Honolulu Chiropractor

Amidst a great deal of emotion and rhetoric coming out of Connecticut this week regarding the stroke issue The Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation has just released a very clear position statement on the issue of chiropractic and strokes.

Atlanta, GA, January 07, 2010 –(PR.com)– According to the Foundation for Vertebral Subluxation there is no human experimental evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations are causally related to strokes.

“While plaintiff’s attorneys and expert witness make claims and statements contending that such a causative link exists, the fact remains that these are based largely on anecdotes, case reports, and case controlled studies and cannot be used to prove causation” stated Foundation President Christopher Kent DC, JD a chiropractic researcher and attorney.

According to researchers and the scientific method itself there are all sorts of biases and distortions that effect conclusions drawn from such studies and other criteria must be used to determine whether such a link exists.

“What this boils down to is a simple lack of understanding of biostatistics and epidemiology” stated Foundation Vice President Matthew McCoy DC, MPH, a chiropractic researcher and public health expert. “Words like ‘association’ and ‘causation’ and ‘risk’ have very specific meanings when it comes to their use in epidemiology and it’s clear that laypersons involved in this debate are using these terms inappropriately.”

While the experience of a stroke can be devastating and no one would suggest ignoring the concerns of those who have suffered one, the reality is that when it comes to the contention that chiropractic causes strokes – the evidence just isn’t there. And while the strokes these people have experienced are indeed real, McCoy suggests there are often other issues involved and offered an example. “Millions of people visit a dentist every year and a certain number of those same people get into car accidents on their way home. If we were to run the stats on it we might find that there is a statistical association between visiting a dentist and getting into a car accident on the way home. But no one would even consider suggesting that the dentists are causing the car accidents.”

Self described chiropractic stroke victims say there is a risk and that people should be advised about it prior to undergoing chiropractic care. The majority of chiropractors would agree that patients should be informed of the risks, benefits and alternatives of any health care intervention, but according to Dr. Kent “Such informed consent must be based on appropriate information and since there is no scientific evidence that chiropractic adjustments or neck manipulations actually cause strokes, it is inappropriate to require a doctor to suggest that such a risk exists.”

Dr. McCoy added another often overlooked issue “Chiropractors utilize a number of techniques to address joint dysfunction and vertebral subluxation and in fact there are over 300 named chiropractic techniques and many do not employ the type of manipulation that has been alleged to be a factor in vertebrobasilar accidents. This adds to the inappropriate nature of such a disclosure.”

In the end, chiropractic has an impressive safety record compared to traditional medical care with estimates are that anywhere from 100,000 (Institute of medicine) to 750,000 (Null et al) people die every year from medical care. In comparison, other than some minor soreness following chiropractic treatment, research has shown chiropractic to be very safe.

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Though movement can often be painful if you have arthritis, achy knees and joints are not reason enough to stop exercising. In fact, not exercising can make the symptoms of arthritis much worse. Regular, modest exercise improves joint stability and strengthens muscles, according to the December issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s healthSource. In addition, exercise  improves mood, sleep, energy levels and day-to-day functioning. People with arthritis who exercise regularly actually report less pain.That’s right. Exercise can actually relieve the aches and pains of arthritis.

Why is this so? When a person avoids exercise, joints become even less mobile and the surrounding muscles shrink, causing increased fatigue and pain. Read more…

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Exactly what does the word, “vertigo, ” mean? Vertigo is a name for the dizzy disturbance a person suffers within a fixed location. The perception is that the outer world is tilting and even spinning. Vertigo might be quick and short- lived or chronic. Regardless, no matter what, the particular source of vertigo needs to be diagnosed and the proper treatment plan undertaken.

There are lots of reasons for the symptoms of Vertigo. An inner ear malady, known as Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo, will occasionally show up as the impact of a sustained head injury or intense cold. On occasion this particular vertigo may be the result of the aging process. The trigger, nevertheless, fairly often is unknown. Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo is a wordy diagnosis, but it characterizes perfectly this non- progressive condition that is a result of, as its name implies, a unexpected change in head position. The difficulties are by and large surprising and variable.

It will be facilitative to look at the function of the inner ear in an endeavor recognize what causes this frequently disabling symptoms of this type of vertigo. The brain senses movement and keeps equilibrium employing the fluid found in the inner ear. Also in the inner ear are miniature calcium carbonate crystals, medically known as otoconia. The crystals usually float in the inner ear fluid if dislodged. As the crystals strike against the reactive nerve endings in the inner ear, they lead to the complaints of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo or BPPV.

The good news is that chiropractic treatment can minimize the discomforts of BPPV very quickly and effectively using a technique called the Epley maneuver. By means of the use of this process, a chiropractor rotates the head of a BPPV victim into a number of the different positions, letting gravity shift the calcium carbonate crystals into a space of the inner ear that is away from the nerve endings where they will induce no subsequent dizziness.

Your chiropractor has aided hundreds of persons for Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo using the Epley Maneuver technique. Quite often, with just one treatment the majority of patients no longer suffer from vertigo.  Call your Honolulu Chiropractor today!

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