JAMA suggests Chiropractic before Surgery for Back Pain

June 17, 2013 by

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Chiropractic Physicians Provide Natural Alternatives for Pain Treatment, Injury Prevention

May 8, 2013, Arlington, Va.—An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests patients try chiropractic services for the treatment of low back pain. According to the article, surgery is not usually needed and should only be considered if more conservative therapies fail. The information in JAMA reinforces the American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA) position that conservative care options should serve as a first line of defense against pain.

The article, part of JAMA’s Patient Page public education series, explains that the back is made up of bones, nerves, muscles and other soft tissues such as ligaments and tendons that support posture and give the body flexibility. Back pain can be caused by problems with any of the structures in the back.

As neuromusculoskeletal experts, chiropractic physicians are particularly well suited to manage and help prevent low back pain.

“We are encouraged to see JAMA suggest patients try chiropractic and other more conservative types of treatment for their back pain. In many cases pain can be alleviated without the use of unnecessary drugs or surgery, so it makes sense to exhaust conservative options first,” said ACA President Keith Overland, DC.

“Research confirms that the services provided by chiropractic physicians are not only clinically effective but also cost-effective, so taking a more conservative approach at the onset of low back pain can also potentially save both patients and the health care system money down the line,” he added.

For those who are currently pain-free, the exercise tips, posture recommendations and guidance on injury prevention routinely provided by chiropractic physicians can help people maintain a healthy back throughout their lives. To learn more, contact Dr. Jeff Manning for a FREE PHONE CONSULTATION at Manning Wellness Clinic

Manning Wellness Clinic

2702 McKinney Avenue, suite 202

Dallas, TX 75204

214-720-2225

www.manningwellness.com

Filed Under: alternative care, back pain, Dallas Chiropractic, health and wellness

TOP 10 USES FOR VINEGAR

April 15, 2013 by

TOP 10 USES FOR VINEGAR

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Vinegar is an inexpensive, healthy way to clean and disinfect your home.

Cleaning drains: Pour 1/2 cup baking soda in the drain, followed by 1/2 cup vinegar; the mixture will foam as it cleans and deodorizes. Use every few weeks to keep drains clean.

Mildew on plastic shower curtains: Put the shower curtain in the washing machine with light-colored towels; add 1 cup white vinegar to the detergent and wash.

Soap scum on shower: Spray on vinegar, scrub and rinse.

Toilet hard-water rings: Shut off water at the tank and flush to remove as much water as possible. Spray vinegar on the ring, sprinkle in borax and scrub with drywall sandpaper.

Shower head deposits: Pour white vinegar into a plastic bag, tape to the shower head and leave overnight. Brush the shower head to remove remaining deposits.

Softening laundry: Fill dispenser with 1/4 cup white vinegar to soften laundry without leaving odors.

Cleaning vinyl floors: Add 1/4 cup vinegar to 1 gallon hot water for spotless floors.

Cleaning windows: Mix 50 percent white vinegar with 50 percent water in a spray bottle. Spray glass surfaces and wipe dry.

Neutralize pet odors: Mix 1 part white vinegar to 3 parts water. Pour on stained areas and blot; never rub to remove stains and odors.

Greasy dishes: Mix 2 tablespoons white vinegar to liquid dish soap to boost its cleaning power.

If you have any other ways you use vinegar, please let us know in the comments section! The more the better!

 

Dr. Jeffrey Manning, DC

Manning Wellness Clinic

2702 McKinney Avenue, suite 202

Dallas, TX 75204

214-720-2225

www.manningwellness.com

Request an Appointment

Filed Under: allergies, alternative care, children and health, Dallas Chiropractic, green living, health and wellness, natural cleaning, non-toxic producs, sinus problems Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Combatting Allergies and Sinus Issues with Chiropractic

March 31, 2013 by

If you live in Texas, it’s no surprise that Texas ranks as one of the worst state for allergy sufferers. Whether your poison is mountain cedar, ragweed, or just plain old pollen,  your itchy, drippy nose and watery eyes are all the proof you need that Spring is here. If so, you are not alone–more than 35 million people in the US suffer from seasonal allergies. As a result, the market for allergy medications is booming.

I have had many patients over the years who have sought treatment for back pain (or neck pain, shoulder pain, etc.) only to find the added bonus that their Chiropractic treatments also helped to reduce the severity of their seasonal allergies. Many reported to me that they were able to greatly reduce the amount of allergy medication they required to manage their symptoms. What they learned firsthand is that once their bodies were running smoothly, they were able to deal with intrusions (like cedar, pollen, elm, ragweed) without suffereing a severe reaction.

Since another allergy season is about to pop, now is the time to  schedule an appointment and begin your Chiropractic Allergy Combat Plan!

Chiropractic for Allergies:  Allergies are a disorder of the immune system. The immune system overreacts to a typically non-harmful substance (cat dander, pollen, peanuts, dairy products, dust, molds, etc.), and initiates a response to neutralize and flush out the allergen. The results of this immune response are swelling, itching, runny nose and eyes, sneezing, diarrhea, to name a few. The immune system is highly effective in ridding the body of what it perceives as harmful.

Chiropractic is not a treatment for allergies per se, but it has helped allergy sufferers for years. Chiropractic aims to remove interference to the nervous system by specifically correcting a condition called subluxation. What controls the immune system? Many things including your spleen, bone marrow, adrenal glands to name a few. What controls all of these things? It is your brain and nervous system. In 1993 a group of researchers at the University of Calgary discovered a group of cells at the top of the spinal cord that form a direct pathway from the nervous system to the immune system. Any interference to this pathway would likely result in an improperly functioning immune system. A chiropractic study found that specific upper neck adjustments in HIV positive patients led to a 48% increase in CD4 cells (immune cells) over a 6-month duration. Preliminary studies have found that adjustments enhance the activity of IgA, IgG, IgM, and phagocytic cell respiratory bursts (all immune system functions). A properly functioning immune system is less likely to produce allergy symptoms.

Sources

Enhanced phagocytic cell respiratory burst induced by spinal manipulation: potential role of substance P. Brenan PC, Kokjohn K., Katlinger CJ, et al., JMPT 1991, Vol 14, No. 7

Enhanced neutrophil respiratory burst as a biological marker for manipulation forces: duration of the effect and association with substance P and tumor necrosis. Patricia Brenan, John J Triano, arion McGregor, et al, JMPT, Vol15, No 2, Feb 1992.

Chiropractic treatment and antibody levels. Stewart M. Alcorn

The effects of upper cervical adjustments on the CD4 counts of HIV positive patients. Selano, J., Hightower B, Pfleger B, et al., CRJ-Vol3 No 1 1994.

Sinus Problems: The sinuses are 8 hollow spaces in the bones of the forehead, cheeks and temples. These spaces are coated with mucous membranes, which drain mucous in the air passages to help trap foreign particles such as dust and microbes. When sinuses become inflamed they cannot drain properly causing back up, pressure and possible infection. Risk factors include chronic allergies, abnormal structure in the sinus area, and rapid changes in altitude/pressure (flying, diving, etc). Sinus headaches cause dull, deep or severe pain in the area of the forehead and cheeks and are typically worse in the morning and better by afternoon. Being that the primary risk to the sinuses is allergies, the root of the cause of sinus problems most often lies in improper function of the immune system. This would explain why many people can breath the same air, and only a few end up with sinus trouble. The immune system over reacts to a begnin element (cat dander, pollen, etc) while at the same time is not able to rid the body of the likely sinus infections which might cause the patient to seek the “aid” of antibiotics.

Chiropractors aim to assist the body in functioning properly by removing interference to the nervous system. Ruling out abnormal structures (nasal polyps or bone spurs), chiropractic becomes a viable alternative for helping people with sinus problems. It is well known that chiropractic is effective for headaches, and numerous studies also point to the relationship between the immune system and nervous system and how chiropractic can enhance the functions of both. In addition the mucous membranes of the sinuses themselves are controlled by the brain and nervous system.

Folweiler DS, Lynch OT. Nasal specific technique as part of a chiropractic approach to chronic sinusitis and sinus headaches. J Manipulative Physiol Ther. 1995;18(1):38-41.

Cady RK, Schreiber CP. Sinus headache or migraine? Considerations in making a differential diagnosis. Neurology. 2002;58(9 Suppl 6):S10-S14

Hack, GD, The anatomic basis for the effectiveness of chiropractic spinal manipulation in treating headache. Abstracts from the 15th annual upper cervical spine conference. Nov. 21-22, 1998. CRJ 199:VI(1).

The effects of upper cervical adjustments on the CD4 counts of HIV positive patients. Selano J, Hightower B, Pfleger B, et al., CRJ-Vol3 No 1 1994.

(reprinted in part from ChiroZone)

Filed Under: allergies, alternative care, Dallas Chiropractic, health and wellness, sinus problems

Best Remedy for Tennis Elbow may Surprise You

February 19, 2013 by

Shot in arm plus physical therapy doesn’t help tennis elbow: Study

CNN: Weekend sports warriors take note – that pain radiating out of your elbow may be imagestennis elbow. But don’t be so quick to ask your doctor for a cortisone shot.

Research has shown cortisone, or corticosteroid shots, can alleviate the pain in the initial weeks, but have little effectiveness in the long run, and do nothing to reduce recurrence rates.

Doctors have prescribed physical therapy, also known as physiotherapy, in conjunction with the shots, hoping to increase the cortisone’s long-term effectiveness, but a new study in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association finds that the physical therapy doesn’t aid the cortisone shots at all.It’s contrary to what Bill Vicenzino, one of the authors of the study, expected. “I was surprised to find that addition of physiotherapy did not reduce the recurrence or lift the success rate in the long term.”

“We were also very surprised that the addition of steroid to physiotherapy tends to diminish the effectiveness of the physiotherapy,” he said.

The study evaluated 165 patients who had pain from tennis elbow for more than six weeks. Patients were divided into four groups – one group given just cortisone shots, another group given placebo shots, a third group receiving both the steroid and the physical therapy, and a final group receiving a placebo shot and physical therapy.

The study found that after a year, those who had the cortisone shots had the least successful outcomes and highest rates of recurrence. And the addition of physical therapy made little difference to the shots. However, physical therapy alone seems to provide the best outcome, with just under a 5% recurrence rate after a year.

Almost half of all people who play racquet sports like tennis, squash, or racquetball have tennis elbow, but racquet sports aren’t the only way to get it. Any sort of activity that requires a lot of twisting or gripping motion, like pulling weeds, using a screwdriver, or using a computer mouse can also inflame the tendon that connects your forearm muscles to your elbow.
Dr. R. Amadeus Mason, who was not involved with the study, remarked that it has been standard practice for some time to use saline or lidocaine shots in place of cortisone. Mason is an assistant professor in the department of Orthopedics and Family Medicine at Emory University and advocates for physical therapy.

“The recommendation has been don’t use steroid, use either saline and mechanical treatment, and going back to physical therapy as your first line,” he said.

But tennis elbow is just difficult to treat, he noted. “Yes, there are a lot of treatment entities, but when you go back and look, the treatment entities aren’t consistent across the boards.”

Filed Under: alternative care, health and wellness, sports injuries, tennis elbow

New Research: Chiropractic Patients Less Likely to Undergo Lumbar Surgery

January 30, 2013 by

jeff's office 006Newly published research reinforces our belief at Manning Wellness Clinic that Chiropractic is often the most effective, least invasive and least costly treatment for lower back pain.

Chiropractic Patients Less Likely to Undergo Lumbar Surgery

 

New Studies Support the Chiropractic Profession’s Conservative Approach to Health

Arlington, VA.—A recent study in the medical journal Spine found a strong association between chiropractic care and the avoidance of lumbar spine surgery. Manning Wellness Clinic and The American Chiropractic Association are encouraged by this and other recent research supporting chiropractic’s conservative, less costly approach to low-back pain.

Key findings of the Spine study show that:

•               Patients under age 35, women, Hispanics and patients whose first provider was a chiropractic physician had  reduced odds of lumbar spine surgery

•               Approximately 43 percent of patients who saw a surgeon first had surgery

•               Only 1.5 percent of those who saw a chiropractic physician first ended up having surgery

Two additional studies reinforce ACA’s longstanding position that health care providers should start with conservative approaches to treatment, such as the services provided by doctors of chiropractic, before guiding their patients to less conservative alternatives. Such an approach benefits patients and cuts health care spending—especially for a condition as common as low-back pain.

Dr. Jeff Manning with Manning Wellness Clinic in Dallas says, “I can’t even begin to count the number of my patients who, by receiving regular chiropractic adjustments,  were able to completely avoid surgery and all of the risks associated with it. I always tell patients to exhaust every non-invasive option before heading under the knife. That’s not to say that there are many instances when surgery is necessary, but there are many, many more times when it can be avoided.”

A recent study in Medical Care found that adjusted annual medical costs among complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) users was $424 lower for spine-related costs, and $796 lower for total health care cost than among non-CAM users. Furthermore, CAM treatments were cost neutral to health care systems, meaning that CAM users did not add to the overall medical spending in a nationally representative sample of patients with neck and back problems.

Published in The Lancet, “The Global Burden of Disease 2010,” authored by an international group of experts assessing the world’s biggest health challenges, underscores the need for better solutions to back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions. The massive survey indicates that while people may be living longer they are doing so more frequently with disability. The study identifies musculoskeletal conditions as the second leading cause of disability, and cites low-back pain as one of the major contributors to disability worldwide. GBD authors noted that creating effective and affordable strategies to deal with the rising burden of non-fatal health outcomes should be an urgent priority for health care providers around the world.

“As governments and health systems around the globe search for answers to complicated health challenges such as rising numbers of chronically ill and disabled patients and runaway costs, research is finally demonstrating what the chiropractic profession has promoted for years: that caring for patients with conservative treatments first, before moving on to less conservative options or unnecessary drugs and surgery, is a sensible and cost-effective strategy,” said ACA President Keith Overland, DC.

Filed Under: alternative care, back pain, Dallas Chiropractic, health and wellness Tagged With:
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