Chiropractic...About More Than Back Pain?

source:  http://www.metrotownchiropractic.com/en/faq_and_education.html

7 Reasons Why Chiropractic Is About More Than Back Pain
posted by PHS Chiropractic on Friday, October 09, 2015

Do your patients think their care is simply about resolving their back pain? It's time to educate them that while chiropractic is about that, it's also about so much more.
Research has demonstrated that chiropractic can actually help keep your body healthy and active and can be incorporated into anyone's lifestyle as a preventative regimen.

Chiropractic:

1. Boosts immune function, making it easier to ward off infection and illness.

2. Reduces inflammation. Higher levels of inflammatory compounds can lead to diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis.

3. Reduces blood pressure. In fact, patients who receive adjustments have seen blood pressure decreases that are equal to being given two different anti-hypertensive agents at the same time!

4. Reduces stress, including improving brain activity responsible for stress reactions and reducing cortisol levels.

5. Improves balance by restoring normal healthy spine function.

6. Relieves colic in babies.

7. Relieves asthma symptoms in both adults and children. As chiropractors, we know the benefits of being under chiropractic care extends well beyond just back pain relief. In an article published by ChiroHosting they give 7 reasons why chiropractic is about your overall wellness.

The core concept of chiropractic is to restore the function of your nervous system so that it can do what’s it’s designed to do: keeping your body healthy and active. Chiropractic is truly about prevention. If you keep your nervous system working smoothly and without interference, many health issues become non-issues!

Don’t take our word for it, though. Over the last few years, there’s been a lot of scientific research that shows that chiropractic is good for much more than just aches and pains. Here’s a review of some of this literature.

1 – Chiropractic Boosts Immune Function

A 2010 study found that chiropractic adjustments actually boosted blood serum levels of some important natural antibodies in patients. The authors suggested that chiropractic adjustments might "prime" the immune system, making it easier to ward off infection and illness.

2 – Chiropractic Reduces Inflammation

Researchers in a 2011 study compared back pain patients to people with no pain and gave both groups chiropractic adjustments. The authors found that the back pain patients who received chiropractic care had dramatically lower levels of a key inflammatory cytokine, known as TNF-α. High levels of TNF-α have been linked to inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis.

3 – Chiropractic Reduces Blood Pressure

Hypertension is a huge public health issue in the US; it’s estimated that about 30% of adults suffer from this serious condition. A 2007 study in the Journal of Human Hypertension looked at a group of patients with high blood pressure. Half received an adjustment of their atlas, and the other half received a sham adjustment.

The decrease in blood pressure was so dramatic in the patients who received real adjustments that the researchers wrote that it "is similar to that seen by giving two different anti-hypertensive agents simultaneously." In fact, 85% of the study patients had improvement after just one adjustment!

4 – Chiropractic Reduces Stress

An interesting study by a team of Japanese researchers in 2011 gave chiropractic adjustments to 12 men and examined PET scan images and blood chemistry to examine the effect that chiropractic has on the autonomic nervous system.

After receiving a chiropractic neck adjustment, patients had altered brain activity in the parts of the brain responsible for pain processing and stress reactions. They also had significantly reduced cortisol levels, indicating decreased stress. Participants also reported lower pain scores and a better quality of life after treatment.

5 – Chiropractic Improves Balance

As we age, sometimes we start to lose some of our balance, strength, and flexibility that we had in our youth. Because of this, older folks are vulnerable to serious injuries from trips and falls. Chiropractic helps keep your body active by restoring the normal, healthy functioning of your spine. One of the important roles of your spine is balance, aided by nerves called proprioceptors. These proprioceptors relay information to your brain on the position of your body.

A small study from 2009 found that people who received chiropractic adjustments had reduced dizziness and improved balance. A 2015 review of the literature suggests that chiropractic care might be an effective, natural way to help prevent falls in elderly patients.

6 – Chiropractic Relieves Colic in Babies

In 2012, researchers studied 104 infants who were suffering from colic. One-third of the infants were treated with chiropractic adjustments and the parents were aware of the treatment; one-third were treated and the parents were unaware of the treatment; and one-third were untreated but the parents were unaware.

The authors found that the parents reported a significant decrease in infant crying in the treated babies, compared to the infants who didn’t receive treatment. The knowledge of the parent had no effect on the improvement.

7 – Chiropractic Relieves Asthma Symptoms

A 2013 study reported that chiropractic adjustments were effective at increasing lung functioning, and some recent research shows that chiropractic care can help reduce the symptoms of asthma in some children.


Reference Studies

1.  Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA, McGregor M, Ruegg R, Injeyan HS. Interleukin 2-regulated in vitro antibody production following a single spinal manipulative treatment in normal subjects. Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010;(18)26.

2.  Teodorczyk-Injeyan JA, Triano JJ, McGregor M, Woodhouse L, Injeyan HS. Elevated production of inflammatory mediators including nociceptive chemokines in patients with neck pain: a cross-sectional evaluation. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2011;34(8):498-505.

3.  Bakris G, Dickholtz M Sr, Meyer PM, Kravitz G, Avery E, Miller M, Brown J, Woodfield C, Bell B. Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study. Journal of Human Hypertension 2007;21(5):347-52.

4.  Ogura T, Tashiro M, Masud M, et al. Cerebral metabolic changes in men after chiropractic spinal manipulation for neck pain. Alternative Therapies. 2011;17(6):12-17.

5.  Strunk RG, Hawk C. Effects of chiropractic care on dizziness, neck pain, and balance: a single-group, pre-experimental, feasibility study. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine 2009;8(4):156–164.

6.  Kendall JC, Hartvigsen J, French SD, Azari MF. Is there a role for neck manipulation in elderly falls prevention? – An overview. Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association 2015;9(1):53-63.

7.  Miller JE, Newell D, Bolton JE. Efficacy of chiropractic manual therapy on infant colic: a pragmatic single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2012;35(8):600-7.

8.  Engel RM, Vemulpad SR, Beath K. Short-term effects of a course of manual therapy and exercise in people with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a preliminary clinical trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2013;36(8):490-6.

9.  Pepino VC, Ribeiro JD, Ribeiro MA, de Noronha M, Mezzacappa MA, Schivinski CI. Manual therapy for childhood respiratory disease: A systematic review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2013;36(1):57-65.
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Maybe #chiropractic is about more than we thought? https://t.co/XE2ZrOd0ry

— Travis Robertson (@theuppercblog) October 20, 2015

Are You A Candidate For Upper Cervical Care?

By Dr. Zachary Ward

Are you a candidate for an upper cervical (NUCCA) spinal correction?

If you want to remove barriers to self-healing, and you can answer yes to one or more of the following questions, then you may be a candidate for our care. Please request a consultation with the doctor.

■Have you ever been told by a chiropractor, podiatrist, tailor, or seamstress that you have one leg that is shorter than the other?

■Have you ever been prescribed a heel lift for a ‘short leg’?

■When you look in the mirror do you see your head tilting toward your right or left shoulder?

■When you look in the mirror do you consistently see one shoulder that is higher?

■Do you limit carrying handbags or purses to one shoulder because the strap falls off on one side?

■For women, do you always find one bra strap falling off of one shoulder?

■When you wear a belt, do you notice that it sits higher on one hip than the other?

■When you walk do you find that your waistband tends to twist towards one side of your body, pulling the inseam out on one side?

■Do you suffer from a head, neck, back or body pain that cannot be explained by other doctors? Or pain that is not responding to other kinds of care, including traditional chiropractic?

■If you turn your head all the way to the left or right, is it easier to make this motion on one side than the other?

■Do you have pain or tenderness or a sensation of tightness at the base of the skull?

■Have you ever had a chiropractor or medical doctor diagnose you with a ‘loss of curve’ in your neck from an x-ray or MRI?

■Do have an inability to concentrate (foggy headedness) that you cannot explain?

■Do you have a neurological problem (balance, seizures, vision disturbances, cranial nerve disorders) that you want to manage with other ways than medicine?

■Have you ever sustained a whiplash injury?

■Did you have a difficult birth using forceps or vacuum extraction?

■Do you have occasional headaches or migraine headaches?

(Editor's note: These are merely indicators of body imbalance. Please remember the objective of upper cervical care is to correct head neck misalignment that is interfering with proper brain to body communication. When this is corrected the body functions at a higher level and can often correct other problems more efficiently on its own. Please do not confuse upper cervical care as a treatment for anything listed above or any other condition, disease or symptom.)

Our Objective And Your Cooperation

There is nothing more precious than health. Because of that, we have one primary objective. That is the restoration of balanced communication between brain and body. Balanced communication must exist in our relationships or they will eventually fall apart. So it is with your body, balanced communication is the foundation of your health and healing.

In these times circumstances can often change quickly. Successful adaptation to these changes depends directly upon a nerve system free of interference. Being in tune and balanced will help ensure maximum adaptability.

We need your cooperation. We expect you will take your health and your loved ones’ health seriously, that you will do what we ask you to do, that you will study the information we give you, and that you will refer others to us. Someone out there whom you know may be suffering with various health problems and you may believe that Upper Cervical Care will not help that person. Please don’t make this mistake by prejudging what wonderful things the intelligence of the body can do when it is being fully expressed (see Can Upper Cervical Care Help). Send them. Most will thank you after they have begun care. Some will get the Big Idea and continue to be checked periodically and receive Upper Cervical Corrections when necessary so that balanced function will become a reality for a full lifetime. Should you have any questions on Upper Cervical Care or anything else we will do our best to answer them.

Thank you for telling others and taking time to get the facts on how the nervous system works, how nerve interference causes malfunction, and how easily and gently we can correct or reduce this interference thru Upper Cervical Care.

I hope that every human being will one day understand what we now try to share with you. Be well as you enjoy life to the fullest.

Meniere's Disease and Upper Cervical Care

The basics of Meniere's and a little background.

by Michael T. Burcon, D.C.

Meniere's disease, or syndrome, is characterized by vertigo or dizziness, and some combination of four associated symptoms: nausea, inner ear pressure, low-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus. The cause of Meniere's disease is unknown, and the pathology is poorly understood. The attacks of vertigo appear suddenly, last from a few to 24 hours, and subside gradually. The attacks are associated with nausea and vomiting. The patient may have a recurrent feeling of fullness in the affected ear, and hearing in that ear tends to fluctuate, but worsens over the years. Tinnitus may be constant or intermittent.

Both the vestibular and cochlear nerves join the internal auditory meatus to form CN VIII, which enters the brain stem at the cerebellopontine angle. Meniere's is considered a common peripheral ailment, however it is often overlooked that although within the substance of the brain itself, the root entry zone of the eighth cranial nerve is considered a peripheral vestibular structure. An atlas subluxation may irritate this nerve root by compromising the size of the neural canal space. Rosenberg reported a case of cervical cord impingement observed with magnetic resonance imaging, bringing on signs and symptoms of medulla compression.

Also, dizziness related to perturbations in information received from proprioreceptors in the neck that feed into the vestibular system are not usually taken into consideration. This is a common result of even minor whiplash injuries. One theory has proposed that irritation of sympathetic nerves can elicit spasms within the vertebral artery, leading to decrease in blood flow to the brain stem.

The vertebral arteries reach the interior of the skull by ascending through the transverse foramina of the cervical vertebrae, turning medially along the upper surface of the posterior arch of atlas and then penetrating the posterior atlantooccipital membrane and the underlying dura to enter the subarachnoid space. Subluxation of atlas may diminish blood flow through the vertebral arteries and their intracranial branches, which supply the spinal cord, medulla, cerebellum and inner ear via the labyrinthine artery.

Finally, internal pressures of the body, specifically that of the cerebrospinal fluid, are rarely taken into consideration. The fluid spaces of the inner ear are connected to the CSF by the cochlear aqueduct, believed to be patent in most humans, so that pressure changes in CSF are transmitted directly to the ear.

The auditory tubes, responsible for equalizing pressure in the middle ears with the atmosphere, are controlled by the Tensor veli palatini and Salpingopharyngeus. These muscles are innervated by the Pharyngeal nerve plexuses, which have a contribution from Cranial Nerve XII. The hypoglossal canal lies under cover of about the middle of each occipital condyle, intimate to atlas.

Most normal individuals cannot appreciate the devastating impact of vertigo. The patient perceives that the world is spinning around them. Vertigo disrupts every aspect of life, since the patient loses the ability to do anything normally, especially when movement is involved. It can totally incapacitate the individual, often confining them to bed.

During my first year of practice, three patients diagnosed with Meniere's started under my upper cervical specific chiropractic care. All three improved dramatically after their first specific chiropractic adjustment of their top cervical vertebra, atlas. Two years later, they remain symptom free.

Over the next few days we will share the specifics of each case.

Upper Cervical Care Reviewed

This is one person's overview of NUCCA care. I thought it was very well done and worth sharing as it covers many of the basics of Upper Cervical Care.

By Lennard Zinn

The top, or Cl vertebra (C is for "cervical," i.e., "neck") is also called the "atlas" vertebra. Cl is concave on top to accept the convex base of the skull, and it is convex on the bottom to fit into the concave top of the next vertebra. Central to the vertebrae runs the spinal cord, carrying body control messages from the brain. Between each pair of vertebrae are 31 pairs of nerves extending out to organs and muscles.

Misaligned (or "subluxated") vertebrae can impinge on the nerves and hamper body function. Chiropractors apply force to parts of the spine with the intent of returning vertebrae to their normal positions. Cracking sounds usually accompany the adjustment. Upper Cervical Technique is distinct in that the adjustment is only performed on the Cl vertebra and the adjustment normally makes no sound. Furthermore, the direction of the application of force to perform the adjustment is not based simply on palpation (the chiropractors "feel") but rather on detailed analysis of X-rays. From the X-rays, a three-dimensional force vector is calculated and then applied to Cl to correct its position.

A misaligned atlas throws off leg length and distorts the entire body. The skull and the other vertebrae rotate and tip to compensate for rotation and tip in C1. The head weighs between 8 and 14 pounds. If it is not sitting straight on top of the spine, the muscles of the body must do something to counteract this bowling ball hanging off to the side. If the muscles on one side of the spine are tighter than those on the other, then the pelvis is pulled up on that side, thus "shortening" that leg.

I went to Farmington, New Mexico, a town of 40,000 near the four comers area, to view this procedure, as there are no practitioners of it within hundreds of miles of my Boulder, Colorado, home. Lloyd Pond, D.C., who practices with his son, Lonnie, is recognized among those who follow the subject as one of the leading practitioners of upper cervical technique.

Diagnostic Methods

The Ponds use a complex diagnostic machine with a digital printout called an "Anatometer" to quantify body distortion. It measures the degree of vertical pelvic tilt, pelvic rotation in a horizontal plane, the lean of the spinal column at the shoulder level, and the amount of weight the patient carries on each foot.

Patients first lie flat on a table to have leg length differences measured.

Patients said that they only feel a very slight pressure and the warmth of the hand on their neck. There was no deflection of the patient's head or neck during the procedure, nor was there an audible sound.

A heat-sensing probe is passed up the spine on the back of the neck. The probe has a temperature sensor on either side, of the spine hooked up to a machine that graphs the temperature readings as a function of position. The graph shows large surface-temperature variations on either side of the spine, indicating interrupted nerve supply.

The adjustment direction is based on X-rays, which one of the Ponds takes to ensure accuracy. Patient position and distance to the lens is precisely set in each of three different X-ray angles.

On a light board, lines are drawn on the X-rays through a series of bone points. The precise relative angles of Cl, the head, and the spine are measured in three planes. Once the exact misalignment of the atlas is determined, a vector direction in three dimensions is determined, precisely opposing the misalignment.

Adjustment procedure

The chiropractor applies a force directly along the determined vector direction to return the atlas to its proper position. The force must be applied with enough pressure to overcome the body's internal resistance to the adjustment without going too far.

The patient lies on his or her side on a low inclined bed with a head support. The adjustment is performed with the side of the heel of one hand on a comer of the Cl vertebra located just behind the patients ear lobe. Lloyd or Lonnie Pond takes a number of measurements with the tape measure to determine where to stand and how to orient his sternum relative to the patient, a different position is used with every patient.

He clasps one hand about the wrist of the other hand, sets the heel of the lower hand on the bone and aligns his arms and the top of his sternum directly down the force vector determined from the X-ray. He does not push by straightening the arms, nor does he push by rocking his back or body forward. With either of those motions, the heel of the hand does not move along a line connecting the top of the sternum and the heel of the hand. Instead, the chiropractor locks his body in place, and the force comes from the shoulders by contracting the head of the triceps muscle. To call it subtle would be an understatement.

I observed the procedure being performed on a number of patients, and interviewed them before and after. They were long-term patients of the Ponds (some on the order of 15-20 years; Lloyd Pond has been doing this work in Farmington for 40 years). Several of the leg-length discrepancies were originally around an inch. Most Patients were coming in for a semi-annual or annual checkup, although one had been involved in an automobile accident dent three days earlier.

Patients said that they only feel a very slight pressure and the warmth of the hand on their neck. There was no deflection of the patient's head or neck during the procedure, nor was there an audible sound.

Afterward, the leg lengths were even, and the thermographs showed consistent temperatures on both sides of the spine.

Patients' comments

The patients reported feeling immediate relief. The reduced strain in the face of the auto accident victim was obvious.

Patients commented that while many joke about "having magic words said over them... half the people in town come to the Ponds." One woman, noted that Pond's rates have gone up from $11 a visit when she first started seeing him 20 years ago to the current $30 per visit but quickly added that she "would pay any amount for it" Patients told me of not only a reduction in the symptoms of body aches, but generally improved overall health.

Lloyd Pond claims only to correct the position of Cl, and he acknowledges that it can improve overall health by improving delivery of nerve impulses and instructions from the brain, helping the body combat disease processes. Due to Cl's close proximity to the brain stem, it simultaneously affects the brain and the entire spinal cord, and thus the entire body.

Lloyd Pond comments that his method is simply the application of physics to the human body. The adjustments can hold for years, unlike most chiropractic adjustments. After the initial series of treatments, visits are separated by many months, and Pond says if alignment is not off, "we don't touch 'em".

When asked why less than 1 percent of chiropractors specialize in this technique, Lonnie Pond says that chiropractors are pulled in many different directions toward various chiropractic specialties, and, he added, "it is easier to crack backs."

John Dunn, D.C., a cyclist, and upper cervical chiropractor from Tallahassee, Florida, says that it takes a certain type of person to practice the technique. It is an exacting method and a real-life application of vector analysis, and therefore, attracts "the pocket-protractor types who drive used cars."

Dunn notes that the work-up is time consuming, the adjustment is sublime, and the follow-up visits are less frequent so there isn't much motivation for a chiropractor to pursue the approach.

"It also takes balls to tickle someone behind the ear and tell them they are going to be just fine," joked Dunn.

It Just Makes Sense

by Dr. Daniel Clark

Head/Neck misalignment may be the direct or indirect cause of most health problems because it can disrupt or distort the normal flow of brain health and healing messages to the body.

Upper Cervical Corrective Health Care is an effective and scientifically proven procedure in the chiropractic profession.

It is designed to restore Head/Neck alignment (body balance) to remove interference at the point where the head and neck join, in order to re-activate normal brain to body communication.

For the moment:

Forget everything you know about Chiropractic

Forget everything you know about Medicine

Chiropractic and Medical experts agree that electrical and chemical messages (health and healing) control, monitor and maintain all body functions. They also direct all body healing.

These messages leave the brain by way of the brain stem, (extension of the brain) pass through the neck, down the spinal cord and over the entire nervous system to all parts of the body.

Head/Neck misalignment can cause interference at the point where the head and neck join, and disrupt or distort the flow of these vital health and healing messages to the body.

Disrupted or distorted brain messages will allow pain and/or health problems to develop in the body.

All Upper Cervical Doctor’s have the same objective, restore Head/Neck alignment (body balance) to re-activate efficient flow of brain health and healing messages to the affected part of the body so its natural self-healing process can regain and maintain optimal health.

When Head/Neck misalignment is corrected and body balance is restored so healing messages can flow uninterrupted to the affected area, immediately muscles begin to relax, blood and oxygen circulation is increased, the immune system is enhanced and the body’s natural self-healing process begins.

Therefore, it would be logical to say, “The proper diagnosis for health problems that respond to the Upper Cervical Correction is Head/Neck Misalignment.”

When there is pain and sickness, check for Head/Neck misalignment (body Imbalance) to determine if the brain is communicating efficiently with all parts of the body.

Any part of the body not receiving sufficient brain communication will begin to develop health problems.

Aberrant Upper Cervical Arthrokinematics can cause Foot Pain

Male, Age 29, Case of Achilles Tendonitis, Uneven Running Gait

This 29 year old runner had run during high school and college, but had to stop in recent years due to chronic achilles tendonitis. He had tried many forms of treatment but was unable to alleviate the pain unless he stopped running altogether. He also described himself an having an "uneven gait" when he ran. He claimed that he felt like he struck harder on one leg compared to the other side.

During his initial examination, a spinal injury was discovered, with the primary site located at his upper neck. The neck injury was causing his spine and pelvis to shift into a stressed, weakened posture, that was putting greater pressure on one leg compared to the other. After having his neck injury corrected, all Achilles pain healed and remained absent so that he was able to once again resume running 60 miles per week.

(Remember the old song, “…your foot bone’s connected to your shin bone and your shin bone’s connected to…” Eventually you start to see that the whole body is connected. An area as profound neurologically for balance mechanisms as the upper cervical spine makes it very clear how a problem here could be a factor in someone’s foot problems.)