Health & Chiro Articles

From the March 11, 2008, issue of the the scientific periodical, the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research (JVSR), comes a case study involving a pregnant women who was suffering from back pain and therefore sought out chiropractic care. This was her third pregnancy and the previous two pregnancies resulted in cesarean births. The 29 year old woman was hoping to deliver this baby vaginally.

In this case, the woman started chiropractic care in her 34th week of pregnancy because of suffering from back pain. She reported having experienced on and off lower back pain throughout her pregnancy. She had also had similar problems in the third trimester of her previous pregnancy.

A chiropractic examination was performed and the determination of subluxations was made. Care was initiated focusing mainly on the lower spine. On the patient’s 4th visit, she reported that her low back pain had improved significantly and she was “getting around better” than before the care.

In the 40th week of her pregnancy, the woman went into labor. She labored 12 hours at home with her husband before going to the hospital. Although she reported that the medical staff was extremely anxious, given her previous birth history, she delivered a healthy baby girl, naturally and without the use of medications or a Caesarean surgical procedure, as had been the case in her prior births.

The study authors, Joel Alcantara, BSc, DC and Ingrid Hamel, DC, FICPA, concluded, “This case report described the successful chiropractic management of a patient with pregnancy-related low back pain and possibly facilitated a successful vaginal birth despite two previous Caesareans.”

A new study from Italy published in the March issue of The Spine Journal, showed that chiropractic care was effective in helping patients with acute back pain and sciatica with disc protrusion. This randomized double-blind clinical trial involved 102 ambulatory patients with at least moderate pain or radiating pain, who had an MRI study showing disc protrusion.

The patients were divided into two groups. One group received chiropractic adjustments 5 days per week by experienced chiropractors, with a maximum of 20 visits. The second group received what the study termed, “simulated manipulations” in order to have a group for comparison to those receiving real chiropractic care.

The results showed that those who got the real chiropractic care improved significantly over the group that received the simulated manipulations. In the group that received the chiropractic care, 55% were free of radiating pain in the follow ups compared to 20% of patients who got the simulated manipulations. Additionally, when measuring local pain, 28% of those who received real chiropractic were free of local pain, versus only 6% of those who got the simulated manipulation.

The results also showed improvements in days of pain with the group that received the real care reporting 6 less days of pain than those in the simulated care group. In addition to these benefits the group with the real care reported using less medications to help with the pain as a result of the chiropractic care.

In this study none of the patients in either group had any adverse effects, and one from each group did report no results at all and were listed as “treatment failures”. The researchers conclusions were, “Active manipulations have more effect than simulated manipulations on pain relief for acute back pain and sciatica with disc protrusion.”

Published in the February 1st 1999 issue of “Spine” research magazine, was a study that showed a link between chronic low back pain and slower reaction times, reduced short term memory, and certain motor tasks. The study measured subjects with chronic lower back pain using a computer to test their short term memory and reaction time to certain items that appeared on the screen.

The conclusion was that chronic Lower Back Pain hampers short term memory and decreases the patients speed of process of certain information.

In a related note the “Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics” July August 1999 issue published a pilot study comparing chiropractic care to acupuncture and medication for patients with chronic low back problems. The results were that no change took place with the acupuncture and medication group while significant changes occurred in the chiropractic group. Considering the information above about memory and reaction times we can see the profound positive effect chiropractic can have on these patients.

The above is the essence of a release from the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). It was in response to a report titled, “Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain: A Joint Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society” released on October 2, 2007 by Roger Chou, MD and other researchers.

The report was published in the scientific journal, the Annals of Internal Medicine and offers several suggestions for patients with back pain. One such suggestion is for patients who do not improve with self-care options. In these cases the report recommends that doctors should consider the addition of nonpharmacologic therapy with proven benefits, one of which they suggest is spinal manipulation.

Glenn Manceaux, DC, President of the ACA issued comments as a result of the report and stated, “As shown in the literature, chiropractic spinal manipulation is a very effective treatment for low-back pain and other musculoskeletal injuries.”

Although several of the recommendations in the American College of Physicians report do suggest the use of medications, the ACA release points to several previous studies promoting a non drug approach. They noted that in one study published in 2003 in the medical journal Spine, manual manipulation showed better short-term relief of chronic spinal pain than did a variety of medications.

Dr. Manceaux, ACA president recommended, “If your back pain is not resolving quickly, visit your doctor of chiropractic.” He continued, “Many chiropractic patients with relatively long-lasting or recurring back pain feel improvement shortly after starting chiropractic treatment. The relief and return to function they experience after a month of treatment is often greater than after seeing a family physician.”

In the Reuters Health News August 20, 2002 issue is a story reporting on a study that says nerve blocks do not do what they are supposed to do to reduce pain or improve the quality of life. According to Steven H. Sanders, program director in the psychology department at the Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation in Chattanooga, Tennessee, nerve blocks are often recommended for both acute and chronic low back pain, but long-term studies of the blocks are scarce. Dr. Sanders said, “We wanted to see whether (the blocks) made any difference.”

To check the validity of this common procedure, Dr. Sanders and his group evaluated two groups: 30 patients with low back pain who received the blocks and 30 with low back pain who did not. The nerve blocks, more specifically called lumbar sympathetic nerve blocks, are injected into the area surrounding sympathetic nerves in the lower back. Most contain either local anesthetic or local anesthetic with corticosteroid drugs. To help assure that the results were accurate, both groups of patients had the same treatment except for the nerve blocks. The patients that got the nerve block had three to six blocks performed. The subjects in the block and non-block groups were matched as far as age, gender, duration of pain (which ranged from 2 to 4 years) and previous back surgery. The patients ranged in age from 43 to 56 years.

The results at the end of 6 months showed that the patients who received nerve blocks did no better than those who did not get nerve blocks in terms of pain, reduced use of pain medication, mood and other issues. The blocks did increase the treatment costs from an average of $4,500 per patient in the group without nerve blocks to $5,900 for the patients who got nerve blocks. In light of these results Dr. Sanders comments were that he felt these procedures represented, “a lot of expense, but no clinical benefits. You have to wonder why you do these (blocks).”

In the May 2001 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) is a case report of how chiropractic helped a patient with Spinal Stenosis. In this study a 78-year-old man had low back pain and severe bilateral leg pains. Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a condition resulting in narrowing of the spinal canal and pressure on the spinal cord and/or nerve roots. Degenerative changes are also common. The patient commonly has chronic low back pain and unilateral or bilateral leg symptoms.

The patient in this study was a 78-year-old man with acquired degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis. The onset was slow and progressive with increasing low back pain of 2 years’ duration and progressively worsening bilateral anterior leg pain of 4 months’ duration. The patient described an “achy low back” pain with a belt-line distribution and an “electric,” “sharp,” and “crampy” pain along the front of the lower leg. The MRI study of his lower back reveled a narrowing of the spinal canal.

In this case the man underwent an initial course of chiropractic care for a two week period during which significant changes were noted by the patient. The conclusion of the case report demonstrates successful care of a patient with symptoms either caused by or complicated by central spinal cord stenosis.

Published in the January 2003 issue of the peer-reviewed periodical, Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT), is the results of a study on lower back pain in children. The journal article starts off by noting that about 50% of children suffer from lower back pain at one time or another. It also notes that about 15% of children experience frequent or continual pain.

The study was conducted on 54 children between the ages of 4 and 18 in the cities of Calgary, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the study the children with lower back pain received chiropractic care from a variety of volunteer chiropractors in Canada. The children were tracked regularly during the study to monitor their progress. Results were obtained in several ways including responses from the patients themselves on how they felt their progress was coming.

Results of the study showed improvement over the follow-up period was observed in 46% to 92% of the children for various criteria. In a period of 30 days 82% of the children reported that they were “much improved.”

The researchers conclusions were, “Patients responded favorably to chiropractic management, and there were no reported complications.”

A case report study published on November 21, 2011 in the Annals of Vertebral Subluxation Research documents the improvement of a person who was suffering with lower back pain and had a reversal of their neck curve.

The authors of the study start by noting that lower back pain is one of the most common conditions today with between six and twelve percent of the population suffering from this problem. They also report that medical care has not found a solution for this issue in spite of the fact that there has been a 629% increase in medical spending on lower back care.

The authors point out that chiropractic has consistently been shown to be effective in helping people with lower back pain. They also report that other studies have shown that abnormal curvatures of the spine have been linked to a variety of health related problems, including back pain. In this case the authors show a correlation between the two.

In this case a 41-year-old woman went to a chiropractor with lower back pain that she had been suffering from for two years. It had started when a chair she was sitting in gave way and she fell on her back. She had gone to multiple doctors including chiropractors and had not gotten relief. Her MRI showed problems with the vertebrae and discs in the lower back.

A motion x-ray (video fluoroscopy) was also done and showed abnormal spinal motion in both her lower back and her neck. X-rays also revealed a reversal of the neck, which should have a bending curve forward when viewed from the side on x-ray. Based on the x-rays and an examination, it was determined that spinal subluxations were present in her lower back and neck. A series of specific adjustments were initiated.

The case study reports that by the 11th visit the patient was completely pain free in her lower back and her leg, with only minimal pain still in her hip. After 6 weeks of care a follow-up set of x-rays were taken to monitor the progress. What was noticed was that the curve in the neck had gone from a reversal, to a normal curve during the course of care. This, coupled with the fact that the woman was feeling much better led the researchers to the conclusion that the neck was a large contributing factor in this persons lower back pain.

In their conclusion, the authors noted that the structure of a neck curvature can have a profound effect on lower back issues. They state, “Correcting the abnormal structure within the cervical spine can alleviate most symptoms associated with LBP.”

The above was the conclusion of a study published in the December 6, 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA). The report in JAMA started off by noting that usage of these devices is becoming more common. “Despite scientific uncertainties about effectiveness, wearing back belts in the hopes of preventing costly and disabling low back injury in employees is becoming common in the workplace.”

The study interviewed 9377 employees from 160 stores. Of those stores in the study, 89 required back-belt use and 71 had voluntary belt use. The study would then track the incidence rate of material-handling back injury workers compensation claims as well as a 6-month incidence rate of self-reported low back pain among the workers.

The conclusion of the study was clear. As explained by the JAMA article, “In the largest prospective cohort study of back belt use, adjusted for multiple individual risk factors, neither frequent back belt use nor a store policy that required belt use was associated with reduced incidence of back injury claims or low back pain.” In simpler terms, these belts do not work to prevent the problems for which they were designed.

Several articles in British news publications in October 2008 reported that a survey conducted by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) showed that nearly one third of six to seven-year-olds complain of back pain. In the October 15, 2008 issue of the British publication the “Telegraph” and the October 17, 2008, Daily Express” the culprit for such a high rate of back problems in children is identified as lifestyle.

A combination of slumping in front of the TV, lazier lifestyles and heavy school bags are given the blame in these articles. The BCA reported that 45 per cent of children spent the majority of their time off playing computer games or watching TV, while 10% of eight and nine year olds said they didn’t do any sport at all. The BCA also noted that 72% of children said they carried around heavy books and sports equipment in their back packs, but only a third said they wore their back packs on both shoulders to distribute the weight evenly.

The articles report that according to the BCA, six years ago 29 percent off all 11 to 18-year-olds said they spent part of the day suffering back pain. Now they note that by age 11, as many as 45 percent of children have suffered some kind of back pain.

British Chiropractic Association spokesperson, Tim Hutchful, stated, “With children as young as six complaining from back pain, this survey clearly highlights the alarming rate at which back pain is growing within the UK.” He continued by adding a word of advice, “There are simple steps parents can take such as checking that children aren’t carrying around unnecessary items in their bags and encouraging them to use a rucksack worn correctly on both shoulders. But we are in no doubt that lack of exercise is children’s number one enemy.”