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...

Image: Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Yesterday on Dr. Dean Edell's radio show on KGO 810 AM, Dr. Edell questioned the validity of acupuncture with a recent randomized double-blind study of acupuncture on knee arthritis. Dr. Edell summarized that it was a double-blind study so that the doctor could not influence the results. When the doctor said that the treatment would work well, the patient had better results than when the doctor said that the acupuncture may or may not work on knee arthritis. The study seems to back up another study in 2007 by the German journal, Archives of Internal Medicine . Dr. Edell said that patients should try alternative medicine in general because patients do have good results with back pain in particular instead of just taking pain medication with limited results. He back away from this when a called questioned validating a method that has not been proven to be effective. Questions rose when a recent article in the journal Arthritis Care a...

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net In June, a peer reviewed medical journal, Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, statistically analyzed and interpreted an older National Health Interview Survey. The study revealed that 60% reported "a great deal" of benefit. Chiropractic had the highest success rate among the 6 most popular CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) with 66% reporting significant benefit followed by massage, yoga and qi gong tied for second place. (Sorry for the following style this editor has a bug with making html tables) Perceived Benefit of the 6 Most Frequently Used Complementary and Alternative Medicine Modalities for Back Pain Modalities* Those with Great Benefit from CAM (Weighted %) Chiropractic (n _ 1,163) 66% Massage (n _ 196) 56% Yoga, Tai chi, Qi Gong (n _ 45) 56% Acupuncture (n _ 89) 42% Herbal therapies (n _ 78) 32% Relaxation techniques (n _ 76) 28% *The modalities listed are not mutually exclusi...

Neck Pain Task Force presented before the Connecticut Board of Chiropractic Examiners that "patients suffering from headache and neck pain are no more likely to suffer from a stroke following a visit to a chiropractor than they are after a visit to a family medical physician." The Neck Pain Task Force studied nine years worth of research. The Cennecticut board also concluded that the media "often sensationalized" and perpetuated the myth with chiropractic adjustments. Their conclusions are in agreement with my previous blog entry. ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA ChiroWorksCareCenter.com 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 n...

Joseph Dimalanta, D.C. writes in his blog confirming that chiropractors, specifically Ted Forcum, D.C., DACBSP, were an important part of the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. My blog even reported at that time Kinesio Tape was used on Kerri Walsh's shoulder . I still do not know exactly who used Kinesio Tape on Kerri Walsh's shoulder but I am more certain now that it was a chiropractor. Another tool used by chiropractors is Graston Technique for high performance athletes with muscle, ligaments, scar tissue or other soft tissue problems in general. Chiropractors have known for years that if Graston Technique is good enough for athletes, it is also good for chronic pain. Mike Reed, DC, DACBSP, a former instructor of mine at SCUHS (LACC), was in charge of the medical panel as a director of the USOC in Beijing and also the upcoming London 2012 Summer Olympics. According to Dr. Reed, the medical panel of the Beijing Normal University's High Performance Training Center consisted ...

It is not natural to be in pain - but unfortunately for millions of Americans it's a daily occurrence. Doctors of chiropractic, commonly called chiropractors, provide conservative and effective treatment for pain, without medication or surgery. Discover Chiropractic: 100% Natural Healthcare Take charge of your health; discover a natural approach to better health with chiropractic. FAQ from ACA regarding the safety of chiropractic: Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal complaints. Although chiropractic has an excellent safety record, no health treatment is completely free of potential adverse effects. The risks associated with chiropractic, however, are very small. Many patients feel immediate relief following chiropractic treatment, but some may experience mild soreness or aching, just as they do after some forms of exercise. Current literature shows that minor discomfort or sore...

What is that black tattoo on Kerri Walsh's right shoulder? It is called Kinesio Tex Taping which is an elastic taping used in chiropractic, rehabilitation and sports medicine. Developed 25 years ago by Dr. Kenzo Kase, it is now getting recognition and being used by top athletes such as Lance Armstrong , Serena Williams , David Beckam , Robby Ginepri and Justine Henin . Kinesio Tape works by giving support like a flexible brace and facilitates weak muscles with neurological awareness or proprioception. Kerri Walsh had a recent rotator cuff surgery last November. NBC reported that she uses the black shoulder tape for better circulation and her shoulder pain. Harder to see with the beige Kinesio Taping, Martins Plavins used Kinesio Taping in the huge upset against the US team of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser. Did Kinesio Tape give Walsh and Plavins an unfair advantage to both win? :) Maybe not, but it pleases me to know that I something I use to help my patients is trusted...

Source: ChiroMatrix Windows and Mac users actually do have one thing in common - computer ergonomics issues, namely, pain.1,2 Beyond the usual hardware and software gotchas we deal with on a daily basis, the real bottom-line question is, "how to play nice with my computer". Doing computer work is a funny kind of work, a type of activity we're still getting used to. It's not physical work in the sense that there's no heavy lifting going on, no truck-driving, no emergency services heart-pounding decision-making. But computer work is still an intensely physical activity, although the work is pretty subtle. In computer work it's the small muscles that are getting the workout, not the big muscles we're used to thinking about. Wrist muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Finger muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Shoulder muscles, Neck muscles. All of these are involved in ongoing repetitive tasks when you sit at a computer and one hour turns into two, two hour...

National Scoliosis Foundation Press Release: support@scoliosis.org. In your email please also tell us if you plan/do any activity for National Scoliosis Awareness Month. Tell a friend; Blog it; Post it; Upload it; hand out a brochure; talk to a PTA or school; visit a patient; inform your doctor; make a donation; run a fundraiser; hold a free clinic;contact your representative or local paper. Any activity, big or small is important, so let us know. Press Release , we have a number of different activities planned which will be further detailed here as the month of June unfolds. The U.S. House of Representatives Proclamation for a PDF copy of the Proclamation and Points of Emphasis. The U.S. House of Representatives Proclamation by Pennsylvania Congresswoman Allyson Y. Schwartz invites the President, Governors, officials and the American People to join with her and the National Scoliosis Foundation in recognizing and reaffirming our commitment to increasing the awareness of scoliosi...

A large study followed 88,000 women over 25 years found good strong evidence that a healthy diet such as the "DASH" (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet provided long-term evidence of of health benefits. So the diet promoting vegetables, fish, poultry, whole grains and reduced sodium intake not only reduces hypertension and lowers bad cholesterol, but also reduces heart attacks (myocardial infarctions) and strokes (cerebral vascular accidents). The actual results were a 24% less heart attacks and 18% less strokes. Remember, high blood pressure can damage organs over time. The recent news of the anti-cholesterol drug Vytorin failing to reduce heart attacks when it was known to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, reinforces the fact that lifestyle actions such as diet is better for your health than just taking a magic pill. My philosophy found on my website profile as an important part of health. The DASH diet can be found on the National Institute for Health...