“The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research—a federal government research organization—recommended that low back pain sufferers choose the most conservative care first. It recommended spinal manipulation (chiropractic) as the only safe and effective, drugless form of initial professional treatment for acute low back problems in adults.”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, December 1994
“Chiropractic spinal manipulation is a safe and effective spine pain treatment. It reduces pain, decreases medication, rapidly advances physical therapy, and requires very few passive forms of treatment, such as bed rest.”
Orthopedics Today, February 2003
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 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!
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
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
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.
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
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
Located in the pelvis, the sacroiliac joint (SI joint) can be the cause of sciatica, resulting in back pain that radiates down the leg. A recent study compared physical therapy, chiropractic manual therapy, and joint injections of corticosteroids. The study found that manual therapy was the best choice for sacroiliac joint dysfunction. The success rate for chiropractic manual therapy was 72%, 50% for corticosteroid injections, and 20% for physiotherapy. Researchers found manual therapy resulted in significant improvement in pain severity, while neither physical therapy nor injections resulted in significant pain relief. In our experience, adding Active Release Techniques treatment makes the chiropractic work even more effective for treating SI joint pain.
European Spine Journal, August 2013
A study conducted outside of the chiropractic profession concluded that chiropractic treatment was more effective for work-related low back pain than physical therapy or the care of a medical physician. Chiropractic patients had lower medical costs, fewer disability recurrences, and shorter periods of disability.
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2011
Note: Dr. Hyman has worked with several area corporations to reduce the impact of musculoskeletal injuries.