Upstate
Chiropractic
22 E. Genesee St.
Baldwinsville, NY 13027
315-635-2333
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Holistic Therapies Helping Brain-Injured Patients
Research presented in March of 2003 at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, revealed that a growing number of patients with traumatic brain injury are turning to complementary and alternative medicine therapies, including chiropractic.
Specifically, more than 80% of the 130 patients interviewed believed that alternative therapies are safe and effective in treating traumatic brain injuries. More than half of the subjects interviewed said that they had used at least one alternative therapy, with more than one-third using two or more. This study was listed in The American Academy of Neurology – April 1, 2003.
One of the treatments commonly utilized by the people in this study was chiropractic care. Many people are left to wonder how a treatment like chiropractic care may help a brain injured patient to heal. Well it’s not as hard to understand as you may think.
Chiropractic care provides a wonderful level of stimulation to the brain and nervous system. When a person is given a chiropractic adjustment, two basic things happen.
1st - The nerve interference around the area of treatment is decreased. That helps open the communication pathway between the brain and body. Simply put… it improves the overall nerve flow to and from the brain.
2nd - Specific adjustments of the spine cause a direct stimulation to certain areas of the brain and nervous system (the brainstem, spinal cord and cerebellum). That can help improve brain function.
Everyday people
ask me if chiropractic care is a treatment for This or That. To
answer that question, I think it is important to understand that
chiropractic care is not a treatment for a specific disease, symptom
or pain. It is more accurately, a treatment for improving the health
and function of the nervous system…and thereby the entire human
being!
Low-carbohydrate diets may be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets, concludes a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
As part of the analysis, 132 severely obese men and women were randomly put on either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet for six months. The low-carbohydrate group was told to limit carbohydrate intake to 30 grams per day. They received counseling on healthy types of fat, such as omega-3 fatty acids, but had no limit on total fat intake. The low-fat group was put on a calorie-restricted diet, with no more than 30 percent of total caloric intake from fat.
Overall, volunteers assigned to the low-carbohydrate diet lost an average of 13 pounds, compared to 4 pounds for the low-fat group. The low-carbohydrate dieters reduced their levels of triglycerides by an average of 20 percent, versus 4 percent for the low-fat group. There were no significant changes in cholesterol or blood pressure levels in either group.
“Our results may be surprising to some people,” said author Linda Stern, MD. “Diabetics in particular did very well on the low-carbohydrate diet. So, especially in the realm of lifestyle modification, we might have to broaden our horizons on what we’re recommending.”
I think it is important to look at this study with a clear eye. In both groups, the participants achieved limited weight loss, with evidence of rebound weight gain over the course of the trial. The average weight loss was greater in the low-carbohydrate groups than in the low-fat groups, but at 12 months the difference was no longer significant. This again shows that adherence to diets in general seems to be a problem.
At Upstate Chiropractic we teach nutrition with all of our patients. Since so many health problems are directly or indirectly associated with diet and nutrition it only seems prudent. The fact is, substantial evidence indicates that diets using non-hydrogenated unsaturated fats as the predominant form of dietary fat, whole grains as the main form of carbohydrates, an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and adequate omega-3 fatty acids and nutritional supplementation can offer significant protection against heart disease and many other diseases.
When this type
of eating behavior is combined with daily physical exercise, avoidance
of smoking and proper caloric intake, you will give yourself much
better protection from cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity.
If you’re serious about your health…stop eating fast food,
spend some time researching how to eat healthy foods and how to
exercise and eat foods that are consistent with what I’ve listed
just above. It would also greatly benefit you to figure out how
many calories you burn each day and don’t take in more than
that. The truth is you’ll never lose weight if you take in
more than you burn off. Thanks for reading!
Chiropractors have successfully treated patients with pain and numbness shooting into the arm, hand, leg or feet for decades. These disorders are often termed Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Sciatica, Disc Herniations and or Spinal Canal Stenosis.
Recent research has once again shown that chiropractic care can make a great impact on these disorders. This is great news for people that are scared about ongoing drug therapy, painful nerve blocks or surgery to fix their problems.
Researchers at New York Chiropractic College monitored nerve activity in the arms and legs of individuals before and after chiropractic adjustments. Significant nerve flow changes were seen through the carpal tunnel and the lower leg after chiropractic adjustments to the neck and low back, respectively. That study was published in Spine Journal – May/June 2003;3:204-12 http://www.sciencedirect.com/
Chiropractic care is not as complicated as some people make it seem. As a chiropractor, I routinely check patients for misalignments in the shape of the spine and posture. I want to make sure the spine is working the way it is supposed to so that the nerves work correctly. We look for damage to the soft discs in between the vertebra and other signs of wear and tear. This gives us more clues as to how to correct the problem.
Patients under chiropractic care have wonderful success reducing pain and numbness shooting into the arms, hands, legs and feet.
Correcting spinal misalignments helps to reduce the wear and tear to the spinal tissues and allows them to heal. Chiropractic adjustments also help to stimulate the nerves of your body so they can heal and function normally. That’s why chiropractic patients report feelings of greater overall wellbeing and total body health!
Pregnant women who take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are significantly increasing their risk of miscarriage, according to a just-published study in the British Medical Journal.
The study assessed use of NSAIDS, aspirin and the active ingredient in Tylenol among 1,055 women in their early weeks of pregnancy.
Results revealed that women who took NSAIDs were 80% more likely to suffer a miscarriage, compared with mothers who avoid these drugs. Risk was significantly higher among women who took NSAIDs close to conception, or took them for more than one week. Aspirin use was also associated with an increased risk of miscarriage. BMJ – August 16, 2003;327:368. http://www.bmj.com/
The active ingredient in Tylenol did not appear to influence risk of miscarriage but has been shown to have other serious side effects. A 3-year study published on December 17th of 2002 in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that drugs containing acetaminophen (Tylenol) have become the #1 cause of liver failure in the United States. Annals of Internal Medicine – December 17, 2003:947-54 http://www.annals.org
You might now be wondering how you are supposed to decrease the pain and suffering associated with the joint pain, spinal pain, musculo-skeletal pain and headaches that can be associated with pregnancy. Research shows that conservative chiropractic care may have the answers.
Recent reports published in SPINE: An International Journal for the Study of the Spine showed that the care chiropractors deliver is more effective than medication and acupuncture for chronic spinal pain and is also effective in relieving chronic headaches. Spine-27 (17): 1835-1843; Apr 2002 Spine-28 (14): 1490-1502; Jul 2003 http://spinejournal.com
Prevention
or Disease According to a Duke University study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health, many doctors “don’t have time” to provide patients with information or recommendations on how to prevent health problems. Such service would, the researchers estimate, take an estimated 7.4 hours out of a primary care physician's day, leaving approximately 30 minutes for critical and chronic disease care. “We know
that prevention is very important for the health of our nation,”
said Kimberly Yarnall, M.D., lead author of the study. “But
what our study showed was that given the large number of recommendations
-- everything from cancer screening to lifestyle counseling -- coupled
with the large number of patients that most physicians are responsible
for, it is simply not possible for physicians to deliver all those
services to their patients. It's a big problem. “ She went
on to note; “Prevention is critical, particularly since chronic
disease rates in American adults and children are on the rise.” If you’re
interested in seeing how chiropractic care can help you, look for
the monthly yellow insert in this paper. With it you can receive
a special offer to come into our office. Also feel free to contact
me at 635-2333 extension 18 with any health questions you may have
or to find out when my next lecture is going to be.
Recently a friend of mine sarcastically asked me why I talk about nutrition with everyone. “Don’t you just fix sore backs?” He asked. He insisted that I must be getting rich on selling vitamins. I had to smile since I don’t sell ANY vitamins at all.
The fact is chiropractic care is about living life to the fullest. It’s about helping people to be as healthy as physically possible. It’s not about sore backs. When we start a patient under care we have a goal of reducing their spinal misalignments so that their spinal cord and all the spinal tissues can heal and function at 100%. That significantly affects the health of the entire body. Proper nutrition plays an absolutely VITAL role in the healing process.
For instance, people with chronic overall body aches and pains may have a vitamin D deficiency. That’s according to a report in the recent Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
A study of 150 children and adults at the University of Minnesota found that 93% of all subjects with non-specific musculoskeletal pain were vitamin D deficient. All of the African-American, East African, Hispanic and Native American subjects were vitamin D deficient. In addition, all study patients under age 30 were vitamin D deficient. Of these, 55 percent were severely deficient.
“These findings are remarkably different than what is taught in medical school. We would expect vitamin D deficiency in old persons or housebound persons,” says chief investigator Dr. Greg Plotnikoff. “We found the worst vitamin D deficiency in young persons — especially women of childbearing age. We were stunned to find no vitamin D at all in five patients who had been told their pain was ‘all in their head.’ “
I think its
important to point out that vitamin D deficiency is also associated
with osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and autoimmune
diseases such as multiple sclerosis. It is also harmful for developing
fetuses and causes rickets in children. You can look for that study
in Mayo Clinic Proceedings – December 2003;78:1463-70.
So to answer my friend’s question, I go over proper nutritional intake with my patients to make sure each and ever one of my patients is getting the absolute most out of my care and out of life. I know in my heart that when a person has a healthy spine and nervous system it can save their life. When we combine that with good nutritional support, a truly healthy diet, daily exercise and avoidance of unhealthy habits like smoking…life can be a miracle! More information about diet and nutrition: Dietary Changes For Optimum Health Alpha
Lipoic Acid May Alleviate DSPN
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