotherapy and medical care. Group two received the same addiction treatment but was also provided subluxation-based chiropractic adjustments using the Torque Release Technique delivered via the use of the Integrator adjusting instrument. Group Three was the placebo group which received the same addiction treatment performed in Group One and two, but was also provided placebo chiropractic adjustments by modifying the Integrator to fire without any force or frequency characteristics.

Just 56 per cent of Group One finished their treatment program, compared with 75 per cent of Group Three (placebo group), but this was not statistically significant thereby failing to support that chiropractic had a placebo effect. However, 100 per cent of the patients in Group two receiving true chiropractic adjustments finished their treatment program. This 100 per cent Retention Rate has never been accomplished by any other modality including pharmaceutical, psychological or medical treatment. Retention Rate is the “gold standard” in the field of addiction treatment. It is the primary yardstick for funding treatment programs that government funding agencies and drug courts use to fund and/or refer patients to. There are now over 400 drug courts requiring treatment instead of incarceration throughout the United States. The Miami Drug Court was the first. In addition, Group two also made far fewer visits to the nurse’s station and showed statistically significant decreases in anxiety, a leading cause of relapse to addicts. Only nine per cent of those receiving adjustments by Torque Release Technique made one or more visits to the nurse’s station while in the program, compared to 56 per cent of the placebo group and 48 per cent of the usual care group, This suggests that the chiropractic adjustments not only lacked a placebo effect, but that the placebo group did the worst. This was quite important since our detractors like to blame chiropractic’s success on some sort of placebo effect; they certainly can’t in this case.

The Beck’s Depression Inventory revealed that chiropractic care got depression levels below a score of 5 in 4 weeks, something which usually took one year of medication and psychotherapy to achieve the same result. The Spielberger State Anxiety Test revealed that chiropractic care got anxiety levels below a score of 35 in 3 weeks. Normally it took six months of medication and psychotherapy to achieve the same result. The study clearly showed a strong association between chiropractic care and significant improvement in state of well-being and increased retention of patients in an addiction treatment program. Currently, retention is a major hurdle in treating addictions.

There are five addictions: chemical, work, eating disorders, sex and gambling. This includes but is not limited to the compulsive disorders such as ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome, depression and anxiety disorders, Anecdotal Torque Release Technique research has revealed restoration of abnormal EEG brain wave activity in ADHD following subluxation correction. By error of omission, the leading cause of death in North America is drug-related and is the leading cause of crime at 84%. Interestingly, there are three causes of subluxation: mental, chemical, physical. Addicts who finish a 30-day program have a much better chance of overcoming their addiction and staying clean. However, nationally, only 72 per cent of all participants manage to complete such a program. That’s why the 100 per cent retention rate offered by subluxation correction in this study is so important. Too many people who could be helped by these programs are dropping out too soon. If we can get them to stay in the program, we can begin to see real progress in our battle against addictions. Success can be attributed to a “major change in the anxiety levels, which went down much more dramatically in the chiropractic group. “In these kinds of treatment facilities, if you make an effort that’s successful to reduce anxiety, you can keep people around longer,” my colleague Dr. Robert Duncan added. The Torque Release Technique and the Integrator were created out of this study by accident. In designing the study Dr. Holder had to find a way to ensure consistency and reproducibility in the application of delivering the chiropractic adjustment and to measure its outcome. To accomplish this it was necessary to adjust by instrument rather than by hand. However, chiropractic had not yet developed an instrument that reproduced what the chiropractor’s hands were intended to do; and the most classical thrust maneuver by hand was Toggle Recoil.

Allergies

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The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America claims that over 60 million Americans suffer from these conditions. That is 1 out of every 5 people. It also states that there is no cure for allergies, but rather only preventative measures these people can use. In recent years many studies have proven that principled chiropractic can help prevent and overcome allergies.

In 2009 the local ABC affiliate in Springfield, Missouri, produced a story on a young girl named Jami who had tremendous results with chiropractic. Here severe allergies would cause sinus problems for weeks at a time. She commented, “I get really bad sinus infections…. I just look like I’m bawling all the time.” She tried multiple medications and nothing seemed to help. Jami finally went to a principled chiropractor in the Springfield area where she began regular treatments. She shared her experience by saying, “He adjusted me one time for it. For three days my nose just drained, and then I was fine after that.”

A more recent study was conducted on a group of 57 people who suffered from Crohn’s disease and allergies. The subjects were divided into two groups. One group received chiropractic adjustments, while the control group received none. The group that received chiropractic treatment to remove vertebral subluxation showed long-term stable remission and alleviation of symptoms. These results suggest that chronic nerve irritation has a significant effect on digestion and the absorption of nutrients which can lead to allergies.

So why do some people have allergies to certain things and others do not? The brain and nervous system control and coordinate everything that goes on in the body, including the immune system. When one or more bones in the neck or back move out of alignment and begin to put pressure on the nerve, it can increase the risk of disease and dysfunction. Depending on where these vertebral subluxations are in your body, this may include food sensitivities and allergies.

Anxiety & Depression

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It is appropriate to first discuss research that suggests the spine may be an anatomical extension of the limbic system. The limbic system is the site where feelings are mediated. These feelings are expressed through the reward cascade model as first proposed by Blum and Kozlowski (1990). We now know many naturally occurring brain and spinal cord substances play a role in both emotions and pain reduction, leading to an increased sense of wellbeing. In this regard, Pert and Diensfrey (1988) and Lewis and colleagues (1981) suggested the limbic system should include not only the amygdala and hypothalamus, but also the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. In fact they point out that a number of neuropeptide receptors having psychophysiological effects can be found in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Burstein and Potrebic (1993) of the Department of Neuro-Biology at the Harvard Medical School provide evidence for direct projection of the spinal cord neurons to the amygdala and orbital cortex. Further, these authors suggest that these pathways play a role in neuronal circuits that enable somatosensory information, including pain, to effect autonomic, endocrine, and behavioral functions. Giesler, Katter & Dado (1994) found specific spinal pathways which project to the limbic system for nociceptive information, and these pathways seem to include the hypothalamus bilaterally. In unpublished work conducted prior to the previously mentioned network study, Holder and Blum decided to test the hypothesis that chiropractic care goes beyond its known role in musculoskeletal disorders. This is based on the speculation that via adjustment of the spine, a subluxation free spine would facilitate an enhanced sense of well-being via limbic activation of dopamine release at the nucleus accumbens. We therefore carried out preliminary studies at the Exodus Treatment Center in Miami, Florida, where we incorporated chiropractic procedures (Torque Release Technique) to see if we could significantly affect psychological states, drug withdrawal, and patient retention rates in inpatient SUD residents.

The investigation was a randomized clinical trial, blinded and with a placebo control to mimic the subluxation-based chiropractic treatment. The study included 98 human subjects and consisted of three groups: a standard residential treatment group, a standard residential treatment group plus chiropractic adjustments, and a standard residential treatment plus placebo chiropractic adjustments. The results analyzed reveal that chiropractic adjustments are producing a significantly improved retention rate within a 30 day residential model compared to both the placebo and the standard groups, with a statistically significant improvement in anxiety and depression scores (based on a battery of seven psychological inventories) when compared to sham controls, as well as a significant reduction in nursing station visits compared to controls. While these results are intriguing and open to a number of possible interpretations, the study needs to be replicated by an independent laboratory before any conclusions can be drawn.

This study relates association between chiropractic care and state of well-being. Dr. Holder chose addicts for the study population since addicts best represent those persons suffering from Reward Deficiency Syndrome (a lack of state of well-being) and its relationship to the Brain Reward Cascade. Therefore, the study was conducted at Exodus Addiction Treatment Center, a 350-bed Addiction hospital located in Miami, Florida. During the 18-month study, the patient population was divided into three test groups. Group One received standard addiction treatment including group therapy, psychotherapy and medical care. Group two received the same addiction treatment but was also provided subluxation-based chiropractic adjustments using the Torque Release Technique delivered via the use of the Integrator adjusting instrument. Group Three was the placebo group which received the same addiction treatment performed in Group One and two, but was also provided placebo chiropractic adjustments by modifying the Integrator to fire without any force or frequency characteristics.

Just 56 per cent of Group One finished their treatment program, compared with 75 per cent of Group Three (placebo group), but this was not statistically significant thereby failing to support that chiropractic had a placebo effect. However, 100 per cent of the patients in Group two receiving true chiropractic adjustments finished their treatment program. This 100 per cent Retention Rate has never been accomplished by any other modality including pharmaceutical, psychological or medical treatment. Retention Rate is the “gold standard” in the field of addiction treatment. It is the primary yardstick for funding treatment programs that government funding agencies and drug courts use to fund and/or refer patients to. There are now over 400 drug courts requiring treatment instead of incarceration throughout the United States. The Miami Drug Court was the first. In addition, Group two also made far fewer visits to the nurse’s station and showed statistically significant decreases in anxiety, a leading cause of relapse to addicts. Only nine per cent of those receiving adjustments by Torque Release Technique made one or more visits to the nurse’s station while in the program, compared to 56 per cent of the placebo group and 48 per cent of the usual care group, This suggests that the chiropractic adjustments not only lacked a placebo effect, but that the placebo group did the worst. This was quite important since our detractors like to blame chiropractic’s success on some sort of placebo effect; they certainly can’t in this case.

The Beck’s Depression Inventory revealed that chiropractic care got depression levels below a score of 5 in 4 weeks, something which usually took one year of medication and psychotherapy to achieve the same result. The Spielberger State Anxiety Test revealed that chiropractic care got anxiety levels below a score of 35 in 3 weeks. Normally it took six months of medication and psychotherapy to achieve the same result. The study clearly showed a strong association between chiropractic care and significant improvement in state of well-being and increased retention of patients in an addiction treatment program. Currently, retention is a major hurdle in treating addictions.

There are five addictions: chemical, work, eating disorders, sex and gambling. This includes but is not limited to the compulsive disorders such as ADHD, Tourette’s Syndrome, depression and anxiety disorders, Anecdotal Torque Release Technique research has revealed restoration of abnormal EEG brain wave activity in ADHD following subluxation correction. By error of omission, the leading cause of death in North America is drug-related and is the leading cause of crime at 84 per cent. Interestingly, there are three causes of subluxation: mental, chemical, physical. Addicts who finish a 30-day program have a much better chance of overcoming their addiction and staying clean. However, nationally, only 72 per cent of all participants manage to complete such a program. That’s why the 100 per cent retention rate offered by subluxation correction in this study is so important. Too many people who could be helped by these programs are dropping out too soon. If we can get them to stay in the program, we can begin to see real progress in our battle against addictions. Success can be attributed to a “major change in the anxiety levels, which went down much more dramatically in the chiropractic group. “In these kinds of treatment facilities, if you make an effort that’s successful to reduce anxiety, you can keep people around longer,” my colleague Dr. Robert Duncan added. The Torque Release Technique and the Integrator were created out of this study by accident. In designing the study Dr. Holder had to find a way to ensure consistency and reproducibility in the application of delivering the chiropractic adjustment and to measure its outcome. To accomplish this it was necessary to adjust by instrument rather than by hand. However, chiropractic had not yet developed an instrument that reproduced what the chiropractor’s hands were intended to do; and the most classical thrust maneuver by hand was Toggle Recoil.

CANADIAN CHIROPRACTOR The Magazine for Canada’s Chiropractic Profession OCTOBER 2001, VOLUME 6 NUMBER 5 26

Asthma

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Approximately 14 Americans die each day from asthma. Asthma is one of only three diseases that has shown an increasing death rate in recent years, up 58% since 1979. According to current estimates, 17 million Americans suffer from the disease, making it the most common and costly illness in the United States. Asthma causes more hospitalizations than any other child hood disease, costing families over $13 billion annually. Although many forms of Asthma can be mild, they should not be taken lightly. Asthma is a warning sign that something is wrong in the body. Chiropractic studies have linked vertebral subluxation and nerve interference with the underlying causes of Asthma.

In one study, 81 children underwent a 60-day principled chiropractic treatment for the removal of vertebral subluxation. At the end of the 60 days, 90.1% of the children showed significant improvement in their symptoms as well as a decreased frequency of asthmatic attacks. This study concluded that vertebral subluxation treatment is a safe non-pharmacological healthcare approach to decreasing asthma-related impairment (more commonly known as asthma attacks). The findings suggest a need for further investigation on the effects of chiropractic care as a management regimen for pediatric asthmatics.

Another study compared 47 people who were medically diagnosed with asthma that underwent a research study through 3 months of regular chiropractic care and all 47 of them showed great improvement. These are just a few of many studies to show very significant results with chiropractic and asthmatic symptoms.

The spinal nerves that come out of the neck and upper thoracic area have major control over the lungs. It is critical that there are no levels of vertebral subluxation in these areas, as sublaxation can interfere with the signals being sent from the brain through the spinal nerves controlling the lungs, which may lead to asthmatic-like conditions.

Autism

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Autism is a behavioral developmental disorder generally presenting in children in the first 18 months of life. Individuals with autism are affected in different ways, but all seem to suffer from a triad of abnormalities: difficulty in interacting with others, impairments in communication, and difficulty in thinking imaginatively. The estimated population of people with autism in New Zealand is approximately 40,000 or 1 in every 100 people. The causes of autism are unknown, though genetic associations, along with internal and external environmental stimuli – both in-utero and at any stage post-partum – are the most accepted theories regarding the causes of autism. No matter the cause, those affected by autism have problems with sensory-neural integration and consequent motor output.

A 3½ year old girl was brought in for chiropractic care after being diagnosed twelve months prior with autism. The child did not speak or communicate with anyone except through screaming and tantrum-like outbursts. She would not socialize with her peers and did not engage in physical activity other than that initiated during a tantrum. Both constipation and sleep disturbances were noted at several stages of her life. The mother described the birth as non-traumatic; however, the child was delivered via vacuum extraction with the mother receiving an epidural. Immediately following birth the child was separated from her mother and received a vitamin K injection along with all standard vaccinations, and she was reported to have reacted differently to other children. She slept for 24 hours after receiving the first series of vaccinations. The child suffered a fall from her cot at 5 months of age with no noticeable damage, and she was breastfed for 18 months. She had not spoken at all and only verbalized via screaming, which was observed on presentation.

The initial chiropractic exam revealed decreased respiration in the thoraco-lumbar region and a fast left cervical syndrome. Palpation and range of motion testing, along with spinal, thermal, and electromyography (EMG) scans, were difficult to conduct due to the apprehension of the child. The initial EMG was consequently only performed on the lumbar spine. These initial EMG and thermography scans revealed large areas of asymmetrical motor and autonomic function respectively throughout the entire spine. The scans were performed using the Insight™ surface EMG and thermal scanning technology. The child was checked and adjusted 28 times over a 10-week period using the Torque Release Technique (TRT) model and Integrator™ instrument.

After five adjustments within two weeks, the child—who was previously very apprehensive – was able to lay on the table herself, and by the sixth visit was holding the chiropractor’s hand. The doctor also noted that on the fifth visit, the patient demonstrated emotional response when her C2 was adjusted for the first time. By the tenth visit the child verbalized for the first time while being adjusted and was reported to be laughing during the same week. During the 6th week under care and her 18th visit, the child was reported to have been constipated. No signs were present 24 hours later, at the 19th visit. Comparable thermal and EMG scans were taken at 1 and 2 months following the onset of care. Importantly, the EMG scan was able to be taken of the full spine on both follow-up occasions. Increased balance and symmetry was noted on the 1st month’s scans in both motor and autonomic function as tested bilaterally parallel to the spine, which further improved on the 2nd month scans.

Current literature fails to identify any single anatomical, physical, physiological, psychological, or neurochemical cause for autism, and no single trait is pathognomonic for a diagnosis. Recent studies suggest environmental causes such as infection, digestive dysfunction, autoimmune responses and side effects to antibiotics and vaccines, but these appear to only be associations.

Whatever the cause, there appears to be a problem with environmental perception (sensory neural integration) and subsequent response (motor output). Despite uncertainty in pathogenesis, autopsy results on autistic subjects have yielded consistent findings in the cerebral and particularly cerebellar regions of the brain. Twelve autistic cases showed Purkinje neuronal loss with a consequent reduction in size, most notably in the posterior cerebellar vermis. The vermis receives visual, auditory and vestibular inputs as well as somatic sensory input from the head and proximal parts of the body. Hence the vermis plays a large role in sensing the surrounding environment, a function that appears to be affected in autistic people. Thus the part of the brain that plays a major role in perceiving the environment appears to be reduced in size, cell number and also function in autistic patients.

Here subluxation-based chiropractic care can have its impact. A vertebral subluxation refers to a mechanical problem in the spine that relates to nerve interference. Due to altered biomechanics of the spine, a subluxation can lead to an imbalance in sensory input into both the cerebrum and cerebellum – especially the vermis – from the left, right, or both sides of the body. This sensory dysafferentation then leads to alteration in the central integrative state of the neuronal cells involved with initiating the response to the environmental stimuli (cerebellum and motor cortex initially), which in the case of autistic children can manifest as either hyperactive or hypoactive responses to their environment. Adjustments have the effect of resetting the joint and the mechanoreceptor activity to a resting state with a subsequent change in the central integrative state of the central nervous system, leading to a more appropriate response to the environment.

This case report illustrates how an improvement respectively in both subjective and objective behavioral patterns and nerve system symmetry followed chiropractic care in a child with autism. Similar cases have been published previously with comparable behavioral changes; however, further research is required to determine the exact role of chiropractic in benefiting children with autism.

Blood Pressure

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70 million American adults – 1 in every 3 – suffer from high blood pressure. Only half of these people have their condition under control. This condition has become so common it now costs the United States $46 billion a year. With this many people suffering from high blood pressure, it is no surprise that heart disease is the leading killer in the United States. While blood pressure medications are often effective treatments, they can come with many harmful side effects.

A recent research study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics shows chiropractic adjustments to the upper neck can lower systolic blood pressure almost immediately. Another study aired on ABC News demonstrated that just one adjustment to the top bone in the neck lowered blood pressure on average by 17 points, and was more effective than the two leading blood pressure medications on the market.

A recent case study performed by Dr. Shane Kurth at Apex Chiropractic in Louisville, CO, showed positive results using the torque release technique. Dr. Kurth treated the patient by removing vertebral subluxation with the integrator through the torque release technique. According to Dr. Laurie Tassell, National Spokesperson for the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, a chiropractic pilot study involving 80 people found there is a relationship between the upper neck vertebrae and the body’s natural blood pressure control reflexes. A majority of the research relating blood pressure, hypertension, and hypotension have shown significant benefits to subluxation-based chiropractic adjustments.

Back Pain

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Over 31 million Americans experience back pain at any given time, and low back pain is the number-one cause of disability worldwide. The United States alone spends over $50 million a year for back-pain-related issues. In fact, low back pain is the second leading cause of doctor’s visits, behind only upper respiratory problems.

Due to the frequency of low back pain, there have been hundreds of research studies that prove the benefits of chiropractic. For example, one study examined 101 patients with acute low back pain and divided them into three groups. Group 1 receive chiropractic adjustments, Group 2 received pharmaceuticals, and Group 3 was a control group that received no treatment. Almost all of the participants in the control group dropped out of the study because they could not deal with the pain. Both Groups 1 and 2 showed improvement, though Group 1 (the chiropractic group) showed

A new research study actually reveals that back surgery fails in 74% of cases. Researchers reviewed records from 1,450 patients in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation database who had diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation, or radiculopathy, a nerve condition that causes tingling and weakness of the limbs. Half of the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of curing low back pain. The other half had no surgery, even though they had comparable diagnoses. After two years, just 26% of those who had surgery had actually returned to work, compared to 67% of patients who didn’t have surgery. In what might be the most troubling finding, researchers determined that there was a 41% increase in the use of painkillers, specifically opiates, in those who had surgery.

Any type of back pain is a warning sign of internal body issues that need to be corrected. Subluxation-based chiropractors focus on getting to the root of the problem so your body can recover, heal, and work the way it was designed to.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

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There is some compelling evidence that carpal tunnel syndrome may be more common in people who use their hands for strenuous, repetitive tasks (dental hygienists, office or skilled labor jobs, tennis players, golfers, and even knitters) as well as among those making extensive use of vibrating tools. Contrary to popular belief, little evidence suggests that repetitive typing and keyboard use may be a contributing factor. Recent research has actually shown that a certain level of typing may actually be beneficial in preventing carpal tunnel.

Medical management for carpal tunnel usually consists of prescribing NSAIDs. This class of pharmaceuticals has been known to cause stomach bleeding, peptic ulcers, and kidney failure, as well as high blood pressure. If the NSAIDs are not effective, orthopedic surgeons may perform an operation that cuts the transverse carpal ligament in half to alleviate the pressure. This surgery has an alarmingly high failure rate.

A chiropractor knows that if your hands have pain and tingling, the first place to look is your neck, specifically in the mid to lower cervical spine. This is where the nerve roots which make up the brachial plexus originate. The brachial plexus is divided into nerves including the median and ulnar nerve, which travel all the way to the tips of the fingers. Nerve root irritation can occur at numerous places between the vertebra of the neck and the wrist, which can lead to many secondary complications. When a chiropractor adjusts the neck and removes the irritation at the nerve roots, the secondary or downstream symptoms may simply resolve. This is not only a more conservative approach, but also has a higher success rate than surgery for carpal tunnel.

Colic

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5-25% of infants suffer from colic, and an infant with colic can be a nightmare for new parents. Long nights of crying due to gastrointestinal pain and numerous other factors can make the parent’s job both physically and emotionally harder than it needs to be.

The National Health Service in Ballerup (Copenhagen, Denmark) conducted a study involving 50 infants diagnosed with colic. Half of the group received specific chiropractic adjustments, and the other half received the drug dimethicon. In this study, 9 of the 25 infants taking the drug were removed from the study because their symptoms were getting worse.

Even with the removal 9 infants from the group that received drugs for colic, the results showed a more significant improvement in the group that were under chiropractic care. Between the fourth and seventh days of the study, the infants remaining in the drug group had reduced their hours of crying by only one hour, while the entire chiropractic group had reduced crying hours by an average of 2.4 hours. After 8 to 10 days, the infants who were prescribed drug treatments plateaued at a one-hour reduction in crying, while the chiropractic group further improved to an average of 2.7 fewer hours of crying. The researchers noted that, had the 9 infants not been pulled from the drug group, the disparity between chiropractic treatment and drug treatment would have been even greater.

Research study after research study continually demonstrate the greater efficacy of chiropractic care in alleviating colic in infants when compared to other medical treatments. Not only do chiropractic adjustments help alleviate colic symptoms, but they also contribute to infants’ overall health and immune system by boosting their white blood cell count.