Frank M. Painter

Chiropractic Legislative Agenda ~ News Update

By Frank M. Painter|November 17, 2010|Health Care Reform, News|

Chiropractic Legislative Agenda ~ News Update

SOURCE: International Chiropractors Association

November 16, 2010 — In the Congressional changes that just took place Nov. 2, 2010, the chiropractic profession lost several longstanding advocates, but fortunately retained a greater number of allies.

There have been numerous statements about using the appropriations process to “de-fund” health reform implementation and also talk of outright repeal of some or all of the law’s provisions. The outcome of the 2010 Congressional elections notwithstanding, the prospects of any legislative repeal of any of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are minimal to impossible (it would take 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to pass and 67 Senate votes to override a Presidential veto).

There will be two so-called “Lame Duck” sessions before the new Congress is sworn in. During that time, it is logical to assume that the Democratic majority in both houses will use this limited time to clean up as much unfinished business on their agenda as possible.

Among issues to top concern to chiropractic are:

Senate passage of Rep. Bob Filner’s chiropractic veterans legislation: Thanks to the courageous and determined efforts of Rep Bob Filner (D-CA), HR 1017 passed the U.S. House of Representatives on May 24, 2010.

(more…)

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Georgetown Medical School Selects New York Chiropractic College For CAM Program Training

By Frank M. Painter|November 9, 2010|News|

Georgetown Medical School Selects New York Chiropractic College For CAM Program Training

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: New York Chiropractic College

Georgetown University Medical School has selected New York Chiropractic College (NYCC) to assist it in training licensed professionals in the complementary and alternative healthcare disciplines. According to Aviad “Adi” Haramati, PhD, who co-directs at Georgetown with Hakima Amri, PhD, the academic affiliation is intended to “… break down the silos that hold the disciplines apart and create relationships between the disciplines and the educational institutions that prepare the nation’s future healthcare providers.” Dr. Haramati initiated Georgetown’s unique Master of Science in Physiology program that emphasizes complementary and alternative medicine in an effort to provide instruction in three areas: grounding in science (especially systems and cell physiology), introductory exposure and understanding of CAM disciplines and philosophies, and the ability to rigorously assess the state of evidence regarding safety and efficacy of various CAM therapies. With this education in hand, students may then pursue career options related to research (advanced study leading to the doctorate degree), policy and administration (in government or the non-profit sector), or continue their training in one of the health professions. (more…)

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Startling New Study Reveals That Back Surgery Fails 74% of the Time

By Frank M. Painter|October 22, 2010|Iatrogenic Injury, Low Back Pain, News|

Startling New Study Reveals That Back Surgery Fails 74% of the Time

The Chiro.Org Blog

A Chiro.Org Editorial

SOURCE: Spine (Phila Pa 1976) 2011 (Feb 15); 36 (4): 320–331

Nguyen TH, Randolph DC, Talmage J, Succop P, Travis R.

From the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
Department of Environmental Health,
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine,
Milford, OH

Researchers reviewed records from 1,450 patients in the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation database who had diagnoses of disc degeneration, disc herniation or radiculopathy, a nerve condition that causes tingling and weakness of the limbs. Half of the patients had surgery to fuse two or more vertebrae in hopes of curing low back pain. The other half had no surgery, even though they had comparable diagnoses.

After two years, only 26 percent of those who had surgery had actually returned to work. That’s compared to 67 percent of patients who didn’t have the surgery, even though they had the same exact diagnosis.

That translates to a resounding 74% failure rate! It also suggests that you have a 257% better chance of returning to work IF YOU AVOID SURGERY in the first place!

In another troubling finding, the researchers determined that there was a 41 percent increase in the use of painkillers, particularly opiates, in those who had the surgery. Last year we reported that deaths from addictive painkillers has doubled in the last 10 years. [6]

(more…)

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New Study Finds Chiropractic Care Superior to Family Physician-directed Usual Care

By Frank M. Painter|October 7, 2010|Health Care Reform, Low Back Pain, News, Research|

New Study Finds Chiropractic Care Superior to Family Physician-directed Usual Care

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Spine J. 2010 (Oct 2) [Epub ahead of print]

Bishop PB, Quon JA, Fisher CG, Dvorak MF.

International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. paul.bishop@vch.ca

This newly published (Oct 2) study in Spine Journal compared family physician-directed usual care with evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) (which includes reassurance and avoidance of passive treatments, acetaminophen, 4 weeks of lumbar chiropractic spinal manipulative care, and return to work within 8 weeks) on patients with acute low back pain. [1]

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for the management of patients with acute mechanical low back pain (AM-LBP) have been defined on an international scale. Multicenter clinical trials have demonstrated that most AM-LBP patients do not receive CPG-based treatments. To date, the value of implementing full and exclusively CPG-based treatment remains unclear. To determine if full CPGs-based study care (SC) results in greater improvement in functional outcomes than family physician-directed usual care (UC), a two-arm, parallel design, prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial using blinded outcome assessment was designed. Treatment was administered in a hospital-based spine program outpatient clinic. Patients were assessed by a spine physician, then randomized to SC (reassurance and avoidance of passive treatments, acetaminophen, 4 weeks of lumbar CSMT, and return to work within 8 weeks), or family physician-directed UC, the components of which were recorded. (more…)

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If Not Chiropractic Care, Then What’s Your Alternative?

By Frank M. Painter|September 25, 2010|Editorial, Iatrogenic Injury, NSAIDs|

If Not Chiropractic Care, Then What’s Your Alternative?

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: A Chiro.Org Editorial

Informed Consent involves discussing the risks and benefits of the treatment you propose (in my case, chiropractic) AND reviewing the risks and benefits of the alternatives, which are “conservative” medical care, which typically involves prescribing muscle relaxers, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), and less frequently, prescribing physical therapy.

Many patients who present to a chiropractor for the first time have already gone the medical route, with minimal or negative results. Today I would like to review the risks associated with the most commonly recommended pain relieving analgesics (NASIDs).

(more…)

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Do You Still Beat Your Wife?

By Frank M. Painter|September 20, 2010|Editorial, Stroke|

Do You Still Beat Your Wife?

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: A Chiro.Org Editorial

There are certain accusations that are impossible to respond to, without sounding like a guilty party, trying to weasel out of a tight spot.

The accusation that chiropractic somehow “causes stroke” is one such unsupported and yet impossible-to-defend claim.

The simple truth is that there is absolutely no scientific evidence to demonstrate that chiropractic adjusting in the cervical region has ever “caused” a stroke.

Here’s a simple example of how flawed that logic is:

If I sneeze, and there is a traffic accident across the street, it may be convenient to claim that my sneeze “caused” that accident (especially if someone stood to benefit financially from that claim), but where is the evidence? (more…)

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About Frank M. Painter

Chiropractic Legislative Agenda ~ News Update

Chiropractic Legislative Agenda ~ News Update

Georgetown Medical School Selects New York Chiropractic College For CAM Program Training

Georgetown Medical School Selects New York Chiropractic College For CAM Program Training

Startling New Study Reveals That Back Surgery Fails 74% of the Time

Startling New Study Reveals That Back Surgery Fails 74% of the Time

New Study Finds Chiropractic Care Superior to Family Physician-directed Usual Care

New Study Finds Chiropractic Care Superior to Family Physician-directed Usual Care

If Not Chiropractic Care, Then What’s Your Alternative?

If Not Chiropractic Care, Then What’s Your Alternative?

Do You Still Beat Your Wife?

Do You Still Beat Your Wife?