Category Archives: Children’s Health

Kinesiotaping: Managing Your Pain Like A Pro

One of the latest trends in healthcare over recent years has been the use of kinesiotape for managing pain and injuries. Professional and amateur athletes alike are turning to the tape in increasing numbers to help manage soreness in muscles and joints as well as accelerate healing.

Not familiar with kinesiotape? You should be. It’s an excellent alternative to potentially risky medications for the management of acute and chronic pain. It can be used on just about any part of the body and risks of any side effects are fairly low.   It doesn’t contain any medication and can be effective for a broad range of conditions, from sprains and strains to arthritic pain.

Kinesiotape is, basically, just a cloth tape with a skin adhesive. Unlike a traditional athletic tape, kinesiotape does not restrict movement but, instead, moves with your body. Full range of motion is still possible with application of the tape. The skin over the affected area now works with the kinesiotape to help improve function in an affected area and decrease pain. How does it work? Well there are several theories:

  1. Improved proprioception – Now, this is one of those fancy health terms but, basically, the tape improves your body’s ability to sense and respond to the environment. Applying the tape to the skin acts as a minor stimulus to heighten the sensitivity of the soft tissues to movement (improved proprioception).   Increased soft tissue sensation allows the body to respond and adapt to stress better, including additional stresses to the joints and tissues. It will also decrease the likelihood of additional injury.
  2. Lifting the skin off the affected area – In many instances, the inflammatory processes that produce pain lie below the skin. When taped properly, contraction of the kinesiotape will help to lift skin off the affected area and decrease pressure of more superficial tissues on the affected area, leading to decrease deep tissue irritation.
  3. Improved circulation – As you move the tape expands and contracts with the skin according to your movement. This will help pump new blood supply into the area and encourage a decrease in swelling. The tape improve oxygenated blood supply to the area but also increase vein activity to draw fluid, including swelling, away from the affected area. Improved circulation will also decrease muscle spasming and will bring in immune cells to help repair the damaged tissues.
  4. Improved lymphatic flow – Your lymphatic system is you “other circulatory system.” Consisting of a series of vessels and lymph nodes distributed around the body, your lymphatic system helps to remove cellular waste from the tissues, including lactic acid which can cause pain. Like your veins, the lymphatic system requires movement to accomplish lymphatic flow. Kinesiotaping helps to improve lymphatic flow, drawing inflammatory products away from the injured area. Additionally, because the lymphatic system is a critical component of the immune system, improved lymphatic flow will improve the body’s ability to heal.
  5. Gate theory – Most patients with chronic pain are familiar with a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) unit. A tens unit works by electrically stimulating mechanical nerve receptors for the tissues and joints. By stimulating those receptors, you can trick nervous system into paying less attention to pain sensitive nerves (nociceptors). In a similar fashion, kinesiotepe stimulates these receptors mechanically, desensitizing the pain sensitive portion of the nervous system.
  6. Shifted load – Because kinesiotape is an elastic tape, taping over the area will shift some of the physical stress load off the soft tissues and onto the tape. While it is not generally intended to restrict movement, the tape does have some bracing effect by supplementing your soft tissues.
  7. Mobility reatraining – The Tape can be applied in such a way as to retrain a joint to move and function differently according to how the tape is a applied.   Accomplishing this may require additional training by the person applying the kinesiotape.

While taping is not generally indicated for joint restriction, there are some instances where you can accomplish stability with kinesiotape, including taping the shoulder blade into position or taping an extremity joint to minimize motion, such as an ankle or wrist.

Will kinesiotape replace physical therapy or chiropractic care? No. The tape is simply a tool used to improve a soft tissue’s ability to function while managing pain. In many cases, rehabilitative care is still necessary and taping will not substitute for spinal adjusting, exercise therapy or practical prevention. Kinesiotaping is a low tech simple approach to managing pain without harmful chemical side effects of medications.

There are some contraindications to taping. This includes taping over a rash or skin irritation, application over a sun burn, open wounds, specific contraindications to bracing, and in patients who have sensitivities to adhesive bandages. Out of the hundreds of patients to whom I’ve applied tape, I’ve only seen a few patients with any negative reaction to the tape at all, generally a mild skin irritation. That being said, kinesiotape is an excellent choice for the following applications:

  1. Neck and back injuries
  2. Shoulder injuries
  3. Knee injuries
  4. Sprained ankles
  5. Joint swelling
  6. Muscle tightness
  7. Joint stiffness
  8. Point tenderness
  9. Trigger points
  10. Scoliosis

The tape can be left in place for up to 10 days. You can shower and swim with it. Just be sure not to rub it dry as it may rub off the tape. Occasionally, some residual adhesive may remain on the skin when the tape is removed. Baby oil is a simple solution to remove any residual. You may experience some itching with the tape but my experience has been it is more due to improved circulation than any allergic reaction. Again, negative reactions to the tape are extremely rare.

Before kinesiotaping, I would recommend a thorough evaluation by a healthcare provider who works extensively with musculoskeletal conditions and injuries, to rule out serious issues that may require more intensive intervention. This is especially important in conditions that don’t improve or are worsening, pain that does not respond to kinesiotaping or medication, pain at night, or excruciating pain. Kinesiotaping is not intended to substitute for evaluation or adequate rehabilitative care for a serious injury.

Kinesiotaping is safe for most adults and children, including the elderly.   In my office, I’ve used it effectively on kids with sprained ankles and seniors with knee swelling. It’s also excellent for tightness in the shoulders and low back pain. To be most effective, it does take some training to apply properly. There is a bit of an art-form to the taping procedure. I would recommend working with a healthcare provider who has the expertise and training to properly apply the tape for therapeutic benefit.

If you are an athlete, have a regular workout, suffer from chronic pain, or have recently had a sprain type injury, kinesiotaping may be an excellent way to help manage your condition and accelerate your recovery. Talk to your healthcare provider today about getting taped!

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Pregnancy Related Back Pain: Real Solutions

This is the most amazing thing to happen to you!  Congratulations!  Few things will change your life more than having a child.  It’s a joyful time for you, filled with anxious excitement and planning.   While you relish this 9 months and the anticipation of your baby, there was one thing you weren’t planing on: pregnancy back pain!  Ugh!

Pregnancy related back pain is an extremely common complication of pregnancy. Some estimates place as many as 61% of women as experiencing low back pain while carrying their child.  That being said, there are many practical conservative solutions to the stress on the low back that occurs while pregnant.

So, why does a woman develop low back pain? Well there is the obvious answer that with added weight, comes added pressure on the joints. True, the average woman, in a healthy pregnancy, gains 25-35 pounds on average. However, there is more the back pain it than a simply weight gain.

Many women describe pregnancy related low back pain as back pressure, pain across the back, or pain in the hips. Additionally, they may report achiness, stabbing, burning, or instability in the low back.   Regardless of the description, the causes of pregnancy related low back pain are many and include:

  1. Increased weight gain – as your body increases in weight, increased stress is applied to the joints. Gaining the typical 25-35 pounds in a period of 9 months is a relative rapid weight gain, and change your body may have difficulty adapting to. Generally, the impact of weight gain will be affected by general health going into the pregnancy and other factors such as core strength and exercise levels. While healthy weight gain should not generally be discouraged, there are ways to get the body to adapt better to the increased weight, minimizing stress to the joints and maintaining full function of the back through the duration of your pregnancy.
  2. Changes in weight bearing – Generally, most of the weight gain during pregnancy is in the stomach causing the center of gravity to shift forward. While non-pregnant individuals will generally have a center of gravity that is somewhere over the mid-pelvis, pregnancy causes trunk weight to shift forward. This forward weight bearing can cause an increase in the curvature of the low back leading to cramping as the back muscles struggle to support the weight of the abdomen. Additionally, forward weight bearing stress the sacroiliac joints, those tailbone joints that work with the pelvis, to cause sacroiliitis.
  3. Changes in hormones – As your body approaches its due date, your body will start to produce hormones which will increase flexibility. While the hormones do allow for increased motion in the pelvis to allow for birthing, they also make it more difficult for the pelvis and low back to stay in proper alignment, leading to increased instability and pain. Pain may come and go as the pelvis and low back shift and move more easily, resulting in low back irritation and pain.

So, you have low back pain from your pregnancy, what can you do? There are a lot of conservative interventions available to help your deal with your back pain. Some can be accomplished on your own, others require the help and intervention of others. Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Weight bearing exercise – A moderate amount of walking will help keep postural muscles strong and improve circulation to affected tissues. Additionally, walking will help improve motion in the pelvis which should, in turn, decrease the likelihood of joint instability, asymmetry, and misalignment of the pelvis.
  2. Stretching – Later in pregnancy, your body does produce hormones that increase joint flexibility and make birthing possible. However the degree to which flexibility improves often depends on pre-pregnancy range of motion. It’s been my experience that many women have developed such muscle tightness before pregnancy that the relaxing hormones can’t even get those individuals to normal ranges of motion. Your body is designed to have a certain level of flexibility that we lose due to life circumstances. Maintaining and improving that flexibility will help decrease the stress on your low back and pelvis. Often, stretching areas you would not associate with your back can even help, such as hamstrings, upper back, and hips. Sitting on an exercise ball and rolling the hips or laying on your back and using the ball to roll the hips back and forth are great exercises for improving your back pain. There are also yoga programs for pregnancy that are available. True, you may not be able to do every pose, but working on your range of motion is generally a good idea.
  3. Improved diet – Of, course, it should go without saying that you should be eating well during your pregnancy, and I’m not talking about volume but quality. After all, you are eating for two now. You should be eating whole foods free of artificial ingredients. Not only will you be healthier for it but your baby will thank you. Improved nutrition will increase nutrient supply for the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of the back. Good food will decrease the likelihood of muscle spasms due to nutritional deficiency.   Avoid excessive carbs/sugars because they can be pro-inflammatory and contribute to inflammation in the joints. Also, watch your water intake. Dehydration can also lead to muscle spasming and soreness in the soft tissues. Finally, a whole food pre-natal vitamin should be part of any regimen to help fill the holes in your diet, not to mention prevent possible birth defects.
  4. Stress management – Mental stress causes physical distress. True, your low back pain is most likely due to the physiologic changes you’re experiencing with your pregnancy but mental stress can take a physical problem and make it that much worse. Pregnancy in and of itself can be a trying time mentally, especially for single or first time mothers. Finding an outlet or your stress, such as exercise or even counseling will help your body adapt better.
  5. Improve your body positioning – Being conscious of your posture and taking active steps to alleviate the stresses on your back may improve your pain symptoms. This may include everything from sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs to using pillows to support the back and legs while you’re sitting. Back supports may also help.   Avoid standing or sitting in one position for too long and try to get moving as much as possible.
  6. Massage Therapy – Because much of the pain experienced during pregnancy is due to tension and stress on the muscles, soft tissue mobilization may help alleviate a portion of the pain. Massage therapy will help relax tightened muscles, improve circulation to the tissues, and promote a general sense of well-being.
  7. Heat or ice – While many sources will include hot baths for relieving pain, I will generally discourage that for my patients. In fact, many physiotherapy resources discourage the application of heat over the abdomen as a contraindication during pregnancy. I generally tell patients to use a regional warm pack over the back for no more than 15-20 minutes. It can be repeated but allow about an hour or so for re-application. I want the patient to avoid increasing their resting metabolize temperature and the goal isn’t to cook the tissues. A warm pack can often provide just as much effect as a hot pack, with less risk. A microwaveable heat pack or hot water bottle will generally suffice to ease tension in the low back without the danger of overheating the area. As a general rule, avoid placing heat or ice over the abdomen while you’re pregnant.
  8. Kinesiotaping – This is an athletic taping technique that has been gaining popularity in recent years. Kinesiotape is being increasingly used by professional and amateur athletes to help alleviate pain and improve tissue healing. It’s safe to use during pregnancy because it does not use any drugs and is strictly a cloth tape with a skin adhesive.  In fact, there are specific taping regimens for pregnancy, to not only alleviate low back pain, but possible abdominal pain associated with carrying your baby. To be effective, though, the tape should be applied by an individual with training and experience in kinesiotaping. There is a certain art form to its application. It can, however, offer notable decrease in pain and improved stability in the back, hips, and abdomen.
  9. Proper spinal alignment – Arguably one of the most important aspects of decreasing pain in your back, I saved this for last. Proper alignment of the low back will decrease pressure on pain sensitive nerves, improve motion of the joints of the low back, decrease stress on the soft tissues, and improve overall function of the low back. Chiropractic care has been routinely shown to be safe and effective for relieving the back pain associated with pregnancy. Spinal adjusting has also been linked to improved labor and delivery. There are certain medical conditions that may be a contraindication to chiropractic care but, for most women, chiropractic care can be very effectively incorporated into a pain management regimen. In my office, I will frequently see pregnant patients on a weekly or biweekly basis for their pain and most women will see decreased pain immediately following their adjustment. They also will report improved ability to sleep, decrease generalized soreness, and an improved ability to function. In my opinion, chiropractic adjusting should be incorporated for most women with pregnancy related low back pain.

If you are struggling with pregnancy related low back pain, there are solutions out there for you. Perhaps the best place to consult about your back pain is with someone who sees a lot of back pain patients, like a chiropractor. Besides adjusting your spine, they can provide you with additional tips and tricks to alleviate your pain.

Has your doctor suggested pain medication to you? Always ask better questions. The decision to take pain medication while pregnant should be a thoughtful one made with your medical doctor.  You need to know what research has been done on that medication and its effect on a developing fetus. Certain conditions like asthma and autism have risen to alarming rates, with little research done on the effects of oral medications on an undeveloped fetus. While there is little overt evidence to explain the remarkable rise in childhood illness, that is mostly the result of a lack of research. Just because there is not an established 1 to 1 relationship between a specific cause and disease does not discount an overall trend toward increasing illness due to an accumulation of exposures. I don’t think it’s an accident that autism rates have risen to 1 in 88 kids. Too much of the research focuses on, and debunks, a single specific cause like vaccination and I fear conditions like autism are not due to a solitary cause but a series of toxic exposures over time. Unfortunately, there is very little research on the effects of pre-pregnancy, intra-pregnancy, and post-pregnancy toxic exposure on the developing child. However, it reasons that the rises in childhood illness rates may be linked to the fact that our environment is as toxic as it’s ever been. Anything you put in your body that is not food is a potential toxin. That toxin can affect you and your baby. Pain medication is not food. Anything you feed your body while pregnant, your baby will respond to, either for good or bad. Try to remove as many toxins as possible from your diet and lifestyle. Turning to natural means for alleviation of your pain may make you and your baby a whole lot healthier and happier for a lifetime of wellness.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symptoms_and_discomforts_of_pregnancy

www.webmd.com/baby/guide/back-pain-in-pregnancy

http://icpa4kids.org/Chiropractic-Research/Pregnancy-and-Adjustments/

Why Not Chiropractic?

Why isn’t everyone getting adjusted?  I mean, what is so terrible, scary, or wrong with a chiropractic adjustment?  There are plenty of other things that are far more risky.  In my opinion, there are also few other things that offer the same health benefits as a chiropractic adjustment.  So, why isn’t everyone seeing a chiropractor?

Chiropractic, as an art and science, has been around for over 100 years, since 1895.  Even then, Hippocrates, the father of Medicine talks extensively of the spine as a cause of disease and joint mobilization has been used for thousands of years by various cultures from around the world.  True, chiropractic as a healing art has gained traction in recent years, being covered by Medicare, recognized by the Veterans Administration, and addressed by most health insurances.  Chiropractors can even train in specialties like orthopedics, neurology, radiology and other disciplines.  Still, I get the impression that chiropractic is the ugly kid in the corner of the room no one wants to talk to.

One of my assistants recently told my about a visit she had to her son’s pediatrician that encompasses effects of poor information.  The pediatrician, recognizing that my assistant was in scrubs (our office uniform) asked what her profession was.   When she told her son’s doctor she was a chiropractic assistant, the tone of the visit changed.  The pediatrician asked with some apprehension, ‘well your son doesn’t get adjusted does he?’  My assistant was quick to say that he did and further explained that we see lots of kids in our office.  The pediatrician, knowing she was an assistant to a chiropractor, began to attempt to re-educate her about adjusting and told her that they ‘don’t believe in chiropractic.’  My assistant asked why, because we see children do amazingly well in our office all the time.  The doctor then continued, ‘Well, I’ve never been to a chiropractor but…’  Need I go on?

This unfortunate scenario is only the most recent of frequent reports I here from other “health” professionals.  Within this past week, I had another of my assistants visit a doctor’s office and introduce ourselves to them.  We were looking for a medical physician to refer some of our patients to and were wondering if that office would be interested in seeing some of our patients.  The catch was that we would only refer them our patients if they were open minded to chiropractic care.  To our surprise, my staff member was informed that their office ‘doesn’t work with chiropractors.’  Why not?  Well, it turns out that while the physician’s assistant in the office is very open minded, the head doctor is vehemently anti-chiropractic.

Over the years, I’ve discover that the most ardent opponents to chiropractic care I’ve encountered have never even been to a chiropractor.  Most of them have never read any research or even know a chiropractor.  All they know is what they’ve heard, what they gleaned from some casual third party interpretation, what they saw on some expose, or, more insidiously, what was taught to them erroneously in school.  Yet, they offer advice on chiropractic care as if they are an expert on the field, doing both a disservice to chiropractic and, more importantly, to the patient who now loses the potential benefit that adjusting may have offered them.  The blind truly leads the blind.

Here are a few of the objections I’ve encountered over the years and their simple reasons why they are simply nonsense:

1.        Chiropractic is Dangerous – Really?  Chiropractic is dangerous?  So, the reason that chiropractic malpractice rates are a mere fraction of the Medical profession means that chiropractic is dangerous.  I once saw a statistic that showed that adverse drug interaction and hospital errors account for so many deaths annually, that it’s the equivalent of a 747 full of people crashing every day in the United States for that same time period.  I can tell you that if a commercial airline were actually falling out of the sky every day for a full year, there would be a national emergency.  Yet, chiropractic is dangerous.  You see, the average E.R., urgent care, or family physician only sees those very few people who may have had a rare complication to adjusting.  They don’t see the millions who get well in a chiropractic office.  So, they base their opinion off their limited exposure without a complete picture.  Their assessment of chiropractic care is not based off the healthy patients who feel great that, frankly, no longer need medical services.

After all, how many people has chiropractic killed?  How many people has chiropractic even injured?  In a century of chiropractic care would we even match the adverse reactions and deaths of one year of traditional medical care?  Just look at the AMA or CDC annual morbidity and mortality statistics.  Sure there are risks to chiropractic care.  There are risks to everything in life, but they are small and, statistically speaking, very remote, especially when compared to other healthcare options.  And yes, there are side effects.  You might sleep better.  You might have more concentration.  You might actually not get sick this year.  You might not need your medication.  I think you get the idea.

2.       Chiropractic care is for back pain only – Well, you may not realize this, but the first documented case of a chiropractic adjustment for the treatment of a condition was NOT for back pain.  It was for hearing loss.  In 1895, D.D. Palmer  applied the first adjustment to the upper back of a deaf janitor named Harvey Lillard.  Miraculously, his hearing was restored and the chiropractic profession was born.  Unfortunately, I think even some of my colleagues forget this little piece of our history.  We are not just back doctors.  Of course, there is more complexity in the story but there is little debate about the effect that nervous dysfunction can have on health.  It’s simple physiology.

I agree that our profession often subjugates the power of spinal adjusting to back pain treatment, but true spinal adjusting and maintenance has far more potential.  Relatively speaking, back pain is quick and simple.  Helping a patient realize their full health potential is a longer, complex journey, not a destination.  I see in my office that my wellness care patients don’t get sick like their friends, they sleep better at night, have more energy during the day, and are just healthier overall.  And, I am not unique in this observation.  There is more to a healthy spine and nervous system than just pain management.  An aspirin can manage your pain.  An adjustment will help improve your health.

3.       Kids shouldn’t be getting adjusted – Last time I checked, kids have spines too.  No, having a spine isn’t something you get at puberty or once you graduate from high school.  You have a spine from birth.  Spinal hygiene is about maintaining full spinal function.  It’s about preventing spinal decay and maximizing health throughout a person’s life.  Your spine can decay just like your teeth.  The difference is you can replace your teeth but you’re stuck with the same spine for life.

What’s the first trauma you ever experienced?  I would bet heavily that its your own birth.  Pulling and twisting and trying to push and pull a much larger baby through a much smaller opening would traumatize even the fittest of newborns.  I would argue that some of the trauma of childbirth can even haunt a person for their entire life.  Why?  Because their parents were told that adjusting is just for “back pain” and “kids shouldn’t be adjusted.”  In a society where we seem to be getting more obese and sicker with chronic illness, despite amazing advances in medicine, I think it’s time to change our approach to health.

I’ve even heard that adjusting kids is dangerous.  Are you telling me that a kid can take a fall from a 6 foot jungle gym and take off running without a pause where an adult would easily break their arm, but a pediatric spinal adjustment is dangerous?  Are you kidding?  We need to start getting real.

4.       Chiropractors are not real doctors – I once had a medical doctor tell me, to my face, that he wouldn’t refer his patients to someone who calls himself a doctor but only got his degree in a weekend course.  What a jerk!  In almost every state in the United States, chiropractors must have both a Bachelors Degree and a Doctorate in Chiropractic from an accredited chiropractic college.  So, essentially, a chiropractor has 9 academic years of education, the equivalent of a medical physician.  That doesn’t even include the doctor who chooses a specialty or board certification.  Chiropractors are required complete a national board examination and state exams.  They are also required to fulfill continuing education requirements just like their medical counterparts and are licensed by a State Board.  A chiropractic license is not just handed to the doctor after taking some internet classes.  It takes years of study and discipline and the term “doctor” is not used without merit.

5.       Chiropractors are ‘quacks’ – You don’t see this one too much anymore but I just read an article about how a state association in Texas that was trying to halt a run for congress by a chiropractor because he was a “quack.”  Besides being completely unprofessional, and that association should be ashamed no matter what discipline it is, I think the label needs to be put in perspective.  Dedicated hardworking chiropractors work every day to not just placate symptoms, but make an actual difference in the health of their patients.  We not only work to improve spinal and nervous system health but work to improve the general health of the patient.  We help improve nutrition, modify lifestyles and re-introduce a patient to exercise.  Rather than just covering up the patient’s symptoms with chemicals, our discipline works to remove obstructions to the body’s inborn, innate healing processes, helping the patient to maximize their health potential.  We track our patient progress, follow up with continuing care, and encourage prevention.

In this era where chronic illness is on the rise, “traditional interventions” only detect disease once it’s occurred and even then only offer symptom control by chemically altering bodily processes.  That’s not health.  So, the condition continues to progress but at least the symptoms are decreased and the condition is more difficult to measure.  I guess that actually working to improve a patient’s health and healing potential is now quackery while symptom control is now health.  The world has truly become upside down.

6.       Chiropractic is not scientifically based – The biggest area where I see this claim is from the traditional medical field.  Now, I’m not sure if they feel threatened by chiropractic care, but I really haven’t come across another procedure in all of healthcare that has more efficacy and research to support it than the chiropractic adjustment.  It has clinical control trials, peer reviewed articles, retroactive case studies and has been put to the test for years.  Moreover, colleges and institutions have been trying to poke holes unsuccessfully in the chiropractic model for years.  Consistently, adjusting comes out on top and the research proves the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of chiropractic care.  Chiropractic is here to stay.

Anyone who says that chiropractic is not science based has just blatantly exposed the fact that they are not staying current on their research and have no idea what chiropractic is.  If they were, I don’t think there is any way they would discourage adjusting.  And, shouldn’t every family physician who, more likely than not, has many patients treating with a chiropractor, be fully informed on all the healthcare choices their patients are making or may potentially make?  Or, is it better to guide that patient with less information and make poorly informed health recommendations?  A patient shouldn’t have to suffer because their doctor doesn’t know, or worse, refuses to learn.  Their doctor needs to know chiropractic.

I once was doing a health fair and, being normal mild-mannered myself, was taken aback by a physical therapist who decided to get into an argument with me in front of a crowd about how he didn’t believe in chiropractic.  I’ve since discovered this to be commonly taught to therapists in school.  What a shame!  I was met with a few sly grins when I explained that “It was a good thing, then, that there are piles and piles of research out there to support what I do and people don’t have to rely on just your opinion when deciding to see a chiropractor.”  Chiropractic care is not some fringe healthcare choice.  It’s based on accepted physiology and is backed by research.  Now, if only more healthcare professionals would actually read the research or, at the minimum, give chiropractic a shot themselves to see if it works.  I’ve been blessed to see many medical professionals as patients over the years and have changed many minds in my office.  If only we could expose every medical professional to chiropractic care.

Spinal adjusting is safe and effective for all ages when performed by a chiropractic physician.  It takes years of schooling to learn the techniques and years of practice to hone adjusting skill.  Not just anyone can adjust a patient’s spine with the skill and expertise of a chiropractor.

So, the question becomes, again, why isn’t everyone being adjusted?  Well, the answer is simple really: lack of education and fear.  Unfortunately, many of the professionals that people turn to for their healthcare decisions really have no idea what a chiropractor is, what we do, or how chiropractic works the way it does.  As a result, chiropractic care, which may be the solution the patient really needs, is dismissed outright out of ignorance.

How much success has been lost to fear?  Fear of trying something different?  Fear of trying something new?  Fear of thinking outside the box?  Fear that it won’t work?  Fear that it will?  The problem is, you may never know because you’ve never tried.

We are facing an unprecedented healthcare crisis in our country with skyrocketing costs, increased prescription drug use, and rising rates of chronic illness.  Isn’t it time that we reconsider what health is and what it’s not?  Shouldn’t chiropractic care be at least a consideration in every healthcare regimen?

In my opinion, with chiropractic care, the potential is high, the risks are low, and it should always be attempted first, before more invasive procedures.  Is chiropractic a panacea of wellness?  No way!  Chiropractic care makes no promises and has no guarantee.  But, it is should be included in the infinite options you may not have even considered.  They say that the biggest risk may be not taking one.  I mean, what might you actually do if chiropractic care worked for you?

The Autism Conundrum

One of the things that has always struck me is how few people in the “healthcare” system are alarmed about the skyrocketing Autism rates.  Recent research shows that the risk for autism is now 1 in 88 kids!  In some states, the rate can be as high as 1 in 47!  The question remains, why?

The argument has been made that autism is due to childhood vaccination as the rates of autism seem correlated with the application of childhood vaccines.  While vaccines do demonstrate some questionable efficacy and their long term toxic effects remain an enigma, there does remain much debate as to whether or not vaccination directly contributes to autism or not.  Vaccination alone, however, also doesn’t explain how you can have multiple children from the same family with the same vaccine exposure but only one gets autism.  Many other sources will say they simply don’t know what’s causing the alarming autism numbers.

When it comes to autism, we invest a lot of time looking for a singular, simple solution to a complex problem.  Unfortunately, there is very little research on general toxic exposures and their effect on autism rates.  While study after study is done on the effects of vaccines we give our kids and their relation to autism, very little relative research has been done to evaluate our daily regular toxic exposure and its effect on our long term health and the health of our kids.

Your body is constantly bombarded by toxins from the cleaning products we use to the chemical medications we consume.  To complicate matters, everyone’s exposure may be different based on their level of lifestyle, awareness, steps taken to limit exposure, and knowledge about the toxic effects of chemicals on the body.  Too often, we just assume the chemicals we are exposed to are safe because there is not enough research done documenting the long term or lifelong effects of our exposure.

When you take a look, however, at the average American’s exposure, the question as to why Autism is on the rise becomes less of a mystery.  For example:

1.      Prior to getting pregnant, the average American female gets very little exercise and eats a relatively poor diet that includes all sorts of chemical food additives that affect her body both short and long term.  As a casual social consumer of alcohol, she may also be causing small amounts of toxic damage to her liver.  It may be even worse if she is a social smoker.  Oblivious to the toxic effects, she microwaves her food in plastic and has an array of chemical exposures during the day from car exhaust to perfumes to cleaners.  She has allergies and suffers from migraine headaches so takes allergy medication and ibuprofen, both of which have to be processed by her body.  She also consumes diet soda because that is “healthier” for her.  Her future children will, of course, depend on the health of their mother for their own healthy development inside her.

2.      She discovers she pregnant after missing her first menstrual cycle.  Of course, she immediately stops her active alcohol consumption.  The problem is, she’s been to 3 dinner parties since conception, in which she’s consumed alcohol and has been exposed to second hand smoke.  She continues to microwave her food in plastic containers, eat food full of chemical food additives, and drinks diet soda (artificial sweetener is toxic to your nervous system), unaware they all contain potential toxins.  She consults with her obstetrician about her pregnancy and is given medication for a some hives she developed.  Much of the chemicals she is ingesting will cross the placenta and affect the fetus in micro-doses in the uterus.

3.      Ultimately, after 9 months of variable exposure, she has a baby girl who uses  a plastic pacifier, drinks out of a plastic bottle and is smothered in chemicals from diaper rash lotions to the medication she is taking for her reflux.  She also gets her typical round of childhood vaccinations that are a chemical soup of everything from mercury (a neurtoxin) to formaldehyde (a carcinogen) injected directly into the blood stream.  She eats processed baby foods and drinks baby formula (which is not food by the way).

4.      Around a year later or so, her mother starts to realize that her daughter is not reaching the developmental milestones that she should be.  Ultimately she finds out her daughter is autistic.

Talking with patients in my office and the public at large during and at health screenings or events, I’ve found that that average American has absolutely no idea how bathed we are in toxins almost continuously.  That’s a big change from 100 years ago and an even bigger change from the environment that shaped our genetics.  Some research even suggests that our stresses and toxic exposures may be affecting our genetic code long term and permanently.

So, why do some kids develop autism while others do not?  Why do two children from the same family have different outcomes?  There may be many answers for this:

1.      Perhaps with the first child, the mother was younger and healthier, with less toxic exposure.

2.      Maybe one of the pregnancies was planned while the other was a surprise, so the mother prepared differently prior to the pregnancy and during that critical, initial first trimester.

3.      Perhaps alcohol consumption or smoking habits have changed between children.

4.       She may be taking more or less medication with a second child.

5.       Her lifestyle may have changed drastically in other ways between children.

6.       Maybe she’s grown smarter with a new pregnancy and limits her toxic exposure by educating herself.

7.       Perhaps she’s applied lessons from her first child to the second child, correcting mistakes and implementing better choices.

Autism is a complex problem with no simple solution.  The only plausible solution seems to be identifying and eliminating the potential chemical exposures the mother and child have early in development.  We also need to get serious about what health is and what it is not.  The good news is, for parents of autistic children, autistic kids in my office respond amazingly well to chiropractic care, in improving their sensory acclimation by removing obstruction to normal nervous system function.  It’s no cure by any means, but they should be getting adjusted.