Chiropractic Q&A

Click One Of The Topics Below
Blood Pressure
• Everyone’s Got It! At this moment you have blood pressure. But don’t worry, everyone has blood pressure. You need it to send your blood through your miles and miles of arteries and capillaries bringing oxygen and nutrition to all the areas of your body. Every time your heart beats it pumps blood through your arteries and the force of this “push” is called blood pressure. Without blood pressure you couldn’t live. There is no “just right” blood pressure; 120 over 80 is just average. Like the idle of a car, some people run a little high, others a little low. Blood pressure also fluctuates based on the time of day, exercise, age, gender, emotional makeup, drug and alcohol use, emotional stress and many other factors. When blood pressure is abnormally low, it’s called hypotension and when it is abnormally high, it’s called hypertension. • Idiopathic Hypertension In most cases, medical doctors do not know the cause of hypertension. These cases are referred to as ‘essential,’ ‘idiopathic’ or ‘primary’ hypertension. In some cases (secondary hypertension) there is a specific cause, often kidney disease or medication use (such as ibuprofen and other drugs).1 • A Defense? For some people high blood pressure may be playing the role of a defense against damage to your brain and spinal cord caused by an unbalanced structural system and spinal column. Elevated blood pressure may help protect your brain and spinal cord from compression due to spine and structural stress.3-4 However your body is unable to keep this form of “protection” around indefinitely. Eventually the elevated blood pressure can cause serious health problems so the underlying cause should be addressed. High blood pressure has also been seen as a compensation for dehydration and many people have found that simply by drinking more water, their blood pressure drops to normal.5 • The Medical Approach Most medical doctors attempt to lower blood pressure with prescription drugs. While there is some logic to that approach, the deeper questions of ‘What is causing the blood pressure to rise?,’ ‘Is high blood pressure serving a purpose?’ and ‘Are we just treating symptoms?’ are usually not addressed. One physician in discussing this states that high blood pressure “ … really isn’t a disease in itself but is rather a symptom of smoking, obesity, or inactivity … perhaps physicians should stop taking blood pressures and should start weighing people and asking them about exercise, diet, smoking, and work habits.”2 • Side Effects of Medication Blood pressure medications can cause rash, hives, sensitivity to light, joint aches, confusion, impotence, weakness, dizziness, lack of energy, numbness in the extremities, depression, anger, moodiness, muscle spasms and other symptoms. This may be why many people are investigating non-drug approaches. As the late Robert Mendelsohn, MD said, “Patients with coronary problems and high blood pressure are investigating … nutrition, allergy, acupuncture, chiropractic, biofeedback, meditation and exercise … medical schools do not produce physicians who possess this kind of knowledge.”6 • The Chiropractic Approach One of the best things you can do for your blood pressure, as well as the rest of your body, is to see a doctor of chiropractic. Doctors of chiropractic perform adjustments to correct subluxations that cause nerve stress which upsets body balance and nerve health. For over a century chiropractic care has been a drug-free blessing to millions of people who thought they would have to face a life of medication. Studies and case histories have often described the blood pressure normalizing effects that gentle, painless chiropractic adjustments have on individuals.7-12 For example, in one study of 50 patients with hypertension, chiropractic adjustment of the atlas vertebra in the neck was found to significantly lower blood pressure without drugs. The authors concluded that “restoration of atlas alignment is associated with marked and sustained reductions in BP.”13 In another study 75 patients with abnormal blood pressure began chiropractic care. Many of the patients were on high blood pressure medications and still had high blood pressure. In addition to chiropractic, dietary changes were made along with eliminating stomach-sleeping and high pillows. Before chiropractic the average blood pressure of the 67 hypertensive patients was 163/93. After care it was 130/82. The low blood pressure patients went from 100/67 before care to 114/76 after care.14 • The Chiropractic Message Chiropractic philosophy teaches us to promote optimal body function through good nutrient-dense foods, exercise, hydration and avoidance of and removal of toxins. Chiropractic corrects a serious form of stress caused by subluxations that interferes with normal body function. Chiropractic philosophy also encourages us seek out more natural, conservative ways of approaching healthcare such as natural, drug-free childbirth, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs, massage, aromatherapy, naturopathy and other methods before submitting to more radical (i.e. drug and surgical) approaches. References 1. Science News. September 24, 1994;146:200. 2. Bernard RF. Letter to the editor. The People’s Doctor Newsletter. 1986;8(5). 3. Ward LE. Spinal Column Stressology, Spinal Stress Seminars. Long Beach, CA:1982. 4. Hagen K et al. Does hypertension protect against chronic musculoskeletal complaints? The Nord-Trøndelag health study. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2005;165(8):916-922. 5. Batmanghelidj F. Your Body’s Many Cries for Water. Falls Curch, VA: Global Health Solutions, Inc. 1992. 6. Mendelsohn RS. The People’s Doctor Newsletter. 1986;8(5). 7. Leboeuf-Yde C, Axen I, Ahlefeldt G et al. The types and frequencies of nonmusculoskeletal symptoms reported after chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. JMPT. 1999;22(9):559-564. 8. Driscoll MD, Hall MJ. Effects of spinal manipulative therapy on autonomic activity and the cardiovascular system: a case study using the electrocardiogram and arterial tonometry. JMPT. 2000;23:545-550. 9. Yates RG et al. Effects of chiropractic treatment on blood pressure and anxiety: a randomized, controlled trial. JMPT. 1988;11(6):484-488. 10. Crawford JP, Hickson GS, Wiles MR. The management of hypertensive disease: a review of spinal manipulation and the efficacy of conservative therapeusis. JMPT. 1986;9:27-32. 11. Plaugher G, Meker W, Shelsy A, Lotun K, Jansen R. Randomized clinical trial of chiropractic adjustments and brief massage treatment for essential hypertension: a pilot study. Conf Proc Chiro Cent Found. July 1995;366-367. 12. Goodman R. Hypertension and the atlas subluxation complex. Chiropractic: J of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. 1992;8(2): 30-32. 13. Bakris G, Dickholtz M, Meyer PM et al. Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2007;21:347–352. 14. Hood RP. Blood pressure, results in 75 abnormal cases. Digest of Chiropractic Economics. May/June 1974. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Colds & Flu
Go to a chiropractor for the Flu or common cold? But chiropractic is just for backs! Not true. In fact, many people seeing chiropractors for neuromusculoskeletal problems (nerve, muscle and structural pain and conditions) find an improvement in their overall health that may include fewer and less severe colds, flu and other respiratory problems.1 • Influenza Flu symptoms include fever, backache, headache, muscle and joint pain, runny nose, congestion, sore throat and cough.10 The flu can cause very serious problems in those, like the elderly, who may be very weak and have little resistance; in some cases it may develop into pneumonia. Yet for most of us the flu is little more than an annoying illness. • Benefits Of Colds & Flu Hippocrates, the “father” of medicine wrote: “Diseases are crises of purification, of toxic elimination. Symptoms are the natural defenses of the body. We call them diseases, but in fact they are the cure of diseases.” For example, an elevated temperature is one of our body’s defense mechanisms, helping us destroy infection. Lowering a fever reduces this defense against disease. Acute infectious diseases serve a purpose—to burn off and eliminate toxins and other waste products, to cleanse you and rebalance your system. Although cold and flu symptoms are uncomfortable, they may serve a greater purpose. That was revealed by one study where researchers discovered that individuals who had febrile infectious childhood diseases (measles, mumps, chicken pox) had less cancer as adults.11 Similarly another study revealed that “a history of common colds or … influenza … was associated with a decreased risk of stomach, colon, rectum and ovarian cancer.”12 • Useless Flu Vaccines J. Anthony Morris, PhD, flu researcher for the FDA reported: “There is nothing based upon either epidemiology or controlled experiments, to show that influenza vaccine yields a benefit towards the recipient.”13 • The Flu Vaccine & Alzheimer’s According to Hugh Fudenberg, MD, if an individual has five consecutive flu shots his/her chances of getting Alzheimer’s disease is ten times higher.14 The aluminum and mercury in the flu shot (also found in various amounts in many childhood shots) build up in the brain causing damage. Is this why Alzheimer’s is expected to quadruple?15 • FluMist™ Between 10 million and 100 million viral particles are forcefully injected into the nostrils with the new FluMist™ vaccine. Sherry Tenpenny, DO writes: “One of the most troubling concerns over the injection of this ‘chemical soup’ is the potential for the viruses to enter directly into the brain….”16 Side effects include cough, runny nose and nasal congestion, irritability, headaches, chills, muscle aches and fever over 100° F. This sounds just like the flu, doesn’t it? • The Common Cold The common cold (acute coryza) is associated with viri that affect the throat, nose, larynx (voice box) and sinuses. That means stuffed and runny nose, scratchy throat, watery eyes, stuffy sinuses and congestion but no fever.2 Breathing cold viruses does not in itself cause a cold. Experimenters placed cold viruses directly on the mucous lining of subjects’ noses. Only 12% of subjects came down with colds.3 The fact is that your body is inhabited with all kinds of germs all the time. For your germs to overgrow into an infection, you must first be fertile soil—your “resistance to disease” must be low. That can be caused by stress—structural stress (such as the kind chiropractors correct), chemical stress (toxins in your body that haven’t been properly eliminated) and emotional stress. Usually it is a combination of two or more that set off an infection. • Drugs For A Cold? The medical approach to dealing with colds is to take drugs to suppress symptoms—not to cure the cold. “Alkalinizers, multiple analgesics, antihistamines, decongestants and tranquilizers are developed for sales profit … not for the benefit of the patient.”4 Taking antibiotics for cold viruses is completely worthless because antibiotics work only on bacteria. • The Chiropractic Approach Chiropractic care can help raise your natural resistance to disease by removing a serious interference to your optimal body function: subluxations. Natural resistance is the only reason your cold “goes away” rather than lasting for weeks, months or your entire lifetime! • What Are Subluxations? Subluxations are small distortions in your structural system that interfere with your ability to function at your optimum. Chiropractors are specially trained to detect, locate and correct subluxations. The location of subluxations is done using specialized instruments including X-ray, imaging and clinical feedback techniques. Subluxations are corrected by giving a chiropractic adjustment, a procedure that takes years of study to master. The adjustment relieves the stress of subluxations and helps restore optimal body functioning for higher resistance to disease, which, we cannot overstate, is the best defense against the common cold. • Case Studies There are numerous case histories of chronic cold and flu sufferers having less or no cold symptoms after chiropractic care.5-7 For example, when spinal motion was restricted, people tended to have more ear infections, bronchitis and/or pneumonia. However, if motion could be maintained or reestablished, patients recovered without complications. In another study, 92% of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had improvement of their respiratory symptoms after spinal care.9 • In Conclusion See a chiropractor for a checkup to keep your body free from subluxations. This will help keep your resistance high. Chiropractic care could make the difference between a quick recovery and a lingering illness. References 1. Gwaltney JM, Hayden FG. Understanding colds. www.commoncold.org/index.htm. 2. Ibid. 3. Chopra D. Quantum Healing. NY: Bantam Books. 1989;142. 4. Jackson GG. The common cold. In P. Beeson & W. McDermott (Eds.), Cecil-Loeb Textbook of Medicine (13th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders. 1971;361. 5. Case history. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter. November 1996. 6. Aguilar AL, Grostic JD, Pfleger B. Chiropractic care and behavior in autistic children. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 2000;5(1). 7. Bofshever H. Case history, Coral Springs, FL. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter. Nov/Dec 1999. 8. Purse FM. Manipulative therapy of upper respiratory infections. JAOA. 1966. 9. Goldstein M (Ed.). The Research Status Of Spinal Manipulative Therapy. Bethesda: National Institutes of Health. 1975. 10. Influenza: Viral Infections: Merck Manual Home Edition. www.merck.com/mmhe/sec17/ch198/ch198d.html 11. Abel U, Becker N, Angerer R et al. Common infections in the history of cancer patients and controls. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 1991;117(4):339-344. 12. Albonico HU, Braker HU, Husler J. Febrile infectious childhood diseases in the history of cancer patients and matched controls. Medical Hypotheses. 1998;51(4):315-320. 13. Interview with Dr. Anthony Morris. The International Vaccination Newsletter. September 1995. 14. Address by Hugh Fudenberg MD at the NVIC International Vaccine Conference, Arlington, VA September, 1997. (visit Dr. Fudenberg’s website at www.nitrf.org) 15. Johns Hopkins Newsletter. November 1998. 16. Risks of FluMist Vaccine: An Investigation by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny. www.redflagsweekly.com/conferences/vaccines/oct03_Tenpenny.html#6 © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• What Is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? The occupational disease of the 21st century is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). If you have one or more of the following: tingling and numbness in the hand, fingers and wrist; swelling of the fingers; dry palms; blanching (whitening upon pressure) of the hand; or pain so intense that it awakens you at night, you may have CTS. In some people CTS causes similar symptoms in the upper arm, elbow, shoulder or neck.1-2 CTS is increasingly common and causing lots of days off from work. Millions of people now suffer from CTS3 and increasing numbers of them are seeking chiropractic care. The drug-free chiropractic approach of releasing stress and freeing your body of subluxations has been a blessing to millions afflicted with this condition. • Who Can Get CTS? Almost anyone can get CTS. Years ago telegraph operators, seamstresses, carpenters and meat cutters were the chief sufferers from this condition. Today it’s office workers, computer users, musicians and assembly line workers (among others) who are more prone to it. Fractures, a fall on the hand or poorly designed and/or vibrating hand tools may damage the palm of the hand and also cause CTS. Other causes are rheumatoid or osteoarthritis, Paget’s disease, multiple myeloma, acromegaly and gout. It is often found in pregnant women, women who use birth control pills or individuals with an underactive thyroid. • Where Is The Carpal Tunnel? You won’t find the carpal tunnel on any map—it’s in your wrist. Your carpal (wrist) bones form a tunnel-like structure—the carpal tunnel—through which pass nine tendons and the median nerve. CTS (also called occupational neuritis, partial thenar atrophy and median neuritis) occurs when the median nerve becomes irritated. • Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a similar condition caused by compression or irritation of the nerves that form the brachial plexus (in the upper back) as they exit the neck. The symptoms include pain, weakness and numbness or tingling in the arm.4 Some researchers believe that the hips and lower spine (sacroiliac) play a part in the cause while others feel an abnormal thoracic (mid-back) curve is the cause.5 • How Does Your Spine Affect Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? Subluxations have been observed in many patients who have carpal tunnel or related hand and wrist problems.15-16 In fact, nerve compression in the neck can block the flow of nutrients to the nerves in the arm, shoulder, wrist and related areas, and make them more susceptible to injury (this is called the double crush syndrome).17-18 Not surprisingly, when 1,000 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome were investigated it was found that many of those suffering from CTS also had neck arthritis.19 • The Orthodox Medical Approach The medical approach to CTS is to stop using the wrist in the same way by wearing a splint and immobilizing the wrist. Resting the wrist has worked for many people. In others, ice or drugs such as anti-inflammatories or diuretics were also used.6-7 In those with persistent symptoms, corticosteriods may be injected into the crease in the hand near the wrist which may provide relief. This approach however has a high relapse rate (and many side effects). As many as 100,000 operations a year are performed for CTS8 and recovery from such surgery may take from 6 months to 10 years.9 Limitations of standard medical care led the late Robert Mendelsohn, MD to state: Since the medical treatment for this condition is so often unsatisfactory, I have for years been recommending that my patients consult experts in muscle and joint therapy.10 • The Chiropractic Approach Since most people who do repetitive tasks do not get CTS there appears to be a contributing factor to this condition. In many people the main problem might be the health of the structural system and that is why anyone suffering from CTS should see a chiropractor to ensure that his/her spinal column and structural system are properly aligned and free from nerve pressure. Look closely at a musician, office worker, computer user or anyone suffering from CTS. You’ll see that not only are the wrists being used to perform the tasks, the neck and entire spinal column are also involved in the activities.11 For over a hundred years clinicians, researchers and patients have reported relief from classic carpal tunnel symptoms and improvement in overall body function after chiropractic adjustments.12-14 • Conclusion Anyone suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome should see a chiropractor to ensure that their body is free of subluxations. Chiropractic is not a treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome but is a way of rebalancing the body and removing structural stress from the nervous system. A chiropractic adjustment may make the difference as it has for millions of people since its discovery in 1895. Can chiropractic make the difference for you? References 1. Davis L, Wellman H, Punnett L. Surveillance of work-related carpal tunnel syndrome in Massachusetts, 1992-1997: a report from the Massachusetts sentinel event notification system for occupational risks (SENSOR). Am J Ind Med. 2001;39(1):58-71. 2. Verghese J, Galanopoulou AS, Herskovitz S. Autonomic dysfunction in idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome. Muscle Nerve. 2000;23(8):1209-1213. 3. Atroshi I, Gummesson C, Johnsson R et al. Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a general population. JAMA. 1999;282(2):153-158. 4. Narakas AO. The role of thoracic outlet syndrome in the double crush syndrome. Annales de Chirurgie de la Main et du Membre Superieur. 1990;9(5):331-340. 5. Liebenson CS. Thoracic outlet syndrome: diagnosis and conservative management. JMPT. 1988;11(6):493-499. 6. O’Gradaigh D, Merry P. Corticosteroid injection for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 2000;59(11):918-919. 7. Pfeffer GB, Gelberman RH. The carpal tunnel syndrome. In NM Hadler (Ed.), Clinical Concepts in Regional Musculoskeletal Illness. Orlando, FL: Grune & Stratton, Inc., 1987;201-215. 8. Brody JE. Epidemic at the computer: hand and arm injuries. New York Times. March 3, 1992:C1;C10. 9. Rietz KA, Onne L. Analysis of sixty-five operated cases of carpal tunnel syndrome. Acta Chir Scand. 1967;133:443-447. 10. Mendelsohn R. Treating carpal tunnel syndrome. The People’s Doctor. 1982;8(9):7. 11. Ferezy J, Norlin W. Carpal tunnel syndrome: a case report. Chiropractic Technique. Jan/Feb 1989;19-22. 12. Bonebrake AR et al. A treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome: evaluation of objective and subjective measures. JMPT. 1990;13:507-520. 13. Stoddard A. Manual of Osteopathic Practice (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Hutchinson & Co., 1983:228. 14. Davis PT, Hulbert JR, Kassak KM et al. Comparative efficacy of conservative medical and chiropractic treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. JMPT. 1998;21(5):317-326. 15. Upton ARM, McComas AJ. The double crush in nerve entrapment syndromes. Lancet. 1973;2:329. 16. Russell BS. Carpal tunnel syndrome and the “double crush” hypothesis: a review and implications for chiropractic. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2008;16(2):1186. 17. Czaplak S. Impaired axoplasmic transport and the double crush syndrome: food for chiropractic thought. Clinical Chiropractic. January 1993;8-9. 18. Nemoto K et al. The double lesion neuropathy: an experimental study and clinical cases. Abstract 123, 2nd. Int’l. Congress. Boston, MA, October 1983. 19. Hurst LC, Weissburg D, Carroll RE. The relationship of the double crush syndrome (an analysis of 1,000 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome). J Hand Surg. 1985;10B:202. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Disc Problems & Back Surgery
• What Do Discs do And What Are They? There are gel-like pads called “discs” (intervertebral discs) between your spinal bones (vertebrae). These flexible, pads give your spine its curves and flexibility (a curved, flexible spine is much stronger than a straight, rigid one). Discs affect your height too—you are about 4” – 2” taller when you wake up than when you go to sleep. Why? Because gravity thins your discs a little when you walk and sit during the day; discs expand a little while you lie in bed (that’s why astronauts gain about one inch in height due to weightlessness). Research is revealing that spinal discs are involved in lower back pain.1-3 • Organic Disease Disc degeneration may lead to irritation of spinal nerves and contribute to endometriosis, infections (bladder, vaginal, kidney), urinary retention, miscarriage, sterility, impotence, prostrate problems, cystitis, menstrual cramps or constipation. It is not uncommon for an individual with a back condition to suffer from one or more of the above problems.5 • Disc Prolapse & Protrusion As you age, your discs may lose fluid and small cracks or lesions may form in the outer walls.4 This damage may also be caused or accelerated by the presence of subluxations, a distortion in your structural system that chiropractors correct. Discs may bulge, irritating nerves and causing a lot of pain and discomfort. In severe cases disc damage may affect sitting, standing, walking or lifting and cause pain when urinating, defecating, sneezing and coughing. Numbness of the leg or foot or a loss of muscular control may also occur. • Can You Have A “Slipped” Disc? Many “slipped” discs would be more accurately called slipped vertebrae or subluxations. A disc cannot “slip” since it is knitted into the vertebrae from both above and below. What sometimes do slip are the vertebrae. • What About Back Surgery? Back surgery for herniation should only be attempted as a last resort. That is because back surgery is a dangerous procedure with a high failure rate. In many people the disc is not causing pain; many people have disc degeneration with no symptoms! 7 According to Robert Mendelsohn, MD, “I have seen more than one case in which spinal surgery was avoided by individuals who decided … to see a chiropractor….” Many people have followed his advice to avoid back surgery.6 • The Chiropractic Record For many years chiropractic has been able to save people from spinal surgery. There are reports of an MRI or other imaging device revealing a disc herniation or protrusion in the neck or low back which was reduced or completely reabsorbed under chiropractic care. Had they not sought out chiropractic, many of these individuals undoubtedly would have had surgery.8-13 In another study of 517 patients with protruded lumbar discs, 76.8% had satisfactory results under chiropractic.16 In one study 27 patients documented with disc herniation were given chiropractic care. Post-care MRIs revealed that 63% of the patients had a reduced or completely reabsorbed disc herniation and 78% returned to work.14 In another study, 21 patients were diagnosed by CT scan with lumbar disc herniation. After chiropractic care their pain disappeared and follow-up scans six months later showed the herniation had reduced or disappeared in most patients.15 • When Is Surgery Needed? Surgery is sometimes necessary, but it is an extreme form of healthcare and it has many dangers. Many times spinal surgery fails and must be repeated. It should only be considered after more natural, less invasive methods have been given a fair chance.17 • How To Prevent Disc Problems Chiropractic has been a blessing to many sufferers of spine and disc problems, yet chiropractic is not limited to back and disc problems; it is for your entire body. Many times patients visiting their chiropractor for a back or neck problem have been pleasantly surprised at the holistic or whole-body effect of chiropractic. Why wait until a disc becomes “hot” before exploring chiropractic care? Chiropractic care may help prevent your spine from deterioration and herniation. Chiropractors have even helped people relieve the pain and frustration of failed back surgery (yes, you can receive chiropractic care if you’ve had spinal surgery) and even prevent future operations. Please, before your problems get worse, have a simple chiropractic spinal checkup. You get your eyes, teeth and blood pressure checked, why not your spine? References 1. Bogduk N, Aprill C. On the nature of neck pain, discography and cervical zygapophyseal joint blocks. Pain. 1993;54:213-217. 2. Kuslich S et al. The tissue origin of low back pain and sciatica: a report of pain response to tissue stimulation during operations on the lumbar spine. Orthopedic Clinics of North America. 1991;22(2):181-187. 3. Carragee E et al. 2000 Volvo award winner in clinical studies: lumbar high intensity zones and discography in subjects without low back complaints. Spine. 2000;25(23):2987-2992. 4. Lundon K, Bolton K. Structure and function of the lumbar intervertebral disk in health, aging and pathologic conditions. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2001;31(6):291-303. 5. Browning JF. The mechanically induced pelvic pain and organic dysfunction syndrome: an often overlooked cause of bladder, bowel, gynecological, and sexual dysfunction. J of the Neuromusculoskeletal System. 1996;4:52-66. 6. Mendelsohn R. Malepractice: How Doctors Manipulate Women. Chicago: Contemporary Books, Inc., 1981. 7. Guyer RD, Patterson M, Ohnmeiss DD. Failed back surgery syndrome: diagnostic evaluation. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 2006;14(9):534-543. 8. Eriksen K. Management of cervical disc herniation with upper cervical chiropractic care. JMPT. 1998;21(1):51-56. 9. Ressel OJ. Disc regeneration: reversibility is possible in spinal osteoarthritis. ICA Review. March/April 1989:39-61. 10. Robinson GK. Reabsorption of a herniated cervical disc following chiropractic treatment utilizing the atlas orthogonal technique: a case report. Abstracts from the 14th Annual Upper Cervical Spine Conference, Nov. 22-23, 1997. Life University, Marietta, GA. Chiropractic Research J. 1998;5(1). 11. Hession EF, Donald GD. Treatment of multiple lumbar disc herniations in an adolescent athlete utilizing flexion distraction and rotational manipulation. JMPT. 1993;16:185-192. 12. Legorreta AP, Metz RD, Nelson CF et al.  Comparative analysis of individuals with and without chiropractic coverage: patient characteristics, utilization, and costs. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1985-1992. 13. Breakiron G. Chiropractic adjustments, cervical traction and rehabilitation correct cervical spine herniated disc. Chiropractic Case Reports. 1993;1(1). 14. Ben Eliyahu DJ. Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical follow-up: study of 27 patients receiving chiropractic care for cervical and lumbar disc herniations. JMPT. 1996;19(19):597-606. 15. Delauche-Cavallier MC, Budet C, Laredo JD et al. Lumbar disc herniation: computed tomography scan changes after conservative treatment of nerve root compression. Spine. 1992;17(8):927-933. 16. Pang-Fu Kuo P, Loh Z. Treatment of lumbar intervertebral disc protrusions by manipulation. Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research. 1987;215:47-55. 17. Abbasi A, Malhotra G et al. Complications of interlaminar cervical epidural steroid injections: a review of the literature. Spine. 2007;32(19):2144-2151. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Digestion, Heartburn & Ulcers
• Your Digestive System Your digestive system has one overriding goal: to break down your food (digestion) and extract energy and nutrients from it (assimilation) and send the waste products down the tube to be eliminated. The digestive system is a long tube, beginning at your mouth and ending at your anus. Your throat, esophagus, stomach, duodenum and intestines (and other organs) are modifications of this tube. • The Esophagus & Stomach After you chew and swallow your food it travels down your esophagus [Latin for “I swallow”] to your stomach where it is dissolved by one of the most powerful acids found in nature—hydrochloric acid (HCL).. HCL is so strong that if it were ever to escape from your stomach, it could dissolve your heart, lungs, liver, veins, arteries and every other organ in your body! You’d eat yourself alive! What keeps the acid from escaping is a thick layer of mucus that covers your stomach’s inner walls. • Heartburn & Gastritis Gastritis is a term used to describe inflammation of the stomach walls. The lower esophageal sphincter connects the esophagus and the stomach. Heartburn occurs when food reverses course and jumps from the stomach through the lower esophageal sphincter to the esophagus. • Dyspepsia & Ulcers Chronic stomachache, also called nervous stomach or dyspepsia, is one common stomach condition. Another is an ulcer, which occurs when the powerful acids and digestive juices start to eat through the stomach and intestines—a very painful condition. • The Standard Medical Approach Because digestive troubles are often poorly understood, much of medical care is directed at making us feel better by treating symptoms (usually with drugs). Treating symptoms alone, however, apart from the risk of the side effects, can lead you into the false belief that your problem is gone merely because your symptoms are gone. It’s not unusual to hear of people “living on” drugs but not getting healthy. Because of the potential side effects of medical drug therapies and surgery, many people prefer to first pursue gentler and more natural forms of healthcare with chiropractic among the most popular natural healthcare approaches used. • The Chiropractic Approach Your chiropractor analyzes your body for subluxations—distortions in your body that stress your nervous system and affect your digestion, assimilation, circulation, respiration, elimination and nearly any other body function. All of the organs and glands in your digestive system—mouth, tongue, throat, esophagus, pyloric valve, stomach, intestines, glands, pancreas and others—require proper communication from your nerves. • Correction Of The Subluxation Chiropractic care is divided into two parts—the location and correction of your subluxations. Utilizing the art of the chiropractic adjustment, your doctor of chiropractic will correct your subluxations; this will result in improved function of your glands and organs. • Water Dehydration can cause many digestive problems including ulcers, constipation, colitis and dyspepsia. Many people (especially the elderly) are dehydrated and don’t know it.1 With aging, the sense of thirst may diminish so many people do not drink as much water as they should. They’ll drink coffee, tea and juices which may assuage their thirst but which will not rehydrate their body. • Research As early as 1921, it was discovered that spinal abnormalities could cause stomach, esophagus, duodenum and intestinal disorders.2 In a later study, 87% of a group of adolescents suffering from duodenal and/or gastric ulcer were found to have “pelvic distortion” and “blockage” in the spine.3 Spinal care helps those with dysphagia (difficult swallowing) and “abdominal nausea.”4 The famous researcher R. Maigne has written that relief of the nervous system helps digestive pains and “pseudo-ulcers;”5 others find chiropractic care helps abdominal pain and digestive problems such as “dyspepsia and epigastric distress.”6-7 In one fascinating study, scientists surgically created an artificial vertebral subluxation in rabbits. Within 22 minutes there were changes in the stomach and duodenum.8 “These changes could make the upper gastrointestinal tract vulnerable to disease and dysfunction.”9 In a survey of 5,438 office visits from the care of 577 children, digestion/elimination problems were one of the most common reasons why parents brought their children in for chiropractic care.10 Chiropractic care has relieved abdominal pain, stomach ulcers, gastritis, colitis and spastic constipation, according to other researchers.11-13 A large study involving 385 chiropractors in seven countries who collected information on 5607 patients found that many reported improvements in digestion with chiropractic care.14 • In Conclusion The job of the chiropractor is to ensure that the stomach and the rest of the digestive system (as well as all the other organs of the body) are receiving an unobstructed nerve supply. This promotes body harmony, enhanced ability to cope with stress and improved resistance to disease. Remember, if your nerves are impinged upon by subluxations, no amount of drugs will relieve the pressure. A chiropractic adjustment is what your body needs. References 1. Batmanghelidj F. Your Body’s Many Cries for Water. Falls Church, VA: Global Health Solutions. 1992. 2. Winsor H. Sympathetic segmental disturbances – II. The evidence of the association, in dissected cadavers, of visceral disease with vertebral deformities of the same sympathetic segments. Medical Times. November 1921;267-271. 3. Lewit K. Manipulative therapy in rehabilitation of the locomotor systems. London and Boston: Butterworths. 1985;Extracts:339. 4. Grieve M. Mobilisation of the spine (4th ed.). London/New York: Churchill Livingstone. 1984;22-23. 5. Maigne R. Orthopaedic medicine: A new approach to vertebral manipulations. (W.T. Liberson, Ed. and trans.) Springfield, Il: Charles C. Thomas. 1972. 6. Robuck SV. Osteopathic management of gastric and duodenal ulcers. JAOA. 1947;l(9). 7. Bryner P, Staerker PG. Indigestion and heartburn: a descriptive study of prevalence in persons seeking care from chiropractors. JMPT. 1996;19(5):317-23. 8. DeBoer KF, Schutz M, McKnight ME. Acute effects of spinal manipulation on gastrointestinal myoelectric activity in conscious rabbits. Manuelle Medicine. 1988;3:85-94. 9. Masarsky CS, Weber M. (Eds.). Neurological Fitness. 1993;2(4). 10. Alacantra J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The safety and effectiveness of pediatric chiropractic: a survey of chiropractors and parents in a practice-based research network. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing. 2009;5(5):290-295. 11. Simpson J, Hawken E. Xiphodynial: a diagnostic conundrum. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2007;15:13. 12. Pikalov AA, Kharin VV. Use of spinal manipulative therapy in the treatment of duodenal ulcer: a pilot study. JMPT. 1994;17:310-313. 13. Wagner T, Owen J, Malone E, Mann K. Irritable bowel syndrome and spinal manipulation: a case report. Chiropractic Technique. 1996;7:139-140. 14. Leboeuf-Yde C, Axen I, Ahlefeldt G et al. The types and frequencies of non-musculoskeletal symptoms reported after chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. JMPT. 1999;22(9):559-564. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Ear Infections
• Acute Otitis Media (AOM or Middle Ear Infection) No parent wants to watch their child suffer from a painful ear infection. Today ear infections are affecting children in epidemic numbers. Fortunately, more and more parents are bringing their children suffering from ear infections to their chiropractor (often after first going the medical route without resolution of the problem). • The Medical Approach: Antibiotics & Tubes Antibiotics, oral decongestants and surgery (tubes in the ears) are the most common medical treatments for ear infections. These treatments are not safe or effective. Antibiotics are often expensive and can cause stomach upset, diarrhea, allergic reactions and antibiotic resistance.1 In fact most ear infections clear up in a few days by themselves; “watchful waiting” is a better approach than antibiotics or surgery. According to E.J. Cantekin, Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: There is no evidence that antibiotics are effective in treating acute otitis media or chronic otitis media with effusion (fluid in the ear) and there is clear evidence that antibiotics are harmful.2 Antibiotic usage has also been linked to allergies, asthma and non-Hodgkins lymphoma (cancer of the lymphatic system). • Tubes In The Ears (Tympanostomy) The rush to put tubes in a child’s ears is comparable to the tonsillectomy fad in the 1960’s and may be causing more harm than good. In a long-term study ear tubes were found to harm children’s eardrums and cause scarring that could damage hearing later in life.3-4 • Dr. Mendelsohn On Ear Infection According to the late world-famous pediatrician Robert Mendelsohn, MD: We doctors may have to consider whether … antibiotics, antihistamines, insertion of tubes, tonsillectomy does not represent overkill for a condition that, except in malnourished children, is almost always self-limited.5 • The Chiropractic Approach Chiropractors relieve the body of a serious stress—the subluxation, a distortion in your body that interferes with your proper function. Correcting or removing subluxations through chiropractic care is essential for anyone with ear infections.6 In fact, chiropractic care has an excellent record of safety and effectiveness for infants and children suffering from ear infections. • Case Studies This story of a child who had been on antibiotics for six years and had ear tubes placed provides a great example of how chiropractic can help a child suffering from ear infections. A nine-year-old boy with chronic ear infections came to my [chiropractic] office. Five years prior, tubes were put in his ears. The child was scheduled for another ear surgery and to have his swollen tonsils and adenoids removed…. The boy stopped complaining about his ears after the first chiropractic adjustment. The ears, tonsils and adenoids returned to normal size. The ENT doctor cancelled surgery and at five-month follow-up the child remained free of ear infections, sore throats, colds, flu and medications.7 Another paper describes two case studies. In the first case, a six-month-old boy was scheduled for ear tube surgery. After one chiropractic adjustment, his ear infection cleared within 24 hours. The surgery was cancelled. The other case is of two [girls] aged three and four with chronic ear infections and upper respiratory dysfunction. Both conditions resolved after one office visit.8 A three-year-old boy lost his hearing after three unsuccessful ear tube surgeries. After the first adjustment the mother reported he had less ear pain, better speech and less irritability. An audiology exam later showed improved hearing in both ears.10 In another case study, a nine-month-old boy with a history of chronic ear infections was brought in for chiropractic care. The boy’s infections began immediately after his four month vaccinations and would temporarily respond to antibiotics only to recur every three weeks. The ENT physician recommended ear tube surgery. Within a week of chiropractic care both ears had cleared up and the mother reported the child’s naps were longer and he was getting better quality sleep. After seven weeks of care he visited his ENT who reported the ears were clear and tubes were not needed.9 • Research Studies Twenty-two children with acute otitis media received chiropractic care. After the first adjustment, the red and bulging tympanic membrane returned to normal in 95% of them.11 A review of the chiropractic care of 650 children revealed significant reduction in ear infections and fevers and improvement in immune function and general health.12 In a famous study by German medical doctors of 211 infants examined five days after birth who suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and sleeplessness, chiropractic care frequently resulted in the immediate cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness. The authors wrote that an unhealthy spine “causes many clinical features from central motor impairment to lower resistance to infections—especially ear, nose and throat infections.” They assert that all newborns should have their spines checked by chiropractors as “the success of adjustment overshadows every other type of [care].”14 In another study, 332 children (ages 27 days to five-years-old) suffering from recurrent bouts of otitis media and who had been on repeated doses of antibiotics were given chiropractic care. The children healed quickly without antibiotics and experienced few repeat infections.13 • In Conclusion It is essential that a child with an ear infection have a chiropractic checkup. Keeping your child’s body free from subluxations will help your child’s natural defenses against disease. This will help you avoid drugs with all their side effects. Give your child the great advantage of safer, more natural, drug-free chiropractic healthcare. References 1. American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnosis and Management of Acute Otitis Media now calls for “judicious use of antibacterial agents.”Pediatrics. 2004;113:1451–1465. 2. Crossen C. A medical researcher pays for doubting industry claim. January 3, 2001. The Wall Street Journal; Dow Jones & Company. 3. Stenstrom R et al. Hearing thresholds and tympanic membrane sequelae in children managed medically or surgically for otitis media with effusion. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:1151-1156. 4. Berman S. Long-term sequelae of ventilating tubes: implications for management of otitis media with effusion. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005;159:1183-1185. 5. Diamant 4. The People’s Doctor. 1981;9(5):1-4. 6. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The chiropractic care of children. J Altern Complement Med. 2010;16:621–626. 7. Bofshever H. Case history. ICPA Newsletter. Nov/Dec 1999. 8. Hochman J. The management of acute otitis media using SOT and SOT cranial. Sorsi Communicator. July 2001;14(2). 9. Stone-McCoy S, Boutilier A, Black P. Resolution of otitis media in a nine-month-old undergoing chiropractic care: a case study and selective review of the literature. J Pediatr Matern Fam Health. June 21, 2010:99-106. 10. Brown C. Improved hearing and resolution of otitis media with effusion following chiropractic care to reduce vertebral subluxation. J Pediatr Matern Fam Health. 2009:1-7. 11. Zhang JQ, Snyder BJ. Effect of the Toftness chiropractic adjustments for children with acute otitis media. JVSR. March 29, 2004;1-4. 12. Ressel O, Rudy R. Vertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 13. Fallon JM. The role of the chiropractic adjustment in the care and treatment of 332 children with otitis media. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997;2(2):167-183. 14. Gutman G. Blocked atlantal nerve syndrome in babies and infants. Manuelle Med. 1987;25:5-10. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Fibromylagia
• Do You Have These Problems? What if your body was full of “tender points” on your neck, shoulders, chest, rib cage, lower back, thighs, knees, elbows and buttocks along with increased sensitivity to pain, heat, cold, touch and bright lights. Imagine having to live with fatigue and radiating, gnawing, shooting or burning muscle, tendon and joint pain all the time. As if the above weren’t bad enough you may have sleeplessness, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, irritable bladder (interstitial cystitis), “brain fog,” depression and/or anxiety.1 Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? For some, this condition is annoying; but for others, the symptoms are all but disabling effecting every area of their lives. This is what those who suffer from fibromyalgia—also known as fibromyositis, fibrositis and myofascial pain syndrome—must endure. • Women Are Affected More Often Millions of people suffer from fibromyalgia. No one knows what causes it and why more women than men suffer from it. No one knows why the number of sufferers is growing. What can fibromyalgia sufferers do? • The Medical Approach The medical profession is at a loss when confronted with fibromyalgia. Some consider it to be of genetic origin; however, no disease is purely genetic—there must be environmental triggers.2 The drugs given—non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), painkillers, antidepressants and various prescription drugs—only mask the symptoms and give temporary relief at best. Because of the limitations of the medical approach, MDs are approaching fibromyalgia treatment using a combination of therapies: medication, physical therapy, counseling and support groups. These approaches have had limited success.3 • Non-medical Approaches People are increasingly turning to non-medical approaches for fibromyalgia. Exercise, especially aerobic exercise (AE), is often able to relieve depression and pain and help return people to day-to-day function. Patients find it best to start with low impact exercises, like walking and swimming, before pushing themselves to perform strenuous workouts.4-5 Acupressure, acupuncture, relaxation techniques (including meditation) and nutritional therapy have also had some success.6-7 • Subluxations & Trauma People who are in an accident or have suffered trauma from other causes often develop subluxations. That may be the reason that accidents and trauma have long been associated with the development of fibromyalgia.9 In one study, for example, researchers found a ten times increased risk of fibromyalgia within one year of a neck injury!10 The response of patients with fibromyalgia to chiropractic has been documented over the years. In one study 23 fibromyalgia sufferers with chronic fatigue syndrome (5 male, 18 female) who were from 11 to 76 years of age received chiropractic care. Under care, all 23 patients reported improvement and all of them maintained their improvements after one year of follow-up or more. Every patient reported that they were able to resume their normal activities including full-time work. The researchers wrote: “Improvement in symptoms of 92-100% was achieved in both these syndromes (fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome).”11 In another study of 15 women with fibromyalgia who began chiropractic care, 60% (nine) reported at least a 50% reduction in their pain symptoms, as well as less fatigue and improved sleep quality. The improvement in these three areas continued at one-month follow-up.12 • The Chiropractic Approach More frequently fibromyalgia sufferers are turning to the drug-free, natural chiropractic approach.8 And with chiropractic care they are often getting results. The role of your doctor of chiropractic is to free you from a severe form of stress found in your body: the subluxation. A subluxation is a distortion of your spine and structural system that stresses your brain, spinal cord, nerves, joints, ligaments, muscles, internal organs and other tissues. Subluxations cause disturbed body function, loss of wholeness, lowered resistance to disease, lack of energy, loss of height and premature aging. Surprisingly, a subluxation may be painless; you can have one for years and never know it while it damages your health. Over a hundred years of clinical observations have revealed that subluxations can affect your physical and mental health. • More Studies In a study published in The American Journal of Medicine, researchers found that 45.9% of people who had fibromyalgia and went to a chiropractor experienced moderate to great improvement. In the same study, antidepressant medication benefited only 36.3% of those studied and exercise was limited to a 31.8% rate of improvement.13 In another study 21 patients aged 25-70 received four weeks of chiropractic care and soft tissue stretching or passive stretching. All reported improved cervical and lumbar ranges of motion and decreased pain.14 • In Conclusion Your body’s natural healing ability has been documented to heal nearly any disease or condition.15 When your body is free from subluxations, your self-healing ability, your “inner healer,” is better able to deal with all your health problems, including fibromyalgia. Every person, whether they are suffering from a disease or not, needs a body free of subluxations. Anyone suffering from fibromyalgia should see a chiropractor for a checkup. It may make the difference between recovery and continued illness, between a life of pain and a life of ease. References 1. Buskila D, Cohen H. Comorbidity of fibromyalgia and psychiatric disorders. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2007;11(5):333–338. 2. Buskila D, Sarzi-Puttini P. Biology and therapy of fibromyalgia: genetic aspects of fibromyalgia syndrome. Arthritis Res Ther. 2006;8(5):218. 3. Berenson A. Drug approved. Is disease real? New York Times. January 14, 2008. 4. Gowans SE, deHueck A. Effectiveness of exercise in management of fibromyalgia. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2004;16(2):138-142. 5. Valim V, Oliviera L, Suda A et al. Aerobic fitness effects in fibromyalgia. J Rheumatol. 2003;30(5):1060-1069. 6. Guler M, Kirnap M, Bekaroglu M et al. Clinical characteristics of patients with fibromyalgia. Isr J Med Sci. 1992;28(1):20-23. 7. Kaplan KH, Goldenberg DL, Galvin-Nadeau M. The impact of a meditation-based stress reduction program on fibromyalgia. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 1993;15(5):284-289. 8. Wolf F, Anderson J, Harkness D et al. Prospective, longitudinal study of service utilization and costs in fibromyalgia. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 1997;40:1560-1570. 9. White KP, Carette S. Trauma and fibromyalgia: is there an association and what does it mean? Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2000;29(4):200-216. 10. Buskila D, Neumannn L, Vaisberg G et al. Increased rates of fibromyalgia following cervical spine injury: a controlled study of 161 cases of traumatic injury. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 1997;40:446-452. 11. Amalu WC. Upper cervical management of primary fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome cases. Today’s Chiropractic. May/June 2000;76-86. 12. Hain S, Hain F. Combined ischemic compression and spinal manipulation in the treatment of fibromyalgia: a preliminary estimate of dose efficacy. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 2000;23(4):225-230. 13. Wolfe F. The clinical syndrome of fibrositis. The American Journal of Medicine. 1986;81(suppl 3A):7-14. 14. Blunt KL, Rajwani MH, Guerriero RC. The effectiveness of chiropractic management of fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. 1997;20(6):389-99. 15. O’Regan B, Hirshberg C. Spontaneous Remission: An annotated bibliography. Sausalito, CA: Institute Noetic Sciences. 1993. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Healthier Children
• Healthier Children “Chiropractic care for my child? Why? Her back doesn’t bother her.” Many parents appreciate the importance of regular checkups for their children’s teeth, hearing and vision but draw a blank when it comes to a chiropractic checkup. A chiropractic checkup could be one of the most important checkups your children will ever have! The spine and structural system protect billions of nerve fibers that send messages and energy to every part of their bodies. • Toddlerhood Through Childhood Toddlerhood through childhood is a very “physical” time for children. Those first hesitant steps soon evolve into jumping, running, falls and accidents that are all part of a normal active childhood. While most falls are minor, at times they can cause nerve-damaging subluxations with serious long-term consequences.3 This is why all children need periodic chiropractic checkups. • Nerve & Energy Blockages Dis-ease is a state of disharmony in the body that can lead to lowered resistance to disease, organ malfunction (including brain malfunction) and sickness.1 Blockage of nerves in the spine and structural system is often caused by subtle structural distortions that are known as subluxations. If there is blockage of any of the nerves in the body, any nerve damage at all, then a state of “dis-ease” can develop. • The First Subluxation Health problems in childhood or even adulthood have been traced back to spinal and structural damage at birth. How can your child’s body lose its natural alignment and develop subluxations? Subluxation damage can be caused by a constricted uterus, a breech presentation or a difficult delivery. Immediately after birth, damage can occur if the baby is handled poorly. As the famous French obstetrician Frederick Leboyer has written in Birth Without Violence: We know very little about our bodies, so little that we forget the importance of the spine…. Why, when the vulnerable spine has always been curved, do we insist on holding the newborn upside down and jerking the back straight? 2 • A Family Affair Doctors of chiropractic love to see the whole family, from babies to grandparents, coming in for checkups. Many families that get regular chiropractic care report having more energy, improved health and less dependency on drugs and medication. It is not unusual to hear parents state that since starting chiropractic care their children get sick less frequently and less severely, have fewer ear infections and take less antibiotics and other drugs than their classmates.4 • Physical & Psychological Benefits Among the many observed benefits are improvements in children with hyperactivity, low mental stamina, autism, anxiety, and asthma, lack of concentration and discipline problems. Improvements in grades and IQ have also been recorded.5-10 For decades parents, clinicians and researchers have noticed positive changes in the behavioral, physical and emotional health of children under chiropractic care. The mechanisms explaining these results are varied. There is evidence that subluxation correction improves blood flow to the brain.11 • Chiropractic Checkups Are Vital If your child is suffering from any of the following common conditions, it is essential to get his/her spine and body checked for subluxations—not as a treatment for these conditions, but because all children, especially if they are ill, need healthy bodies. Being free of blockages to the flow of energy and information over his/her nervous system can make a big difference in your child’s physical and emotional health. • Asthma and wheezing • Loss of hearing • Ear infections • Eye problems • Painful joints • Vision problems • Skin conditions • Sinus problems • Weakness or fatigue • Poor concentration • Stomachaches • Irritability • Backaches • Neck aches • Bronchitis • Arthritis • Hip, leg or foot pain • Constipation • Poor coordination • Breast-feeding difficulties • Arm, hand or shoulder pain • Nervousness • Skin disorders • Poor posture • Sore throat • Colic • Allergies • Scoliosis • Croup • Numbness • Headaches • Bed-wetting • Warning Signs Because it is possible to have subluxations yet be symptom-free, all children (and their parents!) need periodic chiropractic checkups. There are, however, certain warning signs indicating that the spine and structural system may be out of alignment: • Fatigue • Joint aches • Shoulder blades flared out • One arm looks shorter • Hyperactivity • Neck tilt • Frequent falling • One leg looks shorter • “Noisy bones” • A foot turned in or out • One hip or shoulder higher than the other • Conclusion More and more families are finding that periodic chiropractic checkups for their children make a big difference in their health. Include chiropractic checkups as part of your family’s healthcare routine. References 1. Al-Jishi A, Sreekantaswamy. Dystonia associated with atlantoaxial subluxation. Clin Neurol and Neurosurg. 2000;102(4):233-235. 2. Leboyer F. Birth Without Violence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1984:21,28. 3. Eleraky MA, Theodore N, Adams M et al. Pediatric cervical spine injuries: report of 102 cases and review of the literature. J Neurosurg. 2000;92 (1 Suppl):12-17. 4. van Breda WM, van Breda JM. A comparative study of the health status of children raised under the health care models of chiropractic and allopathic medicine. Journal of Chiropractic Research. Summer 1989:101-103. 5. Giesen JM, Center DB, Leach RA. An evaluation of chiropractic manipulation as a treatment of hyperactivity in children. JMPT. 1989;12:353-363. 6. Lovett L, Blum CL. Behavioral and learning changes secondary to chiropractic care to reduce subluxations in a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a case study. JVSR. October 4, 2006;1-6. 7. Gorman RF. Chiropractic Medicine for Rejuvenation of the Mind. Darvin, Australia: The Academy of Chiropractic Medicine, 1983. 8. Gibbons PF, Gosling CM, Holmes M. The short-term effects of cervical manipulation on edge light pupil cycle time: a pilot study. JMPT. 2000;23(7). 9. Pauli Y. The effects of chiropractic care on individuals suffering from learning disabilities and dyslexia: a review of the literature. JVSR. January 15, 2007;1-12. 10. Pauli Y. Improvement in attention in patients undergoing network spinal analysis: a case series using objective measures of attention. JVSR. August 23, 2007;1-9. 11. Carrick FR. Changes in brain function after manipulation of the cervical spine. JMPT. 1997;20(8):529-545. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Headaches
• What Causes the Ache In Headache? What puts the “ache” in headache? It’s the non-brain structures: blood vessels, membranes and cranial nerves in the brain and skull. When these structures are stretched, compressed, irritated, inflamed or infected, headaches often result. The ache in headache does not come from your brain—your brain cannot feel pain. During brain surgery a patient is often wide-awake feeling nothing, even talking to the surgeons and nurses while being operated on (a local anesthetic numbs the scalp). • The Chiropractic Checkup Using his/her hands, X-ray and other instruments, your chiropractor will determine if you have a subluxation. If you do, your chiropractor will give you a safe, gentle correction or adjustment to rid your body of the subluxation and the pressure on your nerves, brain and structural system. • The Chiropractic Approach Why do millions of headache sufferers turn to the natural, drug-free chiropractic approach to health?1 That’s because chiropractic has a unique healing approach—chiropractors are the only health professionals trained to analyze your body for a serious and often ignored condition that can damage your nerves, cause tissue inflammation, cause muscles to tighten and knot, weaken your body, cause fatigue and set the stage for sickness and disease. This condition is called the subluxation. What exactly is a subluxation? It is a tiny distortion or mis-alignment in your spine and structural system that stresses your nervous system. What causes subluxations? Any physical or emotional stress that your body cannot withstand can cause your spine and structural system to develop a subluxation. Just as you may have a cavity in your tooth and be unaware of the damage it’s causing, so the subluxation may be causing serious harm to your body—sometimes for years—without your knowledge. • Why Does Chiropractic Work? Why has chiropractic been a blessing to millions of headache sufferers? The reason may be that most headache sufferers appear to be carrying around subluxations in their bodies (and don’t even know it). For example, one study of 6,000 long-term headache sufferers (suffering two to 25 years) revealed that neck damage (whiplash, falls) was the most important factor in the cause of the headache and should be suspected in every nonspecific case of headache.2 In a randomized controlled trial performed at the University of Odense, Denmark, those under chiropractic care decreased their use of painkillers by 36% and the number of headache hours per day decreased by 69%.3 Headaches affect children too. For example, a ten-year-old girl with chronic, severe migraines (six times a week for the previous three years) was unable to go to school due to the severity of her condition. Neurologists could not help her. A chiropractic examination revealed a subluxation in her upper neck. After her third adjustment she was off her pain medications and by the third week she was back in school, had started dance classes for the first time in two years and “began to smile again. She was leading a normal and healthy life … by the end of the fifth visit.”4 A 13-year-old boy who was hurt in a football game was in terrible pain and had to wear dark glasses and ear plugs to compensate for increased sensitivity to sound and light. Medical doctors had given the child painkillers and had him hospitalized in traction for two weeks with no improvement. After his first chiropractic adjustment he could ride home without wearing his sunglasses and for the first time in two weeks expressed an interest in food.5 • How Does Chiropractic Affect Headaches? For many years it has been said that the DC after a Doctor of Chiropractic’s name also stands for “Doctor of Cause”—chiropractors correct the cause of a patient’s health problems, rather than give painkillers and other drugs which only treat the symptoms or suppress the disease symptoms and drive them deeper. A team of surgeons may have found one of the answers as to why chiropractic works so well. They discovered a small neck muscle that connects to brain membranes. When the neck is out of alignment, this muscle can actually pull on the brain! As the lead surgeon writes: “An increasing body of literature relates headaches to pathology affecting the cervical spine and a number of clinical trials have demonstrated that chiropractic … is valuable for managing headache.”13 • How Long Will It Take? It depends. Some patients report dramatic relief after just one adjustment. Others may take months of care to finally resolve them. Everyone is different in how they respond to care. An analysis of 47 studies of chiropractic for headaches, neck pain and upper back pain revealed that it took (on average) 7.7 visits to see a 46.5% improvement in these conditions and 17 visits to completely resolve them.6 Many studies and clinical reports repeatedly reveal that anyone suffering from headaches should seek out chiropractic care.7-12 References 1. Eisenberg DM. Unconventional medicine in the United States. NEJM. 1993;328:246-252. 2. Braaf MM, Rosner SJ. Trauma of the cervical spine as cause of chronic headache. Trauma. 1975;15:441-446. 3. Nilsson N, Christensen HW, Hartvigsen J. The effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of cervicogenic headache. JMPT. 1997;20:326-330. 4. Bofshever, H. Encephalgia/migraine. ICPA Newsletter. Jan/Feb 2000. 5. Esch S. 13-year-old with headache, depression, poor appetite, nausea, general muscular weakness, dizziness and sensitivity to light and noise. ACA J of Chiropractic. December 1988. 6. Maltby JK, Harrison DD, Harrison D et al. Frequency & duration of chiropractic care for headaches, neck and upper back pain. JVSR. August 21, 2008;1-12. 7. Thomas JC. The Webster Technique in a 28-year-old woman with breech presentation & subluxation. JVSR. April 7, 2008;1-3. 8. Ressel O, Rudy R. BioVertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 9. Simpson J, Hawken E. Xiphodynia: a diagnostic conundrum. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2007;15:13. 10. Pauli Y. The effects of chiropractic care on individuals suffering from learning disabilities and dyslexia: a review of the literature. JVSR. January 15, 2007;1-12. 11. Lovett L, Blum C. Behavioral and learning changes secondary to chiropractic care to reduce subluxations in a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a case study. JVSR. October 4, 2006;1-6. 12. Blum CL, Cuthbert S, Williams S. Developmental delay syndromes and chiropractic: a case report. International Conference on Chiropractic Research. Vilamoura, Portugal. May 17-19, 2007. 13. 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. 1999;VI(1). © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
How Should I Feel After An Adjustment
• Peace & Relaxation Some have described a warm feeling flowing to various parts of their bodies that’s very soothing. Some have reported feeling lighter or more open, and many report feeling very relaxed or energetic, or both! Many patients have reported a feeling of deepening peace and relaxation after a Chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractic affects more than physical well-being. Most chiropractic patients find that the problems that brought them to their chiropractor soon begin to lessen after their first few visits although some people feel no difference after initial adjustments. This does not necessarily mean that they are not receiving any benefit; healing may be occurring under the surface. Occasionally a person may initially feel muscle soreness or some other uncomfortable feeling after an adjustment. When your chiropractor corrects your subluxations, thousands, if not millions, of body functions and activities are affected. The flow of nerve impulses over your brain, spinal cord and spinal (and other) nerves connecting to your internal organs and tissues is more balanced and your body begins to restore, renew and rebuild itself. • As Your Care Continues As you continue your chiropractic care and your structural and nervous systems continue to release deep stresses you may begin to notice: • Increased ability to breathe more deeply and fully. • More emotional relaxation; you don’t react so strongly to situations that earlier would have upset you. • Better balance, smoother movement and more energy. • Increased awareness of your entire body and where you tend to keep your stress. • You may spontaneously change your eating habits, feel an increased desire to exercise, go for walks or find more ways to relax. • What Causes These Reactions? • Old injuries that haven’t healed completely may “reawaken” for more complete healing. Memories and feelings associated with the original injury may also come to the surface. This phenomenon is known as “retracing” and is a part of the healing process. Retracing may not only surface as a conscious memory—old energy may release in dreams. Chiropractic patients have at times noticed that their dreams are unusual, intense or revealing after a chiropractic adjustment. • Weak, underused muscles may be working to realign your spine and structural system; they may become sore or “charley horse” for a brief period. • You are experiencing a detoxification or cleansing of your body after the adjustment. It’s especially good to drink a lot of water after your adjustment. • Some people are in such good general health that they may feel no difference, while others may feel no difference for the opposite reason—they are so ill or toxic that they have lost sensitivity to their body. • The Most Important Benefits The true benefits of the adjustment are usually found below the level of consciousness. It is when the nerve communication to the heart, lungs, joints, sexual organs, skin, eyes, ears and the brain itself is improved that the true benefits of chiropractic are experienced. Will you feel a dramatic improvement right away? Many people do, but for some it takes time. That’s because long-standing subluxations cause scar tissue or fibrosis to build up around your joints, discs and bones. This scar tissue can take months or years to fully break down. For that reason you must be patient with chiropractic care, and the wait will be worth it. • Improved Quality Of Life Studies have revealed that people under chiropractic care may experience wellness in many areas of their lives. Chiropractic patients in two studies reported improved physical and mental/emotional health, better ability to deal with stress and more life enjoyment.1-2 In other studies patients reported improved physical and general health, less bodily pain, greater vitality as well as better social functioning and mental health.3-4 In addition, improvement in conditions as varied as depression,5 autism,6 high blood pressure,7 pregnancy problems8 and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder9 have been noted. Chiropractic has been especially effective with improving the lives of the elderly. In one study of people 75 years of age and older, those under chiropractic care enjoyed better overall health, fewer chronic conditions, less days in nursing homes and hospitals, more mobility and were less likely to use prescription drugs than non-chiropractic patients. Overall 87% of chiropractic patients described their health as excellent compared to just 67.8% of non-chiropractic patients.10 • What Can YOU Expect? Chiropractic care is individualized; the care you receive will be unique for your body and needs and the benefits you receive will be unique for you. Be sensitive to your body and communicate with your chiropractor—let him or her know exactly what changes you may be experiencing after your adjustment. References 1. Marino MJ, Phillippa ML. A longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health wellness & quality of life: a preliminary study. JVSR. 1999;3(2):1-9. 2. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL. A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. JVSR. 1997;1(4):1. 3. Owens EF, Hoiriis KT, Burd D. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: PBR report. Chiropractic Research Journal. 1998;5(1):9-16. 4. Pauli Y. Quality of life improvements and spontaneous lifestyle changes in a patient undergoing subluxation-centered chiropractic care: a case study. JVSR. October 11, 2006;1-15. 5. Desaulniers AMJ. Effect of subluxation-based chiropractic care on quality of life in a patient with major depression. JVSR. April 23, 2008;1-7. 6. Hoffman N, Russell D. Improvement in a 32-year-old autistic child following chiropractic intervention to reduce vertebral subluxation. JVSR. March 24, 2008;1-4. 7. Bakris G, Dickholtz M, Meyer PM et al. Atlas vertebra realignment and achievement of arterial pressure goal in hypertensive patients: a pilot study. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2007;21:347–352. 8. Alcantara J, Hamel I. The chiropractic care of a gravid patient with a history of multiple caesarean births & sacral subluxation. JVSR. March 11, 2008;1-5. 9. Lovett L, Blum CL. Behavioral and learning changes secondary to chiropractic care to reduce subluxations in a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a case study. JVSR. October 4, 2006;1-6. 10. Study associates chiropractic with better health in the elderly. Today’s Chiropractic. November/December 1996. Originally published by the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Hip, Sacroiliac & Leg Problems
• An Engineering Masterpiece Your hips are a masterpiece of engineering. You sit on them, need them to walk (your legs connect to them) and they provide an attachment for dozens of muscles and ligaments. But like any precision instrument, if they’re not fitting just right, all kinds of problems could arise. Does one leg appear shorter than the other? Do you have leg, knee, buttock, hip or low back weakness or pain? Do your joints “click” when you walk? Do your feet flare out or in? If you answered yes, it’s time to get a chiropractic checkup. • Subluxations Can Be Corrected By Your Chiropractor Subluxations are a distortion, jamming or locking of your structural system that irritates, pulls or compresses (“pinches”) your nerves; unbalances your posture; weakens your discs; stretches your ligaments, tendons and muscles and can upset your general health. As terrible as all this sounds, many times subluxations are often initially painless. You may have one right now and not know it. • Hip Joints A joint is where two bones meet and your hips have a few of them. One of them is a ball-and-socket joint where the head (“ball”) of the thighbone meets the acetabulum (“socket”) of the hip. Another is the sacroiliac (SI) joint, formed where the sacrum and the ilium meet. And another is the symphysis pubis, where the pubic bones meet in the front (they separate a little during childbirth so the pelvic cavity can enlarge). • The Hips & Pelvis When you were born you had many more bones—in fact each of your hip bones was originally three separate bones: the ileum, ischium and pubis. They fused at about puberty. Behind your hipbones are your sacrum and coccyx; in front they form your pubic bones. Together all these bones make up your pelvis. A woman’s pelvis is wider than a man’s and is more curved—for delivering babies. • Lower Back, Thigh & Buttock Pain “Dysfunction in the hip joint may be a primary factor in the development of … lower back pain” says one report.3 Studies have implicated an unbalanced hip in most adults with low back pain.1-2 Another states: “On confronting a patient in severe pain of sciatic [leg pain] … the first thought should be “sacroiliac” not “disc” … [with] manipulation … surgical treatment is forgotten.”4 • Pelvic Organs & Your Hips The nerves from the spinal column in the lower back and hips connect to the bladder, kidneys, prostate, vagina and pelvic organs, uterus and lower intestines. It is very important to ensure that the nerves to these organs are free of any irritation, compression or stress.5 When your hips are uneven, your legs become uneven; one appears longer than the other. More pressure is placed on the long leg when you walk: the knee, hip, ankle and foot on that side of your body may show pain and pressure. This is most noticeable when you lie down and is often used as a chiropractic test. In fact, for over a century chiropractors have noticed the intimate relationship between spinal health and hip, sacroiliac and leg problems.6-7 • Hip Problems In Children Since childhood is a very physical time full of falls, accidents, cuts, scrapes and occasional serious injuries, children should have their spines checked regularly, including their hips, their leg lengths and their SI or sacroiliac joints by a doctor of chiropractic to ensure they are free of subluxations. Chiropractors and body workers have often observed that a stressful birth can damage a child’s spine and structural system and can cause problems in adult life if not corrected.11-15 • Pregnancy Pregnant women make hormones to relax their joints for easier delivery of the baby. However, if their spines are not healthy, instability of the hip (and other) joints may be revealed and may make what should be a joyous time one of pain. Chiropractic care is particularly helpful during and after pregnancy. Chiropractors have noticed that a properly aligned SI joint, hip and spine helps ensure a more comfortable pregnancy and a safer and easier delivery and post-partum recovery.8-10 • Conclusion Chiropractic checkups should be part of your family’s healthcare regime. This is especially important for children since sacroiliac and lower back problems may have their origins in childhood. Pregnant women should definitely have a chiropractic exam since the stress of pregnancy and trauma of childbirth affect the hips and entire spinal column. Why wait for a problem to arise? See your chiropractor for a checkup now. References 1. Jackson RP, Kanemura T, Kawakami N et al. Lumbopelvic lordosis and pelvic balance on repeated standing lateral radiographs of adult volunteers and untreated patients with constant low back pain. Spine. 2000;25(5):575-586. 2. Bourne IHJ. Back pain—what can we offer? British Medical Journal. 1979;I:1085. 3. Faye LJ, Hooper PD. The hips as an overlooked cause of low back pain: a case report. Chiropractic Technique. 1994;6(1):9-13. 4. Bourdillon J, Day E. Spinal Manipulation (4th Edition). Norwalk, CT/Los Altos, CA: Appleton and Lange, 1987;228-230. 5. Browning JE. Distractive manipulation protocols in treating the mechanically induced pelvic pain and organic dysfunction patient. Chiropractic Technique. 1995;7(1):1-11. 6. Rose KA, Kim WS. The effect of chiropractic care for a 30-year-old male with advanced ankylosing spondylitis: a time series case report. JMPT. 2003;26(8):524-532. 7. Cassidy JD, Kirkady-Willis WH, McGregor M. Spinal manipulation for the treatment of chronic low back and leg pain: an observational study. In AA Buerger & PE Greenman (Eds.), Empirical Approaches to the Validation of Spinal Manipulation. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1985. 8. Berg G et al. Low back pain during pregnancy. Obstetrics Gynecology. 1988;71:71-75. 9. Wentling P. More on OMT in obstetric care. Journal of the AOA. 1975;74. 10. Adams JP. Chiropractic and nutritional management and its effect on the fertility of a diabetic amenorrheal patient: a case report bio. JVSR. October 12, 2003:1-2. 11. Mierau DR, Cassidy JD et al. Sacroiliac joint dysfunction and low back pain in school aged children. JMPT. 1984;7(2):81-84. 12. Lewit K. Functional disorders (fixations) of the spine in children. Manuelle Therapie. 1973:50-54. 13. Biedermann HJ. Kinematic imbalances due to suboccipital strain in newborns. Manual Medicine. 1992;6:151-156. 14. Stone-McCoy PA, Grande NA, Roy I. Reduction of congenital torticollis in a four month old child with vertebral subluxation: a case report & review of literature. JVSR. January 7, 2008:1-8. 15. Anderson C. The consequences of birth trauma. A case report of failure to thrive in an infant with cephalohematoma and congenital torticollis. The Chiropractor’s Choice. June 2004:15. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Hyperactivity & Learning Disorders
• Hyperactivity & Learning Disorders In a little more than one generation childhood neurological/learning/psychological disorders have gone from rare occurrences to epidemic proportion with 3 to 7 percent of children in the United States being considered to have ADHD. Some estimate this as high as 15% and this is without including other disorders.. Between 6.5 million and 9 million adults in the US have ADHD.3 • What Causes These Disorders? Why are these disorders so prevalent? Medical historian Harris Coulter, PhD and a growing number of scientists, medical doctors and parents claim this increase is largely due to childhood vaccinations that are neurotoxic (poisonous to the brain): A large proportion of the millions of U.S. children and adults suffering from autism, seizures, mental retardation, hyperactivity, dyslexia, and other … “developmental disabilities,” owe their disorders to one or another of the vaccines against childhood diseases.4 In addition to vaccination, other stressors that have been linked to neurological damage include head trauma, birth trauma, severe burns, infectious diseases, accidents and falls.6-7 • Is The Answer Drugs For Our Children? According to Peter Breggin, MD psychiatric drugs are dangerous. Psychiatric drugs such as RitalinTM are given to children to treat their symptoms. RitalinTM can cause drug-induced behavioral disorders, mania, psychosis, drug abuse, permanent neurological tics, growth retardation and addiction. Other side effects include dizziness, loss of appetite, blurred vision, headaches, lightheadedness, dry mouth, stomach upset, sleeplessness, irritability, constipation, weight loss, nervousness, pounding heart, difficulty urinating, mood changes and yellowing eyes and skin. The drugs given to hyperactive children can frequently cause the very same problems they are supposed to treat: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.9 Parents are concerned about their children taking these drugs for years and the possible drug abuse, side effects and dependency that can develop as a result. “Is there another way,” they ask? • The Chiropractic Approach For decades clinicians and parents have reported on the effectiveness of chiropractic care for children with many kinds of neurological conditions including learning disorders, hyperactivity, dyslexia, inability to concentrate and behavior problems. Some of the case histories below that have appeared in peer review journals underline chiropractic’s effectiveness with improving brain function. • Case Histories A five-year-old boy diagnosed with ADHD, difficult behavior and facial tics was on RitalinTM, AdderallTM and HaldolTM for three years. After eight weeks of chiropractic care his facial tics resolved and his behavior vastly improved. The child’s pediatrician said he no longer exhibited ADHD symptoms.10 An eight-year-old boy had many learning and behavioral disorders associated with ADHD that seemed to begin after a fall 18 months prior. For the past 18 months the child’s symptoms had remained virtually unchanged. After two months of chiropractic care his mother noted positive changes in behavior and a reduction in his complaints of headaches and neck pain symptoms. In addition, reports from his teachers remarked on the positive changes in his behavior and improvements in academic performance.11 • Research Studies Nine ADHD patients (4 male, 5 female, 22 to 58 years old) were evaluated with the Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.TM) before care. All patients had abnormal ADHD scores. After two months of care, all patients had a significant change in ADHD score with 88% completely normalized.13 Others have observed chiropractic’s effect on hyperactivity: “The majority of the children … did, in fact, improve under specific chiropractic care.”14 Other studies indicate that structural care may improve I.Q.15 One of the earliest and most dramatic studies on the benefits of chiropractic care occurred in a Kentucky reform school after 244 children were given chiropractic care. The results so impressed the teachers that they wrote a letter to the governor requesting full time chiropractic care at the school. They wrote (in part), “[The students] improved in health … school work … there has been a marked improvement in their moral life.”16 How does chiropractic improve brain function? Present research indicates that one mechanism appears to be that chiropractic improves blood flow to the brain.17-18 There may be other mechanisms as well that will explain why chiropractic has been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety, enhancing well-being and improving brain function.19 Chiropractic adjustments appear to balance nerve reflexes in the spinal cord.20-21 • Literature Review Eight studies were reviewed with a total of 25 anecdotal reports. All the studies suggested a positive effect from chiropractic care in individuals suffering from learning disabilities and dyslexia. The author writes: “There seems to exist a potential role for chiropractic care in improving various cognitive modalities known to be essential in learning.”12 • In Conclusion Chiropractic, by releasing stress on the brain, spinal cord and related nerves and structures, can benefit all children and adults, especially those suffering from neurological disorders. In addition to working with chiropractors, parents are enlisting the help of nutritionists, homeopaths, craniosacral therapists, medical doctors and other healers to improve their children’s and their own life expression. While seriously afflicted individuals certainly benefit from chiropractic care, so-called “normal” or “average” children benefit as well. Students are better able to realize their full potential. All children should visit a chiropractor for a checkup; all children deserve the benefits of chiropractic. References 1. E medicine consumer health. July 13, 2004. www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/41743-1.asp. 2. Jacobson MF, Schardt D. Diet, ADHD & behavior: a quarter-century review. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 1999. 3. Morrow DJ. Attention disorder is found in growing number of adults. New York Times. September 2, 1997;A1,D4. 4. Coulter H. Vaccination, Social Violence and Criminality. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books. 1990;xiii. 5. Wall Street Journal. August 1, 2003;1. 6. Wrightson P, McGinn V, Gronwall D. Mild head injury in preschool children: evidence that it can be associated with a persisting cognitive defect. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1995;59:375-380. 7. Di Stefano G, Radanov BP. Course of attention and memory after common whiplash: a two-year prospective study with age, education and gender pair-matched patients. Acta Neurol Scand. 1995;91:346-352. 8. Breggin PM. Talking Back to Ritalin: What Doctors Aren’t Telling You About Stimulants and ADHD. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press, 2001. 9. Morrow, ibid. 10. Bastecki AV, Harrison DE, Haas JW. Cervical kyphosis is a possible link to attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. JMPT. 2004;27(8);525. 11. Lovett L, Blum C. Behavioral and learning changes secondary to chiropractic care to reduce subluxations in a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a case study. JVSR. October 4, 2006;1-6. 12. Pauli Y. The effects of chiropractic care on individuals suffering from learning disabilities and dyslexia: a review of the literature. JVSR. January 15, 2007;1-12. 13. Pauli Y. Improvement in attention in patients undergoing Network Spinal Analysis: a case series using objective measures of attention. JVSR. August 23, 2007;1-9. 14. Giesen JM et al. An evaluation of chiropractic manipulation as a treatment of hyperactivity in children. JMPT. 1989;12:353-363. 15. Mathews MO & Thomas E. A pilot study of applied kinesiology in helping children with learning disabilities. BOJ. 1993;X11. 16. Marshall LT. Chiropractic success in a reform school report of state supervisor of chiropractors of Kentucky in connection with Kentucky houses of reform, Greendale, Kentucky. December 1, 1931;7. 17. Terrett AGJ. Cerebral dysfunction: a theory to explain some effects of chiropractic manipulation. Chiropractic Technique. 1993;5:168-173. 18. Gorman RF. Chiropractic medicine for rejuvenation of the mind. Darvin, Australia: Academy of Chiropractic Medicine,1983. 19. Goff PJ, McConnell E, Paone P. The effect of chiropractic adjustment on frontalis EMG potentials, spinal ranges of motion and anxiety level. Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. 1991;7(1):4-9. 20. Yates RG, Lamping DL, Abram NL, Wright C. Effects of chiropractic treatment on blood pressure and anxiety. JMPT. 1988;11:484-488. 21. Kent C. Models of vertebral subluxation: a review. JVSR. 1996;1(1):11-17. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Infants & Babies
• Starting Your Baby Out Right! You do everything you can to make sure your baby is healthy. You do so many things to ensure your baby’s health: during pregnancy you eat right; you avoid cigarettes, alcohol and all drugs (vaccinations, aspirin, cold, flu and other over-the-counter medications can damage your unborn child or cause problems in pregnancy); and you explore natural, drug-free birth alternatives. After the baby arrives, you (hopefully) breastfeed knowing that it is the superior form of nutrition for your baby’s physical, intellectual and emotional health. But how do you know if your child’s spine is healthy? Have you had your baby’s spine checked? Your child’s health can be affected by an unhealthy spine for his/her entire life. Your doctor of chiropractic is specially trained to check your child’s spine for areas of distortion causing nerve damage—the subluxation complex (subluxations). • The Spine & Infant Health With the birth process becoming more and more an intervening procedure, the chiropractic adjustment becomes even more important to the child’s future.3 — Larry Webster, DC, founder of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association Research is confirming chiropractors’ observations that infants may suffer from spinal subluxations. In one study, 1,250 babies were examined five days after birth; 211 of them suffered from vomiting, hyperactivity and sleeplessness. Subluxations were found in 95% of this group. Although the researchers in this study were MDs, they recognized the power of chiropractic care and these babies were given the care they needed. The spinal adjustment “frequently resulted in immediate quieting, cessation of crying, muscular relaxation and sleepiness.” The authors noted that an unhealthy spine causes “many clinical features from central motor impairment to lower resistance to infections—especially ear, nose and throat infections.”4 The above study discusses an 18-month-old boy suffering from tonsillitis, frequent enteritis, therapy-resistant conjunctivitis, frequent colds, earache and increasing sleeping problems. He received a chiropractic spinal adjustment. The child demanded to be put to bed and slept peacefully until morning. His health returned to normal. One wonders, what would have happened to this child if he never had chiropractic care? A life of antibiotics and other medications? A life of continued sickness? The authors of the above-mentioned study concluded that a chiropractic spinal checkup “should be obligatory after every difficult birth” and any spinal stress “should be … adjusted … the success of adjustment overshadows every other type (of care).”5 In another study of 1093 newborns, 298 had upper neck stress and early signs of scoliosis.6 Surely too many children are born with subluxations that left uncorrected could hinder their health for the rest of their lives. • The First Subluxation–Birth Trauma Sometimes a newborn’s spine is harmed at birth.1 How can that occur? According to Abraham Towbin, MD: The birth process … is potentially a traumatic, crippling event … mechanical stress imposed by obstetrical manipulation—even the application of standard orthodox procedures may prove intolerable to the fetus … most signs of neonatal injury observed in the delivery room are neurological.2 For over a hundred years doctors of chiropractic have observed the often dramatic responses of infants to chiropractic care. There seems to be no limit to the conditions that can respond to chiropractic care: colic;7-10 difficulty breast-feeding;11-12 Erb’s palsy (an arm is limp and undeveloped);13 torticollis (twisted neck);14-15 unbalanced face and skull development;16 foot inversion;17 “nervousness;” ear, nose and throat infections;18 allergies and sleep disorders;19 and projectile vomiting20 are just a sampling. All infants however, sick or well, need to have a healthy structural system. • Shaken Baby Syndrome Because babies are very top heavy and their neck muscles are undeveloped, mild to moderate shaking of a child can result in serious neurological damage. This damage has been known to occur after playfully throwing the child up in the air and catching him/her. The damage caused is called Shaken Baby Syndrome. In addition to being shaken or thrown, being spanked can also cause structural or neurological damage to a child. Any child who has been subjected to this rough behavior desperately needs a chiropractic checkup to prevent possible nerve damage. • When Does A Baby Need A Chiropractic Checkup? According to the chiropractic pediatric specialist Larry Webster, DC, there are six times in a baby’s first year of life when chiropractic examinations are especially important: • When the baby starts to crawl. • When the baby starts to stand. • When the baby starts to walk.21 • After the birth process. • When the baby starts to hold his/her head up. • When the baby sits up. • Conclusion Give your baby the best possible chance to have a healthy life. You have your baby’s eyes checked, heart checked, hearing checked—please bring your child(ren) in for a chiropractic exam. A simple checkup now might make a BIG difference for your child(ren) for the rest of their lives. Our children deserve to be treated naturally, not with dangerous chemical drugs and unproven surgeries. References 1. Uhing MR. Management of birth injuries. Clin Perinatol. 2005;32(1):19-38,v. 2. Towbin A. Latent spinal cord and brain stem injury in newborn infants. Develop. Med. Child Neurol. 1969;11:54-68. 3. Webster L. Int’l. Chiropractic Pediatric Association Newsletter. May 1990:1. 4. Gutman G. Blocked atlantal nerve syndrome in babies and infants. Manuelle Medizin, 1987;25:5-10. 5. Ibid. 6. Seifert J. Die kopfgelenksblockierung des neugeborenen. In K. Lewit & G. Gutmann (Eds.). Rehabilitacia (Vol. 8). Prague: Bratislawa. 1975:53. 7. Ressel O, Rudy R. Vertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 8. Nilsson N. Infantile colic and chiropractic. Eur J Chiro. 1985;33:264-265. 9. Pluhar GR, Schobert PD. Vertebral subluxation and colic: a case study. J of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. 1991;7:75-76. 10. Wiberg JMM, Nordsteen J, Nilsson N. The short-term effect of spinal manipulation in the treatment of infantile colic: a randomized controlled clinical trial with a blinded observer. JMPT. 1999;22(8):517-522. 11. Sheader WE. Chiropractic management of an infant experiencing breast-feeding difficulties and colic: a case study. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1999;4(1):245-247. 12. Cuhel JM, Powell M. Chiropractic management of an infant patient experiencing colic and difficulty breast-feeding: a case report. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1997;2(2):150-154. 13. Harris SL, Wood KW. Resolution of infantile Erb’s palsy utilizing chiropractic treatment. JMPT. 1993;16:415-418. 14. Stone PA et al. Reduction of congenital torticollis in a four-month-old child with vertebral subluxation: a case report & review of literature. JVSR. January 7, 2008;1-8. 15. Toto BJ. Chiropractic correction of congenital muscular torticollis. JMPT. 1993;16:556-559. 16. Gutmann G. Ibid. 17. Ellis WB, Ebrall PS. The resolution of chronic inversion and plantarflexion of the foot: a pediatric case study. Chiropractic Technique. 1991;3(2). 18. Fryman V. Relations of disturbances of cranio-sacral mechanisms to symptomatology of the newborn. JAOA. 1966;65:1059. 19. Munck LK, Hoffman H, Nielsen AA. Treatment of infants in the first year of life by chiropractors: incidents and reasons for seeking treatment. Ugeskr Laeger.1988;150:1841-1844. 20. Van Loon M. Colic with projectile vomiting: a case study. J of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1998;3(1):207-210. 21. Webster L. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association certification program, Module 1. Toronto, Canada, March 11, 1995. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Low Back Pain
• What Does Your Chiropractor Do? Once your chiropractor frees you of subluxations, your body and mind function better. Your chiropractor is specially trained to locate and free your body from a severe abnormality that interferes with your proper function called a subluxation. A slight misalignment or distortion of your structural system, including your spine, that affects your discs, nerves, ligaments and ultimately, your entire body. • Low Back Pain Low back pain is very, very common. About 85 percent of the population will experience disabling low back pain at least once during their lives! That’s almost all of us. The problem is so bad that, according to one researcher, at any given time 6.8% of the US adult population is suffering from an episode of back pain lasting more than two weeks.1 That’s a lot of bad backs. The estimated cost of this problem in the US is over $100 billion a year.2 • More Than Low Back Pain When you hear the word chiropractic do you think of care for back and neck complaints? Many people do and yet the world’s first chiropractic patient (1895) was deaf and recovered his hearing after a chiropractic adjustment. The second chiropractic patient was relieved of a heart condition. Thousands soon praised chiropractic for saving them from headaches, colds, allergies, asthma, sciatica, arthritis, seizures, ear infections, stomach trouble, gynecological problems and many other conditions including back pain. • Surgery And Medical Treatments Standard medical approach to back pain varies depending on the severity of the condition. Muscle relaxants, painkillers, rest and physical therapy such as traction, diathermy, ultrasound, hot packs and cold packs are sometimes used. These approaches are often found wanting however.3 Even bed rest has been found ineffective for a serious form of back and leg pain called sciatica.4 If the problem doesn’t improve or worsens then surgery may be recommended. The medical approach is at times necessary—even back surgery has a place. However, research is revealing that spinal surgery for acute lower back problems should rarely be performed.5 The most complex (and expensive) back surgeries are increasing and much of it is unnecessary. 6 “The most complex type of back surgery has increased dramatically between 2002 and 2007, with a 15-fold increase,” says co-author Richard Deyo, MD, MPH. In 2002, the rate of complex surgery was 1.4 per 100,000 people in Medicare. It jumped to 19.9 per 100,000 just five years later. 7 • Failed Back Surgery Syndrome Many of those who have had back surgery report a recurrence of their symptoms within a year or two of the operation and may return to the operating table. This has been referred to as failed back surgery syndrome. It causes severe and constant pain. Of the nearly 300,000 back surgeries performed each year, 20 to 40% fail.8 For example, Lynn Johnson, MD, of the American Academy of Pain Medicine states: “Just about any approach is better than having surgery because all the studies have shown that, if you take a surgical population and non-surgical population, they all seem to do the same in five years.” He supports conservative measures such as chiropractic before suggesting surgery.10 Studies reveal that spinal surgery is no better than less invasive care; “Outcomes after five years are similar when surgical and non-surgical approaches are compared….”9 • The Chiropractic Approach Research studies repeatedly reveal that chiropractic helps those with lower back pain to recover faster and at less cost.11-13 Chiropractors have helped millions of people with low back problems, often saving them from pain, disability, drugs and surgery. The chiropractor’s purpose is to gently and painlessly rebalance and realign your spine and structural system to relieve pressure on your nerves, discs and muscles. Major government studies from the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand have reaffirmed what chiropractic patients have been telling their friends with back pain for years: “Why don’t you see my chiropractor? You’ll get better much faster than from drugs or surgery—and it’s safer too.” Studies repeatedly reveal that chiropractic care is more effective than other approaches for low back pain. In one study of 700,000 people whose health insurance plan covered chiropractic care, it was estimated that $16 million was saved as a result of using chiropractic.14 As one study concluded: “Chiropractic was particularly effective in those with fairly intractable pain—that is, those with a history of severe pain…. The percentage of chiropractic patients who were ‘very satisfied’ with the care they received for low back pain was triple that for patients of family physicians.”15 Why are the results so overwhelmingly in favor of chiropractic? Because painkillers, muscle relaxants, Valium™, braces, physical therapy and surgery are not designed to correct subluxations. Chiropractic is! • In Conclusion For over a hundred years people with all kinds of health conditions have visited their doctors of chiropractic. Many have initially come for back pain, but then discovered so many other ways chiropractic care can help them and their family. The goal of chiropractic is to free your body from subluxations, permitting realignment of your entire structural system and releasing stress on your nervous system so your entire body may function at its optimum. References 1. Deyo RA. Description epidemiology of lower-back pain and its related medical care in the United States. Spine. 1987;12(3):264-268. 2. Legorreta AP, Metz RD, Nelson CD. Comparative analysis of individuals with and without chiropractic coverage. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2004;164:1985-1992. 3. Acute low back problems in adults. Clinical Practice Guideline No. 14. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, Maryland, Dec. 1994. 4. Patrick CAJ, Vroomen MD, Marc CTFM et al. Lack of effectiveness of bed rest for sciatica. The New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;340:418-423. 5. Acute low back problems in adults. Clinical Practice Guideline No. 14. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, Maryland, Dec. 1994. 6. Epstein NE, Hood DC. “Unnecessary” spinal surgery: A prospective 1-year study of one surgeon’s experience. Surg. Neurol Int. 2011;2:83. 7. Deyo RA, Mirza SK, Martin BJ et al. Trends, major medical complications and charges associated with surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis in older adults. JAMA. 2010;303:1259-1265. 8. Manca A, Kumar K, Taylor RS et al. Quality of life, resource consumption and costs of spinal cord stimulation versus conventional medical management in neuropathic pain patients with failed back surgery syndrome (PROCESS trial). Eur J Pain. 2008;12(8):1047-1058. 9. McCulloch JA. Focus issue on lumbar disc herniation: macro- and microdiscectomy [Review]. Spine. 1996;21(24 Suppl):45S-56S. 10. Hilton L. Failed back syndrome: the disturbing statistics: presented at DG DISPATCH – AAPM. Doctor’s Guide News. February 20, 2001. 11. Wilkey A, Gregory M, Byfield D, McCarthy PW. A comparison between chiropractic management and pain clinic management for chronic low-back pain in a national health service outpatient clinic. J Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 2008;14(5):465–473. 12. Chou R, Qaseem A, Snow V. Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2007;147(7):478–491. 13. Haas M, Sharma R, Stano M. Cost-effectiveness of medical and chiropractic care for acute and chronic low back pain. JMPT. 2005;28(8): 555-563. 14. Legorreta AP, Metz RD, Nelson CF et al. Comparative analysis of individuals with and without chiropractic coverage. Patient characteristics, utilization, and costs. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2004;164:1985-1992. 15. Meade TW, Dyer S et al. Low back pain of mechanical origin: randomised comparison of chiropractic and hospital outpatient treatment. British Medical Journal. 1990;300:431-437. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Migraines & Cluster Headaches
• Not A Tension Headache Migraines are different from the more common tension headaches. Migraines usually involve the entire head, come on suddenly and may include nausea and vomiting if they are very severe. In the beginning, spots or lines or colored lights may dance before your eyes. Soon a whole plethora of symptoms may ensue: redness, swelling, tearing, muscle contraction, hallucinations, irritability, depression, numbness, constipation or diarrhea and sometimes even a feeling of well-being! This is your warning. Then the pain hits! It can range from minor discomfort to immobilizing agony and can last from minutes to days. The pain most likely occurs on only one side of the head along with nausea and vomiting. This is the classic migraine that affects millions of people, including children.1 The majority of sufferers are women.2 • The Cluster Headache Cluster headaches affect men between 20 and 40 the most. Cluster headache come on abruptly, with intense throbbing pain arising high in one nostril and spreading behind the eye on that side of the face. The attacks tend to occur from once to several times daily in clusters lasting weeks or even months. Without apparent reason the cluster subsides as quickly as it began. • Treatment A headache arising from visual problems can often be cured by eyeglasses. An infection headache of the sinuses or ears is relieved when the infection subsides. But the most common headaches are usually treated with painkillers. This does not get to the cause of the problem but addresses only the symptoms. Of course, to someone experiencing intense pain, symptom relief is no small thing. However, the hundreds of millions of dollars spent each year on everything from aspirin and aspirin substitutes to codeine and prescription drugs may provide relief from headaches but don’t correct the cause or prevent recurrence. •The Chiropractic Checkup Using his or her hands, X-ray, scales and other instruments, your chiropractor will determine if you have subluxations in your body. If you have them then he/she will give you a chiropractic adjustment or correction to remove them which will improve your body function and promote your natural healing ability. • Can Chiropractic Help Me? Chiropractors are the only healthcare professionals trained to analyze and correct subluxations which are tiny distortions in your spine and structural system that affect your nerves, joints, discs and internal organs, including your brain. For over a century chiropractic’s natural, drug-free approach to health has been a blessing to migraine and cluster headache sufferers. This common condition can weaken your body, cause fatigue and pain, lower vitality and set the stage for sickness and disease. When subluxations are corrected your body can better restore itself to a greater level of health and wholeness—to better heal itself. • The Spine/Headache Relationship Research reveals migraine sufferers have abnormal nerve firings in the brain and spinal cord.3 This may be why chiropractic helps so many migraine sufferers and it dovetails with prior findings that headaches can be caused by structural distortions. A study of 6,000 people who suffered from recurring headaches for two to 25 years showed that spine injury was the most important factor in the cause of the headache and should be suspected in every case of recurring headache.4-5 • Chiropractic & Migraines There are many studies showing the benefits of the drug-free, natural healing approach of chiropractic for migraine sufferers.6-9 For example, in one study chiropractic care resulted in a reduction of 90% of migraine episodes with the length of each migraine reduced by 38%. In addition, medication use dropped 94% and other symptoms associated with migraine such as nausea, vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia (light and sound sensitivity) were reduced.10 In a six-month study, half of 127 migraine sufferers were given chiropractic care while the other half were not. Twenty-two percent of the chiropractic group reported more than 90% reduction in migraines after two months and about 50% in the group reported significant decline in severity of migraines.11 One ten-year-old girl with chronic, severe migraine (six times a week for the past three years) was under treatment by a neurologist at a children’s hospital. She was unable to go to school. Chiropractic examination revealed upper neck subluxations. After five adjustments she was back in school and leading a normal and healthy life.13 In one study a 28-year-old woman with severe migraine headaches since she was a teenager as well as irregular menstrual cycles and inability to conceive began chiropractic care. Two months later she reported no headaches. A regular menstrual cycle began seven weeks into care and within six months she became pregnant.12 • In Conclusion If there are subluxations in the body, no amount of drugs will correct them—a chiropractic adjustment is essential. Anyone suffering from headache of any type would do well to see their chiropractor to ensure that they are free of subluxations. References 1. Pakalnis A. New avenues in treatment of paediatric migraine: a review of the literature. Fam Prac. 2001;18(1):101-106. 2. Stewart WF, Lipton RB, Celentano DD, Reed ML. Prevalence of migraine headache in the United States. JAMA. 1992;267:64-69. 3. Neergaard L. Migraines are unique brain disorder. Associated Press. June 12, 2000. 4. Braaf MM, Rosner SJ. Trauma of the cervical spine as cause of chronic headache. Trauma. 1975;15:441-446. 5. Margulies S. The postconcussion syndrome after mild head trauma, part II: is migraine underdiagnosed? J Clin Neurosci. 2000;7(6):495-499. 6. Ressel O, Rudy R. Vertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints; an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 7. Simpson J, Hawken E. Xiphodynia: A diagnositc conundrum. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2007;15:13. 8. Bogduk N. The anatomical basis for cervicogenic headache. JMPT. 1992;15(1):67-70.. 9. Kreeft J. Headache following whiplash. In Spine: State of the art reviews: Cervical Flexion-Extension/Whiplash Injuries. Sept 1993:395. 10. Tuchin PJ. A case series of migraine changes following a manipulative therapy trial. Australasian Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 1997;66(3):85-91. 11. Tuchin PJ, Pollard H, Bonello R. A randomized controlled trial of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine. JMPT. 2000;23(2):91-95. 12. Vilan R. The role of chiropractic care in the resolution of migraine headaches and infertility. Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics. 2004;6(1):338-341. 13. Bofshever H. Encephalgia/migraine. ICPA Newsletter. Jan/Feb 2000. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Muscle Spasms & Trigger Points
• How Do You Feel In The Morning? Do you feel old and stiff with morning fatigue, sleeping problems, tight muscles and many tender spots (trigger points)? Do you frequently feel the need to stretch or have constant aches and pains in your low back, hips and neck? • Most Of Your Body Over 60% of your body is nerve, muscle and bone so it should come as no surprise that irritation, strain, chronic pain, spasm, inflammation, trigger points or other neuro-musculo-skeletal (nerve-muscle-bone) conditions are so common. In fact, many of the millions of people who visit doctors of chiropractic do so because of these problems. • Trigger Points You may first discover trigger points when you are surprised by someone pressing a seemingly pain-free area. Trigger points are tender, sensitive areas that when pressed, stuck, heated or cooled can be exquisitely painful. This pain may also be referred to and felt in other areas of the body. Trigger points are common in chronic muscle spasm, pain, inflammation, fibrositis, strain and sprain, and other muscle and joint problems.1 • What is the Cause The cause of this mystery illness, may, at least in part, be spinal trauma. In one study, adults with neck injuries had a 13-fold increase of neuromuscular pain and fibromyalgia within one year of their injury.5 Others have found similar associations.6 • Do Physical Therapy & Injections Work? For standard medicine, how to best deal with the symptoms of muscle spasm, trigger points and similar problems is a mystery.2 Limted success is had with medical treatments such as novocaine, procaine and xylocaine injections; cooling sprays; muscle relaxant drugs; cortisone injections; and other drugs have been tried with mixed results.3 Heat, massage and other modalities. • The Chiropractic Approach Those suffering from muscle spasm, trigger points, neuromuscular pain and problems, fibromyalgia and similar symptoms are seeing chiropractors in record numbers7 because they are getting results. For example, in one study five men and 18 women, aged 11 to 76 with chronic fatigue syndrome, trigger point pain and fibromyalgia, who had been suffering from 2 to 35 years, began chiropractic care. After a series of spinal adjustments, every patient was able to resume normal activities including full time work and maintained their improvements one year later at follow-up. The authors of the study write: “Improvement in symptoms of 92-100% was achieved in both these syndromes….”8 In another study, 45.9% of those with trigger points, muscle pain and fibromyalgia experienced moderate to great improvement under chiropractic care while antidepressant medication benefited 36.3% and exercise helped 31.8%.9 In another study, 60% of patients had at least a 50% reduction in pain symptoms with chiropractic.10 Similar results were found with those suffering from fibromyalgia and neck pain with tender/trigger points, numbness and tingling.11-12 • Subluxations Chiropractors locate and correct subluxations, tiny distortions in your spinal column and structural system that damage nerves, muscles, fascia, meninges and other tissues. Subluxations can alter the concentration of enzymes and other chemicals necessary for skeletal muscle health13 which may play a role in muscle diseases. Chronic hyperactivity of sympathetic nerves is detrimental to the tissues and organs which they innervate and may be related to musculoskeletal dysfunction in the spinal area.15 Compression of a nerve interferes with impulse transmission, causing muscle paralysis, vasodilation and trophic ulcers.14 Subluxations cause joints to “freeze” or lose normal movement, causing damage to the involved area. Movement is essential for the prevention of contracture and adhesion formation within the joint….16 • Conclusion Doctors of chiropractic spend thousands of hours and many years learning how to correct subluxations using the art of the chiropractic adjustment. The adjustment removes severe stress from the spine and structural system as well as related nerve and other tissues including the muscles, bones, joints, ligaments and other soft tissues. This permits your body to work better, thus permitting you to better heal yourself. After your chiropractic adjustment your head is more balanced in relationship with gravity, your hips and shoulders are more level and stress is taken off the joints and muscles throughout your body. Because less of your energy goes into supporting an unbalanced spine and skeleton, you may immediately discover more energy, greater ease in movement and improved relaxation. A healthy structural system can make the difference between a life of pain, suffering and disability and one of ease, happiness and freedom. Anyone with muscle spasms or trigger points or with any health problem should see a doctor of chiropractic to make sure that their body is free from subluxations. References 1. Cailliet R. Soft Tissue, Pain and Disability. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company. 1979. 2. Fibromyalgia. Harvard Medical School Health Letter. July 1990. 3. Keim H. How To Care For Your Back. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 1981;128. 4. Kraus H. Clinical Treatment of Back and Neck Pain. NY: McGraw Hill, 1970. 5. Buskila D, Neumannn L, Vaisberg G et al. Increased rates of fibromyalgia following cervical spine injury: a controlled study of 161 cases of traumatic injury. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 1997;40:446-452. 6. White KP, Carette S. Trauma and fibromyalgia: is there an association and what does it mean? Seminars in Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2000;29(4):200-216. 7. Wolf F, Anderson J, Harkness D et al. Prospective, longitudinal study of service utilization and costs in fibromyalgia. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 1997;40:1560-1570. 8. Amalu WC. Upper cervical management of primary fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome cases. Today’s Chiropractic. May/June 2000;76-86. 9. Wolfe F. The clinical syndrome of fibrositis. American Journal of Medicine. 1986;81(suppl 3A):7-14. 10. Hain S, Hain F. Combined ischemic compression and spinal manipulation in the treatment of fibromyalgia: a preliminary estimate of dose efficacy. JMPT. 2000;23(4):225-230. 11. Blunt KL, Rajwani MH, Guerriero RC. The effectiveness of chiropractic management of fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study. JMPT. 1997;20(6):389-399. 12. Bablis P, Pollard H, Bonello R. Neuro Emotional Technique for the treatment of trigger point sensitivity in chronic neck pain sufferers: a controlled clinical trial. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2008;16(4). 13. Komarov GP et al. Trophic influences of the nervous system: their biochemical basis and disturbances in skeletal muscle. Neuro Sci Behave Physiol. 1973;6(2):175-187. 14. Haldeman S. The safety-pin cycle. Int Rev Chiro. 1973;28(10):14-24. 15. Dishman R. Review of the literature supporting a scientific basis for the chiropractic subluxation complex. JMPT. 1985;8:163-174. 16. Ibid. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Neck Problems
• The Amazing Incredible Neck Your amazing neck balances your heavy head as it turns, tilts and twists without damaging its vital occupants. Your neck is packed with all kinds of things: bones (vertebrae), blood vessels, nerves, glands, voice box (larynx), esophagus (food pipe), trachea (windpipe), connective tissue, discs, muscles, ligaments, tendons and other structures. • Your Cervical Spine Cervix, the Latin word for neck, means “a constricted area.” The uterus and urinary bladders also have a neck or cervix as does that part of your body that connects your head to your torso. You have seven neck bones (also called cervical vertebrae) and they are numbered C-1 to C-7 from top to bottom. Your top cervical vertebra, C-1, has a special name—the atlas—because, like Atlas in Greek mythology, it balances a globe, your skull. The next one is C-2 and it also has a special name—the axis—because it permits your neck to move in many different directions. All your vertebrae work together to balance your head and protect your spinal cord, an extension of your brain that lies in your neck. This protection is extremely important because a spinal cord injury can result in paralysis or death. • Disc Damage & Osteoarthritis If your spine is unhealthy, you may lose your normal neck curve and suffer from pain, nerve irritation and disc degeneration. Although many doctors tell their patients that this is due to age, disc degeneration can be found in young children while some older adults are relatively free of it. One of the most common causes of disc degeneration is years of uncorrected subluxations. Over time uncorrected subluxation degeneration causes arthritic changes in the vertebrae such as lipping or spurring (bony growths), disc thinning and deterioration. • Nerve Problems Your cervical spinal nerves lie in small openings between your vertebrae. These nerves can become irritated, inflamed, compressed or “pinched” if your structural system is even slightly distorted or out of its proper position. That can cause head, neck, face, shoulder, elbow, arm, wrist, hand and finger pain; numbness; pins and needles; increased sensitivity or other symptoms. The most common cause of nerve, blood vessel and spinal cord pressure is a condition chiropractors call a subluxation, where your vertebrae are slightly out of position and your nerves are irritated.1 • Is Your Head On Straight? Imagine you are carrying a bowling ball. But instead of carrying it closely at your side you hold it just a few inches from your body. You’d get tired very quickly! It’s the same with your head. If it’s just a tiny bit off-center you will start to suffer from fatigue as well as stress and pain involving your neck, shoulders, lower back, discs, hips, arms, knees and feet. • Causes Of Subluxations There are many ways we can get a subluxation: a difficult birth, a fall (even as far back as childhood), an accident, working in one position for a long period and emotional tension. The most serious neck injuries—fracture, dislocation or severe tissue damage—can be fatal if not given emergency medical care. Most other neck problems, although not life-threatening, can impair your health if not corrected. Whiplash injury is a common cause of neck subluxations. Whiplash and neck injury sufferers may complain of headaches; vision problems;2 dizziness; ringing in the ears; decreased attention span; learning and memory impairments; emotional changes; nasal, tongue and throat problems.3-5 Chiropractic care realigns the vertebrae and removes stress from nerves. Many people suffering from neck problems, including whiplash, have found chiropractic to be a blessing.6 As one major medical journal reports: “Whiplash injuries are common. Chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment in chronic cases.”7 • The Medical Approach The standard medical approach to neck pain is often painkillers, muscle relaxers and/or tranquilizers. If the pain doesn’t subside, cortisone or other injections may be administered. In some cases physical therapy, neck pillows, collars or traction may be prescribed. Interestingly enough, these constitute a tacit endorsement of the chiropractic approach of releasing pressure on the nerves, joints and openings through which the nerves travel. Sometimes surgery is needed especially in serious trauma or severe disc herniation. In many cases, chiropractic techniques have saved people from neck or disc surgery.8-9 Surgery should only be considered “as a last resort.” Severe torticollis (wry neck); Erb’s Palsy; vision problems; hearing problems; and ear, nose and throat infections have all responded to neck adjustments (even in infancy).11-13 There is even evidence that chiropractic care can reverse osteoarthritis— something previously considered impossible.10 • The Role Of The Chiropractor When corrected, your entire body begins to rebalance. That is why, for example, people with lower back problems, after receiving a neck adjustment from their chiropractor, find, to their surprise, that their low back pain not only starts feeling better (as well as many other problems) but they have more energy as well! Chiropractic care corrects a severe form of stress known as the subluxation. This restores proper movement to your structural system, permitting greater energy, information and nutrients to flow over your nerves and tissues and throughout your body. Just as a periodic dental checkup is necessary to keep your teeth healthy, a chiropractic checkup is necessary to ensure a nervous system that is free from nerve stress permitting you to experience greater healing and well-being. No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from a healthy spine and structural system. References 1. Tepper SJ. Pathophysiology, basic science, and clinical studies. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain. 2004;44(10):1063-1065. 2. Leboeuf-Yde C et al. Self-reported non-musculoskeletal response to chiropractic intervention: a multination study. JMPT. 2005;28:294-302. 3. Di Stefano G, Radanov BP. Course of attention and memory after common whiplash. Acta Neurol Scand. 1995;91:346-352. 4. Elster EL. Eighty-one patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease undergoing upper cervical chiropractic care to correct vertebral subluxation: a retrospective analysis. JVSR. August 2, 2004;1-9. 5. Otte A, Mueller J. Brain SPECT findings in late whiplash syndrome. Lancet. 1995;345:1512-1513. 6. Giles LG, Muller R. Chronic spinal pain syndromes: a clinical pilot trial comparing acupuncture, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), and spinal manipulation. JMPT. 1999:22(6):376-381. 7. Khan S, Cook J, Gargan M, Bannister G. A symptomatic classification of whiplash injury and the implications for treatment. J Orthopedic Medicine. 1999;21(1). 8. Eriksen K. Management of cervical disc herniation with upper cervical chiropractic care. JMPT. 1998;21(1). 9. Robinson GK. Reabsorption of a herniated cervical disc following chiropractic treatment utilizing the atlas orthogonal technique: a case report. Chiro. Research Journal. 1998:5(1). 10. Ressel OJ. Disc regeneration: reversibility is possible in spinal osteoarthritis. ICA Review. March/April 1989:39-61. 11. Colin N. Congenital muscular torticollis: a review, case study, and proposed protocol for chiropractic management. Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. 1998;5(3):27-33. 12. Biedermann HJ. Kinematic imbalances due to suboccipital strain in newborns. Manual Medicine. 1992;6:151-156. 13. Koren T. Chiropractic. Science and Medicine. 1999;6(5):42-45. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Pinched Nerves
• “Pinched?” Actual pinching rarely happens. What chiropractors call a subluxation—a distortion in your structural system that stresses your nerves and other tissues is much more common. Subluxations cause nerve impingement, nerve irritation, nerve lesions, spinal stress and meningeal tension.1 People at times enter a chiropractor’s office saying their MD, osteopath, physical therapist, massage therapist or other healer referred them because they had a “pinched” nerve and should see a chiropractor to get it “unpinched.” Even though there may be no actual pinching, people like the word because it’s so descriptive. It can really feel like something is being pinched in there. Some health professionals even use it. • Is A “Pinched” Nerve Making You Miserable? Being “pinched” hurts, but to pinch a nerve? Ugh! That must feel like a severe, sharp, intense pain—and it often does. “Pinched” nerves could happen nearly anywhere and affect nerves that go to your arms, fingers, wrists, neck, head, back, shoulders, legs, muscles and internal organs. “Pinched” nerves can affect your health, posture, vitality, resistance to disease, even your emotional health. “Pinched” nerves can make your life miserable. • Life Without Nerves Your nerves connect you to the world. Without them you couldn’t hear, see, touch, taste or smell; without nerves you could not feel heat, cold, pleasure or pain. Your body would be the ultimate sensory deprivation tank; no messages could come in—and no messages could go out; without nerves no muscles could move; you’d be a prisoner within yourself; you’d live in complete isolation. • Where Do Nerves Go? Nerves branch off from your spinal cord through openings between the vertebrae to connect to every nook and cranny in your body. Individual nerve fibers are microscopic. Although they may be many inches long they are so thin you need a powerful microscope to see them. Nerve fibers are also found in large bundles called nerves, which you can see. Billions of nerve fibers are bundled inside your spinal cord, an extension of your brain, which passes through your spinal column. • Nerves Keep You Alive & Healthy Nerve messages also help regulate your body activities such as breathing, heartbeat, digestion, hormone function and elimination. Your immune system needs your nerves so that you can respond to germs, changes in temperature and all kinds of stress. In addition to nerve impulses, nutrients flow over your nerves to nourish your muscles and tissues. If this flow is blocked your muscles may start to waste away. Conditions that have been related to “impinged” or subluxated nerves include lowered resistance to disease; infection; colds; flu; allergies; ulcers; constipation; diarrhea; asthma; fevers; headaches; seizures; bed-wetting; hearing difficulties; balance and visual disturbances and many other conditions.2-4 It’s not hard to understand that if your nerves are not functioning properly, if they are “pinched,” “impinged” or otherwise interfered with, the flow of messages and nutrients over them can be disrupted and your body can become “dis-eased” or weakened. When you are dis-eased you have less energy and vitality and are less able to deal with physical and emotional stress. • How Do Nerves Get Impinged Or “Pinched”? If your structural system is misaligned or distorted it may “pinch,” impinge, irritate, compress or stretch the nerves it is supposed to protect.5-9 This in turn can affect other structures in the area including blood vessels, discs, ligaments, joints, muscles, fascia, tendons and meninges.10 As mentioned earlier, this is referred to as a subluxation. • What Can Cause Subluxations? Nearly any kind of stress can cause a subluxation: a fall or an accident, even a very mild one that happened years ago; a bad sleeping position; poor posture; fatigue; dental work; a difficult birth; emotional stress; poor nutrition or a combination of stresses. A subluxation need not happen all at once. It could “set” in your body over time—coming on so gradually that you won’t be aware you have one. • Most “Pinched” Nerves Don’t Hurt Most people with “pinched” nerves are not in pain since most nerves do not carry pain messages. Chiropractors sometimes say that people with painful “pinched” nerves might be considered lucky—they know they have a problem and they (hopefully) will go to a chiropractor. But what of those not “lucky” enough to have painful “pinched” nerves? They may suffer and their health may deteriorate for years without the faintest idea that the problem may be coming from their structural system. These people desperately need to see a chiropractor but because they don’t have spine or nerve pain they may never receive the care they need. This is the big job facing chiropractors today—educating people about subluxations and the need for periodic chiropractic checkups. • Correct Your “Pinched” Nerves “Pinched” nerves do not go away by themselves. No amount of painkillers or muscle relaxants can fix them. Only a chiropractic analysis and adjustment can relieve your body of subluxations—nothing else will do.11-13 Only doctors of chiropractic are able to analyze your body for “pinched” nerves and use chiropractic adjustment techniques to gently realign your body, release your internal stress and free you from your “pinched” nerves. References 1. Rome PL. Usage of chiropractic terminology in the literature: 296 ways to say “subluxation”: complex issues of the vertebral subluxation. Chiropractic Technique. 1996;8(2):49-60. 2. Fedorchuk C, Cohen A. Resolution of chronic otitis media, neck pain, headaches & sinus infection in a child following an increase in cervical curvature & reduction of vertebral subluxation. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2009;2:1-8. 3. Alcantara J, Stern G, Oman RE. Female infertility, subluxation & chiropractic care: a case series and selective review of the literature. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2009;2:1-10. 4. Alcantara J, Davis A, Oman RE. The effects of chiropractic on a child with transient motor tics using Gonstead & Toggle techniques. Journal of Pediatric & Maternal Health – Chiropractic. 2009;2:1-9. 5. Kent C. Models of vertebral subluxation: a review. JVSR. 1996;1(1):11-17. 6. Kent C. A three-dimensional model of vertebral subluxation. Chiropractic Journal. 1998;12(9):38,50. 7. Budgell BS. Reflex effects of subluxation: the autonomic nervous system. JMPT. 2000;23(2):104–106. 8. Maigne R. Orthopaedic Medicine: A New Approach to Vertebral Manipulations. (W.T. Liberson, Ed. and trans.). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1972:40. 9. Hadley LA. Intervertebral joint subluxation, bony impingement and foramen encroachment with nerve root changes. American Journal of Roentgenology and Radium Therapy. 1951;65(3):377-402. 10. Ibid. 11. Hubka M. Another critical look at the subluxation hypothesis. Chiropractic Technique. 1990;2(1):27-30. 12. Lantz C. The vertebral subluxation complex, part 2: The neuropathological and myopathological components. Chiropractic Research Journal. 1990;1(4):19-38. 13. Koren T. Chiropractic. Science and Medicine. 1999;6(5):42-45. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Pregnancy
• Your Baby, You Body Chiropractic care provides so many things a pregnant body needs: a flexible and balanced spine, hips and pelvis; internal organs without postural stress and freedom from nerve stress—all essential for a healthy pregnancy and delivery. If you are pregnant, one of the best things you can do is see a doctor of chiropractic. Exercise, a better diet, avoiding drugs and, alcohol, not smoking and receiving chiropractic care should be an essential part of a pregnant woman’s healthcare regimen. • What Does A Doctor Of Chiropractic Do? A pregnant woman needs to have her body as healthy and strong as possible in order to handle the rigors of pregnancy and childbirth. Chiropractic care will help ensure that all body systems function properly, especially the reproductive system that includes the ovaries, uterus, and related organs and structures so essential for a healthy pregnancy. If the body structure is causing the slightest nerve interference to these systems it could adversely affect the fetus and mother. Your chiropractor will examine your body for distortions known as subluxations that cause nerve stress. If your chiropractor finds subluxations in your body he/she will correct them with a chiropractic adjustment. Carol Phillips, DC, who specializes in the care of pregnant and birthing mothers says, “So many women who received care during pregnancy say to us: ‘How in the world do other women get through pregnancy without [chiropractic] adjustments?’” • Diagnostic Dangers No proper studies have been done to determine if ultrasound has adverse effects on the growth and development of children exposed in utero.4 Ultrasound has also been associated with a symptom of possible neurological damage.5 In addition, the value of electronic fetal monitoring has been seriously questioned as to safety and efficacy.6 Robert Mendelsohn, MD stated that pregnant women should “stay away from X-rays, diagnostic ultrasound, doctor-prescribed medication, and every other form of dangerous obstetrical intervention.”7 • Drugless Healthcare Another great reason for chiropractic care during pregnancy is that it is drugless. Drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter, can harm the growing fetus. There is no such thing as a safe drug: It is…virtually impossible to specify any drug that will not result in an increased frequency of congenital malformations when administered, in a certain dose to a sufficiently large panel of different laboratory animals.1 No drugs should be prescribed during pregnancy without weighing the maternal need against the risk of fetal damage.2 Antibiotics (including tetracycline), aspirin, alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and cocaine, even cough syrup and cold and flu medications, have been linked to fetal damage and miscarriage.3 • Can Chiropractic Help? Chiropractic care may help maintain pregnancy, control vomiting, deliver full-term infants with ease and produce healthier infants.8 Chiropractic has demonstrated success with back pain,9 premature contractions10 and back labor.11 One case of a woman experiencing premature contractions (32 weeks) with severe endometriosis was told she would never carry a baby to term. At the hospital she received chiropractic care and the contractions stopped. After leaving the hospital, she continued care and had a normal labor and delivery at 40 weeks gestation.12 • Avoiding Caesarean Section A 29-year-old pregnant woman with lower back pain who had two prior Caesarean deliveries began chiropractic care in the hope that she could have a natural childbirth. Her lower back pains ameliorated and she was able to have a vaginal birth.14 • Low Back Pain It has been observed that 57% to 69% of pregnant women suffer from low back pain. In one study, 17 pregnant women under chiropractic care reported an original pain score of 5.9. After chiropractic care, they reported a pain score of 1.5.13 • Other Benefits Practitioners have observed: Manipulation can be of great value in normalizing the body functions of women with problems of pregnancy such as toxemia.15 Manipulative therapy … shortens labor by 50 to 60% and lessens medication requirement by at least 50%. Postpartum depression is a rarity in patients receiving … manipulative therapy.16 • The Webster Technique Chiropractic has been able to correct breech presentations in which the baby isn’t positioned properly for birth. Developed by the late Larry Webster, DC, the Webster Technique has been very successful in correcting breech presentations. In a survey of nurse-midwives, 93.9% recommended patients to alternative healthcare providers. Among those, 57.3% referred women to chiropractors.17 A 28-year-old female was 34 weeks pregnant with a breech presentation. Evaluation of the patient on the subsequent visit showed normal (head) presentation. The patient’s nurse-midwife confirmed the conversion from a breech position to a cephalic position.18 • FAQ Regarding Chiropractic & Pregnancy Do I have to have a problem in pregnancy to see a chiropractor? Not at all. Periodic chiropractic checkups during pregnancy should be as common as periodic weight checkups. Is chiropractic care safe in pregnancy? Yes. Chiropractors are trained in adjusting pregnant women. How late in pregnancy is it possible to get an adjustment? Patients have received adjustments even during labor. Can spinal care help postpartum depression? Yes. For years chiropractic’s beneficial effects on emotional stress and personality have been noted.19 Can my baby receive chiropractic care? Newborns have been given chiropractic checkups and adjustments (if needed). References 1. Beeson PB, McDermott W. (Eds.). Cecil – Loeb Textbook of Medicine (13th Ed.). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co. 1971:16. 2. Vaughan VC, McKay RJ. (Eds.). Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics (10th Ed.). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co. 1975:323. 3. UNMC study links use of nonprescription cough medicine to miscarriages, birth defects. Pediatric Research. January 1998:1-7. 4. Marinac-Dabic D, Krulewitch CJ, Moore Rm Jr. The safety of prenatal ultrasound exposure in human studies. Epidemiology. 2002; 13 Suppl 3:S19-22. 5. Kieler H, Cnattingius S, Haglund B et al. Sinistrality, a side-effect of prenatal sonography: a comparative study of young men. Epidemiology. 2001;12:618-623. 6. Doppler French Study Group. A randomised controlled trial of Doppler ultrasound velocimetry of the umbilical artery in low risk pregnancies. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1997 Apr;104(4):419-24. 7. Mendelsohn RS. The people’s doctor: A medical newsletter for consumers. 1987;8(10):3. 8. Stein K. The value of chiropractic care in cases of pregnancy. ACA J Chiropractic. July 1964:19. 9. Brynhildsen J, Hansson A, Persson A, Hammar M. Follow-up of patients with low back pain during pregnancy. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 1998;91(2):182-186. 10. Phillips C. An effective drug-free approach to premature contractions. ICA Review. Oct 1998. 11. Phillips C. Back labor: a possible solution for a painful situation. ICA Review. July/August 1997. 12. Cohen E. Case history: premature labor. Chiropractic Pediatrics. 1995;1(4). 13. Lisi AJ. Chiropractic spinal manipulation for low back pain of pregnancy: a retrospective case series. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health. 2006;51:e7-10. 14. Alcantara J, Hamel I. The chiropractic care of a gravid patient with a history of multiple Caesarean births & sacral subluxation. JVSR. March 11, 2008;1-5. 15. Reynolds JP. What is the role of osteopathic manipulative therapy in obstetric care? JAOA. 1974:74. 16. Guthrie RA, Martin RH. Effect of pressure applied to the upper thoracic (placebo) versus lumbar areas (osteopathic manipulative treatment) for inhibition of lumbar myalgia during labor. JAOA. 1982;82(4):247-251. 17. Allaire AD, Moos WK, Wells SR. Complementary and alternative medicine in pregnancy: a survey of North Carolina certified nurse-midwives. Obstet Gynecol. 2000;95(1):19-23. 18. Thomas JC. The Webster Technique in a 28-year-old woman with breech presentation & subluxation. JVSR. April 7, 2008;1-3. 19. Peterson DM. More on OMT in obstetric care. JAOA. 1975;74:597. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Referring Others
• Who Told You About Chiropractic? What would your health be like if you never had a chiropractic adjustment? Would you be living on drugs, facing surgery, fatigued, lost or depressed? Fortunately, someone told you about chiropractic and you were open to exploring this world of natural healthcare and subluxation correction. In doing so, you’ve joined the many millions of people who have found relief from dis-ease and regained their health under safe, natural, drug-free chiropractic care. • Your Voice Can Heal A few words from you might change a life. Ever listen to people’s conversations on the street or in restaurants? So much of it is about the drugs they are taking, the problems they have, the conditions or diseases that don’t go away or the suffering they are experiencing. • Why Live On Drugs? When chiropractic enthusiasts see others—friends, relatives, perhaps strangers—living on pills and other medicines, they know there is a better way. They may say: “Why live on drugs? Why live in pain? Wouldn’t you prefer to use a more natural approach? Aren’t you tired of being sick and tired? Why don’t you see my chiropractor?” • Millions Regain Their Health Millions of people have regained their health under chiropractic care. Many are alive today because of chiropractic. How many people would be swallowing pills while continuing to live with pain and disease were it not for their chiropractic care? To these millions, going in for a chiropractic adjustment is as natural as going to the dentist for a cleaning and a checkup. • Why Don’t You See My Chiropractor? We’re sure many of your friends and relatives are living with health-damaging subluxations (nerve stress) that a chiropractor could easily correct. The answer to their health problems may be literally around the corner, down the block or across the street. They need the good fortune of having someone suggest that they see a doctor of chiropractic. • “Me First,”, “No, Me First”—Kids Love Chiropractic When we see families coming in for their chiropractic checkups and adjustments (if needed), one of the most enjoyable sights is watching children racing to see who will go first. “Me first,” “No, me first.” How many doctor visits have a scene like that? The fact is, kids usually love chiropractic care. • A Drug-Free Option For Children Chiropractic’s success with children is well documented. One of the best things about chiropractic is that it presents children with a drug-free option when it comes to healthcare. When you explore non-drug alternatives, you are teaching children that drugs don’t have to be the answer. You are showing them that it’s possible to use and improve your natural self-healing ability without the many side effects and adverse reactions drugs have. What a great message to give a child! • Patients save dChiropractors Interesting headline? It’s usually the chiropractor who saves the patient but we’ve saved each other. How? For many years chiropractors were arrested, jailed and even imprisoned for caring for patients. Why? Because they broke the law. At one time most states had laws stating that any non-MD caring for anyone else, no matter what they did, was practicing medicine and surgery without a license (even if they used no drugs and did no surgery). Many chiropractors were jailed but their patients would march around courthouses and jails in protest; juries would often refuse to convict and public pressure was put on legislators to stop this legalized monopoly of medicine. Eventually laws were passed to protect the public’s right to chiropractic care. What does this have to do with referring others? Just this: chiropractors and their patients have suffered greatly for the freedom to choose their healthcare provider. Now that we have this choice please cherish it and let others know about this wonderful drug-free healthcare system. • You Took That First Step … … and entered the world of chiropractic—the natural, safe, drug-free healing art that has saved so many people from drugs, surgery and suffering. Will you tell others? Will you bestow on others the good fortune that has been yours? Are your family members living with subluxations while yours are getting corrected? • Tell Someone You Care About Please pass the message to someone you know who is suffering that chiropractic can awaken their health potential. After all, someone told you … • In Conclusion No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from chiropractic subluxation correction. Are your friends and family members carrying subluxations in their bodies? Only a chiropractic checkup can tell. Among the many things that contribute to your health are the quality of the air, food and water you take in; how you handle emotional stress; your inherited weaknesses and strengths; your use of drugs; exercise and relaxation. In addition to the above, a healthy structural system is absolutely essential and can make the difference between a life of health, strength and vitality and a life of disease, weakness and disability. Chiropractic care has improved your life. Please don’t keep it a secret—tell others! © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Shoulder, Arm & Hands
• Different Names For Shoulder Problems Neuralgia, Neuritis, bursitis, rheumatism, fibrositis, frozen shoulder, sprains, strains, “poor circulation” and rotator cuff problems are just some of the terms used to describe arm, shoulder and neck conditions. • Brain Control Your brain controls your shoulders, arms and hands. Your brain “talks” with the rest of your body through a vast communications system called the nervous system. Billions of nerves extend from your brain as a large bundle called the spinal cord, travel down your back inside your spinal column and exit between your spinal bones to go to nearly every part of your body. • Plexus Some nerves go straight to their point of destination but some first mix with other nerves to form complicated nerve networks called a nerve “plexus.” • Brachial Plexus One of these is the brachial plexus, made up of nerves that come out of the middle and lower neck and upper back. After they form the brachial plexus they branch off to supply different areas, especially the shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, hands and fingers. • Brachial Plexus Injury People sometimes blame their joint or organ problems on “old age” even though they have many other joints and organs that are just as old that have no problems. Irritation to the nerves would be a more accurate analysis. The nerves that make up the brachial plexus may be irritated as they exit the spinal column. This may occur when the spinal bones in the neck and upper back are misaligned and damage the very nerves they are supposed to protect. There are many causes resulting in the spinal bones to be misaligned. Nearly any injury or “trauma” could do it. Old injuries such as sports mishaps, childhood falls, car accidents (especially whiplash—a situation where the head and neck are suddenly “snapped” forward and backward) and sleeping in an awkward position could damage the spine. Even birth stress could cause spinal nerve damage that can affect the arms, shoulders and hands. • Results Of Brachial Plexus Injury Different symptoms may be experienced, depending on which brachial plexus nerves are damaged,. There may be muscle weakness; there may be neck pain or stiffness with or without pain that spreads or “radiates” to the shoulder, arm, wrist, hand or fingers. Sometimes there is no neck pain but pain in the arm, wrist, fingers or hand. Sometimes there’s numbness, sometimes there’s pain and numbness and sometimes there are strange nerve sensations (“pins and needles”).1-2 • Other Conditions Because of the complicated way nerves interrelate, headache; migraine; facial pain; dizziness; limited, painful or stiff motion of the head and neck; throat conditions; thyroid and nasal problems; epilepsy and even lower back pain have been reported as a result of neck or brachial nerve plexus irritation.3 • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or CTS is now so common it’s called an “occupational disease.”4 Symptoms include tingling and numbness in the hand, fingers and wrist; pain so intense that it awakens you at night and similar symptoms in the upper arm, elbow, shoulder or neck. “Faulty enervation caused by spinal joint lesions is one of the main factors in the production of wrist swelling, carpal tunnel syndrome, [and] tennis elbow.”5 Increasing numbers of CTS sufferers are seeking out the non-drug, non-surgical approach that chiropractic offers. • The Chiropractic Approach Although chiropractic’s success with shoulder, arm, wrist and hand problems is well documented,6-12 chiropractic is really not a “treatment” for those problems. The chiropractic approach to shoulder and hand problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, brachial plexus injury or to any health problem is to analyze your structural system to locate and correct a serious nerve-damaging structural condition called the subluxation. • The Subluxation Your doctor of chiropractic is specially trained to locate and correct subluxations. Unless corrected, subluxations in your body can cause or contribute to many health conditions and prevent or interfere with the normal healing process. A subluxation is a misalignment of your structural system that puts stress on your nerves, bones, ligaments, discs, tendons, muscles, tissues and internal organs. Your nervous system coordinates and organizes your entire body and its proper functioning is essential for physical and neurological health. If there is any damage to it, the effects can be profound. After your chiropractor has located your subluxations he or she will adjust or correct them. This will release structural and nerve pressure and help restore the healthy flow of nerve impulses between your brain and your body parts and help rebalance your system. • Prevention Many of the problems caused by an unhealthy structural system can be corrected and more serious problems prevented by having your and your family’s bodies checked on a periodic basis. An ancient Chinese health saying is: “If people paid attention to their little health problems, they wouldn’t have big health problems.” References 1. Ide M, Ide J, Yamaga M, Takagi K. Symptoms and signs of irritation of the brachial plexus in whiplash injuries. J Bone Joint Surg. 2001;83-B:226-229. 2. Miller JD, Pruitt S, McDonald TJ. Acute brachial plexus neuritis: an uncommon cause of shoulder pain. Am Fam Physician. 2000;62:2067-2072. 3. Ferrante M. Brachial plexopathies: classification, causes and consequences. Muscle Nerve. 2004;30:547. 4. Russell BS. Carpal tunnel syndrome and the “double crush” hypothesis: a review and implications for chiropractic. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2008;16(2):1186. 5. Bourdillon JF. Spinal Manipulation (3rd ed.). New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. 1984:207, 210-211, 219-224. 6. De Franca GG, Levine IJ. The T-4 syndrome. JMPT. 1995;18:34-37. 7. Polkingorn BS. Chiropractic treatment of frozen shoulder syndrome (adhesive capsulitis) utilizing mechanical force, manually assisted short lever adjusting procedures. JMPT. 1995;18:105-115. 8. Ferguson LW. Treating shoulder dysfunction and “frozen shoulders.” Chiropractic Technique. 1995;7:73-81. 9. Sobel JS, Winters JC, Groenier K, Arendzen JH, Meyboom de Jong B. Comparison of physiotherapy, manipulation, and corticosteroid injection for treating shoulder complaints in general practice: randomized, single blind study. British Medical Journal. 1997;314:1320-1325. 10. Davis PT, Hulbert JR, Kassak KM et al. Comparative efficacy of conservative medical and chiropractic treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. JMPT. 1998;21(5):317-326. 11. Bablis P, Pollard H, Bonello R. Neuro Emotional Technique for the treatment of trigger point sensitivity in chronic neck pain sufferers: a controlled clinical trial. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2008;16:4. 12. Davis C. Chiropractic treatment in acute whiplash injuries: grades I & II. JVSR. May 19, 2008:1-3. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Scoliosis
• Spinal Curves Spines are not perfectly straight and that’s normal. Your spine is made up of 24 bones called vertebrae that stack up one on top of the other to form a more or less straight line when viewed from front to back. When the spine curves or twists excessively side-to-side it is called scoliosis (Greek skolios or “crooked”). • What Causes Scoliosis? In most cases of scoliosis the cause is unknown; the vertebrae and spinal structures—discs, ligaments, tendons and muscles—all appear normal.1 In a minority of the cases the scoliosis is caused by conditions such as a tumor, infection, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, a birth deformity or disc problems. Further deepening the mystery of scoliosis is the fact that no one knows why some minor curves get worse whereas about 90% do not. However, it is not true, as commonly thought, that poor posture is a cause of scoliosis or that women with scoliosis have more problems carrying babies to term.2 In fact, most people with scoliosis can lead normal lives, never even knowing that they have the condition. No one dies from scoliosis, but in some cases scoliosis sufferers can have breathing or heart problems if the curve is very severe.3 • Neurological Disturbance New research on scoliosis shows the cause or important contributing factor to be a disturbance or defect in the area of the nervous system that controls posture, body balance and positioning.9-13 • The Unknown Controlling Factor There appears to be some unknown controlling factor in scoliosis that causes a healthy spine to assume an unusual shape. Is there a genetic component? An emotional factor? Is it the nervous system? If there is anything that all scoliosis researchers can agree on, it’s that few of them agree.4 • Bracing & Other Treatments Does bracing help? Initial studies showed that curves straighten an average of 50% of the time with braces. But when bracing was followed in the long term, a gradual loss of correction was observed.5 Electrical stimulation also appears to be “ineffectual”6 and plaster casts have often been found to be emotionally scarring.7 • Overtreatment? According to Robert Mendelsohn, MD: Scoliosis is not serious unless the curvature of the spine is severe, but it is overtreated almost as often as it is overdiagnosed. If your child is diagnosed as a victim of scoliosis, don’t accept surgical procedures or even bracing without first exploring all of the less radical treatment alternatives. Epidemiological studies on scoliosis are so scanty that we know next to nothing. There are no prospective controlled studies regarding the effects of orthotic treatment on the natural history of idiopathic scoliosis…. Is anything actually prevented or is progression merely delayed until a later period of life? The answers simply are not known.8 • The Chiropractic Approach The purpose of chiropractic is to correct subluxations—a condition that interferes with the proper functioning of the nervous system and the body as a whole. Recent research suggesting that scoliosis may be caused by a neurological defect reinforces the validity of the chiropractic approach. Fred Barge, DC, in Idiopathic Scoliosis: Identifiable Causes, Detection and Correction,14 gives 22 examples of cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis with significant improvement with chiropractic. One report of 100 chiropractic patients revealed 84% improved. In 6.8% the correction was total; in 35.6% there was significant correction; in 41.2% there was a small correction, while 16.4% showed no change or worsening of curves.15 • Case Studies Individual cases abound. For example, a ten-year-old girl with a severe scoliosis of 48 degrees began chiropractic care. After ten adjustments her mother reported a happier child, with greater resistance to disease and her scoliosis reduced to 12 degrees.16 A seven-year-old girl was born with right side facial paralysis (from a difficult birth), scoliosis, attention deficit disorder, difficulty concentrating, vomiting and light sensitivity from intense migraine headaches since the age of two. Her parents brought her in for chiropractic care and subluxation correction was initiated. Along with improvement of her subjective complaints such as migraines, difficulty concentrating and light sensitivity, after just one month of care X-rays revealed a 62% improvement in scoliosis.18 Another case is that of a nine-year-old boy with juvenile idiopathic scoliosis (and intermittent back pain) who received chiropractic care. His posture began to balance immediately after the first adjustment. He had an 88% overall reduction in the scoliosis after five months of chiropractic care.17 These cases are not unusual and are not just confined to the young; individuals from all age groups with scoliosis have been helped by chiropractic care.19-23 • Chiropractors Are Specially Trained Only a doctor of chiropractic is specially trained to locate and correct subluxations—spinal abnormalities that can affect not only the spine, but the entire body. Every scoliosis sufferer should be under chiropractic care. A body without subluxations is in a better position to resist abnormalities and diseases of all kinds, including scoliosis. References 1. Byrd JA. Current theories on the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis. Clincial Orthopaedics and Related Research. 1988;229:114-119. 2. Betz RR et al. Scoliosis and pregnancy. J Bone and Joint Surgery. 1987;69-A:90-96. 3. Morrissy R. School screening for scoliosis. Spine. 1988;13(10):1195-1197. 4. Clayson D et al. Long-term psychological sequelae of surgically versus nonsurgically treated scoliosis. Spine. 1987;12:983-986. 5. Reinshaw T. Screening school children for scoliosis. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. 1988;26-33. 6. Focarile FA, Bonaldi A, Giarolo MA et al. Effectiveness of nonsurgical treatment for idiopathic scoliosis. Spine. 1991;6(4):395-401. 7. DiRaimondo CV, Green NE. Brace-ware compliance in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.1988;8:143-146. 8. Mendelsohn R. How to Raise a Healthy Child…In Spite of Your Doctor. Chicago: Contemporary Books.1984. 9. Cook SD et al. Upper extremity proprioception in idiopathic scoliosis. Clinical Orthaepedics and Related Research. 1986;213:118-123. 10. Wyatt MP et al. Vibratory response in idiopathic scoliosis. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 1986;68-B:714-718. 11. Dretakis E et al. Electroencephalographic study of school-children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Spine. 1988;13:143-145. 12. Byrd JA. Current theories on the etiology of idiopathic scoliosis. Clincial Orthopaedics and Related Research. 1988;229:114-119. 13. Herman R et al. Idiopathic scoliosis and the central nervous system: a motor control problem. Spine. 1985;10:1-14. 14. Barge G. Scoliosis correction. European Journal of Chiropractic. 1985;33:77-91. 15. Barge FH. Idiopathic Scoliosis: Identifiable Causes, Detection and Correction. Davenport, IA: Bawden Bros. Inc, 1986. 16. Webster L. First report on ADD study. ICPA Newsletter. Jan. 1994. 17. Correction of juvenile idiopathic scoliosis after primary upper cervical chiropractic care: a case study. Abstracts from the 13th annual upper cervical spine conference, 11/16-17/1996. Life College, Marietta, Georgia. CRJ. 1997;IV(1):29. 18. Jaszewski E, Sorbara A. Improvement in a child with scoliosis, migraines, attention deficit disorder and vertebral subluxations utilizing the Pierce Chiropractic Technique. Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – Chiropractic. 2010;1:30-34. 19. Fortinopoulos V. Scoliosis and subluxation. ICPA. July/August 1999. 20. Simpson S. The palliative care of a post-polio syndrome patient. Clinical Chiropractic. 2006;9(2):81-87. 21. Ressel O, Rudy R. Biovertebral subluxation correlated with somatic,visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 22. Morningstar M, Joy T. Scoliosis treatment using spinal manipulation and the Pettibon weighting system: a summary of 3 atypical presentations. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2006;14:1. 23. Morningstar M. Integrative treatment using chiropractic and conventional techniques for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: outcomes in four patients. JVSR. July 9, 2007;1-7. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Spine & Disc Degeneration
What happens when your spine and structural system begin to degenerate? The bones in your spine begin to change shape; your discs swell, then shrink; your ligaments, tendons and muscles begin to tighten and weaken; and your entire structural system—spinal column, hips, shoulder girdle—loses its balance, flexibility, stability and strength. In addition to bone degeneration, your body chemistry, nerves and internal organs can also be affected. In time you are less able to adapt to the pressures of life; you lose the spring in your step and your youthful energy; you lose height and appear to shrink. • What Causes Spinal Degeneration? Spinal degeneration is usually caused by years of long-standing subluxations in your spine and structural system. What are subluxations? • Subluxations Stress may cause your spinal bones or vertebrae to shift from their proper places. Your vertebrae misalign and irritate the surrounding nerves, bones, discs, ligaments and other soft tissue causing them to age and deteriorate. This may cause a lot of pain but in some people may be painless. Subluxations also result in fixations or loss of mobility of a joint. This has been shown to be a major factor in degeneration.1 In addition, trauma (accidents, injuries) can result in degeneration of a joint.2 • Loss Of Height Many people believe they lose height because they are getting “old.” Does that mean that at age 65 you wake up and find yourself shorter? Of course not. The loss of height is silent, slow and gradual, and may begin in your 20’s and 30’s! It is one of the signs of spine and disc degeneration. • Spinal Decay By the time a person notices any problem or feels any pain the degeneration has been going on for many years! In many people spinal degeneration is like tooth decay in that it is often a painless process. • The Phases of Degeneration Your spine degenerates in stages or phases:3 • Degeneration Phase 14 This phase is often seen up to age 20. Your spine loses its normal balance and its normal curves. Your nerves may be affected and the vital life energy that flows over them is affected. In addition your joints, discs, nerves and posture are stressed and age more quickly. Surprisingly, there may be no pain other than occasional minor discomfort. A slight lessening of energy and slight height loss may occur. Response to spinal care is generally good.5 • Degeneration Phase 26-7 Often seen in those ages 20 to 40. In this phase, there is evidence of spinal decay, disc narrowing and bone spurs (deformations); postural changes are much worse. This condition is very common—by age 40, 80% of males and 76% of females exhibit moderate disc degeneration.8 Spinal canal narrowing or stenosis may occur. This phase is characterized by more common aches and pains, fatigue and a diminished ability to cope with stress. Height continues to decrease. With chiropractic care, significant improvement is possible. • Degeneration Phase 3 Often seen in people ages 40 to 65.9 Here there are more postural imbalances, increased nerve damage, permanent spinal scar tissue and advanced bone deformation. Physical and/or mental weakness or disability begin. Loss of height and loss of energy continue. With chiropractic care, much reversal is possible. • Degeneration Phase 4 Often seen in those ages 65 and older. Now postural imbalance is severe and motion is limited. There is severe nerve damage and scar tissue and bones may begin to fuse. In this phase we find pain, various degrees of physical or mental disability and continued loss of energy and height. Chiropractic may still help in this phase, giving new life to old bones, offering symptomatic relief and some limited correction as well.10 • The Chiropractic Approach It is better to wear out than to rust out. —Richard Cumberland Must you passively allow your spine to degenerate? No! Chiropractic can reduce, halt and even reverse spinal degeneration by improving spinal balance and posture and keeping your joints, nerves and discs healthy and strong throughout your lifetime.11-12 As one researcher writes: The restoration of motion to a previously [fixated] joint leads to a restoration of normal joint function and physiology.13 Further, there is increasing evidence that some spinal degeneration may be reversible.14 As another researcher has noted: Correction of a vertebral subluxation can not only attenuate and arrest this degenerative process, but can actually allow the condition to reverse itself.15 • Prevention Of course, the best approach to spinal degeneration is to prevent it from occurring in the first place! The earlier the degeneration process is identified … the better chance the patient has for its arrest and reversal.16 This means bringing your children in for periodic checkups to keep them free of subluxations. Of course, anytime someone experiences a fall, accident or other extreme stress they should have their body checked by a chiropractor to make sure that they are subluxation-free. Stress, including emotional stress, job stress, school stress, family stress and environmental stress, takes its toll on us. For that reason you should have yourself checked periodically for subluxations that slowly and steadily drain your life of energy, strength and wholeness. See your chiropractor regularly to keep yourself free from subluxations and free from degeneration. References 1. Cramer GD, Fournier JT, Wolcott CC, Henderson CNR. Degenerative changes following spinal fixation in a small animal model. JMPT. 2004;27(3):141-154. 2. Gelber AC, Hochberg MC, Mead LA et al. Joint injury in young adults and risk for subsequent knee and hip osteoarthritis. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2000;133(5):321-328. 3. Kirkady-Willis W. Managing Low Back Pain. New York: Churchill-Livingstone. 1988;49-54:117-128. 4. Gottlieb M. Neglected spinal cord, brain stem and musculoskeletal injuries stemming from birth trauma. JMPT. 1993;16(8):537-543. 5. Gunn CC. ‘Prespondlyosis’ and some pain syndromes following denervation supersensitivity. Spine. 1980;5(2). 6. Miller J, Schmatz B & Schultz A. Lumbar disc degeneration: correlation with age, sex and spine level in 600 autopsy specimens. Spine. 1988;13:173. 7. Ressel O, Rudy R. Biovertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18 2004;1-23. 8. Sato A. The reflex effects of spinal somatic nerve stimulation on visceral function. JMPT. 1992;15(1):57-61. 9. Tachihara H et al. Does facet joint inflammation induce radiculopathy? An investigation using a rat model of lumbar facet joint inflammation. Spine. 2007;32(4):406-412. 10. Flesia J. Renaissance: A psychoepistemological basis for the new renaissance intellectual. Colorado Springs, CO: Renaissance International, 1982. 11. Dishman RW. Review of the literature supporting a scientific basis for the chiropractic subluxation complex. JMPT. 1985;8:163-174. 12. Brantingham J, Snyder WR, Biedebach D. Spinal manipulation may help reduce spinal degenerative joint disease and disability. Dynamic Chiropractic. April 22, 1994. 13. Lantz CA. The vertebral subluxation complex. International Review of Chiropractic. September/October 1989;39. 14. Bland JH. The reversibility of osteoarthritis. Am J Med. 1983;75:16-26. 15. Ressel OJ. Disc regeneration: reversibility is possible in spinal osteoarthritis. ICA Review. 1989;45(2):39-61. 16. Ibid. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Strengthen Your Immune System
• Your Amazing Immune System The immune system works around the clock to keep you 100%, unadulterated you! It patrols your every nook and cranny—attacking, destroying and neutralizing useless and dangerous things inside you such as splinters, bacteria, viri, dirt, dead cells, cell pieces and even cancer. • You Have A Powerful Healing Ability The landmark book Spontaneous Remission is a collection of hundreds of documented cases of individuals whose cancers (nearly every kind); infectious and parasitic diseases; nutritional, endocrine, metabolic and immune disorders; diseases of the blood and blood-forming disorders; mental disorders, nervous system disorders; and other diseases spontaneously healed. The author’s state: There is a wide body of evidence suggesting that extraordinary healing, including regression of normally fatal tumors, takes place with no known scientific explanation.1 Such observations have long been noted: The body is fighting cancer all the time and winning … early cancers are probably being detected and combatted in the body on a regular basis. If you take this process and step it up in intensity, you have the “miracle” of spontaneous remission.2 In the foreword to Remarkable Recovery, Larry Dossey, MD observes how MDs often relate to this phenomenon: As a young doctor I once saw a case of untreated metastatic lung cancer disappear. I sought out two of my professors and asked their opinion about what had happened. One simply responded, “We see this,” and walked away. The other replied, “This is the natural course of the disease.”… cases of cancer that “just went away” were a reminder that doctors don’t know everything. In the wake of this experience, I gradually drifted into the typical response of the medical profession toward this type of remarkable recovery. Ignore it.3 • How Do You Do That? You have an incredible healing ability protecting you all the time. It has many levels: your skin and the mucous membranes in your nose and throat create a physical barrier to invasion, digestive juices dissolve germs, urine cleans your urinary tract and skin secretions kill many germs when you’re alive (that’s why cadavers turn colors). Other defenses include fever to “burn off” infections, swelling to bring healing to injured areas and specialized cells that attack and devour intruders. • How Emotions Affect Your Health A happy person has a healthy immune system: a depressed person has a more depressed immune system. According to Bernie Siegel, MD, unexpressed feelings depress immune response8 but more importantly, relationships strengthen your immune system: For people, relationships are what nourishes and keeps everyone alive … connections, which may be keeping a plant growing, a goldfish, a child or a spouse. That’s why women live longer than men and married men live longer than single men with the same cancers. If you have connections, you keep going.9 All connections are healthy: People with pets have fewer minor health problems, require fewer visits to the doctor and less medication, and have fewer risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels.10 Many other things boost your immune system: inspiring stories and even comedy! Laughter and humor improve your immune defenses against colds and cancer, decrease your stress hormone levels and are protective against heart conditions and high blood pressure.11-12 • Immune Diseases But what’s powerful for good can also be potent for bad. An unhealthy immune system can overreact as in allergic or hypersensitivity disorders, can underreact as in immune deficiency disorders or can attack the body itself as in autoimmune disorders. Disorders of the immune system—once-rare diseases such as allergies, asthma, lupus, arthritis, cancer, autism, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome and others—are increasingly common. Today a growing number of clinicians and scientists feel that childhood immunization is a cause of immune system disorders.4-6 The famed pediatrician Robert Mendelsohn, MD, asked: “Have we traded mumps and measles for cancer and leukemia?”7 • Can Chiropractic Help Your Immune System? Chiropractic care is a powerful immune system “wake-up call.” Doctors of chiropractic analyze your structural system to locate subluxations, a serious condition that causes spine and nerve stress and impairs your immune function. Over a hundred years of chiropractic and osteopathic observations have demonstrated chiropractic care’s effect on immune function.13-15 Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)16 is increasingly revealing that the health of your brain, spinal cord and nerves profoundly influences your physical and emotional health, something chiropractors and their patients have observed for over a hundred years. In one study it was found that the three most common reasons for visiting a chiropractor were ear, nose and throat/respiratory disorders followed by musculoskeletal disorders and gastrointestinal disorders. In the study seventy-four patients reported improvements unrelated to their presenting complaints such as improved sleep, improved immune function and improved mood.17 • In Conclusion Your body’s wisdom, your inner healer, is always working to balance your chemistry, strengthen your systems and awaken your connection to life. See your chiropractor on a periodic basis to correct your subluxations. Your immune system will function closer to its optimum level so you may fight disease, prevent illness and function at your best! References 1. O’Regan B, Hirshberg C. Spontaneous Remission: An Annotated Bibliography. Sausalito, CA: Institute of Noetic Sciences. 1993;xi. 2. Chopra D. Quantum Healing. NY: Bantam Books. 1989;24. 3. Hirshberg C, Barasch MI. Remarkable Recovery. NY: Riverhead Books. 1995;xi. 4. Scheibner V. Vaccination: The Medical Assault On The Immune System. Blackheath, NSW Australia. 1993;xxi. 5. Coulter H. Vaccination, Social Violence and Criminality. Washington DC: Center for Empirical Medicine. 1990. 6. Testimony to US Congress, Immunization Safety Review Committee by Michael Horwin MA, JD and Raphaele Horwin MA, MFS. http://www.ouralexander.org. July 29, 2002. 7. Mendelsohn R. How To Raise A Healthy Child In Spite Of Your Doctor. NY: Ballantine Books. 1984;233. 8. Siegel B. Love, Medicine and Miracles. NY: Harper and Row. 1986;104. 9. Interview with Bernie Siegel.Visions Magazine. December 2001. 10. Siegel JM. Stressful life events and use of physician services among the elderly: the moderating role of pet ownership, J Pers Soc Psychol. 1990;58(6):1081-1086. 11. Bennett MP, Zeller JM, Rosenberg L, McCann J. The effect of mirthful laughter on stress and natural killer cell activity. Alternative Therapies. 2003;9(2):38-45. 12. Tan SA et al. Mirthful laughter, an effective adjunct in cardiac rehabilitation. Can J Cardiol. 1997;13(Suppl B:190B). 13. Ressel O, Rudy R. Vertebral subluxation correlated with somatic,visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 14. Boone WR, Oswald P, Holt K et al. Long term assessment of blood indices and immune panel profiling of subjects receiving chiropractic care: a pilot study. JVSR. June 7, 2006;1-11. 15. Brennan P, Kokjohn K et al. Enhanced phagocytic cell respiratory burst induced by spinal manipulation. JMPT. 1991;14(7):399-408. 16. Felton D & Moyers B. The brain and the immune system. In BS Flowers & D Grubin (Eds.). Healing And The Mind. NY: Doubleday. 1993;213-216. 17. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. Treatment-related aggravations, complications and improvements attributed to chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy of pediatric patients: a practice-based survey of practitioners. Paediatric CAM research day, University of Alberta, Canada. December 11, 2007. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Sciatica & Leg Pain
• What Is Sciatica? Sciatic pain may follow the path of your nerve—down the back of your legs and thighs, down to your ankle, foot and toes—but it can also radiate to your back! When the large sciatic nerve becomes inflamed the condition is called sciatica (pronounced si’ad-a’ka) and the pain can be intense! Along with pain there may be burning, pins and needles, tingling, prickling, crawling sensations or tenderness. Ironically, the leg may also feel numb! To complicate matters, although sciatica pain is usually in the back of the legs or thighs, in some people it can be in the front or side of the legs or even in the hips. For some, the pain is in both legs: bilateral sciatica! • Causes Of Sciatica Like most other conditions, sciatica has a wide variety of causes. An unhealthy spine with a protruded or ruptured disc which can irritate the sciatic nerve is one cause. Sciatica has been reported following accidents, injuries and even childbirth, usually due to spinal misalignment.2 However, advanced diabetes can also cause sciatic nerve irritation, as can arthritis, constipation, tumors and even vitamin deficiencies. • Sciatic Nerve Your sciatic nerve is the longest and largest nerve in your body. It begins in your lower back as five smaller nerves joining together and extends to your pelvis, thigh, knee, calf, ankle, foot and toes. • Like A Knife For sciatica sufferers, a good night’s sleep may be a thing of the past. Simple things like walking, bending, turning, sitting or standing up can be difficult or impossible. Those with low back pain and sciatica show the highest level of disability of all back pain patients.1 The quality of the pain may vary. There may be constant throbbing but then it may let up for hours or even days, it may ache or be knife-like. Sometimes postural changes, like lying down or changing positions, affect the pain and sometimes they don’t. In severe cases, sciatica can cause a loss of reflexes or even a wasting of calf muscles. • The Medical Approach The medical approach to sciatica is usually to treat its symptoms with painkillers, muscle relaxers and orthopedic devices such as traction and physical therapy. Sciatica is particularly frustrating to treat with drugs because in many cases even strong painkillers bring little or no relief. Patients with sciatica are significantly more likely to be prescribed opioids for their condition.3 For years medical doctors have prescribed bed rest for sciatica, yet there is little objective data to show it works. In fact there is increasing evidence that it is ineffective for low back pain as well as sciatica.4 However, relief may be obtained by injecting painkillers directly into the nerve roots! As with all painkillers, there is always a risk of drug dependency. In extreme cases orthopedic surgery may be performed. • The Chiropractic Approach Many sciatica sufferers have experienced dramatic relief after chiropractic care.5-6 Many sufferers of sciatica and leg pain have found that chiropractic was superior to traction and pain injections, often saving them from spinal surgery.7-9 An interesting study of 44 workers with sciatic pain so severe they were hospitalized was performed in Norway. The hospital chiropractor performed adjustments and 91% returned to work full-time within an average of 21.1 days (others returned at reduced work levels). The average patient with sciatica is disabled for 72 days; in this study, the time to return to work was just 21 days—a 70% reduction.10 In another study 20 patients aged 20-65 with low back-related leg pain were divided into three groups that were given medical care, chiropractic care or steroid injections. After 12 weeks the medical and steroid injection groups showed no advantage over the safer, non-drug improvements the chiropractic patients experienced.12 In another study, 3,136 people with lower back and sciatica pain who had previously had physiotherapy and drugs with no positive results were given chiropractic care. A follow-up two years later showed that 50.4% had excellent results with no painful relapses, 34.4% had relapses but then responded favorably after further chiropractic care and 15.2% showed no significant improvement.13 In a controlled study four different approaches (spinal care, traction and two types of injections) were used to deal with low back pain and sciatica. The group that had spinal care experienced the greatest degrees of recovery. Interestingly, a large number in the traction group eventually required surgery.11 Chiropractic care appears to have the most effect on sciatica when used first. Unfortunately many people seek medical care first. Even so excellent results may be obtained with subsequent chiropractic care. • Neurogenic Claudication Neurogenic claudication is another cause of leg pain involving damage to the spinal nerves that go to the legs. The sufferer can’t walk for long periods of time and has to stop periodically and rest. Symptoms may include pain and parasthesias (nerve sensations) that commence after walking and disappear following a rest period. There may be cramping, pain, numbness, aching and/or fatigue usually in the calf but also in the foot, thigh, hip or buttocks. Although one way of dealing with this condition is surgery, chiropractic care should be tried first before medical and surgical techniques are used.14 • Conclusion If you do have sciatica, from whatever cause, a chiropractic adjustment is needed to remove pressure from your nerves, rebalance your spine, take stress off your discs and permit your body’s muscles, glands and tissues to function in a more balanced manner. All sciatica sufferers should see a doctor of chiropractic to ensure their bodies are free of subluxations. A subluxation causes spinal misalignment, disc and nerve pressure and stresses the entire body. References 1. Arana E, Marti-Bonmati L, Vega M et al. Relationship between low back pain, disability, MR imaging findings and health care provider. Skeletal Radiology. 2006;35(9):641-647. 2. Fonti S, Lynch M. Etiopathogenesis of lumbosciatalgia due to disc disease; chiropractic treatment. In J. Mazzarelli (Ed.), Chiropractic: Interprofessional Research. Torino, Italy: Edizioni Minerve Medica, 1983:59-68. 3. Stover BD, Turner JA, Franklin G et al. Factors associated with early opioid prescription among workers with low back injuries. Journal of Pain. 2006;7(10):718-725. 4. Patrick CAJ, Vroomen MD, Marc CTFM et al. Lack of effectiveness of bed rest for sciatica. The New England Journal of Medicine. 1999;340:418-423. 5. Johnson EW. Sciatic nerve palsy following delivery. Postgrad. Med. 1961;30(5). 6. Barge FH. The chiropractic vertebral subluxation and its relationship to vertebrogenic lumbar pain, cruralgia and sciatic syndromes. Chiropractic Research Journal. 1995;3(2):25-39. 7. Livingston M. Spinal manipulation: a one year follow-up study. The Canadian Family Physician. July 1969:35-39. 8. Mathews JA et al. Back pain and sciatica: controlled trials of manipulation, traction, sclerosant and epidural injections. British Journal of Rheumatology. 1987;26:416-423. 9. Osterbauer PJ, Fuhr AW. Treatment of chronic sciatica by mechanical force, manually assisted, short lever adjusting and a video assisted stretching program: a quantitative case report. Proceedings of the Consortium for Chiropractic Research Conference on Research and Education, 1992. Palm Springs, CA. 10. Orlin JR, Didriksen A. Results of chiropractic treatment of lumbopelvic fixation in 44 patients admitted to an orthopedic department. JMPT. 2007;30:135-139. 11. Cox JM, Shreiner S. Chiropractic manipulation in low back pain and sciatica: statistic data on the diagnosis, treatment and response of 576 consecutive cases. JMPT. 1982;7:1-11. 12. Bronfort G et al. Non-operative treatments for sciatica: a pilot study for a randomized clinical trial. JMPT. 2000;23(8):536-544. 13. Downs S. Unilateral intermittent claudication of the left lower extremity. JMPT. 1988;11:322-324. 14. Nall SK. The role of specific manipulation towards alleviating abnormalities in body mechanics and restoration of spinal motion. JMPT. 1982;5:11-15. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Sinus Trouble
• Chronic Sinus Problems Your sinuses (Latin for “hollow”) can refer to any sac or cavity in your body. When discussing the sinuses we are referring to the eight spaces in the cranial bones of your forehead and around your nose. Sinuses help you to breathe, but when they get inflamed and fill up with mucus it seems that healthy breathing is the one thing they prevent. Do you have a chronic “postnasal drip”? Do you wake up with a stuffy head and mucus in your throat or nose? Do you feel as if you always have a cold or that your last cold never left you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may be suffering from sinusitis—an inflammation of the sinuses. • Mucous Provides Protection? Your nose, throat and sinuses are lined with mucus to help ensure that your air is moist, warm and free from dust, dirt and pollutants; without this filtering gel your lungs and kidneys, and even your blood, could fill with toxins. It’s the butt of jokes and is often considered one of our less pleasant secretions and yet mucus, that sticky, elastic, unappealing gel, is nothing less than one of the greatest protections that we have against infection and poisoning. • Symptoms When mucus fills the sinus linings the condition is called sinusitis. When mucus only involves the nose or throat it’s called rhinitis and may mimic a cold. Sinusitis often occurs when you have a cold and clears up when the cold ends. That’s part of having a cold and it helps your body detoxify or expel waste. But if the drainage is blocked then there’s trouble—pressure increases in the sinus cavities and it can cause pain, discomfort, headache and swelling around your eyes and ears; a dull ache in the cheekbones; pain in the teeth or jaw; increased nasal secretions; chills; fever; dizziness; loss of appetite; photophobia (sensitivity to light); bad breath; a general “yucky” feeling; even depression.1-2 • Causes Of Rhinitis & Sinusitis Allergy sufferers often have sinus symptoms because allergens first irritate the nasal passages. Less common causes of sinusitis are bony growths, nasal polyps, deviated septum, facial injuries, tumors or diseases of the upper teeth. Anything that irritates the sensitive mucous membranes can be a contributing factor to sinusitis (or rhinitis): dust, mold or pollen; fumes; viri or bacteria; and hot or dry air in buildings.3 • The Orthodox Medical Approach Drugstores are filled with all kinds of sinus remedies. The standard medical treatment for sinusitis and rhinitis are the promotion of drainage and treatment with decongestants, antibiotics and antihistamines. That approach is controversial because while drugs may alleviate nasal stuffiness, they have limited effects on the sinuses and can cause adverse effects in some individuals such as insomnia, nervousness and high blood pressure. Antihistamines are sedatives (and some parents actually give kids antihistamines for this reason thinking it will calm them down). But sedating them impairs their breathing and makes it harder to spot a child who has a serious illness. Cough suppressants also impair breathing and make a chest infection more likely. Decongestants could worsen an undiagnosed heart condition.4 According to medical writer Charles P. Lebo: Antihistamines and decongestants … are generally ineffective for sinusitis and tend to make it worse…. Nasal sprays can cause a “rebound” stuffiness that can be worse than the original problem.5 If the usual medical procedures do not work, rather than being told about alternative forms of healthcare, the patient may be told that surgical drainage is the only option! • The Chiropractic Approach Chiropractic is not a treatment for sinus conditions, yet sufferers often find relief after chiropractic care. How does chiropractic help? Chiropractic, by relieving stress on the nervous and structural systems, helps your body work more efficiently. Further, chiropractic can ensure that the skull bones move freely and “breathe,” permitting body fluids to drain without interference. • A Stronger Immune System Chiropractors and osteopaths have, for many decades, observed the beneficial effects of structural care on the nervous, immune and respiratory systems.6-13 Children may especially benefit from chiropractic care. One representative case history as an example is that of a four-year-old boy with headaches, vomiting, nasal drip and decreased appetite who was being treated with large doses of antibiotics. He had a fall on his head at age two from a height of four feet. He was seen by his chiropractor two times per week for six months. His headaches, vomiting and nasal drip resolved completely. His parents also reported that his attitude and appetite “dramatically improved.”14 The relationship between the nervous system and the immune system appears to be more extensive than ever realized. Recent research has shown that white blood cells may be “tipped off” about invaders by the nervous system.15 • Sinus Sufferers Those suffering from rhinitis, sinusitis, or other respiratory problems should see a chiropractor for a checkup. Chiropractic care can help your body function better, improve your resistance to disease and enhance your well-being. References 1. Baroody FM. Allergic rhinitis: broader disease effects and implications for management. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003;128(5):616-631. 2. Murphy P. Upper respiratory tract infections. In AM Harvey et al. (Eds.), The Principles and Practice of Medicine (22nd ed.). East Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange. 1988;588. 3. Hardin BD, Kelman BJ, Saxon A. Adverse human health effects associated with molds in the indoor environment. J Occup Environ Med. 2003;45(5):470-478. 4. Lavelle P. Thumbs down for cough mixture. The Pulse. October 25, 2007. 5. Lebo CP. Sinusitis self-defense. Bottom Line Personal. January 15,1994;13-14. 6. Mills MV, Henley CE, Barnes LL et al. The use of osteopathic manipulative treatment as adjuvant therapy in children with recurrent acute otitis media. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003;157(9):861-866. 7. Anderson C. The consequences of birth trauma. A case report of failure to thrive in an infant with cephalohematoma and congenital torticollis. The Chiropractor’s Choice. June 2004;15. 8. Brennan P, Hondras M. Priming of neutrophils for enhanced respiratory burst by manipulation of the thoracic spine. Proceedings of the 1989 International Conference on Spinal Manipulation. Arlington, VA: FCER. 1989;10:160-163. 9. Nansel D, Jansen R et al. Effects of cervical adjustments on lateral-flexion passive end-range asymmetry and on blood pressure, heart rate and plasma catecholamine levels. JMPT. 1991;14(8):450. 10. Brennan P, Kokjohn K et al. Enhanced phagocytic cell respiratory burst induced by spinal manipulation. JMPT. 1991;14(7):399-408. 11. Schmidt IC. Osteopathic manipulative therapy as a primary factor in the management of upper, middle and pararespiratory infections. JAOA. February, 1982;2388. 12. Kaluza C, Sherbin M. The physiologic response of the nose to osteopathic manipulative treatment. JAOA. May 1983. 13. Leboeuf-Yde C, Axen I, Ahlefeldt G et al. The types and frequencies of nonmusculoskeletal symptoms reported after chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy. JMPT. 1999;22(9);559-564. 14. McCarthy R. Orbital sinusitis. ICPA Newsletter. July/August 1997. 15. Felton D. The brain and the immune system. In Moyers B. Healing and the Mind. NY: Doubleday. 1993;213-216. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Sports
• Champions Use Chiropractic Top professional players in sports as diverse as golf, tennis and football utilize chiropractic care. Competitors from ESPN’s X Games, surfing, volleyball, rowing, running, sailing, cycling, weightlifting, handball and other sports are chiropractic care enthusiasts.1 In addition to serving athletes at the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, for the first time in Olympic history, chiropractic care was fully integrated in caring for athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics games in Vancouver.2-3 Why is chiropractic so popular among athletes? Two reasons: 1. Chiropractic helps to enhance and enhance athletic performance 2. Chiropractic helps keep athletes on the field and may prevent minor injuries from becoming major ones.4 • Improved Coordination, Reaction Time & Strength University baseball players were divided into a chiropractic and a non-chiropractic group. They were tested for vertical jump, standing broad jump, broad jump, muscle strength, pulse rate, electrocardiogram, blood pressure and treadmill stress testing. The chiropractic group showed significant improvement over the control group.9 Fifty athletes were divided into two groups. One group received chiropractic care while the control group did not receive care. They were tested for agility, balance, power, speed and hand reaction time. After 12 weeks, the chiropractic group’s improvement was 16.7% including a more than 30% improvement in reaction time! “The [chiropractic] athlete reacts faster, coordinates better, executes fine movements with improved accuracy and precision, amounting to an overall better athlete.”8 For many professional and amateur athletes chiropractic has become a key part of their training and recovery program. 75% of the San Francisco 49ers received chiropractic care the day they won the 1990 Super Bowl.10 At the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games “chiropractic care was one of the core services. A huge team of chiropractors worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team…. In addition many countries sent their own team chiropractors, with the US team alone sending over 100 to treat their athletes.”11 • Runners & Chiropractic Sixteen injured female long distance runners were placed under chiropractic care. The runners recovered quickly and seven of them later scored “personal best” performances.12 The University of Tennessee’s track team won the men’s NCAA title after receiving care from team chiropractor Dr. Michael Petty. After an adjustment from Dr. Petty, decathlete Blake Sabo discovered chiropractic’s performance enhancement benefits. “He actually had six personal bests out of ten events at the meet,” said Dr. Petty.13 • Chiropractic & Professional Football According to a 2002 article, in US professional football, 77% of National Football League (NFL) trainers referred players to chiropractors and 31% of NFL teams had a chiropractor officially on staff.5 As of 2012, all 32 NFL teams had at least one, if not two, team chiropractors.6 The importance of chiropractic to release stress from the spine and nervous system is even more important than previously realized. The collisions of football cause head trauma that can result in brain trauma. A study commissioned by the NFL of more than 3,500 former players found that former NFL players are more likely to die from neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and ALS.7 • Swimmers & Chiropractic Olympic head coach Richard Quick of the University of Texas says: “Chiropractic is playing a larger and larger role in all forms of athletics … [it] helps athletic performance.” “If you … want optimum performance, chiropractic helps with that,” says Brian Campbell, DC, a chiropractor who counts USC, UCLA and USA swimming athletes as his patients.14 • Team Chiropractor Let us not forget the millions of people who regularly perform aerobic workouts. Exercise workouts are much more effective when the body is balanced. “Getting in shape” should always include the “shaping” of the structural system by a chiropractor. Even kinder, gentler sports can create damage from micro-trauma rather than macro-trauma. You don’t have to be an Olympiad, a professional athlete or a “serious” athlete to benefit from chiropractic care. Americans suffer from millions of sports-related injuries each year15 and everyone with such an injury needs regular chiropractic checkups. • Severe Trauma The orthodox medical profession specializes in the management of fractures, torn flesh, ripped tendons, dislocations, blood and fluid loss, and other damage that may need immediate emergency attention. However, most victims of trauma leave the hospital with serious subluxations from their accidents because MDs are not trained to locate and correct this form of damage. That is the realm of chiropractic care. Explore chiropractic and natural methods first. As superstar Joe Montana stated, “I only wish I had tried chiropractic care a few years ago when I first started having back pain, and maybe this surgery would never have happened.”16 • What Your Chiropractor Does Your chiropractor balances your structural system and relieves stress on your muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves. Sports injuries nearly always jar and misalign your spine and structural system. • Need A Sports Doctor? Why not ask your chiropractor if he or she might be interested in providing chiropractic care to your athletes or sponsoring a team? Many doctors of chiropractic get involved with their local little league, neighborhood and school teams. References 1. Belov D. PGA championship and summertime sports chiropractic. August 11, 2007. www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1&id=1186876394. 2. Federation Internationale de Chiropratique du Sport Newsletter. March 31, 2008. 3. 2010 Winter Olympics Games Business Plan and Games Budget, 151. 4. Haldeman S. Spinal manipulative therapy in sports medicine. Clinics in Sports Medicine. 1986;5:277. 5. Stump JL, Redwood D. The use and role of sport chiropractors in the National Football League: a short report. JMPT. 2002;25:E2. 6. www.profootballchiros.com 7. Lehman EJ, Hein MJ, Baron SL, Gersic CM. Neurodegenerative causes of death among retired National Football League players. Neurology. 2012;79(19):1970-1974. Epub 2012 Sep 5. 8. Lauro BM. Chiropractic effects on athletic ability. Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigations. 1991;6(4):84-87. 9. Schwartzbauer J, Kolber J, Schwartzbauer DC, Hart JDC, Zhang J. Effects of chiropractic care on athletic performance in baseball players. Paper presented at the National Subluxation Conference, October 12-13, 1996, Phoenix, AZ. 10. News release. International Chiropractic Association Review. March/April 1990. 11. http://metro.co.uk/2012/12/06/chiropractic-formed-part-backbone-london-2012-3816197/ 12. Grimston SK, Engsberg JR, Shaw L & Vetane NW. Rehabilitation prescribed in coordination with prior chiropractic therapy as a treatment for sacroiliac subluxation in female distance runners. Chiropractic Sports Medicine. 1990;4:2-9. 13. Painter J. Peak performers: well-adjusted UT volunteers capture NCAA track and field championships. Today’s Chiropractic. September/October 2001;52. 14. Stott MJ. Back in the water. Swimming World Magazine. August 2003. 15. News and World Report. July 31, 1989;56. 16. Interview with Nick Athens, DC. Today’s Chiropractic. March/April 1989;60-63. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Stress
• Stress Is Good … Or Bad With too little stress you’d be bored to tears but with too much you’d develop physical and emotional disease. When properly handled, stress can mean a life of challenge, excitement and growth. The biographies of great explorers, scientists, artists and other creative and accomplished individuals reveal that times of intense stress are also times of creativity, creativity, accomplishment and growth. It’s often said that stress is one of the most destructive elements in people’s daily lives, but that’s only a half-truth. The way we react to stress is more important than the stress itself.2 You can either grow, thrive and heal in the face of stress or be reduced to dullness and disease. It’s your choice. • You Can’t Avoid Stress Avoid stress? Impossible! To be alive is to be under stress. But stress is not however, necessarily bad for you. Any emotion, any activity causes stress. The same stress which makes one person sick can be an invigorating experience for another.1 • What Happens When You Face Stress? When you confront stress, complicated things happen inside you; chemicals and nerve impulses create the general adaptation syndrome or G.A.S., which has three stages: 1. First is the “call to arms”—the alarm reaction. Messages stream from your brain to your endocrine (hormonal) system in a “fight or flight” response. If the stress stops, you revert to normal. 2. If the stress continues, you enter the stage of resistance—your body tries to adapt to the stress; it puts up the barricades, so to speak. You tense your muscles, you raise your fever, you struggle to prevail. If the stress stops, you revert to normal. 3. If the stress still continues you may enter the stage of exhaustion. Your system falls prey to ill health.3 • Chronic Stress In olden days you’d confront a lion, tiger or bear and run away from it. After running safely away, your stress levels would drop. Or you’d fight it and kill it so it would become dinner and your stress would disappear. Or you’d become its dinner and you’d never feel stress (or anything else) again. But what if you have a fight with your boss, spouse or landlord? What about making a living and paying bills? You can’t run away and you can’t kill—you have to cope. Living in this world of not quite fight and not quite flight often causes us to carry around unresolved, chronic stress much of the time. Chronic stress means you never completely relax and, because of the energy drain, your body and mind become fatigued. You are then more susceptible to colds, infection, ulcers, digestive troubles, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, heart disease and premature aging. • Dealing With Chronic Stress A person under stress is more likely to have a weakened immune system.4 Conversely, having a shoulder to cry on or friends to talk to helps you deal with chronic stress. Such relationships increase life expectancy and help fight any disease including cancer.5-6 Even the companionship of a pet is healing—dogs take a bite out of stress because they provide unconditional support. In a study, elderly pet owners visited doctors less than their same-aged counterparts who had no pets.7 Prayer and meditation also relieve stress. One study of 2,000 people practicing meditation showed that they had a significant reduction in a wide spectrum of ailments, particularly tumors and infectious diseases.8 Writing about stressful experiences has a powerful healing effect. Journal writers had reduced symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis in one study.9 • The Chiropractic Approach One of the simplest and easiest ways of stress reduction is having a chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractors are trained to free you from a severe, destructive, chronic stress: the subluxation. A subluxation is a very common, often painless distortion in your structural system that affects your spine and nervous system, stressing you physically and emotionally. • Subluxations In Your Body You may have subluxations in your body for years without knowing it, while your health is being undermined, you age faster, your energy drops, you develop disease and show increasing wear and tear in your body. It’s similar to a house with termites—no apparent damage at first but one day the floor collapses! Doctors of chiropractic specialize in the correction of subluxations. Chiropractic care, by removing subluxation stress from your body, improves the function of your nervous system and promotes better adaptation to stress, whether physical or psychological. Are you carrying the chronic stress of subluxations in your body? Are your loved ones? Only a chiropractic checkup can tell. No matter what your health problem, keeping your body free of subluxations will permit you to better deal with stress, heal better, function better and enjoy life more.10-16 References 1. Selye H. The Stress of Life. NY: McGraw-Hill. 1984:xv. 2. Siegel B. Love, Medicine and Miracles. NY: Harper & Row. 1986:70. 3. Selye H. The Stress of Life. NY: McGraw-Hill. 1984:79. 4. Cohen S et al. Psychological stress and susceptibility to the common cold. N. Engl. J Med. 1991;325:606-612. 5. Cohen S, Doyle W, Skoner D. Social ties and susceptibility to the common cold. JAMA. 1997;277(24):1940-1944. 6. Spiegel D et al. Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer. The Lancet. October 14, 1989:888-891. 7. Bower B. Science News. Nov. 2, 1991:285. 8. Orme-Johnson D. Medical care utilization and the transcendental meditation program. Psychosomatic Medicine. 1987;49(5):493-507. 9. Smyth J, Stone A, Hurewitz A, Kaell A. Effects of writing about stressful experiences on symptom reduction in patients with asthma or rheumatoid arthritis. JAMA. 1999;281(14):1304-1309. 10. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL. A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. JVSR. 1997;1(4):1. 11. Marino MJ, Phillippa ML. A longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health wellness & quality of life: a preliminary study. JVSR. 1999;3(2):1-9. 12. Owens EF, Hoiriis KT, Burd D. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: PBR progress report. Chiropractic Research Journal. 1998;5(1):9-16. 13. Burd D, Hoiriis KT, Owens EF. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: a practice-based research project update. Chiropractic Research Journal. 1999;6(2):65-70. 14. Ressel O, Rudy R. Vertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004;1-23. 15. Boone WR, Oswald P, Holt K et al. Long term assessment of blood indices and immune panel profiling of subjects receiving chiropractic care: a pilot study. JVSR. June 7, 2006:1-11. 16. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. Treatment-related aggravations, complications and improvements attributed to chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy of pediatric patients: a practice-based survey of practitioners. Paediatric CAM research day, University of Alberta, Canada. December 11, 2007. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
TMJ Syndrome
• Your Temporomandibular Joint Where your skull’s temporal bone attaches to your mandible (jaw) is the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). You can find it by placing your fingers in front of each ear and open your jaw, you’ll feel lots of wiggling..that is your TMJ. Lots of cartilage, ligaments, fascia, discs, nerves, muscles and blood vessels run in, around and through it. • TMJ Syndrome When the TMJ joint is misaligned it is called TMJ Syndrome. Common symptoms include the inability to open the mouth wide and a clicking or popping sound when the mouth opens or closes. The jaw can even temporarily lock up in some cases. Other TMJ symptoms can include headache; hearing loss; tinnitus (ringing in the ears); throat fullness; facial swelling; shoulder, cheek or jaw pain; neck ache; facial nerve pain; ear or eye pain; dental pain; nausea; blurred vision and dizziness.1 TMJ Syndrome has also been linked to vertigo, throat infections, sinus congestion, ear infections, asthma and even heart, stomach, intestinal, respiratory and emotional disorders.2 • The Causes of TMJ According to one researcher, “[Up to] 78% of the general public have some amount of TMJ dysfunction. This condition can begin during the birth process…. One of the primary causes can be poor nutrition.”3 Indeed, TMJ symptoms are found in young children.4 Other causes of TMJ Syndrome are poor posture, spinal or skull subluxations, accidents and trauma (even from childhood).5-6 For example, a child may fall on his/her sacrum and in time, through the adaptive body mechanisms, the pelvic imbalance can affect the TMJ, head and neck.7 Gerald Smith, DDS, a specialist in this field, says dental work is the cause of many TMJ problems: Orthodontic treatment affects the cranium in 100% of cases…. The structural imbalances cause chronic fatigue, headaches, scalp tenderness, pains behind the eyes, muffled ear sounds, ringing, hissing or other ear distortions, balance problems, nausea, facial tightness and cervical or lower back pain.8 Dr. Daryl Curl, who holds degrees in both dentistry and chiropractic, confirms that orthotics (braces, crowns, etc.) may contribute to or worsen a patient’s head-pain complaint.9 The pain of ill-fitting dental work can be quite intense. There are even reports of individuals forcing dentists to remove their braces at gun point!10 Let us not overlook that the very act of sitting open-mouthed in a dental chair and getting worked on puts great stress on the TMJ. • The Standard Medical/Dental Approach Standard approaches to TMJ Syndrome include muscle relaxant drugs; painkillers; oral appliances, such as a night guard to control bruxism (grinding of the teeth); massage and a soft diet to ease the pain of chewing. Other treatments are orthodontics, restorative dentistry to build up the bite, bite plates and physical therapy. In severe cases jaw surgery has been performed. This drastic step should be taken only after more conservative approaches have failed. • The Chiropractic Approach Because structure and TMJ problems are often found together, many TMJ sufferers benefit from chiropractic care.11 Chiropractic, by relieving pressure on the spine and cranial bones, may correct or relieve a TMJ problem.12 Conversely, an unhealthy skull/jaw alignment can put great stress upon the spinal column. There are documented cases of dental problems that, once corrected, have enabled chiropractic patients to better hold their adjustments.13-14 • Studies In one study, thirty chronic TMJ sufferers were randomized into three groups (two had chiropractic and one was a control). The groups receiving chiropractic care had the most significant relief from pain.15 Eleven patients with chronic TMJ revealed a shift from high-intensity to low-intensity pain between the beginning and end of care (63.6% to 18.2%). A significant change of mouth opening range was also observed.17 In another study, sixty patients with chronic cervical pain were divided into chiropractic and control groups. There was a dramatic improvement in TMJ pain in the chiropractic group compared to the control group.16 An individual case involved a 41-year-old woman with bilateral TMJ pain, ear pain, tinnitus, vertigo, decreased hearing and a sensation of pressure or fullness in both ears. She also had a 22-year history of migraine headaches. Prescribed antibiotics caused gastric upset and vomiting. MDs told her to apply local heat, reduce talking and eat soft foods. Her symptoms worsened. Chiropractic care to the atlas vertebra resulted in complete relief of TMJ symptoms after nine visits. At a one-year follow-up she reported no TMJ symptoms and no headaches for the prior nine months.18 • In Conclusion All TMJ sufferers need a chiropractic checkup. Anyone who has been to the dentist should follow up that visit with a quick stop at their chiropractor. Certain chiropractic and body alignment techniques have been developed that analyze skull/jaw/spinal structural relationships. These techniques have benefited patients suffering from the hidden distortions that sometimes arise within us. References 1. Boniver R. Temporomandibular joint dysfunction in whiplash injuries: association with tinnitus and vertigo. Int Tinnitus J. 2002;8(2):129-131. 2. Gillespie B, Barnes J. Diagnosis and treatment of TMJ, head, neck and asthmatic symptoms in children. J of Craniomandibular Practice. October 1990;342-350. 3. Conversation with John D. Laughlin III, DDS, then President of the Holistic Dental Association. Jan. 16, 1991. 4. Tuerlings V, Limme M. The prevalence of temporomandibular joint dysfunction in the mixed dentition. Eur J Orthod. 2004;26(3):311-320. 5. Eriksson O, Zafar H et al. Deranged jaw-neck motor control in whiplash-associated disorders. European J. of Oral Sciences. 2004;112:25-32. 6. Knutson GA, Jacob M. Possible manifestation of temporomandibular joint dysfunction on chiropractic cervical X-ray studies. JMPT. 1999;22(1):32-37. 7. Gillespie BR, Barnes JF. Diagnosis and treatment of TMJ, head, neck and asthmatic symptoms in children. Cranio. 1990;8(4):342-349. 8. Smith GH. Headaches Aren’t Forever. Newtown, PA: International Center for Nutritional Research. 1986;9. 9. Curl D. Chiropractic, dentistry, and cervical adjustments. MPI’s Dynamic Chiropractic. August 29, 1990;21. 10. Conversation with G. H. Smith, DDS, Jan 21, 1991. 11. Raphael KG et al. Complementary and alternative therapy use by patients with myofascial temporomandibular disorders. J Orofac Pain. 2003;17(1):36-41. 12. Alcantara J, Plaugher G, Klemp DD, Salem C. Chiropractic care of a patient with temporomandibular disorder and atlas subluxation. JMPT. 2002;25(1):63-70. 13. Chinappi AS Jr, Getzoff H. The dental-chiropractic cotreatment of structural disorders of the jaw and temporomandibular joint dysfunction. JMPT. 1995;18(7): 476-481. 14. Curl D. Chiropractic, dentistry, and cervical adjustments. MPI’s Dynamic Chiropractic. August 29, 1990;21. 15. Kalamir A. A randomised controlled pilot study of chiropractic craniomandibular treatment for chronic TMD. Int. Conf. on Chiropractic Research. Vilamoura, Portugal. May 17-19, 2007. 16. Bablis P, Pollard H, Bonello R. Neuro Emotional Technique for the treatment of trigger point sensitivity in chronic neck pain sufferers: a controlled clinical trial. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2008;16:4. 17. Appiano P et al. Chiropractic treatment of temporomandibular joint pain: a case series. Int. Conf. on Chiropractic Research. Vilamoura, Portugal. May 17-19, 2007. 18. Alcantara J, Plaugher G, Klemp, DD, Salem C. Chiropractic care of a patient with temporomandibular disorder and atlas subluxation. JMPT. 2002;25(1):63-70. For more information: Biological or holistic dentists use no mercury, perform mercury removal according to exacting standards, perform no root canals and are sensitive to the body’s reactions to metals, toxins, chemicals and diet. They tend to be open and accepting of alternative approaches. Information on holistic/biological dentistry can be found at www.oramedica.com. To locate a holistic or biological dentist in your area, go to www.iaomt.org or www.mercuryfreedentists.com. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
What Is A Chiropractic Adjustment
• Chiropractic Adjustment. What is it? A chiropractic adjustment is a very specialized procedure that is used to uses to free your body from a health-destroying stress called the subluxation. Simply stated, a subluxation is a distortion in your structural system that interferes with the nerve communications in your body. How do you know if you have a subluxation? While there are some simple things that will tell you if you might have one, chiropractic education involves years of study and training for your chiropractor to master the techniques needed to locate and correct your subluxations. • Scientific & Artistic During your first visit to your chiropractor you will receive a chiropractic structural analysis to determine where and how many subluxations are in your body. Once the location of your subluxation(s) has been determined by using various tools of analysis, your chiropractor must determine the following: • Are there any factors that would contraindicate or prevent the adjustment? • Is the patient relaxed enough for the adjustment? • In which direction is the subluxation out of alignment or distorted? • What is the body trying to do to this area of stress and tension? • What is the minimal amount of force necessary for realignment? • Which is the best technique (style of adjusting) to use? • Which of the subluxations are primary and which are defensive or secondary? • A Checklist An experienced chiropractor may quickly go through a mental “checklist” of the questions above. Chiropractors may also include in the checklist a certain “feeling” when an adjustment is just right. This “feeling” can’t easily be put into words, but when the chiropractor has you under his or her hands, intuition and experience come into play. This includes a sensitivity to the patient knowing that every person is unique. No two adjustments are ever the same. • Physical Differences Adjustments from different chiropractors may feel different. One reason for this is that each chiropractor is physically unique: some are tall, some are short, they have different sized hands and they use different adjusting techniques. These differences are natural when dealing with adjusting, for it is an artistic as well as a scientific procedure. • The Same Goal Regardless of their differences all chiropractors have the same goal—the elimination or reduction of your subluxations to reduce the stress on your nervous system to permit you to unleash your inner healing ability. • Your Body Is Always Trying If your body is out of alignment it is always trying to realign itself and return to a state of ease or relaxation. It is unnatural to be under stress or tension—it is natural for it to be released. Your muscles are continuously working to put your body parts back to where they should be. The chiropractor doesn’t actually put the part back in place—he/she supplies just the little bit of force needed to free it so your body will realign it. • Putting The Bone In Place? Your chiropractor is not really “putting the bone back in place.” The adjustment is unlocking the jammed tissues and nearby body parts from their stuck or fixated positions. They are then free to move where the body wants them to go. Only the body knows exactly where its parts need to be. The chiropractor can, however, make a reasonable determination of the general direction using analysis tools including motion palpation, study of the electrical quality of the muscles (S-EMG), imaging tools such as MRI and X-ray, biofeedback, autonomic awareness and others. • A Stuck Car As an example, let’s say your car is stuck in the mud or snow and its wheels are spinning and spinning. Then along comes a friend who pushes the car—the wheels finally catch—and the car jumps out of its rut. Now ask yourself, “Did your friend really push your two-ton car out of the mud?” Of course not! He just supplied the right amount of force in the right direction that the car needed to dislodge itself. • Does Your Chiropractors Need To Be Strong? No, strength is not necessary—skill is. An adjustment has little to do with actual strength since the body is always trying to pull the vertebrae back into proper alignment and release unnatural stress from your muscles, tissues and joints. Most of the force is already there, locked up and therefore not moving. The chiropractor has the right “key” to open the “locked” areas. Just the right touch in the correct direction (at the proper moment) should be all that is needed. Some adjusting techniques use so little force patients barely feel anything! A small female chiropractor of slight build can, with the proper adjusting technique, move man-mountains. • Chiropractic Adjusting Techniques The chiropractic profession has developed nearly a hundred different techniques to analyze the body for subluxations and adjust or release them. Not all chiropractors work alike. Each chiropractor usually has a favorite technique that he or she employs for the majority of patients. Just ask what type of adjusting technique he or she uses and why. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
What Is Chiropractic
• Why Is This Healing Art So Popular? Simply put: chiropractic helps people function better emotionally and physically. People feel better, recover from disease, sickness, and disability faster and less use of drugs and surgery in their lives! Many people who choose a chiropractic lifestyle report less stress, more vitality and enjoying life more!1-7 • Can Chiropractic Help You? Every year millions of people are enjoy the most popular natural, drug-free healthcare system in the world—chiropractic care! Originally discovered in America, chiropractic now spans the world, with practitioners in most countries and chiropractic colleges in Japan, North America, Europe, Australia, Africa and New Zealand. • What Is Chiropractic? Chiropractic is a healthcare system that releases a serious stress from your body: the subluxation. A subluxation is an often painless, tiny distortion in your structure that can affect your nerves, muscles, energy, brain function, internal organs, discs, bones, tendons, ligaments, posture and overall health and vitality. • How Do Subluxations Happen? Subluxations are caused by stress of all kinds such as physical stress caused by poor posture, accidents, sitting or working in the same position for long periods of time, sports injuries and any kind of physical trauma even if seemingly mild. It may surprise you to discover that a stressful birth or a childhood fall can cause health problems that may not surface until decades later. Without a chiropractic checkup these old, long-standing subluxations may never be found and corrected. This may result in adults with physical and/or emotional dis-ease or malfunction and subsequent health problems. Studies reveal that nearly everyone has subluxations; it is a “hidden epidemic.” For that reason you and your family need to see a doctor of chiropractic for a checkup—just like you get your eyes, teeth and blood pressure checked! • How Was Chiropractic Discovered? Modern chiropractic was discovered in 1895 in Davenport, Iowa when Dr. D.D. Palmer performed the first chiropractic “adjustment” on his deaf janitor, Harvey Lillard. Lillard had been deaf for seventeen years after a slight accident and yet his hearing returned after Dr. Palmer worked on him. At first Dr. Palmer thought he had discovered a cure for deafness. But as patients with digestive troubles, sciatica, menstrual troubles, migraine headaches, epilepsy, heart problems, back pain and many other conditions responded to his “hand treatments” (as he first called them), he realized that he had discovered something more far-reaching indeed.8 • Why Choose Chiropractic? The medical approach of waiting for symptoms to appear before addressing one’s health is limited. By the time symptoms first appear you could have been deteriorating for years. The chiropractic approach is to get your body working well now! Chiropractors can analyze your body and locate (and correct) your subluxations before symptoms appear and before problems get worse. People like chiropractors because they approach healthcare in a unique manner. Instead of a disease orientation (diagnosis and treatment of disease), your chiropractor’s purpose is to enhance your health. He/she does this by analyzing your body for, and eliminating, your subluxations. Without the stress of subluxations your body and mind function better, your healing ability is enhanced, your immunity to disease strengthens, your sleep deepens and your energy improves. If you presently are ill and suffering, you need your natural healing ability enhanced so you can better fight disease and return yourself to a state of balance and health. That is a fact no matter what disease or condition you may have. By correcting your subluxations, chiropractors help activate your natural healing ability to function at its optimum—to awaken your “inner healer.” That’s why increasing numbers of people are seeing chiropractors for health problems—but not only for health problems. Many people are also seeing chiropractors to maintain and enhance their health, for better sports performance, for natural immunity—and a drug-free lifestyle. • Could A Chiropractor Benefit You? When you walk into a chiropractor’s office you will see people with all kinds of problems: ear infections, colds, flu, allergies, hearing problems, spinal or disc problems, pain, whiplash, arthritis, insomnia, stress, vision problems, headaches, allergies, PMS, bed-wetting, colic, high blood pressure—the list goes on. For over a hundred years people have visited their neighborhood doctor of chiropractic for nearly every health condition!9-14 • What Does A Chiropractor Do? Your doctor of chiropractic is specially trained to analyze your body for subluxations. Using special chiropractic adjustment techniques, your chiropractor safely, gently and painlessly corrects your subluxations, ridding your body of this dangerous condition. • Unique Place If you’re tired of being sick and tired, tired of being told “you’ve just got to learn to live with it,” and are looking for a natural method of regaining health and wholeness without polluting your body with chemicals and worrying about side effects, why not join the millions who have discovered the wonders of this amazing healthcare system? Chiropractic occupies a unique place in modern healthcare. It draws upon modern scientific knowledge of anatomy and physiology using imaging tools such as X-rays and MRI, infrared and electronic scanners and other tools, yet chiropractic respects the ancient concepts of self-healing, life energy and a holistic approach to health. Your chiropractor’s goal is to turn on your “inner healer” and awaken your natural healing ability. Why live with health problems when you can live without them? Discover chiropractic—discover how natural health can be. References 1. Meade TW. Follow-up to Meade study. British Medical Journal. August 5, 1995. 2. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL et al. A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. JVSR. 1997;1(4):41-48. 3. Marino MJ, Langrell PM. A longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health wellness & quality of life: a preliminary study. JVSR. 1999;3(2):65-73. 4. Owens EF, Hoiriis KT, Burd D. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: PBR report. CRJ. 1995;5(1):9-16. 5. Hoiriis KT, Owens EF. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: a practice-based research project update. CRJ. 1999;6(2):65-70. 6. Splendori F. Chiropractic-therapeutical effectiveness-social importance: incidence of absence from work and hospitalization: survey on a sample of 17,142 patients. Italy, 1987. 7. Study associates chiropractic with better health in the elderly. Today’s Chiropractic. November/December 1996. 8. Palmer DD. The Chiropractor’s Adjustor. Portland, OR: 1910. 9. Ressel O, Rudy R. Vertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and Immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research. October 18, 2004;1-23. 10. Boone WR, Oswald P, Holt K et al. Long term assessment of blood indices and immune panel profiling of subjects receiving chiropractic care: a pilot study. Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research. June 7, 2006;1-11. 11. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. Treatment-related aggravations, complications and improvements attributed to chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy of pediatric patients: a practice-based survey of practitioners. Pediatric CAM Research Day, University of Alberta, Canada. December 11, 2007. 12. Nyiendo J, Olsen E. Characteristics of 217 children attending a chiropractic college teaching clinic. JMPT. 1988;11(2):78-84. 13. Clum G. Jocks and chiropractic care. The Latest Stuff from Gerry. November 1998 issue (on-line). 14. Lauro A, Mouch B. Chiropractic effects on athletic ability. Chiropractic: The Journal of Chiropractic Research and Clinical Investigation. 1991;6:84-87. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
What Does A Chiropractor Do
What is chiropractic and how can a chiropractor help you? • Working With Your Body Chiropractic helps unleash your natural healing ability, your inner healer. Chiropractic has been a blessing to many millions worldwide since its discovery in 1895. • Most People Are Unaware You may not know that areas of your body are under serious stress and being damaged. That is because many nerves send no pain messages. Often people are totally unaware that they have subluxations in their body. For example, you can feel when something happens to your skin (which is full of sensory nerves) but not to your liver (which has no sensory nerves). • Millions Of Subluxations Millions of people are walking around with many subluxations in their bodies! It’s a silent epidemic! These people don’t feel anything wrong in their backs or necks so they think their nerves are fine and they never get checked by a chiropractor. How wrong they are! • What Do Chiropractors Do? Chiropractic is the largest and most popular natural, drug-free healthcare system in the world. Why? Because chiropractors perform a unique service—they locate and release stress from your body, a stress that affects your brain, spinal cord and structural system. • The World’s Most Powerful Healer Your body is the world’s most powerful healer—it stores more information than the most powerful mainframe computer. It is able to learn, grow and repair itself. For that you have a powerful central computer and a vast communications system. All of your many body parts and systems—cardiovascular, digestive, eliminative, immune, structural, hormonal and others—must work in harmony. This is what enables you to function at your optimum—full of energy, happiness, strength and joy so you are able to fulfill your hopes and dreams. Your central computer needs a communications system with billions of “wires” so all your parts can communicate with each other. What is your “inner computer” made of? Not metal, silicon and plastic—it’s mostly water and fat floating in a special protective, temperature-controlled hard casing. As you’ve probably guessed the computer is your brain, the “wires” are your nerve fibers and the protective casing is your skull, spinal column and structural system. • Your Brain & Your Body Nerves leave your brain and travel from your skull as a tightly knit bundle of billions of nerves—your spinal cord. Nerves in your spinal cord exit between the bones (vertebrae) of your spinal column and carry messages to and from your brain. This is how your brain stays in communication with your billions of body parts. Sometimes your communications system develops a “bug” and information going through it may be garbled or distorted. This bug is referred to as a subluxation. The most common cause of subluxations is a tiny distortion in your spine and structural system. This distortion or misalignment creates stress on your nerves. Instead of protecting your nerves, your bones irritate and impinge them and cause physical and mental dis-ease or malfunction. • The Lucky Ones People who have neck or back pain are, in a way, lucky. They know there is a structural problem in their body and may do the smart thing: go to a chiropractor. Others may suffer from digestive problems, headaches, colds, menstrual cramps, depression, seizures, skin conditions and many other problems and not know that they have a subluxation and that a chiropractic adjustment could make a major difference in their health. How do you know if you have a subluxation? You go to a chiropractor and get yourself checked and adjusted (if needed). • Correcting Subluxations Chiropractors spend years of highly specialized training learning how to locate these “bugs” or subluxations. After locating these subluxations your chiropractor, using various highly specialized adjusting or correcting techniques, releases pressure from your nerves and structural system. This procedure is called a chiropractic adjustment. • Improper Nerve Supply You may live with subluxations for years, all the while feeling no pain. During that “pain-free” time your body may be weakening and actual damage to your spinal column, nerves and organs may be occurring. This process is similar to that of tooth decay where you may have dental caries for a long time and yet feel no pain. All the while however, your tooth (or teeth) continues to decay. • True Health Assurance Many people bring in the whole family—true health assurance, making sure they are free of “silent” subluxations now, so they won’t experience “noisy” illness later. Please join the millions of people who have made chiropractic part of their healthcare lifestyle. You and your family will be happier and healthier. • Chiropractic Checkups You get your eyes checked, your teeth checked and your hearing checked routinely—why not your spine and structural system? It only takes a short time, it’s fun and your whole nervous system —and body—will thank you for it. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Whiplash & Neck Injuries
• What Is Whiplash? What exactly is a whiplash injury and how does chiropractic help relieve the discomfort caused by it? Chiropractic has been a blessing to millions of people who have suffered whiplash injuries. Whiplash is not a disease but a description of how an injury occurred. The head was “whipped around” on the neck usually front to back, but it can also happen from a side-to-side motion of the neck as well.1 The spine, usually the head and neck, was unexpectedly thrown very quickly in one direction and then rebounded in the opposite direction. • Where Is The Damage Located When Whiplash Occurs? Most of whiplash sufferers have misaligned spinal bones (cervical vertebrae) and nerve, joint, ligament, tendon, muscle and disc stress, irritation or damage. Chiropractors have a special name to describe this type of condition—a subluxation, the most common source of pain and discomfort from whiplash injuries.2 • What Is A Subluxation? A whiplash injury is just one dramatic example of one type of subluxation (nerve interference)—the kind produced by accident or trauma. Subluxations may also be caused by emotional stress and tension that slowly build up day-to-day—micro-trauma. Other causes of subluxations are bad sleeping positions, poor posture, weak muscles, poor diet and even dental work.3 A chiropractic examination often includes a discussion of your personal habits and any injuries, accidents, falls or other situations which may contribute to subluxations. Chiropractors are the only professionals specially trained to locate and correct your subluxations. • Whiplash Symptoms—Body & Mind Right after the accident you may feel some neck soreness or stiffness, perhaps accompanied by a headache. Later, pain and/or numbness, tingling or a pins-and-needles feeling may develop between the shoulder blades, in the arm, hand and/or fingers. Depending on the nerves affected, you may have ear ringing, dizziness, hearing loss, eye pain, blurred vision, sensitivity to light, nasal problems, low back pain and even internal organ problems.4-6 • Concussion A concussion may accompany a whiplash. In a concussion the brain is thrown around inside the skull—similar to scrambling an egg without damaging the shell. Concussion symptoms may include headache, restlessness, irritability, insomnia, moodiness, depression and emotional ‘jitters’ that may last for hours, days or months after the accident.9 • Psychological Changes Those who suffer from whiplash sometimes have memory, thinking, vision and psychological problems7 even if there is no head or brain injury. How could that be? Research has revealed that a neck subluxation can cause decreased blood flow to the brain!8 • Immediately After The Accident An individual who has been in an accident should first make sure that there is no life-threatening emergency—broken bones, bleeding or hemorrhage, serious contusions or abrasions, internal organ damage, shock or other damage. This is the specialty of emergency medicine yet too many patients are released from medical care after an injury even though they are still not well. Although the X-rays, MRI or CT scans and other tests may have found “nothing,” the patient’s structural system has not been analyzed for subluxations. They may develop arthritis and disc problems years after the accident (and after the legal settlements) because a chiropractor was not consulted right away. After the patient’s condition has stabilized, it is essential that the accident victim’s spine be checked by a doctor of chiropractic for subluxations.10 No amount of drugs or therapies will give the patient what the doctor of chiropractic can give: the adjustment which realigns the spinal column and structural system safely and easily, without drugs or surgery. • Chronic Whiplash Problems Some whiplash victims heal rapidly and yet others may suffer long-term chronic pain and impairment. From 50% to as much as 88% of sufferers may continue to experience pain and some amount of disability for many years after the accident.11 • Chiropractic Care For Whiplash Victims Chiropractic effectiveness with whiplash sufferers has long been observed and reported in professional journals.12 Chiropractic’s superiority was noted in a study published in a major medical journal when, after the authors interviewed 93 patients, they concluded: “Whiplash injuries are common. Chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment in chronic cases.”14 In one study, 41 male and female patients (ages 17-67) with whiplash injuries were placed under chiropractic care. Their pain levels were significantly lower after 20 office visits.13 • In Conclusion Any accident may cause subluxations—structural misalignments and irritated or damaged nerves. If you’ve ever been involved in an accident, whiplash or otherwise, no matter how long ago, please see your doctor of chiropractic to ensure that you have really healed as completely as possible. Trauma or injury from many years ago may be responsible for seemingly unrelated health problems suffered today. References 1. Cailliet R. Neck and Arm Pain. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Co. 1979:64. 2. Lord WM, Barnsley L, Wallis BJ, Bogduk N. Chronic cervical zygopophysial joint pain after whiplash: a placebo-controlled prevalence study. Spine. 1996;21:1737-1745. 3. Smith GH. Headaches Aren’t Forever: How Incurable Headaches Can Be Cured. Newtown, PA: Int’l Ctr for Nutritional Research. 1986:96. 4. Brown S. Effect of whiplash injury on accommodation. Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology. 2003;31(5):424-429. 5. Stewart DY. Current concepts of the ‘Barre Syndrome’ or the ‘Posterior Cervical Sympathetic Syndrome’. Clin. Orthop. 1962;24:40-48. 6. Burcon M. Cervical protocol to reduce vertebral subluxation in ten subjects with Meniere’s: a case series. JVSR. June 2, 2008;1-8. 7. Di Stefano G, Radanov BP. Course of attention and memory after common whiplash. Acta Neurol Scand. 1995;91:346-352. 8. Otte A, Ettlin TM, Nitzsche, EU et al. PET and SPECT in whiplash syndrome: a new approach to a forgotten brain? J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997;63:368-372. 9. Bohnen N et al. Late outcome of mild head injury: results from a controlled postal survey. Brain Injury. 1994;8(8):701-708. 10. Seletz E. Whiplash injuries: neurophysiological basis for pain and methods used for rehabilitation. JAMA. 1958;168:1750-1755. 11. Squires B, Gargan MF, Bannister GC. Soft tissue injuries of the cervical spine: a 15-year follow-up. J of Bone and Joint Surgery (British Edition). 1996;(70B):955-957. 12. McCoy HG, McCoy M. A multiple parameter assessment of whiplash injury patients undergoing subluxation based chiropractic care: a retrospective study. JVSR. 1997;1(3):51-61. 13. Davis C. Chiropractic treatment in acute whiplash injuries: grades I & II. JVSR. May 19, 2008;1-3. 14. Khan S, Cook J, Gargan M, Bannister G. A symptomatic classification of whiplash injury and the implications for treatment. The Journal of Orthopaedic Medicine. 1999;21(1). © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
What Is A Subluxation
• Why Has Chiropractic Become So Popular? Chiropractic has become popular because doctors of chiropractic are the only professionals trained to locate and correct subluxations. When subluxations are in your body, you cannot be truly healthy. What are these subluxations and how were they discovered? • How Were Subluxations Discovered? Dr. Daniel David Palmer was a successful natural healer in Davenport, Iowa at the turn of the twentieth century. He examined a deaf man and found a spinal bone (vertebra) slightly out of its normal position. Palmer adjusted the vertebra back into place and the man’s hearing returned! Dr. Palmer examined other patients’ spines and found more of these abnormally positioned vertebrae. He wrote: Shortly after this relief from deafness, I had a case of heart trouble which was not improving. I examined the spine and found a displaced vertebra pressing against the nerves which innervate the heart. I adjusted the vertebra and gave immediate relief. Then I began to reason if two diseases so dissimiliar as deafness and heart trouble, came from impingement, a pressure on nerves, were not other diseases due to a similar cause?1 Such was the discovery of chiropractic and the subluxation. In many ways it was a re-discovery of the ancient art of structural system alignment found in nearly every culture throughout history. • The Subluxation Complex Palmer’s “displaced vertebrae … [causing] a pressure on nerves” is now commonly referred to as a subluxation.2 Subluxation is a term used to describe the phenomenon by which chiropractors get such good results. Research reveals the subluxation involves structural distortions that affect brain and nerve function.3 • What Does The Subluxation Do? Subluxations cause body malfunction (dis-ease) which results in lowered resistance to disease, pain, imbalance and fatigue and can pave the way for ill health in almost any part of the body. Subluxations are sometimes referred to as “silent killers” because they can slowly eat away at your health and vitality for years without your knowing it. Subluxation damage includes the following components:4 1. Muscle damage (myopathology) Your muscles are tight, in spasm, weak, overly sensitive and/or sore. Your posture is unbalanced, resulting in fatigue and increased joint wear and tear.7 2. Joint damage (kinesiopathology) Your structure is misaligned. You may not be able to turn your head, hips or other body parts around equally well or as far as possible (reduced range of motion). You may have “noisy joints.”5 3. Nerve damage (neuropathology) There is stress on your nerves. Chemicals and messages that flow over the nerves may be blocked. You may feel nothing or there may be pain and other symptoms.6 4. Tissue damage (histopathology) You have tender “trigger points” or painful spots. Ligaments, cartilage, discs, tendons and internal organs may be affected resulting in osteoarthritis or spinal degeneration.8 5. Overall body malfunction (pathophysiology) Eventually long-standing subluxations cause your muscles, joints, ligaments and organs to show signs of wear and tear, premature aging, fatigue, less resistance to disease and lack of physical and mental vitality. Internal organ disease, spinal degeneration and disc herniation may occur after years of subluxation damage.9-11 • What Are The Causes of Subluxations? Subluxations are caused by accidents, falls, sports injuries, birth stress and other trauma or by bad posture or even by emotional stress. Infants and children need to have their structural systems checked by a doctor of chiropractic as neurological and other health problems have been traced to structural damage at birth or in infancy. • Correcting Subluxations Nearly everyone has subluxations at one time or another. It is sometimes said that if you suffer from neck and back pain you’re lucky—you are aware of a problem and will (hopefully) go to a doctor of chiropractic for a checkup. The chiropractor will not only check the areas in pain, but will throw in a “bonus” and check your entire body for subluxations, even the areas that don’t hurt. • Benefits Of Chiropractic Various studies have revealed the effects and benefits of subluxation correction. In addition to pain reduction, chiropractic patients also experience significant improvements in overall physical health and mental/emotional health. They report sleeping better and improvements in lifting, walking, standing, sex life, social life and ability to travel. These benefits of chiropractic care were found in all age groups.12-17 • Get A Chiropractic Checkup Now Because subluxations are often painless, periodic chiropractic checkups should be a part of every family’s healthcare routine. Correcting silent subluxations today will help ensure greater physical and emotional health now and may well save you and your family from serious health problems that, later in life, could not possibly be ignored. References 1. Palmer DD. The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic (The Chiropractor’s Adjuster). Portland, OR: Portland Printing House Company. 1910. 2. Rome PL. Usage of chiropractic terminology in the literature: 296 ways to say “subluxation”: complex issues of the vertebral subluxation. Chiropractic Technique. 1996;8(2):49. 3. Lantz CA. The vertebral subluxation complex. International Review of Chiropractic. September/October 1989;45(5):37-58. 4. Flesia JM. The component basis of the vertebral subluxation complex. International Review of Chiropractic. Spring 1991. 5. Lantz CA. The vertebral subluxation complex part 1: an introduction to the model and the kinesiological component. CRJ. 1989;1(3):23. 6. Henderson CNR. Three neurophysiologic theories on the chiropractic subluxation. In MI Gatterman (Ed.), Foundations of Chiropractic: Subluxation. St. Louis, MO: Mosby. 1995. 7. Lantz CA. The vertebral subluxation complex part 2: the neuropathological and myopathological components. CRJ. 1990;1(4):19. 8. Salter RB. Textbook of Disorders and Injuries of the Musculoskeletal System. Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins. 1970. 9. Akeson W et al. Collagen crosslinking alterations in joint contractures: changes in reducible cross-links in periarticular connective tissue: collagen after nine weeks of immobilization. Connect Tissue Res. 1977;5(1):15-19. 10. Dishman RW. Static and dynamic components of the chiropractic subluxation complex: a literature review. JMPT. 1988;11(2):98-107. 11. Leach RA. Chapter 12: Neurodystrophic hypothesis. In The Chiropractic Theories: A Synopsis of Scientific Research (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Williams and Wilkins. 1986. 12. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL et al. A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. JVSR. 1997;1(4):41-48. 13. Marino MJ, Langrell PM. A longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health wellness & quality of life: a preliminary study. JVSR. 1999;3(2):65-73. 14. Owens EF, Hoiriis KT, Burd D. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: PBR report. CRJ. 1995;5(1):9-16. 15. Hoiriis KT, Owens EF. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: a practice-based research project update. CRJ. 1999;6(2):65-70. 16. Splendori F. Chiropractic-therapeutical effectiveness-social importance. Incidence of absence from work and hospitalization. Survey on a sample of 17,142 patients, Italy, 1987. 17. Study associates chiropractic with better health in the elderly. Today’s Chiropractic. November/December 1996. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Why Should I Go To A Chiropractor
• Who Should Go To A Chiropractor? The short answer is “everybody with a body.” But different people have unique problems that affect how they view our care. For example, if you asked a person who was relieved of migraines she’d say, “Anyone with migraines should see a doctor of chiropractic.” Anyone with menstrual problems should go,” says a woman who suffered from menstrual cramps. Someone saved from back or disc surgery would say chiropractic is for people with spine, back or neck problems. A child who no longer wets his bed may say, “Chiropractic is for bed-wetting.” “ But those are limited views because there are case histories of people recovering from nearly every known disease and condition under chiropractic care: heart trouble, hyperactivity, ear infections, fatigue, allergies, digestive problems, colds, flu and hundreds of other conditions. • Join The Movement Chiropractic has become the largest non-medical healing art in the world. The natural, drug-free chiropractic healthcare system attracts just about everyone—from movie stars and professional athletes to homeakers and office workers , infants and children, the elderly, scientists, laborers, business people, doctors of all kinds and anyone taking care of their health. Millions upon millions seek the unique services that only a doctor of chiropractic can provide. However, as you read these words, there are millions more sick and suffering people, many living on drugs, perhaps facing surgery, who don’t know that help may be (literally) around the corner. • Why? The goal of the doctor of chiropractic is to awaken your own natural healing ability by correcting subluxations—tiny distortions in your body that can affect your energy and health. By correcting subluxations we promote natural healing, vitality, strength and health. That is why you may see people with many kinds of health problems in the waiting room of a doctor of chiropractic. • What Exactly Is A Subluxation? A subluxation is a distortion or misalignment in your body that irritates your nervous system resulting in overall weakness, disharmony or malfunction. Subluxations affect the health of your nerves, ligaments, discs and joints; weaken your muscles and alter the energy that flows from your brain and nerves to all parts of your body. Your internal organs may get less blood; even your brain may get less oxygen and nourishment! • The Chiropractic Message Chiropractic’s message is simple: you have within you an inborn or innate natural healing ability that needs to be reawakened and unleashed. Your body is your best healer! But subluxations create a serious stress that interferes with your natural inner healer’s proper function. You’ll feel better, heal better and function better if you have no subluxations inside you. Periodic chiropractic examinations and adjustments help keep you free from subluxations and promote your internal healing ability. • What Does Your Chiropractor Do? Doctors of chiropractic are specially trained to analyze you for subluxations. They remove your subluxations using chiropractic adjustment techniques freeing you from these damaging structural distortions. • Common Questions About Chiropractic Should I go to a chiropractor if I’m suffering from a disease? Absolutely! Chiropractic care will help turn on your body’s natural healer and improve your self-healing ability. You’ll be better able to fight whatever disease or condition you may have. Why should I go to a chiropractor? If you’re sick you should go to strengthen your natural healing ability. If you’re feeling fine you should remember that painless subluxations can undermine your health. You and your family should get yourselves checked periodically to make sure you’re living free from hidden subluxations so you’re functioning at your fullest. Can I see a chiropractor if I’m under medical care? Yes. You always need to be subluxation free no matter what other type of care you’re receiving. You can have your body checked for subluxations by a doctor of chiropractic and still visit a doctor of homeopathy, naturopathy, osteopathy or medicine. MDs and other healers cannot tell if you’re suffering from subluxations and they are not trained in correcting them. Can my dog or cat receive chiropractic care? All creatures can have a subluxation and can receive chiropractic care. Many chiropractors work on dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses and other farm animals. A number of chiropractors specialize in the care of racehorses. There are many cases of animals who were so ill they were going to be “put to sleep” dramatically recovering after a chiropractic adjustment. Some chiropractors work with zoos and have given tigers, snakes, lizards and other more exotic animals adjustments—often with miraculous results. • A Unique Service Chiropractors perform a unique service—the location and correction of subluxations, an often painless condition that can undermine your physical and mental health. Because anyone may get a subluxation at any time, everyone should visit their doctor of chiropractic for a periodic checkup. You get your eyes, teeth and blood pressure checked—why not your structural system? © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN
Your First Visit
• Welcome to Chiropractic People see their doctor of chiropractic for all kinds of different reasons. To some, chiropractic is a system of healing musculoskeletal problems: arm, disc, back, neck, shoulder, leg, hip, joint, nerve and muscle pain or discomfort.1-3 You are joining many others who have chosen the natural, drugless, chiropractic approach to good health. Chiropractic is the healthcare choice of the 21st century; it is an exciting new world of healing and health optimization. Many others use chiropractic as a natural system of healing from many different diseases or conditions including headaches; fatigue; high blood pressure; skin conditions; arthritis; PMS; menstrual cramps; asthma; sinus trouble; digestive problems; fevers; nervous stress; emotional disorders; bed-wetting; colic; and ear, eye, nose and throat problems without drugs and surgery.4-7 Others use chiropractic as a method of keeping their health at its peak: for better sports performance, higher resistance to disease, clearer thinking, a more comfortable pregnancy and more energy.8-9 For whatever reason you are here, we say “Welcome.” • What Can Chiropractic Do For Me? Our goal in this office is to turn your health around by relieving you of a serious form of structural system and nerve damage called the subluxation. Subluxations affect your nerves, muscles, ligaments, discs, joints, bones and internal organs, including your brain. The effects can be immediate or they may take time—it depends on many factors—age, diet, lifestyle and regularity of care. • What If My Structural System is Unhealthy? A body with subluxations may be characterized by bad posture, tight and tense muscles, “pinched” nerves, bone and disc degeneration (arthritis), lowered resistance to disease, fatigue and overall body malfunction. This state is also called dis-ease, meaning “general lowered health.” When a person has dis-ease, they can fall prey to all kinds of diseases and health conditions. To make things more complicated, subluxations may be painless; you may have many in your body for years before you begin to feel their destructive effects. • Chiropractic’s Unique Approach What makes chiropractic unique is its vitalist approach to health. By that we mean that we don’t want you to wait for a “condition” or problem to arise before you address your health. We want you to correct subtle body malfunction (dis-ease) caused by subluxations now, while you still feel relatively good and have the energy to self-heal. If you wait until your body has massive subluxation degeneration (structural degeneration) it may be too late for complete recovery. • What Can I Expect? Chiropractic care is divided into two parts—analysis and adjustment. First we will analyze your body using various tools—our hands, X-ray, heat-reading devices, muscle testing and/or other tools to determine where there is a subluxation. When we have located the precise area of your subluxation, we will then do a procedure to correct or eliminate the subluxation. This is the second part of your care and it is called a chiropractic adjustment. It is a gentle realignment and rebalancing of your structural system and a release of deep stress. Chiropractors spend many years and thousands of hours learning and perfecting various adjusting procedures and we’d be happy to answer your questions about how we do what we do. • The Three Phases Of Chiropractic Care As you begin chiropractic care you will start at the first of the following three phases: 1) Initial Intensive Care Phase In this phase your body is out of balance and not holding its adjustment. Please cooperate by keeping your appointments and modifying your lifestyle in ways that will help get you out of the intensive care phase quickly. 2) Corrective or Healing Phase Your structure is beginning to stabilize and hold its adjustments for longer periods. In this phase our objective is to monitor your progression and make needed adjustments. Many of your symptoms and complaints may have disappeared or decreased in this phase. It is critical however that you continue your visits even if you are feeling better. 3) Health Optimization/Wellness Phase In this phase you are now holding your adjustment and your structural system has become reasonably stable. You are handling stress well. Regular care not only keeps you subluxation-free, but studies reveal that the more you visit your chiropractor, the greater your physical and emotional health and the less stress and more enjoyment you get out of life.10-16 • In Conclusion Chiropractic care has proven to be a safe, natural, drugless way to good health for millions of people around the world. Please remember that your doctor of chiropractic’s purpose is the removal of subluxations—to awaken your body’s inner healer. Please pass on this chiropractic message to friends so they may come in for a checkup. It could make the difference between a life of health, energy and balance or a life of sickness and disease. References 1. Kalamir A. A randomised controlled pilot study of chiropractic cranio- mandibular treatment for chronic TMD. International Conference on Chiropractic Research. Vilamoura, Portugal. May 17-19, 2007:CM14. 2. Maltby JK et al. Frequency & duration of chiropractic care for headaches, neck and upper back pain. JVSR. August 21, 2008:1-12. 3. Haneline MT. Symptomatic outcomes and perceived satisfaction levels of chiropractic patients with a primary diagnosis involving acute neck pain. JMPT. 2006;29(4):288-296. 4. Ressel O, Rudy R. Biovertebral subluxation correlated with somatic, visceral and immune complaints: an analysis of 650 children under chiropractic care. JVSR. October 18, 2004:1-23. 5. Morningstar MW, Joy T. Scoliosis treatment using spinal manipulation and the Pettibon Weighting SystemTM: a summary of 3 atypical presentations. Chiropractic & Osteopathy. 2006;14:1. 6. Pauli Y. Improvement in attention in patients undergoing network spinal analysis: a case series using objective measures of attention. JVSR. August 23, 2007:1-9. 7. Schneider M, Vernon H, Ko G et al. Chiropractic management of fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review of the literature. JMPT. 2009;32(1):25-40. 8. Todres-Masarsky M et al. Somatovisceral involvement in the pediatric patient. In: Masarsky CS, Todres-Masarsky M. Somatovisceral Aspects of Chiropractic: An Evidence-Based Approach. NY: Churchill Livingstone, 2001. 9. Sims L, Lee J. Resolution of infertility in a female undergoing subluxation based chiropractic care: case report & review of literature. JVSR. August 6, 2008:1-6. 10. Meade TW. Randomized comparison of chiropractic and hospital outpatient management for low back pain: results from an extended follow-up. British Medical Journal. August 5, 1995;311. 11. Blanks RHI, Schuster TL. A retrospective assessment of network care using a survey of self-rated health, wellness and quality of life. JVSR. 1997;1(4):1. 12. Marino MJ, Phillippa ML. A longitudinal assessment of chiropractic care using a survey of self-rated health wellness & quality of life: a preliminary study. JVSR. 1999;3(2):1-9. 13. Owens EF, Hoiriis, KT, Burd D. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: PBR progress report. CRJ. 1998;5(1):9-16. 14. Burd D, Hoiriis, KT, Owens EF. Changes in general health status during upper cervical chiropractic care: a practice-based research project update. Chiropractic Research Journal. 1999;6(2):65-70. 15. Rupert RL et al. Maintenance care: Health promotion services administered to US chiropractic patients aged 65 and older, Part II. JMPT. 2000;23(1):10-19. 16. Kirk R, Hoiriis K, Mirtschink S, Loung H. Quality of life changes in a disadvantaged, underserved chiropractic patient population: a retrospective case series report. JVSR. April 15, 2005:1-3.
Your Spine & Nervous System
• You Are Covered In Nerves Nerve fibers are so numerous in your body that if all your skin, bones, muscles, blood vessels and organs were to disappear and just your nerves were to remain you’d still be recognizable! • The Nervous System Your brain, quietly floating in your skull, appears to be doing nothing, yet it processes billions of bits of information every second about what’s going on, in and around you, every moment. It sends out billions of commands: how fast your heart should beat, blood chemistry changes, blood pressure, how to throw a baseball, bake cookies and what you should wear. It’s through your brain that you are able to remember millions of memories and express the multitude of feelings, moods, emotions and inspirations that make you uniquely you. At the bottom of your skull is a large hole called the “foramen magnum.” Your brain extends through this hole as a cable of billions of nerve fibers that become your spinal cord. Spinal cord nerves connect your brain to your heart, lungs, arms and legs. That’s how you know that a mosquito is on your ankle. • How It Is Protected Your brain and spinal cord are very delicate. Since brain damage can be permanent, your soft brain is surrounded by hard bone to protect it. If your spinal cord were protected by solid bone you wouldn’t be able to bend or twist. Instead, your spinal column is surrounded by spinal bones that are stacked up like a pile of bagels (with the center holes forming a “canal” through which your spinal cord passes). However, with flexibility you give up a bit of protection. Your spinal bones may slip out of position and damage or stress the very nerves they are designed to protect. This condition is called a subluxation and chiropractors are trained in locating this nerve-damaging condition. • Your Spinal Column When ancient Greeks looked at people’s backs they saw bumps and thought they resembled thorns so they called them spina—Greek for thorn. The individual bones of your spina or spine are called vertebrae from the Latin vertere, to turn. Your vertebral or spinal column is your “backbone” and it is divided into 5 sections: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacrum and coccyx. • Discs Between most of your vertebrae are pads called discs that act as little cushions or shock absorbers so your vertebrae won’t bump into each other while you walk, bend and run. • Cervical (Neck) Spine Under your skull is your first cervical vertebra or atlas—it holds the globe of your skull as the god Atlas held the globe of the earth. Your second cervical vertebra is called the axis because it permits a lot of head turning and tilting. Your “cervicals” also have numerical names: atlas is C-1, axis C-2, the third is simply C-3, then C-4,C-5,C-6 and C-7. • Thoracic (Mid-back) Spine You have 12 thoracic vertebrae named (you guessed it) T-1,T-2,T-3 to T-12. The ribs are connected to them and if you follow the path of your ribs around from your front or sides to your back you can feel where they attach. They attach in front to your sternum or breastbone. • Lumbar (Lower Back) Spine Most people have five lumbar vertebrae. They are the biggest, thickest and most massive of all your vertebrae because, being at the bottom of your spine, they have the most weight to hold up. That’s a big reason lower back pain is very common. • Sacrum Under the lumbar vertebrae is the sacrum, a triangular shaped bone made up of five fused vertebrae. Sacrum is from the Latin word for “sacred” because this portion of an animal was used in sacrifices. The sacrum connects to the hips on either side. And under the sacrum we find: • Coccyx (Tailbone) The bottom of your spine is a little bone made up of three or four fused vertebrae called the coccyx. It is what’s left of the human tailbone. Occasionally human babies are born with extra coccyx bones that grow outside the body—a human tail. They are easily surgically removed. • Your Spine 7 Cervical (neck) vertebrae 12 Thoracic (mid-back) vertebrae 5 Lumbar (low back) vertebrae 1 Sacrum (five fused vertebrae) 1 Coccyx (three or four fused vertebrae) • Functions Your spinal column has 4 main functions: 1. To support your head and ribs. 2. To protect your brain and spinal cord. 3. To support your hips, legs, shoulders and arms. 4. To serve as attachments for muscles, permitting you to stand and move. If your spine becomes unbalanced, it stresses your bones, spinal cord, brain and other nerves and causes pain, fatigue, weakness and dis-ease (loss of health or wholeness). Your chiropractor is able to locate this unbalance called a subluxation and realign your spinal column to remove stress from your nerves and bones, thus helping to restore health and wholeness to your body. See your chiropractor to have your spinal balance checked. Your body will thank you for it. © 2014 Tedd Koren, D.C. & Koren Publications Inc. All rights reserved. • 1-800-537-3001 • www.korenpublications.com • KGN