San Jose Chiropractor, A Chiropractic Blog

The Journal of American Medical Association performed a systemic review of 26 RCT or randomized clinical trials and found the spinal manipulative treatment was statistically significant in improving acute low back pain for up to 6 weeks.  This is also compared to sham treatments or other "alternative" treatments.  Alternative in this case means "analgesics, muscle relaxants, exercises, physical therapy." The results were comparable to "analgesics, muscle relaxants, exercises, physical therapy" in efficacy and "modest." These studies did include "blind" studies which means that the experiment tried to eliminated experimenter or patient subject bias in removing labels while the experiment is performed. Key Points Question   Is the use of spinal manipulative therapy in the management of acute (≤6 weeks) low back pain associated with improvements in pain or function? Findings...

On April 4, 2017, the journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, a group of medical doctors, Amir Qaseem, MD, PhD, MHA; Timothy J. Wilt, MD, MPH; Robert M. McLean, MD; Mary Ann Forciea, MD, made a recommendation for the Clinical Guidelines Committee of the American College of Physicians regarding the treatment of low back pain which affects one quarter of the US.  The committee gave three recommendations as guidelines for typical low back pain. Two of the strongest recommendations involved therapies including chiropractic. This is based on systematic review of the evidence in an established peer-review journal based on a community of medical doctors who specialize in internal medicine for the American College of Physicians. Target Audience and Patient Population: The target audience for this guideline includes all clinicians, and the target patient population includes adults with acute, subacute, or chronic low back pain. Recommendation 1: Given that most patients with acute or...

Source: youcaring.com  L.A. County Coroner recently ruled that model, Katie May, died as a result of a “neck manipulation by chiropractor" due to a brain infarction or stroke. It was deem an accident as result of a carotid artery blockage. Chiropractic adjustments to the upper cervical can move the vertebral artery so I am not sure how the carotid artery was affected. I am guessing the news articles are reporting the wrong artery being dissected. Ms. May fell during a photoshoot hurting her neck resulting in her seeking help from a LA chiropractor. She had more than one chiropractic adjustment before going to the hospital with symptoms of a stroke before dying. Is the fall to blame for the stroke or only the neck adjustment? Did they both contribute to the stoke?  The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Provides the Following Statement in Response to Media Inquiries Regarding Katie May Our sympathy goes out to the family of ...

an estimated 100 million Americans are affected by chronic pain , with an estimated annual cost to American society of at least $560-$635 billion According to the Centers for Diease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 16,235 deaths involving prescription opioids    Official ACA HCHM flyer PDF link ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA Graston Technique Certified FAKTR Certified Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and an opinion for specific individualized circumstances.  It is not a prescription for therapy or diagnosis for you . All opinions expressed and any referenced articles are solely those of the particular author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Anthony Tsai, Graston Technique®, its employees, providers or affiliates. Any opinions of the author on the site are or have been rendered based on scientific facts ...

October is both Breast Cancer Awareness month (with link)  and National Chiropractic Health month . They should make it a health awareness month and have people post at least one health awareness tip on social media. Some infographics about chiropractic: Putting Neck Pain Treatment Risks into Perspective Risk of death from spine surgery: 1,800 per 1 million 1 Risk of serious side effects/death from cervical spine (neck) surgery: 500 in 1 million 2 Risk of death from combined use of NSAIDS/aspirin: 153 per 1 million 3 Risk of death from aspirin: 25 per 1 million 4 Association between neck manipulation and stroke: about 1 in 5.85 million adjustments 5 (or     Feel free to look at some NCHM brochures: Conservative Care Brochure Back Pain Brochure Neck Pain Brochure Visiting a Chiropractor Brochure More articles regarding health: TV news interview for NCHM Why are you looking at my back when I have foot pain? Opioid prescriptions led to 92,...

  Before Chiropractic Treatments: Small S-Shaped Curves. 9° Cobb Angle = Mild Scoliosis After Chiropractic Treatments: On & Off over 4 yrs, Dramatic Reduction**   Before Chiropractic Treatments: Excessive Low Back Curve (Swayback or Anterior Pelvic Tilt) After Chiropractic Treatments: On & Off over 4 yrs, Normal Low Back Curvature   Before Chiropractic Treatments: Abnormal Neck Curve (Reverse Cervical Lordosis) After Chiropractic Treatments: Reduction in Abnormal Cervical Curve. Neck pain was not regularly treated like the low back. Can chiropractic adjustments fix scoliosis? That is the topic that I would like to put in the open. I would also like to show how chiropractic adjustments can be made without the cracking noises and still be effective. Here is another old blog post with low force chiropractic on scoliosis without after treatment x-rays. Officially, the American Chiropractic A...

Michael L. Douglas, D.C. performing an adjustment on Usain Bolt at the 2011 IAAF World Championships Dr. Michael Douglas DC from Florida was the team chiropractor for Team Jamaica from 1996 through 2008. There is also an article from 2009 about Usain Bolt with Dr. Douglas  and a tweet about attending the London Olympics in 2012. I could not find anymore information about Usain Bolt utilizing chiropractic care and the 2012 Olympics though I believe Dr. Douglas was still the team chiropractor for Jamaica in 2012. The latest information that I could verify were pictures of Usain Bolt getting chiropractic adjustments at the 2011 IAAF World Championships . Other athletes that are reported to use chiropractic care are Asafa Powell, Veronica Campbell and Shelly-Ann Fraser. Chiropractic Neurology is a specialized technique and here is a demonstration of chiropractic neurology . There is also a picture of Dr. Douglas using an Activator instrument and I believe he is using the Activator...

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net As a chiropractor, I am happy to find research from non-chiropractors that supports results that I see and I am sure many other chiropractors see in their practices. Back pain can be complex and very individualized. I like to start by trying to find the primary cause of their pain whether it is joint pain, muscle pain or nerve pain. Non-arthritic joint pain (pain from a misaligned bone, dynamic joint motion restriction or subluxation) and muscle pain are directly related so I focus more on the chiropractic adjustment or muscle pain with Graston Technique or massage depending on the primary source of pain. What others label "nerve pain" can be sclerotogenous (nociceptive) pain like a trigger point, pain from cancer or typical arthritic pain while dermatomal pain is pain resulting from a disc herniation or an arthritic foraminal nerve compression. "Nerve pain" is therefore more complicated and can m...

On February 10, 1895, the Minnesota Chiropractic Association honors Harvey Lillard, the first patient to receive chiropractic, in relation to Black History Month. D.D. Palmer is the father of Chiropractic and his son BJ Palmer made Chiropractic what it is today. According to history, Harvey's hearing was restored. To be honest, I have to question this because I can't think of any nerves in the neck that go to the ear. Maybe it was a blocked eustachian tube? ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA Graston Technique Certified FAKTR-PM Completed Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and an opinion for specific individualized circumstances.  It is not a prescription for therapy or diagnosis for you . All opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the particular author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Anthony Tsai, Graston Technique®, its employees, p...