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 ...

 In a previous blog post, there was news about the White House ordering standing desks and the benefits of standing. This year some researchers try to link sitting with increased mortality. In a recent journal, The International Journal of Epidemiology has a study which does not find a correlation with sitting and increased mortality. Key Messages Five different indicators of sitting time were not associated with mortality risk over 16 years of follow-up. This may be due in part to a protective effect of higher than average daily activity in this cohort. Previously reported relationships between sitting time and health outcomes may be due in part to low total daily energy expenditure. Policy makers should be cautious about recommending reductions in sitting time as a stand-alone public health intervention. Future studies should examine the links between sitting and mortality risk using objective methods that quantify postural ...

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 ...

Credit: Flickr/ramsey beyer  In September, the White House ordered $700k worth of standing desks. Recently, sitting for excessive periods of time have been associated with decreased life span and various other health problems. This is a summary of some important points from another article which is already very brief and concise so I felt I would not change anything. A reduced risk of obesity. People who are "fidgety," researchers say , tend to be thinner than those who stay still all day. A lower risk of metabolic problems and cardiovascular disease. Research suggests that sitting for too long can mess up your body's metabolism of sugar and fat, which can contribute to diabetes and heart disease. A reduced risk of cancer for women. Though it's unclear how exactly sitting increases the risk of cancer, it's possible that sitting for too long decreases metabolism , and may have an effect on body fat and estrogen levels, all of which may be linked to...

Sleep Health: Sleeping Postures from Flikli on Vimeo . We all know good posture during the day is healthy for us...but what about when you're sleeping? Check out the rest of our series on sleep & sleep health here: https://vimeo.com/album/3442692 *Interested in licensing these videos for institutional or corporate use? Get in touch at hello@flikli.com or visit us at http://flikli.com ! Loose transcript of the video. Posture is important for improved health & increased productivity. Research shows that good posture during sleep improves mood and lowers health risks. Sleeping on your back relieves your spine of pressure. More likely to snore. Side sleepers lower chance of heartburn but also severe numbness & tingling to arms and legs. Stomach sleepers least likely to snore can also cause long-term damage to low back and neck. Reduce by placing pillows under shoulder or hips. Posture is important 24 hrs a day. Other quick tips and some views from a chir...

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,...

www.chirohealthy.com Recently, there have been headlines such as "Sitting For 9 Hours A Day Is Nearly A Lethal Activity," "Sitting Is the Smoking of Our Generation," "The 'Sitting Disease' Is Killing The American Workforce," "More Evidence That Sitting Leads To Cancer." October is not only Breast Cancer Awareness Month but also National Chiropractic Month. This year has the slogan, "Get Vertical" which seems appropriate with the growing evidence that the sedentary lifestyle is more damaging to your health than getting weaker and heavier. There is evidence linking with other health problems such as coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and breast and colon cancers, brain shrinkage, decreased sperm count, and shortened life expectancy. In future posts, I will summarize of the key points to the articles in the links below and talk about exercises and stretches that help prevent back pain. Feel free to explore ChiroHealthy.co...

    In this September's issue of ACAnews, Caitlin Lukacs discusses the rise of Instrument-Assisted Soft-Tissue Mobilization. Soft-tissue can be defined as any muscle, tendon, ligament, fascia and even fibrosis or scar tissue. Injuries or trauma can be defined with a single event sprained ankle to the repetitive stress injury or overuse injury such as tennis elbow.   “Tere’s almost always a soft-tissue component associated with any injury or condition,” says Travis McCathie, DC, ATC, director of the Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Center for Sports and Rehabilitation. It’s important to note that what gives IASTM the ability to reinitiate first-stage healing is that it is essentially reinjuring the body, although to a lesser degree, which may cause discomfort during the procedure and bruising afterward. “Patients may experience soreness in the treatment area for a day or two following IASTM,” explains Dr. Heller.   Soft-tissue mobili...

Chronic Exertional Compartment Syndrome    Chronic exertional compartment syndrome is a condition where exercise such as running causes numbness and tingling to the feet. It can be so severe and painful that the athlete cannot continue their exercises. Acute exertional compartment syndrome can be serious causing muscle necrosis (tissue death). This involves symptoms such as severe pain with lower leg swelling and muscle weakness that does not go away with a few minutes of rest. Go to the ER immediately, if you experience something similar to this. This patient is not an acute case but a stable chronic exertional compartment syndrome of the posterior compartment. It is a shame that I did not think to take pictures of the first week in which the feet were very pale or the skin was very white in color. Seeing such a big improvement in the second week, I had to make the patient stand and do 1 minute of calf raises to induce paleness in the skin. The nor...

 I tend to stay away from issues that claim chiropractic has any benefit besides simple musculoskeletal issues outside what is commonly accepted by the medical community. I am fascinated by intellectual issues, because I am always trying to learn new things and go beyond what is understood out there. There would be no progress made if no one questioned the mainstream ideology or thought outside the box. One has to choose carefully with so many health fads and myths out there. Here is a case that looks at chiropractic adjustments and exercise which is musculoskeletally related. It contradicts some "questionable" chiropractic research which I could not find. The research is not anti-chiropractic but it seems unbiased. Abstract: This was a single-blinded, randomized, controlled trial of the immediate impact mid-lumbar spine CMT had on exercise science measures during a Bruce treadmill test at Texas Chiropractic College. Translated, it means that the subject did not know whet...

Bell's Palsy A facial nerve paralysis with symptoms from eye dryness, altered taste to muscle weakness and slurred speech. The cause is unknown and this patient had already tried a full course of anti-viral medication treatment with no change. The current theory in the medical community is that it is related to the chickenpox virus or shingles causing nerve inflammation. Many cases resolve by themselves but I have seen cases that persist for many years and cases with no shingles related outbreaks.       Before Treatment:  Photo shows obvious assymetry of facial muscles. The patient also had eye dryness, altered taste and numbness of lips. This photo was after a full course of anti-viral medication.     After 3 months: Besides, the dramatic muscle tone increase, eye dryness, taste, numbness and pain mostly resolved. Note: The patient also had nutritional supplements & cold laser therapy.*** ***The c...

The " latest findings indicate that high concentrations of EPA, DPA and DHA – the three anti-inflammatory and metabolically related fatty acids derived from fatty fish and fish-oil supplements – are associated with a 71 percent increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer. The study also found a 44 percent increase in the risk of low-grade prostate cancer and an overall 43 percent increase in risk for all prostate cancers. " This was a followup study to confirm a 2011 study made by the same research group. In the 2011 study, they found that trans-fatty acids were associated with "had a 50 percent reduction in the risk of high-grade prostate cancer." Trans fatty acids are in general thought of as harmful for your heart as seen in this Mayo Clinic article . The FHCRC's findings are completely opposite of what is commonly thought of inflammation and cancer. In general, omega 3 is associated as a natural anti-inflammatory food and omega 6  & trans fats are ass...

  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...