August 21, 2020
It has often been said, both in chiropractic circles and others, that communication is a powerful thing. But exactly how powerful is it when it comes to pain and therapeutic interventions? A recent study published in the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine put this question to the test, looking at high-velocity, low-amplitude manipulations and how practitioner language affected health outcomes. While it did appear in a journal targeted at osteopathy rather than chiropractic, the manipulation style and manual therapeutic approach means this study is laden with implications for chiropractic. The test trialed the effects of positive and negative communication styles […]
August 19, 2020
While studies and statistics on musculoskeletal pain in adulthood abound, data on schoolchildren seems somewhat scarcer. With an increasingly sedentary population, and with extended time sitting being noted as a public health concern, it warrants collecting data on this particular group. Recently, some researchers undertook this task and analyzed pain distribution on 1,000 Danish Schoolchildren aged 8-16, and the results are very interesting [1]. The report, referenced below, was carried in the Journal of Chiropractic and Manual Therapies and aimed to expand the available data on the topic according to age, sex, and the number and length of episodes of […]
August 7, 2020
Research into pain and the effect it has on the brain has been greatly informative over recent years, and has deepened our understanding of how chronic pain works. While we have gained greater insight into the role the nervous system plays in pain perception, gaps still remain in other areas of understanding. Such gaps include the connection between the central nervous system and peripheral tissue pathology, especially in relation to chronic musculoskeletal pain. Integration of our current knowledge and findings is the aim of the game here. It is simpler to separate information into different categories and isolate single causes. […]
July 31, 2020
Imagine waking up from an arthroscopic shoulder surgery only to discover that you can no longer speak. Dysfunction of the vocal cords has been described as a side effect of endotracheal intubation during surgery, but it is certainly not a particularly common side-effect. In general, the practice is thought of as safe but complications have been reported. A recent case report published in the Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic details the case of a 55-year old female who suffered ongoing vocal cord paralysis after surgery. It was actually her physical therapist who sent her to a chiropractor. While case reports certainly […]
July 24, 2020
Regardless of your preferences in health care, pain management is a complicated topic that researchers remain invested in. Issues like sensitivity to pain, learned responses to pain and of course misuse of pain medication in many cases make it an important and complicated topic. That’s what makes the following study a particularly poignant one: it looked at the impact of spinal manipulation on two biomarkers associated with pain perception and sensitivity. The study of pain sensitivity and perception is an ongoing area and will likely remain so. Previous studies focussing on the effects spinal manipulation can have on pain sensitivity […]
July 17, 2020
As our understanding of chiropractic care increases, it seems that this same knowledge bank continues to illuminate the ways in which the brain and muscles respond when we check and adjust vertebral subluxations. But can chiropractic care possibly have a positive effect on a person if their muscle control issues stem from something pathological: something, for example, like Cerebral Palsy? It was this issue that an article in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine took on in 2016. It might be four years old, but in research terms, that is still very recent. Cerebral Palsy is a neurological condition “caused by […]
July 10, 2020
A recent piece published in the European Journal of Integrative Medicine has taken a novel look at the potential offerings when it comes to manual therapy modalities and the workforce. Specifically, the study looked at how manual therapy (including spinal manipulation) might impact upon absenteeism and presenteeism in the workforce. While chiropractic research is commonly focused on either the resolution of musculoskeletal disorders or the effects of subluxation on things like strength, balance, mental performance or other brain-based functions, this paper represents an interesting move into the broader potential applications of chiropractic care. Absenteeism is generally defined as employees calling […]
July 3, 2020
A new study has been released by the British Medical Journal, feeding into the seemingly endless quest for an answer on effective treatments for colic. In what is perhaps a telling move, the study was a systematic review of systematic reviews and national guidelines to “assess the effectiveness of four common treatment approaches.” Yes, you read that right, a review of the reviews – and still the news is this: manual therapies come out quite favorably in terms of effectiveness. Colic, or excessive and unexplained crying in the few first months of an infants life, is a remarkably common condition […]
June 26, 2020
Neck pain is hardly an unusual symptom in the life of an adult, or indeed in the practice of a chiropractor. We see it all the time, but the effects can be far broader than pain alone. Current research suggests that between one-third and two-thirds of people suffer (and usually recover) from neck pain every year [1]. We also know that neck pain, even subclinical (or below the point at which a person might seek medical or therapeutic help) can impact things like our sense of body position, our ability to integrate multisensory data from our bodies or our ability […]
June 19, 2020
While the management of musculoskeletal pain has long been the undisputed domain of the chiropractor, research is taking a steady march into the non-musculoskeletal aspects of our offering. With new studies emerging over the last few years revealing the impacts of chiropractic care on the brain and the way it drives the muscles, as well as advancements into using objective measurements to assess nervous system function, it’s an exciting time to be involved in chiropractic and chiropractic research. A recent addition to the knowledge bank relating to chiropractic and cardiovascular health came from the Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association. […]
June 12, 2020
The science of pain and inflammation is one in which there will always be more work to be done. While chiropractic care has become quite renowned for its benefits to musculoskeletal issues such as back and neck pain, research has been branching out into other areas for quite some time now. We now have a burgeoning understanding of how chiropractic care impacts the way the brain drives the muscles, or how it impacts autonomic function among other things. Sitting back in the research bank is a study that may have slipped through without ringing all the bells and whistles. It […]
June 5, 2020
Breast cancer is a life-interrupting event. This much is an obvious statement. However, a lesser-known fact is that the treatments for breast cancer involve an after-effect of chronic or persistent pain in 60% of cases. Thus, treating the cancer is concern number one. But after the fact, solving the problem of musculoskeletal pain becomes a common after-care issue. A study released in 2019 undertook the task of analyzing the available studies on this issue. After a massive database search the results are in: “current evidence suggests that manual therapy is considered effective for treating chronic musculoskeletal pain in female breast […]
May 29, 2020
The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association has carried a noteworthy case series covering three instances of benign joint hypermobility syndrome [BJHS] in female patients in their twenties [1]. It proves an interesting read, as BJHS is a relatively common heritable connective tissue disorder that appears to affect more women than men. Being that many sufferers of BJHS present with joint pain, and being that proprioception (sensory feedback from the affected joints that tells you where you are in space) is also involved, the question of how these patients fare under chiropractic care is an important one. The authors of […]
May 22, 2020
For a long time, chiropractors have suggested that chiropractic care may be of benefit right across the age spectrum. The belief has been that, while early intervention is certainly preferable, it is never too late to reap some benefit under chiropractic care. A recent case report seems to have put this idea to the test, with an 87-year old patient presenting for chiropractic care for the first time. To make the case more interesting, the patient reported low back pain and disability for the last thirty years. This would almost certainly represent subluxations and compensatory patterns that were quite set […]
May 15, 2020
Among the myriad of concerns pertaining to an ageing population is the issue of neurogenerative disorders like Parkinson’s Disease. It is currently estimated that more than 82,000 people are living with Parkinson’s in Australia alone. That number increases exponentially when you include other countries with similar life expectancies and quality health care systems. This represents a huge burden of care and a massive shift in quality of life for sufferers. Alarmingly though, this isn’t something we can blame on an ageing population alone: 18% of Parkinson’s sufferers are of working age. A new study appearing in the Journal of Contemporary […]
May 1, 2020
Dr Bruce Steinberg was the lead author on a recent case series covering five cases of anxiety that improved concomitant with chiropractic care. He sat down with us to talk about it this week, and in true Steinberg style, he managed to pack a lot of gems into a short interview. So here’s the scoop on the latest case series, and an important discussion about chiropractic, mental health, and vagal tone in times of anxiety.
April 24, 2020
While postural assessments are part of the everyday experience of the working chiropractor, posture is central to functional movement and much more. As the population adapts to changing worlds of work and technology, we have witnessed a significant increase in postural concerns such as forward head posture or cervical kyphosis. Another postural concern is flat back syndrome, and it is this that a recent study took aim at. When we think of an idea spine, we think of a spine with several gentle front to back curves. It’s almost like a lazily drawn “S”. It’s not just about aesthetics either […]
April 17, 2020
Its old news that chronic low back pain affects a lot of people and that this number increases with age. It is also an old chiropractic adage that says “the aim of chiropractic is to add years to life and life to years.” But beyond the rhetoric, is there any truth to the saying? A recent study examined the coping and management techniques of chronic low back pain sufferers under chiropractic care – and the results are in. There is often a perception that individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) may have become habituated to their condition: that is […]