Education

Pain Among Children and Adolescents

By Frank M. Painter|November 5, 2009|Education, News|

Pain Among Children and Adolescents

SOURCE: Pediatrics 2005 (Feb); 115 (2): e152-62

Musculoskeletal problems (NMS) in children are associated with both physical and psychologic consequences, and they can become barriers for participation in physical activity and sports, resulting in negative consequences for the individual’s health throughout life.

A recent study in Germany involved interviewing children (and their parents) to determine what percentage of them had NMS copmplaints. [1] The results of the study was quite surprising:

(more…)

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Medicine and the Overtreatment of Back Pain

By Frank M. Painter|November 3, 2009|Education, News, Politics, Safety|

Medicine and the Overtreatment of Back Pain

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: J Am Board Fam Med. 2009 (Jan); 22 (1): 62-68

Commentary by Dan Murphy, D.C.

I just read a fascinating article in the January edition of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, as it documents the massive increase in costs for medical management of chronic back pain, with no comparable improvements in patient outcomes, or decreases in disability rates. Worse yet, significant increases in post-intervention complications (including death) also appear to be on the rise.

This article documents:

a 629% increase for epidural steroid injections
a 423% increase in expenditures for opioids for back pain
a 307% increase in the number of lumbar magnetic resonance images
a 231% increase in facet joint injections
a 220% increase in spinal fusion surgery rates
Manufacturers aggressively promote new drugs and devices for the treatment of back pain, yet there is evidence of misleading advertising, kickbacks to physicians, and major investments by surgeons in the products they are promoting.
Prescription opioid use is steadily increasing, especially for musculoskeletal conditions. Emergency department reports of opioid overdose parallel the numbers of prescriptions. Deaths related to prescription opioids are greater than the combined total involving cocaine and heroin. Ironically, “Opioid use may paradoxically increase sensitivity to pain.”
New and improved spinal fusion techniques and devices, such as implants, increase the risk of nerve injury, blood loss, overall complications, operative time, and repeat surgery, but do not result in improved disability or reoperation rates.
Increases in the rates of imaging, opioid prescriptions, injections, and fusion surgery might be justified if there were substantial improvements in patient outcomes; unfortunately, they are not. In fact, statistics indicate that disability from musculoskeletal disorders is rising, not falling. “Prescribing yet more imaging, opioids, injections, and operations is not likely to improve outcomes for patients with chronic back pain.”

At the same time that medicine has ramped up costs (gobbling up the Medicare pie), a long line of studies have shown the clear superiority of chiropractic management for low back pain. Please review the most in-depth study, published in May of 2007 which compared medical and chiropractic management for LBP in a managed care group:

Clinical and cost utilization, based on 70,274 member-months, over a 7-year period, demonstrated:

decreases of 60.2% in-hospital admissions
59.0% less hospital days
62.0% less outpatient surgeries and procedures, and
83% less pharmaceutical costs

when patients were seen by a chiropractor, instead of seeing a conventional medical IPA doctor.

It’s time to end the

Medical Mis-Management of Low Back Pain

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Do You Recommend Supplementation In Your Practice?

By Frank M. Painter|November 2, 2009|Education, Nutrition|

Do You Recommend Supplementation In Your Practice?

The Chiro.Org Blog

If you do, or wish you knew more, we have a variety of nutrition resources that you may find useful:

Our most extensive resource contains articles, arranged by condition, from the esteemed Alternative Medicine Review.
Our Nutrition Section begins with the Supplement Section, providing non-solicitous information regarding the benefits of various vitamins, minerals and herbals. (more…)

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What is the Vertebral Subluxation Complex?

By Frank M. Painter|November 1, 2009|Education, Subluxation|

What is the Vertebral Subluxation Complex?

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: ICA International Review of Chiropractic 1992 (Oct): 19-23

Joseph M. Flesia, D.C.

Submitted for your approval is an article written by Joseph M. Flesia, D.C. that is archived on our Chiropractic Subluxation Page. I hope you will find it of interest!

The Vertebral Subluxation Complex Part II:
An Outline

Many correlative and singular studies have been made in the areas of the five components of the Vertebral Subluxation Complex. Some researchers have used the exact titles of the individual components as mentioned in this review. Others report synonymous scientific nomenclature. Ongoing scientific research will and has added more components and subcomponents to the vertebral subluxation complex than presented in this brief outline. However, the following outline will provide the reader an excellent foundation relative to the component basis of the vertebral subluxation complex. This will allow new information to fit into this previously established, scientifically ordered model.

Component #1: Spinal Kinesiopathology (Spinal Pathomechanics, Abnormal Spinal Biomechanics, etc.) (more…)

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Update on Vertebroplasty: A Unique Evidence-based Review

By Frank M. Painter|October 27, 2009|Education, Ethics|

Update on Vertebroplasty: A Unique Evidence-based Review

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Dynamic Chiropractic

By Deborah Pate, DC, DACBR

A few years ago, I wrote an article (May 22, 2006 issue of Dynamic Chiropractic) reviewing vertebroplasty as a treatment option for painful compression fractures due to osteoporosis. [1] I felt that as chiropractors, we should be aware of the common medical procedures that are available to treat disorders we generally manage; osteoporotic compression fractures being one such entity. (more…)

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For CAs: The Health-Service Role of the Doctor of Chiropractic

By Frank M. Painter|October 23, 2009|Chiropractic Assistant, Education, Practice Management|

For CAs: The Health-Service Role of the Doctor of Chiropractic

The Chiro.Org Blog

We would all like to thank Dr. Richard C. Schafer, DC, PhD, FICC for his lifetime commitment to the profession. In the future we will continue to add materials from RC’s copyrighted books for your use.

This is Chapter 3 from RC’s best-selling book:

“The Chiropractic Assistant”

These materials are provided as a service to our profession. There is no charge for individuals to copy and file these materials. However, they cannot be sold or used in any group or commercial venture without written permission from ACAPress.

Chapter 3: The Health-Service Role of the Doctor of Chiropractic

This chapter briefly describes the role of the doctor of chiropractic in the health care of the nation. It also introduces the reader to the rationale of clinical diagnostics, therapeutics, rehabilitation, and counseling in the chiropractic approach. Some particular areas of special interest are also described.

DIAGNOSTICS: THE ART OF DECIDING WHAT IS WRONG

The diagnostic process of a patient’s disorder begins with the recording and interpretation of the patient’s medical history. Thus, the initial interview and consultation with the patient is of utmost importance. It will direction the examinations and tests that are to follow. Every measure of observation that will substantially profile the patient is employed and recorded. A systematic and thorough physical examination is conducted using the methods, techniques, and instruments that are standard with all health professions. In addition, the doctor of chiropractic will include a postural and spinal analysis, an innovation in the field of physical diagnosis and examination.

Background

The chiropractic physician uses the standard procedures and instruments of physical and clinical diagnosis, and he is well acquainted with the need for differential diagnosis. Diagnostic radiology, especially as it pertains to the skeletal system, is a primary clinical diagnostic aid in chiropractic and has been since the early 1900s.

In addition, doctors of chiropractic are knowledgeable in the standard and special clinical laboratory procedures and tests usual to modern diagnostic science. Facilities for roentgenography (x-ray), thermography, electrocardiography (ECG or EKG), and electromyography (EMG) are standard among many other technologic advancements. Each accredited chiropractic college has a laboratory licensed to carry on clinical laboratory examinations, including such fields as cytology, chemistry, hematology, serology, bacteriology, and parasitology. (more…)

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