John Wiens DC

Australian scientists urge Central Queensland University to reconsider chiropractic science degree

By John Wiens DC|December 12, 2011|News|

Some of Australia’s most eminent scientists have their noses, at least, out of joint after learning that a Queensland university will offer a “chiropractic science” degree next year.

A letter made public this week, signed by 34 scientists and doctors, including eight from Adelaide, urges Central Queensland University to reconsider.

“Our concerns are not limited to chiropractic but extend to all tertiary institutions that are involved in legitimising anti-science,” the letter says.

“It would be most regrettable to find that financial pressures may be tempting universities to betray their academic heritage.

“We appeal to you as fellow academics to reconsider your plans.”

The signatories are a who’s who of medical science, including former Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer, who created the cervical cancer vaccine.

Professor Alastair MacLennan, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Adelaide is one leading the charge.

He wants the public protected from alternative therapy. “We are trying to encourage universities not to introduce or continue anti-science nonsense degree courses in quackery (such as) naturopathy, homeopathy, iridology, acupuncture, energy medicine and chiropractic,” he says. (more…)

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To Fix Health, Help the Poor

By John Wiens DC|December 9, 2011|Health Care|

To Fix Health, Help the Poor

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: The New York Times

By Elizabeth Bradley and Lauren Taylor

Studies show that to improve health care, invest more money in social services.

IT’S common knowledge that the United States spends more than any other country on health care but still ranks in the bottom half of industrialized countries in outcomes like life expectancy and infant mortality. Why are these other countries beating us if we spend so much more? The truth is that we may not be spending more — it all depends on what you count.

In our comparative study of 30 industrialized countries, published earlier this year in the journal BMJ Quality and Safety, we broadened the scope of traditional health care industry analyses to include spending on social services, like rent subsidies, employment-training programs, unemployment benefits, old-age pensions, family support and other services that can extend and improve life.

We studied 10 years’ worth of data and found that if you counted the combined investment in health care and social services, the United States no longer spent the most money — far from it. In 2005, for example, the United States devoted only 29 percent of gross domestic product to health and social services combined, while countries like Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark dedicated 33 percent to 38 percent of their G.D.P. to the combination. We came in 10th. (more…)

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Crack Research: Good news about knuckle cracking

By John Wiens DC|November 20, 2011|Research|

One man’s long, noisy, asymmetrical adventure gets him a high five.

Source Scientific American

By Steve Mirsky

The latest physical anthropology research indicates that the human evolutionary line never went through a knuckle-walking phase. Be that as it may, we definitely entered, and have yet to exit, a knuckle-cracking phase. I would run out of knuckles (including those on my feet) trying to count how many musicians wouldn’t dream of playing a simple scale without throwing off a xylophonelike riff on their knuckles first. But despite the popularity of this practice, most known knuckle crackers have probably been told by some expert—whose advice very likely began, “I’m not a doctor, but …”—that the behavior would lead to arthritis.

One M.D. convincingly put that amateur argument to rest with a study published back in 1998 in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism entitled “Does Knuckle Cracking Lead to Arthritis of the Fingers?” The work of sole author Donald Unger was back in the news in early October when he was honored as the recipient of this year’s Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine.

The Igs, for the uninitiated, are presented annually on the eve of the real Nobel Prizes by the organization Improbable Research for “achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think.” In Unger’s case, I thought about whether his protocol might be evidence that he is obsessive-compulsive. From his publication: “For 50 years, the author cracked the knuckles of his left hand at least twice a day, leaving those on the right as a control. Thus, the knuckles on the left were cracked at least 36,500 times, while those on the right cracked rarely and spontaneously.”

Unger undertook his self and righteous research because, as he wrote, “During the author’s childhood, various renowned authorities (his mother, several aunts and, later, his mother-in-law [personal communication]) informed him that cracking his knuckles would lead to arthritis of the fingers.” He thus used a half-century “to test the accuracy of this hypothesis,” during which he could cleverly tell any unsolicited advice givers that the results weren’t in yet. (more…)

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New International Health Survey of Sicker Adults Finds Those With a Medical Home Fare Better

By John Wiens DC|November 10, 2011|Health Care|

Chronically and Seriously Ill U.S. Adults Stand Out for Skipping Needed Care Due to Costs and Struggling with Medical Debt

Source Commonwealth Fund

New York, NY, November 9, 2011—Chronically and seriously ill adults who received care from a medical home—an accessible primary care practice that helps coordinate care—were less likely to report medical errors, test duplication, and other care coordination failures, according to a new Commonwealth Fund international survey of patients’ experiences in the U.S. and 10 other high-income countries. Published as a Health Affairs “Web First” article, the study also found that patients connected with medical homes had better relationships with their doctors and rated their care more highly.

The 2011 survey of more than 18,000 sicker adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States included people who reported they were in fair or poor health, had surgery or had been hospitalized in the past two years, or had received care for a serious or chronic illness, injury, or disability in the past year. The study identified patients as having a medical home if they reported having a regular source of care that knows their medical history, is accessible, and helps coordinate care received from other providers.

Sicker adults in the U.K. and Switzerland were most likely to have a medical home, with nearly three-quarters connected to practices that have characteristics of a medical home, compared to about 33 percent to 65 percent in the other nine countries. U.K. and Swiss patients also reported more positive health care experiences than sicker adults in the other countries: they were more likely to be able to get a same- or next-day appointment when sick and to have easy access to after-hours care, and they were less likely to experience poorly coordinated care.

Sicker adults in the U.S. stood out for having the highest rates of problems paying medical bills and going without needed care because of the cost. Forty-two percent reported not visiting a doctor, not filling a prescription or skipping medication doses, or not getting recommended care—a significantly higher proportion than in all the other countries, and more than double the rates in Canada, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K. Moreover, U.S. patients had among the highest rates of self-reported medication, lab, or medical errors, as well as gaps in coordination of care. (more…)

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Two Federal Studies Undertaken by the University of South Florida Point to Chiropractic Engagement to Aid in Injury Prevention

By John Wiens DC|November 7, 2011|Research|

Source Enhanced Online News

The Federal government has awarded the University of South Florida (USF), School of Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Sciences $1.42 million to research the effectiveness of specific exercise interventions for reducing the risk of back injuries amongst some of the nation’s most vulnerable — firefighters and military personnel.

“Back injury is a primary condition that dramatically affects our nation’s heroes — cited as a top reason for disability and early retirement amongst firefighters, and a top non-combat reason for service men and women being displaced from active duty,” says John Mayer, D.C., Ph.D, associate professor and Lincoln College Endowed Chair in Biomechanical and Chiropractic Research at USF, and lead researcher in the $715,000 Department of Defense (DOD) and $701,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) studies. “These studies will be the first to be led by a Doctor of Chiropractic at a major university that will attempt to identify the preventive outcomes of applying specific exercise interventions amongst firefighters and soldiers.”

Each study will be conducted in several phases carried out over the next few years.

With research already in progress, the FEMA study will include 106 participants headquartered at a Tampa, Fla., fire department. Participants will undergo 24 weeks of bi-weekly supervised training sessions consisting of particular stability and resistance exercises with the goal of improving back muscular endurance — commonly documented as a direct link to back pain.

Expected to begin in spring 2012, the DOD study will include 600 active duty US Army soldiers and will provide a perspective that complements traditional directions of treatment-focus. Instead, the study will assess preventive methods by implementing and evaluating targeted high intensity exercise interventions designed to strengthen the back extensor muscles.

“Chiropractic engagement with regards to specific exercise interventions and their potential to prevent back conditions has continued to gain momentum,” says Mayer. “Federal agencies are now recognizing the skills of Doctors of Chiropractic to address prevention and treatment of back injury for our national heroes.”

To learn more about either study, visit www.health.usf.edu.

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Sidney Crosby Press Conference with Dr Ted Carrick

By John Wiens DC|September 8, 2011|Concussion, Neurology, Video|

Sidney Crosby, probably the best player in the NHL, and one who is certainly marketed as the face of the NHL along with Alexander Ovechkin, has been unable to play hockey since last year due to a serious concussion. Recently he has been treated by Dr Ted Carrick, a chiropractor and founder of the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Sid has made dramatic progress since starting treatment with Dr Carrick.

Here is the press conference. Dr Carrick’s remarks start at 7:40 into the clip.

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About John Wiens DC

Australian scientists urge Central Queensland University to reconsider chiropractic science degree

To Fix Health, Help the Poor

To Fix Health, Help the Poor

Studies show that to improve health care, invest more money in social services.

Crack Research: Good news about knuckle cracking

One man’s long, noisy, asymmetrical adventure gets him a high five.

New International Health Survey of Sicker Adults Finds Those With a Medical Home Fare Better

Chronically and Seriously Ill U.S. Adults Stand Out for Skipping Needed Care Due to Costs and Struggling with Medical Debt

Two Federal Studies Undertaken by the University of South Florida Point to Chiropractic Engagement to Aid in Injury Prevention

Sidney Crosby Press Conference with Dr Ted Carrick