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Modern Treatment for Back Pain: Beyond Bed Rest, Pain Pills and Surgery

Modern Treatment for Back Pain: Beyond Bed Rest, Pain Pills and Surgery

chiro_counseling-whiteboard-200-300According to the National Institutes of Health and Dr. Michael S. Wilkes of the Western Journal of Medicine, “Despite a plethora of research intended to guide physicians in their management of back pain, physicians still hold strong non-evidence based beliefs dating back to the 19th century.”  What beliefs is Dr. Wilkes referring to?  He’s talking about the long-held conventional wisdom that says bed rest is one of the best ways to treat back pain.

And it turns out that physicians aren’t the only ones who hold “strong non-evidence based beliefs” about how back pain should be treated.  One study, according to the Daily Mail, found that 35% of people thought bed rest is the best way to handle such aches and pains. The study included 1,000 people from 25–65 years of age.

So why are many doctors so quick to prescribe bed rest?  And why are so many patients inclined to comply?  Simple—pain avoidance.  Certainly our minds are part of the feedback loop in any therapy, especially where intense pain is involved. Dr. Michael Vagg, Clinical Senior Lecturer at Deakin University School of Medicine has pointed out that the mind’s expectation of pain “can itself cause protective movements to persist for longer than necessary.”  Thus, the tendency to use bed rest as a solution.

The Evidence Against Bed Rest

For most types of back pain, there is powerful evidence that extended bed rest does not help. One study showed that when comparing routine care, bed rest and exercise, bed rest seemed to result in greater intensity of pain, greater disability and more work days lost. Exercise had the most favorable outcome. According to Wilkes, “14 of 18 controlled studies do report that active exercise can improve outcomes.”

Short-term bed rest can be helpful to reduce painful muscle spasms when such spasms are an attempt for the body to limit movement in an injured part of the body.  However, bed rest restricts the spine’s motion and, unlike other body parts, spines require motion in order to get nutrients to stay healthy.  Restricted movement can result in lost strength and can make it harder for the spine to recover.  When the patient is experiencing their most acute back pain, they may need to temporarily change their routine, but the majority of such patients should minimize bed rest and return to their normal routine as soon as possible. Exercise can help produce better results and quicken the healing process.

Part of a Broader Pattern

Unfortunately, the outdated (and ill-advised) bed rest recommendation is part of a broader pattern that some healthcare observers believe they see in the treatment of back pain.  Dr. Bruce Landon, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School, and a team of researchers have found that many medical doctors ignore expert clinical guidelines when it comes to treating back pain.  And the results aren’t limited to inappropriate guidance about bed rest.  They include unnecessary medical imaging, needless exposure to addictive painkillers and surgeries that are often risky, expensive and ultimately ineffective.

Interestingly, a study published in the September 2014 edition of the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association found that chiropractors, physical therapists and medical doctors have very different rates of adherence to current evidence-based practice guidelines as they relate to treating nonspecific back pain.  Their analysis found that medical doctors follow such guidelines only 52% of the time, compared with 62% for physical therapists and 73% for chiropractic physicians.

Whether you’re suffering from acute or chronic back pain, it’s important to seek out the best evidence-based treatment you can find.  Chiropractors are experts in diagnosing and treating health conditions that affect the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, especially those that involve the back and the neck.  Chiropractic treatment has been shown in studies to be both safe and effective.  Plus, chiropractic patients have consistently reported high levels of satisfaction with the results as well as the experience.

If you or someone you care about is suffering from back pain, there’s help available.  Remember—you have options!  We encourage you to call or visit our office today!

Chiropractic for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Chiropractic for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Carpal Tunnwrist-mobility-200-300el Syndrome (CTS), named from the carpal bones in the wrist that form a tunnel around the nerve leading to the hand, is an injury usually caused by repetitive and forceful movements that result in swelling around the tendons and pinching of the median nerve, causing painful tingling, lack of muscle strength and control in the hand, and pain shooting from the hand up to the shoulder. CTS is a risk to most workers, such as those who work on the computer and also store and assembly line workers, who receive micro-traumas to their hands and wrists on a daily basis due to awkward positioning, forceful and repetitive movements, and stressful activity.

The usual treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can extend to heavy medication and surgery, however there are alternative methods of treatment that can alleviate the symptoms and effects arising from CTS. Chiropractic treatment for CTS has been studied against conventional non-surgical medical treatment and was found to be effective. This offers an alternative to sufferers who are intolerant to ibuprofen, or those who simply wish to avoid treating with medication.

The median nerve in the wrist, which when trapped causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, connects to the spinal cord through the openings in the bones in the areas around the lower neck. If these bones in the spinal cord lose their ordinary position or motion, this can cause problems in the wrists or fingers. Through chiropractic treatment, these bones can be reset to the correct position and can help to treat CTS.

If Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is detected early, then surgery can be avoided, and chiropractic treatment is the leading method of non-surgical treatment. Chiropractic treatment usually involves various methods, with a combination of rest, ice, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation, including:
* By chiropractic manipulation therapy of the elbow and upper spine, where the joint’s soft tissue undergoes manipulation;
* Nutritional supplements in the diet such as B6, a vitamin that has had long-term promotion in its treatment of CTS;
* Electro-acupuncture treatment; bracing, a technique that has had extensive success, by limiting extension and flexion in the hand, and with compression on the median nerve may encourage recovery and ease the swelling in the tendons;
* Exercises for the wrist and hand designed to encourage recovery;
* Reassessing the ergonomics of the work place to minimize stress the best way as possible.

Recent studies concluded that using manual therapy intervention such as soft tissue mobilization (STM) has been found to help improve the signs and symptoms of CTS, with improvements to nerve conduction latencies, wrist strength and motion.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome can become a serious health problem, and if left too long may require surgery. If it’s caught early, then chiropractic treatment is an effective, drug-free method to ease the symptoms and pains caused by CTS, and provide long-term relief from CTS.

Every body is different. If you have questions about this article or whether chiropractic is an appropriate choice for your specific situation, please ask. We are here to help!

Patient’s Satisfaction with Chiropractic Care

Patient’s Satisfaction with Chiropractic Care

satisfaction-form-200-300When it comes to making important choices about treatment options for back pain, it’s worth looking at the experiences of others who have found something that works.  In recent years, the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center has surveyed the magazine’s subscribers to do just that.  In April and May 2009, Consumer Reports released some of its findings publicly.  A summary appears below.

About the Survey Participants:

* More than 14,000 participants who had suffered from lower-back pain in the prior year but had never had back surgery.
* More than half reported that pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer.
* Many reported that pain interfered with sleep, sex and efforts to maintain a healthy weight.
* 88% reported that the pain recurred through the year.
* Most had tried five or six different treatments.

How Respondents Ranked the Healthcare Providers Who Had Treated Them:

Healthcare Provider Percent Who Were Highly Satisfied With Treatment and Advice*
Chiropractor       59%
Physical Therapist+ 55%
Acupuncturist    53%
Physician, Specialist 44%
Physician, Primary Care 34%

How Respondents Ranked Selected Back Pain Therapies:

Therapy Percentage Who Reported that the Therapy Helped a Lot
Chiropractic Manipulation 58%
Prescription Drugs 45%
Over-the-Counter Drugs              22%

In July 2011, Consumer Reports published an updated report describing how Americans use alternative approaches to healthcare as well as their experience with various therapies and their providers.  Chiropractic care once again was reported to be the most popular approach to back pain relief and was ranked most highly in terms of patient satisfaction.

Your Doctor of Chiropractic can help relieve back pain and restore mobility by using a drug-free, hands-on technique called “spinal manipulation” or “chiropractic adjustment”.  He or she may also use other manual therapies, such as massage, to complement this primary treatment.  In addition, many chiropractors are skilled in designing exercise and nutrition programs for their patients that will help their bodies resist injury and function properly.  By focusing on both immediate pain relief and the underlying causes of back pain, your chiropractor can help you achieve a healthier overall lifestyle.

Every body is different. If you have questions about this article or whether chiropractic is an appropriate choice for your specific situation, please ask. We are here to help!

How to Find a Great Chiropractor!

How to Find a Great Chiropractor!

If you already have a chiropractor that you love and feel comfortable with – you do not need to read any further. However, if you don’t know much about chiropractic and you are thinking about seeing a chiropractor…read on.

There are plenty of ways to get information on chiropractors. The Internet and Social Media have all kinds of links and sites. However, the best way to get information on a chiropractor is from his/her patients (word of mouth). An amazing website is great but it can’t substitute for a person who has been treated and cared for by the doctor in person.

Admittedly, I am a huge chiropractic fan but that does not mean that I think that all chiropractors are created equal. Here are the things to look for and do if you want to find a great chiropractor:

•    Scheduling – does the doctor limit his/her appointments to five minute increments? If they do, this is a sign that they are more interested in getting people in and out than they are in giving the patient the time and attention they need. (I call that a cattle chute operation)
•    Does the doctor listen to and then attempt to answer your questions? No chiropractor can take unlimited time with you but a great chiropractor will do their best to make sure your questions are answered.
•    Does the doctor take time to explain what he/she is doing? A great chiropractor tries to make the patient feel comfortable and will take the time to explain what they are doing.
•    Is the prime concern of the office efficiency (getting people in and out) or with making sure that the patient knows that they are genuinely cared for?
•    Is the doctor caring and does he/she develop relationships with his/her patients?
•    Is the doctor concerned that you feel comfortable?
•    Ask his/her patients what kind of care the doctor gives.
•    Does the doctor x-ray every patient? If so, they are probably more interested in paying for their x-ray equipment than in x-raying a patient only when there is a demonstrated need.
•    How does the doctor treat his/her staff? Does the doctor’s staff recommend him/her when they are away from the office?

Try not to pay too much attention to the décor of the office. Many doctors have very nice, well decorated offices – and offices of that sort are certainly easy on the eyes but they don’t tell the whole story of the care that the doctor is willing to give you. I would want a doctor’s office to be nice, clean and well organized but I would rather be treated by a “great” chiropractor in a modestly decorated office than be treated by a chiropractor who runs a “cattle chute” operation in a high end office space.

I am fortunate to be married to a great chiropractor.  It always makes me smile when my husband’s patients share their experiences with me; so many of them come not just to have an adjustment but to be with friends.  I understand how important it is to them that my husband takes the time to answer their questions, explain what he is doing and that he genuinely cares. My husband has not always been a chiropractor. I think that being a chiropractor as a second career has helped him see his practice through a lens of experience that is not common to many practicing doctors. I am grateful that life has taught both my husband and me the amazing things that chiropractic can do for those it treats! Grateful too to understand that genuine care and concern is always an integral part of any great chiropractor’s practice!

Why I Believe the 5 Minute Appointment is a Curse

Why I Believe the 5 Minute Appointment is a Curse

Five minutes is the common increment of time that way too many doctors are using for scheduling their patient appointments.  Do you think that 5 minutes is enough? I don’t and here’s why:

•    A patient and doctor need to develop a relationship. 5 minutes doesn’t allow for more than exchanging names.
•    A doctor should know more about a patient than what is written on their patient questionnaire or profile.
•    Any healing modality is more successful in an atmosphere of trust. It is almost impossible to develop trust in just 5 minutes.
•    Patients need and deserve to know that a doctor cares more about them than his pocket book.
•    5 minutes does not allow a doctor enough time to make a careful analysis of a patient’s needs or their health.
•    The 5 minute time slot is based solely on profits – whether they be for the practice, the HMO or the stock holders. It never has been and never will be about the patient or creating a warm, caring atmosphere for them.

I can tell you that I have been in staff meetings where the primary concern was how quickly and efficiently patients could be shuffled in and out of the exam room. I am sooo grateful that when my husband was once part of a group practice he would not agree to 5 minutes appointments with his patients. However, I know that many doctors cave in to the pressure to do so.  Healing and Health care are about healing and health – not about fast, furious treatments and patient neglect. Every practice must make a profit in order to stay in business but profits should not be the only driving force in taking care of patients. If you agree, I hope that you will make it a point of utilizing doctors who are willing to take the time with you that you need and deserve! (One of them being my husband Greg at Oblander Chiropractic!)

Why Fiber is So Important to Your Health – Oblander Chiropractic

Why Fiber is So Important to Your Health – Oblander Chiropractic

 

We all know that fiber is important in our diet, but what is fiber?  Why is it good and how do we know if we are getting enough OR too much?

Fiber is the carbohydrate or starch that our bodies cannot digest and can act like a broom to sweep out the digestive tract. Dietary fiber is found only in plant based foods such as fruits,    vegetables, and whole grains.  There are 2 types of fiber:  Water soluble and insoluble fiber.

Insoluble fiber passes through the gut quickly and is known to help prevent constipation, reduce the risk of infections of the gut and the occurrence or development of hemorrhoids, heart disease, and some types of cancer. This type of fiber is found in fruits with skins, uncooked vegetables, nuts, legumes, bran, brown rice and whole-grain flours.

Soluble fiber acts like a sponge in the gut as well as aides in the removal of cholesterol from the blood stream. Because soluble fiber slows the      digestive process, it can reduce the symptoms of irritable bowel/diarrhea and it is known to lower blood sugar, so it is essential in the prevention of diabetes. This type of fiber is found in oats, oat bran, barley, dried beans and peas, and certain vegetables and fruits, such as applesauce,  strawberries, potatoes, citrus, and prunes.

How much fiber should we eat?

The American Dietetic Association recommends eating 20 to 35 grams of fiber per day which is well above the 15 grams the average American eats per day. It is recommended that you slowly increase your fiber intake to avoid gas, cramping and/or bloating as well as maintaining a high level of hydration equal to half your body weight in ounces per day.

How can I get more fiber in my diet?

Start by increasing the amount of fresh or dried fruit you eat each day and use those as a substitute for candy. If you like snacking on chips and dip, substitute with whole grain crackers or veggie sticks and use bean dips such as black bean, hummus and refried beans instead of sour cream based dips. Choose 5 or more servings of fruit or vegetables each day.

After reading this article, I hope you have a clear and useable understanding of fiber and your diet. This information is adapted from a PDF that can be found online at:   http://sci.washington.edu/info/forums/reports/FiberFacts.pdf.
This is an Eat Well reminder and when combined with Thinking and Moving Well, it will provide you with the tools you need to thrive in life!

Why the Concern About Infant Vaccination? Oblander Chiropractic

Why the Concern About Infant Vaccination? Oblander Chiropractic

I just had to share this article on Infant Vaccinations. The article comes from the Herbal Legacy website and is one of their most recent newsletter postings. In regards to vaccinations, there are numerous voices both pro and con which can make the cutting through the arguments and finding good information very difficult. In addition to this article, please keep in mind that a child’s nervous system is not fully developed until about the age of 24 months. Chiropractors are all about obtaining health by natural means but they are also about doing no harm. Within a few years, I suspect that true unbiased studies will back what chiropractors have supported all along…that vaccines have their place and time but they should not be a part of an infant’s “wellness” care. Please enjoy!:

Sponsored by The School of Natural Healing & Christopher Publications

June 6, 2012
 
Infant Vaccinations  -David Christopher MH

We all want to protect babies from disease! How this is accomplished is the dividing factor. We are all exposed to the modern medicine model, in school, through the media, from relatives, and even from churches. Seldom are the alternative voices heard. Let me first say that I believe exposing a healthy person to small amounts of disease is a good idea, it strengthens and prepares the immune system for possible outbreaks. I do not believe the current medical model does this safely or effectively.

We are born with immunity to many diseases, because of our species, population and individual environments. Diseases that might affect us are negated through passive immunity received through the placenta and then from breast milk. Our own immune system starts to develop after a few months, and then starts developing memory at six months and can stop relying on passive immunity from mother’s milk at weaning “around eighteen months”. This is common knowledge acquired in any anatomy text.
My main concern with vaccines is why do they inject them into babies? There is no immune memory till the child’s immune system develops in the time frame of 6 months to 18 months! No benefit, thousands of casualties. I am personally contacted by many women with children who were perfectly normal until these children received vaccines.
We can safely become immune to many diseases by being healthy and interacting in society. We gain this immunity by exposure to our first line of defense, the mucus lining our skin, especially in orifices. This barrier traps invaders exposing them to phagocyte immune cells which engulf them and then alert T-cells and B-cells which target and destroy all invaders. Then memory cells keep us ready for secondary assaults thus creating immunity. This is a lifetime protection.
Vaccines are injected past our natural defenses, and rarely offer immunity for more than a few years. Even though blood work shows active anti-bodies, it is no guarantee against invasion. As an example, many universities have strict admittance requirements to be fully vaccinated. Even with 100% compliance they have experienced disease epidemics in these “protected populations”, with fully vaccinated individuals, coming down with the disease.
I implore everyone to hear both sides of this issue before ever accepting another vaccination. The best alternative treaties on this subject is “Vaccines: Are They Really Safe and Effective” by Neil Miller. This easy read is a fully documented text and is available at Christopher Publications.

David Christopher is a Master Herbalist and the director of The School of Natural Healing. He also co-hosts the popular radio show “A Healthier You” and is a popular international teacher and lecturer. 

Why Your Self-Esteem is Important to Your Health

Why Your Self-Esteem is Important to Your Health

I often work as a weight loss and health coach with patients in our office. Working with our patients in this way has helped me understand something important about self-esteem. I have never believed that self-esteem comes from outside sources as much as it comes from within.

I believe that self-esteem is an accumulation of choices that we make every day of our lives. Whether we recognize it or not – each choice that we make, in regards to the type of person we choose to be, impacts not only who we are becoming but how we feel about ourselves.

I love the following quote by Stephen R. Covey: “Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.”

What I have been able to observe as I have worked with individuals make positive changes in their lives and in their health is that as they demonstrate to themselves that they can make and keep commitments with their selves – their belief in their worth, their strength, and their potential grows.

I believe that conscience is a major player in self-esteem. I suspect that many people struggle with their self-esteem because their choices, their actions, and their lives in general are not congruent with their beliefs. Self-esteem is developed over time based on the balance of decisions we make, the actions we take, the way we treat others, the standards we set and maintain in regards to our goals and aspirations, and the level of respect, integrity, compassion, and discipline we give and receive throughout life.

I remember one of the women I worked with coming into my office after being on a modified diet for only 3 weeks. Each of those weeks she had lost weight and better yet, each week she had been able to sense how much better she was feeling. There was a light in her eyes and a noticeable difference in how she carried herself. Never before had she believed in her ability to make and keep a commitment – in her words “I have always believed I had no will power”. Three short weeks had taught her differently.
So what influence does self-esteem have on health?

I believe that when we live in harmony with our conscience – we make better choices in regards to the foods we eat, the activities (such as daily exercise) we participate in, and how diligent we are about our overall health.

How Does Chiropractic Work?

How Does Chiropractic Work?

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I find it interesting when I hear people ask if subluxations can really affect a person’s health. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue because to me it seems so obvious. After all, when a spinal cord is severed….is the ability of the individual with that spinal cord still able to move and function like it did previous to the injury? I obtained the following information from www.mdguidelines.com:

If the spinal cord is damaged, additional complications from paraplegia or quadriplegia include pneumonia, recurring urinary infections, decubitus ulcers, nephrolithiasis, and osteoporosis.

Think about it! If an individual receives injury to their spine in the neck area – why would urinary infections, etc be affected? Because the spine is home to the body’s nervous system and impairment to ANY area of the nervous system has the ability to affect any area of the body that that nervous system supplies information to.

Millions of instructions flow from your brain, down the spinal cord, and out to every organ and tissue. Signals sent back to the brain confirm whether your body is working as it should. Improper motion or position of the moving bones of the spine may interfere with this vital exchange by irritating nearby nerves and the tissues they control.

Nerve interferences are most common along the spine.  Chiropractic adjustments (manipulation) are designed to help correct or reduce those interferences. Research confirms that interferences to the nervous system change the way the body functions. Therefore, when interferences are allowed to continue without correction – health issues can develop over time which might have otherwise been avoided if they had been corrected with timely chiropractic adjustments.

Since it is possible to have subluxations and not know it (like the early stages of tooth decay or even cancer) chiropractors believe it is a good idea to be checked regularly for subluxations and to have those subluxations corrected.

Chiropractors are trained to find the subluxations you are experiencing. They then can use various adjusting methods to correct the subluxations. Some doctors only use one method – I personally like to be treated by a chiropractor with more than one tool (adjusting method) in his doctor’s bag. Here, at Oblander Chiropractic, I love that Dr. Oblander uses a variety of adjusting techniques which is often determined by both the desires of the patient and what is seen by Dr. Oblander as the best way to correct the subluxations.

Chiropractic is a science, art and philosophy. It’s a scientific fact that your brain and nervous system control every cell, tissue and organ of your body.

Chiropractic works by reducing or eliminating subluxations (interferences). The methods employed by chiropractic work because the body is a self-healing organism that is controlled and regulated by your nervous system. Utilizing adjustments to remove interferences the nervous system is experiencing is like taking a 1930’s home electrical system and replacing it with a state of the art electrical system. The shorts and faulty wiring from the old system are remedied and “whole” home (body) runs better, is more solid! A healthy nervous system is key to optimum health!

Why Do Infants and Children Need Chiropractic Treatment?

Why Do Infants and Children Need Chiropractic Treatment?

There are several events in my life that I wish I had done a better job of recording or saving for posterity. One such event that continues to stand out in my mind is my granddaughter’s runny nose. You may think that sounds funny but there is a reason that I wish I had done a better job of recording her runny nose.

You see…when this granddaughter was  infant and toddler aged she had a runny nose that literally made my granddaughter a proverbial “snot nosed kid”. Excuse the grossness but the snot at times literally bubbled out of her nose.  When she fell asleep – the congestion caused her to sound like a little old man. Keeping the snot wiped away from her nose could have employed a person full time.

Unfortunately, we did not live close to this sweet little girl when she was experiencing these problems. Trips to the doctor confirmed that she was not experiencing any allergies. However, I can tell you what made all the difference in the world was chiropractic adjustments. The few times that my husband was able to adjust her was like watching a miracle in action.

We would let her fall asleep (we knew she was sound asleep as soon as she started sounding like a little old man snoring) and then my husband would adjust her. It was something like this to start with….kkkkkzzzzzzugh…kkkkzzzzzzugh (you know the kind of horrible snoring sounds that make you think you need to wake the person so they can actually get some air into their lungs)…then the sound changed to…uuuuuzh….uuuuuzh (snoring but only ever so slightly)….then to deep full breathing without any snoring or obstruction. The whole transformation taking only a couple of minutes.

Yup…if I had been smart enough to record her breathing transformation – it could have been a YouTube hit video just because of how amazing the transformation was.

When infants are born…standard birthing procedures almost always guarantee that the infant’s head will be twisted to help move the shoulders out of the birthing canal. 80% of infants checked during the first few months of life had subluxations directly related to birth trauma. The most common ailment caused by the birthing process is infant colic – which not surprisingly is very successfully treated in almost all  circumstances by chiropractic adjustments.

We had another granddaughter that initially experienced colic related to the birthing process. Not only was she fussy…she hurled a large portion of her mother’s milk consistently after nursing. After just two chiropractic adjustments, her colic and hurling tendencies were vanished.

The birthing process and then all of the regular experiences of childhood make infants and children ideal candidates for chiropractic treatment. The whole process of learning to move, crawl, walk and run – with all of the bumps and bangs and falls that come with their learning progression are a big reason why.

Chiropractic adjustments in children can remedy colic, allergies, bed wetting, ear infections, sinus problems, ADD/ADHD, and scoliosis just to name a few.

By the way, if you have a child that has a nose congestion issue like my granddaughter had and you can bring her to our office, give our office a call – I would love to video tape the difference that an adjustment will make! Yours in Health!