Chiropractic Adjustments Decrease Pain Associated with Scoliosis.

A case study involving two individuals with scoliosis and back pain were treated with chiropractic manipulation. One patient received routine care one to two times per month while the other received care as-needed. The patient treated as-needed continued to have curve progression while the patient who was treated routinely did not. Both individuals reported improvements to their back pain.
Journal Of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, May 1994

This Week’s Denver Chiropractic Center 1- Page Health News

This is too cool to not share, but my wife Meredith and our baby sitter Meaghan worked hard to make our Lego costumes for Halloween. I am Lego Captain America. Meredith is Lego Ironman. And Meaghan is Lego Spider Man. A safe and happy Halloween to all!

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Health Alert: Evidence Shows Steroids in Waterways.
Recent research has discovered that common livestock steroids do not fully break down in water as previously believed. Researchers are working to understand the environmental effect of this class of drugs on species that rely on rivers and streams near cattle ranches.
University of Iowa, September 2013

Diet: The Effects of Soy and Whey Protein Consumption on Resistance Training.
A small study looked at the effects of consuming either soy or whey protein prior to resistance training. For fourteen days, male participants consumed either 20g of whey protein, soy protein, or a placebo and then performed six sets of squats at ten reps per set using 80% of their maximum lifting weight. Blood tests showed soy protein appeared to lower serum testosterone levels and whey protein appeared to blunt the effect of the stress hormone cortisol in the body.
Journal of the American College of Nutrition, October 2013

Exercise: When Soccer Injuries Occur…
Researchers have found that soccer injuries are more likely to occur if a player’s team is winning, if the player is a forward (an attacking player), after a yellow or red card is issued against the other team, or as the number of free kicks (a kick right after a foul) increases. According to the study’s co-author, Dr. Jaakko Ryynänen, “The ability to recognize periods of matches (games) when the injury incidence is high may be important in terms of preventive measures.”
University of Gothenburg, October 2013

Chiropractic: Heads Up!
If your head is in a forward posture, it can add up to 30 lbs (~13 kg) of abnormal leverage on the cervical spine (neck). In time, this can pull the entire spine out of alignment. Forward head posture may even result in the loss of up to 30% of vital lung capacity. These breath-related effects are primarily due to the loss of the cervical lordosis (the inward curve of the cervical spine), which blocks the action of the inferior hyoid muscle responsible for helping lift the first rib during inhalation.
Rene Cailliet, M.D., January 1996

Chiropractic again: Adjustments Effective After Low Back Surgery.
A review of 32 patients who received chiropractic care after lumbar spine surgery revealed improvements in pain levels with no adverse effects.
Journal Of Manipulative Physiological Therapy, July 2011

Chiropractic outperforms drugs (NSAIDs) and Acupuncture.

A pilot study involving 77 patient with chronic spinal pain received either nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acupuncture, or spinal manipulation. After 30 days, spinal manipulation was the only intervention that achieved statistically significant improvements according to outcome assessments.
Journal of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, July 1999

Spinal Fixations May Affect the Immune System.

T lymphocytes, part of the adaptive immune system, can be stimulated and inhibited by the nervous system. It’s theorized that spinal fixations may hinder the T lymphocytes’ relationship with the nervous system, possibly affecting the body’s immune response. Correcting these spinal fixations through spinal manipulation may benefit the immune system.
Journal Of Manipulative Physiologic Therapeutics, August 1989

Your head position and strain on your neck

For every inch your head is forward, your upper back and neck muscles have to hold an extra 10 lbs (~4.5 kg), as they have to work harder to keep the head (chin) from dropping to your chest. This also forces the sub-occipital muscles (they raise the chin) to remain in constant contraction, putting pressure on the three sub-occipital nerves. This nerve compression may cause headaches at the base of the skull or mimic sinus (frontal) headaches.
Kapandji, Physiology of the Joints, Volume III

We address this in two ways at Denver Chiropractic Center. We use chiropractic adjustments to realign the spine. We also use Active Release Techniques to release those tight sub-occipital muscles that can cause headaches, neck pain and fatigue.

Columbus Day: This Week’s 1-Page Health News

Mental Attitude: The Brain and Learning a Second Language.
Learning a second language requires the brain to create and strengthen new neural connections in the brain’s inferior frontal cortex. This is similar to the structural changes seen in people learning complex motor skills, such as juggling.
Montreal Neurological Institute, September 2013

Health Alert: Obesity in the United States.
78 million adults and 13 million kids are obese in the Unites States (US), with the total number increasing to 113 million by 2022. 60-70% of the US population is either overweight or obese, putting them at risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
American Heart Association, September 2013

Diet: Vitamins and Violence.
Deficiencies of vitamins A, D, K, B1, B3, B6, B12 and folate, and of minerals iodine, potassium, iron, magnesium, zinc, chromium and manganese can all contribute to mental instability and violent behavior.
Sylvia Onusic, PhD, April 2013

Exercise: Watch Your Step!
When exercising, the force centered on your ankle can exceed up to seven times your body weight. 23,000 people sprain their ankle every day in the United States, resulting in 1.6 million doctor office visits annually. The direct and indirect costs (e.g., lost days from work) associated with treating ankle sprains exceed $1.1 billion annually. To make matters worse, these numbers do not take into account the long-term disability often associated with ankle sprains. Overweight athletes with a prior history of ankle sprain are 19 times more likely to suffer another ankle sprain.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, February 2011

Chiropractic: Increased Productivity!
A small, one-year study of office workers with neck and upper extremity pain found that chiropractic care combined with improved workstation ergonomics resulted in decreased pain, increased quality of life, and up to 100% increased productivity.
Work, September 2013

Wellness/Prevention: Obesity Microbes?
New research suggests changing the mix of gut microbes can prevent obesity, but only if combined with a healthy diet. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables encourages leanness-related microbes to populate the gut leading to better weight control. However, a diet high in saturated fat and low in fruits and vegetables thwarts the invasion of microbes associated with leanness.
Science, September 2013

Chiropractic is an Effective Treatment For Sciatica Patients.

A year-long study compared chronic sciatica patients with symptomatic lumbar disk herniations who received either a microdiskectomy or 21 chiropractic visits. The researchers found that 60% of the patients who received chiropractic care benefited to the same degree as those who underwent surgery. The study’s authors recommend that patients with a symptomatic lumbar disk herniation try chiropractic first, before considering surgery.
Journal of Manipulative Physiologic Therapy, October 2010

Child with Headaches Responds to Chiropractic Adjustments.

This case study involved an eight-year-old boy with a complaint of daily headaches for three years. The child reported a significant decrease in headache frequency after one chiropractic treatment. The frequency of his headaches decreased to once per month after four adjustments. Since headaches are a common complaint in children, chiropractic treatment warrants further investigation.
Journal of Neuromusculoskeletal System, 2002

Exercise Linked to Reduced Depression.

A recent review of 35 trials involving 1,356 individuals diagnosed with depression revealed that patients who engaged in exercise experienced a moderate decrease in depression symptoms. Researchers discovered that exercising proved as effective a treatment for depression as psychological therapy or taking antidepressants.
The Cochrane Library, September 2013

Race Report – The Hot Chocolate 5k & This Week’s 1-Page Health News

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My oldest son Andrew and I ran the Hot Chocolate 5k on Sunday morning. This was his first race, and he went in hoping to be under 40 minutes. He did it in 33:33. Not bad for an year-old. I, of course, stayed with him. That was a great event for first-timers. I’d recommend it to anyone.

“The greatest wealth is health.”
~ Virgil

Mental Attitude: No Yelling.
Harsh verbal punishments, such as shouting, cursing, or using insults, are just as harmful to adolescents as physical discipline. Adolescents whose parents used harsh verbal punishment are more likely to suffer from depression and are more likely to engage in vandalism or aggressive behavior. Parental warmth, love, emotional support, and affection between parents and their kids is not enough to outweigh the negative effects of harsh verbal discipline.
Child Development, September 2013

Diet: Chew Your Food.
It is not a surprise that almonds are a great source of healthy fats and extra energy. However, the extent that almonds are chewed can make a difference in how much nutrition is absorbed by the body and how much is expelled. The more you chew, the more your body can use.
Institute of Food Technologists, July 2013

Exercise: Sudden Cardiac Death Risk reduced with Exercise.
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for 50% of all deaths from coronary heart disease, and is defined as death with cardiac origin within 24 hours after onset of symptoms. A 19-year study looked at the impact of high leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) combined with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on the risk of SCD. The results showed that the risk of SDC was nearly double among men who are inactive (low CRF and low LTPA).
Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, September 2013

Chiropractic: Drugs vs. Needles vs Adjustments.
In this study, acupuncture, medication, and chiropractic care were compared on a patient population with spinal pain, including neck and back pain. Only spinal manipulation provided both short-term and long-term benefits.
Spine, July 2003

Wellness/Prevention: The Great and Powerful Ginger.
Ginger is an herb that is used as a spice and also has therapeutic qualities. The underground stem (rhizome) can be used fresh, powdered, dried, or as an oil or juice. Ginger is used for treating loss of appetite, nausea/vomiting after surgery, flatulence, upset stomach, colic, morning sickness, motion sickness, upper respiratory tract infection, bronchitis, cough, menstrual cramps, arthritis, and muscle pain.
National Library of Medicine, September 2013