Education

The Chiropractic Education Foundation

By John Wiens DC|May 6, 2011|Education|

by Kent Greenawalt

The future is a topic that is top of mind to everyone. When the future comes up in conversations, words that are generally associated with it are technology, improvement and growth.

But as we look into the future of chiropractic, one of those important words is missing: growth. Among chiropractic colleges, the enrollment trend has declined or flat lined over the past 10 years. The economy has been difficult, but we cannot place the blame there. A successful profession cannot last long when its college enrollment isn’t strong. As a chiropractic community, we need to make an impact to grow the profession and invest in our future – the students.

I strongly believe there is a need for action to be taken to assist in enrollment efforts. Obviously what is being done now needs to be tweaked or even fundamentally changed. To fill this need, I felt it was essential to create a nonprofit organization, the Chiropractic Education Foundation. The foundation was founded in order to develop chiropractic education and support the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) as it decides what actions need to be taken. (more…)

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Advising on Prevention in Chiropractic: A Look at Public Health Promotion

By Frank M. Painter|April 19, 2011|Chiropractic Technique, Education, Prevention|

Advising on Prevention in Chiropractic: A Look at Public Health Promotion

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Topics in Integrative Health Care 2011: 2 (1)

Harrison Ndetan, M.Sc., MPH, DrPH, Michael Ramcharan, DC,
Marion Willard Evans, Jr., DC, PhD, MCHES, CWP

Chiropractic care is among the more commonly used Complementary and Alternative Medical (CAM) therapies. Spinal co-morbidities include many of the most common causes of premature death and disability. Health promotion and disease prevention have been used in the profession and taught in educational settings but not yet fully embraced in usual practice. This manuscript reviews areas in which health promotion has been emphasized in chiropractic education along with instances in which health behavior theories (HBTs) have been applied. Chiropractic clinical and educational programs should consider application of HBTs to move clinicians and interns forward regarding better advising roles with patients related to prevention and health promotion.

Introduction

The actual causes of death in the United States include many chronic diseases that are attributable to modifiable behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, physical inactivity or sedentary lifestyle, alcohol consumption, poor nutrition or eating habits. [1]An increased emphasis on prevention, health promotion (HP), and education has been recommended for decades but has failed to reduce many of the threats related to premature morbidity and mortality. [2,3]Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has also increased; in many cases aimed at chronic disease management. [4-7]

Chiropractic care is one of the most frequently used professional CAM health care systems in the U.S. [4,5,7]Musculoskeletal conditions such as low back and neck pain, which are among the most common reasons patients visit medical physicians in the U.S., [8]are also among the conditions most frequently treated with chiropractic care. [7-9]The relative efficacy and cost effectiveness of chiropractic and medical care have emerged as important issues in the broader debate on evidence-based healthcare. [10,11]

Chiropractors and health promotion

There are more articles like this at our:

Health Promotion & Wellness Page

(more…)

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Is the Spinal Subluxation a Risk Factor?

By Frank M. Painter|March 25, 2011|Education, Subluxation|

Is the Spinal Subluxation a Risk Factor?

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Dynamic Chiropractic

By Meridel I. Gatterman, MA, DC, MEd

Risk factors come in a variety of distinctions, from those for cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer to those less than life-threatening but nonetheless undesirable conditions affecting the quality of a person’s life. A risk factor causes a person to be particularly vulnerable to an unwanted, unpleasant or unhealthful event. Risk factors predispose individuals to developing specific conditions. It has been suggested spinal subluxation could be considered such a risk factor. [1]

Subluxation As a Risk Factor

The following questions should be examined if the concept of subluxation as a risk factor is considered:

Is subluxation of one region of the spine a risk factor for different signs and symptoms as opposed to a subluxation in another spinal area?
If so, does a subluxation in one area create a different syndrome than when it occurs in a different region?
Does clinical observation suggest there are different subluxation syndromes associated with different spinal areas? [2]
Does a subluxation in the upper cervical region cause a different syndrome than a subluxation in the lower cervical region, and does a subluxation of the sacroiliac joint cause a different syndrome than one at a costovertebral joint? Does a patient’s symptomatic complaints and observable signs lead you to suspect a subluxation of one spinal region as opposed to another?

Subluxation Syndromes (more…)

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The Vertebral Subluxation Syndrome

By Frank M. Painter|March 24, 2011|Education, Subluxation|

The Vertebral Subluxation Syndrome

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Dynamic Chiropractic

By Meridel I. Gatterman, MA, DC, MEd

The term subluxation has been used to describe the lesion treated by chiropractors since its inception. D.D. Palmer [1] described it in 1910 as “a partial or incomplete separation, one in which the articulating surfaces remain in partial contact.” Because of confusion by other professions, some within the chiropractic profession would have us abandon the term.

Others have promoted a teaching paradigm: the vertebral subluxation complex (VSC), which has grouped various components in a model focused around the dynamic component of the subluxation. Based on the works of Homewood, [2] Janse, [3] and Faye, [4] this model began being taught at CMCC in the mid-1970s and was later popularizing through the Motion Palpation Institute. [5] Other authors have revised Faye’s early model. The vertebral subluxation complex forms a paradigm for teaching the basic principles of chiropractic theory. By taking the VSC model one step further, the vertebral subluxation syndrome can be used to describe the primary clinical entity treated by chiropractors. [6-9]

Syndrome has been traditionally used to describe the aggregate of signs and symptoms associated with any morbid process and constituting together the picture of disease. [10] The focus for chiropractors today should not remain the terminology used to describe the vertebral subluxation syndrome, but rather the specific mechanisms whereby this complex aggregate of signs and symptoms is produced by altered spinal joint motion.

Recently, the primary fibromyalgia syndrome has replaced the controversial term fibrositis used to describe a condition that has been written off as psychological at best, with the physiological manifestations either denied or ignored. [11] When the multiple complaints and varied systemic complaints of this condition were recognized as a syndrome, objective investigation was fostered to the benefit of the many patients suffering from the condition.

Viewing the classic chiropractic subluxation in a similar manner would allow us to develop and objectively test the diagnostic features of the vertebral subluxation syndrome.

There are more articles like this at our:

The Chiropractic Subluxation Section

SOURCE: Read the rest of this Full Text article now!

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Recognizing Subdural Hemorrhage in Older Adults

By Frank M. Painter|March 20, 2011|Education|

Recognizing Subdural Hemorrhage in Older Adults

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Topics in Integrative Health Care 2010; 1 (2)

By: Mark T. Pfefer, RN, MS, DC and Richard Strunk MS, DC

A subdural hematoma, also known as a subdural hemorrhage (SDH) is caused by a post-traumatic accumulation of blood within the potential space between the dura mater and the arachnoid layer covering the brain. Chronic SDH is much more common in the elderly. Patients can have a good outcome with neurosurgical management if the conditions is promptly recognized. All health care providers, as well as nursing home staff, should be aware of this condition because older patients presenting with headache and/or other neurologic complaints need careful assessment to identify SDH.

Keywords: subdural hematoma; subdural hemorrhage; chronic subdural hemorrhage; headache

Definition and Etiology

A subdural hematoma, also known as a subdural hemorrhage (SDH) is caused by a post-traumatic accumulation of blood within the potential space between the dura mater and the arachnoid layer covering the brain. All health care providers, especially those who frequently treat patients with musculoskeletal complaints, as well as nursing home staff, should be aware of this condition because older patients presenting with headache and/or other neurologic complaints need careful assessment. SDH should be considered in the differential assessment of any older patient presenting for care following trauma as it has been associated with minor head injury or falls, even those not involving direct trauma to the head. [1] In fact, absence of direct trauma to the head is associated with up to half of all cases of SDH, and a case has been reported in an adult following a roller coaster ride. [2] Based upon this it should be assumed that motor vehicle collisions could generate forces sufficient to cause SDH in older patients. (more…)

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8 drugs doctors wouldn’t take: If your physician would skip these, maybe you should, too

By Frank M. Painter|March 15, 2011|Education|

8 drugs doctors wouldn’t take
If your physician would skip these, maybe you should, too

The Chiro.Org Blog

SOURCE: Men’s Health ~ 6-22-2008

By Morgan Lord

With 3,480 pages of fine print, the Physicians’ Desk Reference (a.k.a. PDR) is not a quick read. That’s because it contains every iota of information on more than 4,000 prescription medications. Heck, the PDR is medication — a humongous sleeping pill.

Doctors count on this compendium to help them make smart prescribing decisions — in other words, to choose drugs that will solve their patients’ medical problems without creating new ones. Unfortunately, it seems some doctors rarely pull the PDR off the shelf. Or if they do crack it open, they don’t stay versed on emerging research that may suddenly make a once-trusted treatment one to avoid. Worst case: You swallow something that has no business being inside your body.

Of course, plenty of M.D.’s do know which prescription and over-the-counter drugs are duds, dangers, or both. So we asked them, “Which medications would you skip?” Their list is your second opinion. If you’re on any of these meds, talk to your doctor. Maybe he or she will finally open that big red book with all the dust on it.

Advair

It’s asthma medicine … that could make your asthma deadly. Advair contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis of 19 trials, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Because salmeterol is more widely prescribed than other LABAs, the danger is greater — the researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year. In 2006, similarly disturbing findings from an earlier salmeterol study prompted the FDA to tag Advair with a “black box” warning — the agency’s highest caution level. (more…)

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Education

The Chiropractic Education Foundation

Advising on Prevention in Chiropractic: A Look at Public Health Promotion

Advising on Prevention in Chiropractic: A Look at Public Health Promotion

Is the Spinal Subluxation a Risk Factor?

Is the Spinal Subluxation a Risk Factor?

The Vertebral Subluxation Syndrome

The Vertebral Subluxation Syndrome

Recognizing Subdural Hemorrhage in Older Adults

Recognizing Subdural Hemorrhage in Older Adults

8 drugs doctors wouldn’t take: If your physician would skip these, maybe you should, too

8 drugs doctors wouldn’t take If your physician would skip these, maybe you should, too

8 drugs doctors wouldn’t take
If your physician would skip these, maybe you should, too