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What The Government Says About Chiropractic

By Frank M. Painter|November 28, 2010|News|

What The Government Says About Chiropractic

SOURCE: Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Chiropractors, also known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians, diagnose and treat patients with health problems of the musculoskeletal system and treat the effects of those problems on the nervous system and on general health. Many chiropractic treatments deal specifically with the spine and the manipulation of the spine. Chiropractic is based on the principle that spinal joint misalignments interfere with the nervous system and can result in lower resistance to disease and many different conditions of diminished health.

The chiropractic approach to healthcare focuses on the patient’s overall health. Chiropractors provide natural, drugless, nonsurgical health treatments, relying on the body’s inherent recuperative abilities. They also recognize that many factors affect health, including exercise, diet, rest, environment, and heredity. Chiropractors recommend changes in lifestyle that affect those factors. In some situations, chiropractors refer patients to or consult with other health practitioners. (more…)

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An Interview with Brigadier General Becky Halstead

By Frank M. Painter|November 22, 2010|News|

An Interview with Brigadier General Becky Halstead

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Health Insights Today

By Carl S. Cleveland III, DC

How were you introduced to chiropractic and how has it helped you?

My dad introduced me to chiropractic on one of my visits home, one of my leaves. He could start to see that I was wearing physically. My dad had arthritis, so he often would go down to see the chiropractor in our town. Actually, our town doesn’t even have traffic lights, so it was the next town over, in Owego, New York. He said, “I think you ought to go down and see Dr. Perestam. I think he could make you feel better.” And so I did, and he was absolutely right. My very first visit to the chiropractor was awesome and so has every subsequent visit to the chiropractor. I always leave feeling better. I tell people it’s like I can breathe better. I feel taller. So I got a taste of how wonderful that care is. Unfortunately, though, I only went home once or twice a year. Every time I went home, people would give up their appointments. They’d go, “Do you need to go to the chiropractor? I’ll give you my appointment.” So I was always fit in.

But in the military, there were no chiropractors at the treatment facility, so it was not readily accessible and available to me. So although I knew that it would help, I did not have sustained chiropractic care until after I retired. And it’s helped me amazingly! I don’t even know how to describe what my situation was two years ago when I retired, compared to today. I just physically was at the end of my rope and that’s why I retired, with chronic fibromyalgia. I would push and push and push all day long. When I’d get home, I would just curl up in a ball. My skin hurt, my body ached, a thousand pins in my cheeks and my lips and my tongue. What the military did for me was to give me drugs, pain medicine and sleep medicine. I had every drug imaginable. And although that helped maybe curb it a little bit, it caused so many other horrible reactions, in my esophagus, my stomach, ulcers. It’s a spiral. What helps you also hurts you in that regard, I think. (more…)

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Alteration of Motion Segment Integrity

By Frank M. Painter|November 20, 2010|Diagnosis, Documentation, Education, Subluxation|

Alteration of Motion Segment Integrity

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Dynamic Chiropractic

By Jeffrey Cronk, DC, CICE

Sometimes the internal discourse that is common in our profession seems to get in the way of our acceptance of real help so that we can expand our profession and better serve our patients. Alteration of motion segment integrity (AOMSI) is a significant gift from the AMA that allows us to methodically locate, substantiate and objectively prove the severity of the spinal subluxation. Of course, it comes as a gift only as long as we handle it with a high level of responsibility.

Alteration of motion segment integrity is determined by exact mensuration procedure published in the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. It is a spinal subluxation that can be objectively identified with a high degree of accuracy, especially when one acknowledges the advancements that have occurred in assessment of stress imaging (X-ray, DMX).

Please remember that some of the most significant advancements in functional radiology assessment came from information gained from our profession’s very first federal research grant, awarded in the mid 1970s. It was University of Colorado scientist Chung Ha Suh, PhD, who secured the first chiropractic funding from the National Institutes of Health (NS 12226 01A1). Suh’s main areas of research focused on the development of computerized, kinematic models of the spine and three-dimensional, distortion-free X-ray analysis. This research improved our ability to more accurately measure articular deformations such as AOMSI.

You may also want to review:

Accurate Prognosis in Personal-Injury Cases Using George’s Line

(more…)

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Homeopathic Consultations Linked to Benefits for Patients, Study Finds

By John Wiens DC|November 19, 2010|Research|

Source Science Daily

Scientists from the University of Southampton have found evidence suggesting that homeopathic consultations — but not homeopathic remedies — are associated with clinically relevant benefits for patients with active but relatively stable rheumatoid arthritis.

In a study published in the journal Rheumatology, the researchers found that arthritis patients significantly benefited when they received homeopathy alongside conventional treatment over a period of 6 months, but this improvement was due to homeopathy’s consultation process and not its remedies. (more…)

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Chiropractic Legislative Agenda ~ News Update

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

Chiropractic Legislative Agenda ~ News Update

The Chiro.Org Blog

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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New Study Reveals: Starting with Chiropractic Saves 40% on Low Back Pain Care

By John Wiens DC|November 16, 2010|News|

New Study Reveals: Starting with Chiropractic Saves 40% on Low Back Pain Care

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Insurancenewsnet.Com

A new JMPT study finds that low back pain care initiated with a doctor of chiropractic (DC) saves 40% on health care costs when compared with care initiated through a medical doctor (MD), the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) announced today. The study, featuring data from 85,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield beneficiaries, concludes that insurance companies that restrict access to chiropractors for low back pain treatment may inadvertently pay more for care than they would if they removed such restrictions.

Low back pain is a significant public health problem. Up to 85 percent of Americans have back pain at some point in their lives. In addition to its negative effects on employee productivity, back pain treatment accounts for about $50 billion annually in health care costs—making it one of the top 10 most costly conditions treated in the United States.

The study, Cost of Care for Common Back Pain Conditions Initiated With Chiropractic Doctor vs. Medical Doctor/Doctor of Osteopathy as First Physician: Experience of One Tennessee-Based General Health Insurer, which is available online and will also be published in the December 2010 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, looked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee’s intermediate and large group fully insured population over a two-year span. The insured study population had open access to MDs and DCs through self-referral, and there were no limits applied to the number of MD/DC visits allowed and no differences in co-pays. (more…)

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