Prescription Drug Use Continues to Increase

A report dated September 2010 and released by the US Centers for Disease Control's (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics carried the title above and documented the increase in prescription drug consumption in the United States. The report states that in the United States, spending for prescription drugs was $234.1 billion in 2008, which was more than double what was spent in 1999.

Some of the key findings in this report were:

• Over the last 10 years, the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44% to 48%.
• The use of two or more drugs increased from 25% to 31%. The use of five or more drugs increased from 6% to 11%.
• In 2008, 1 out of every 5 children and 9 out of 10 older Americans reported using at least one prescription drug in the past month.
• The percentage of persons who used five or more prescription drugs increased from 6% in 1999-2000 to 11% in 2007-2008.
• Among older Americans (aged 60 and over), more than 76% used two or more prescription drugs and 37% used five or more.

As expected the report noted that those who were without either a regular place for health care, health insurance, or prescription drug benefit had less prescription drug use compared with those who had these benefits. Additionally the report showed that women were more likely to use prescription drugs than men. Ethnicity played a role in prescription drug use as the non-Hispanic white population had the highest prescription drug use and the Mexican-American population had the lowest. The study is available online and can be seen at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db42.pdf

An article on the US News and World Report website posted on October 7, 2010 asked the question in the title, "Overmedication: Are Americans Taking Too Many Drugs?". According to that article, "Today, a full 61 percent of adults use at least one drug to treat a chronic health problem, a nearly 15 percent rise since 2001."

Chiropractic Adjustment: Potential Anti-inflammatory?

Inflammation is the body's response to injury, and is usually observed as redness, heat, swelling, pain, and loss of function.  Inflammation can be good or bad, depending on when and where it is happening.  In a normal, healthy response to an injury, inflammation is a necessary response that helps the body to heal.  However, inflammation can turn from a good thing into a bad thing when it goes on too long or when it is overly strong.  When that happens, inflammation can cause a host of wide-ranging problems, including asthma, acne, vasculitis, IBD, autoimmune disease, and arthritis. 

"Chronic" inflammation, as it is called, has also been linked to Alzheimer's disease, coronary artery disease, type 2 diabetes, and polycystic ovary syndrome, via C-reactive protein (CRP) (click here for a review).  A slew of anti-inflammatory drugs are aimed at reducing the symptoms of active inflammation.  This seems to be a well-aimed idea, except that long-term use of many of these anti-inflammatory drugs have been shown in many cases to cause other health problems (click here).  A logical alternative target for reducing chronic inflammation might be to eliminate the underlying cause for the inflammation therefore eliminating the need for long-term use of anti-inflammatory medication.  Recent research suggests that chiropractic adjustment may be useful for this purpose.

In the smaller focus, chiropractic adjustment may be useful for solving local chronic inflammation issues.  Vergnolle et al recently demonstrated that swelling and edema (this happens at a subluxated joint; click here for more information) results in the production and release of small molecules called neuropeptides that cause chronic inflammation (click here for the abstract, and here for a review).  Elimination of subluxation restores proper joint biomechanics, resulting in the reduction of edema and inflammation, which in turn eliminates the production and release of the neuropeptides causing chronic inflammation.  Alternatively, if a subluxation is not addressed, its persistence results in further edema, more inflammation, and further production of inflammatory molecules.  This situation results in the chronic inflammation that affects so many lives as "day to day pain."

The true benefit of chiropractic care, however, may reside in the bigger picture of what the adjustment does.  In an elegant study performed at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, chiropractic adjustment was shown to reduce the production of two inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1beta (clickhere for abstract).  This study suggests a whole-body benefit to the adjustment that is far more important to overall health than reduction of chronic local inflammation: chiropractic care may actually reduce whole body inflammation. 

Chronic inflammation, whether present in one particular area or omnipresent in the body, has clearly been linked with multiple health concerns and impacts the lives of nearly every American at one time or another.  If you or someone you care about suffers from chronic inflammation issues, chiropractic care may be able to help you be free of the drugs that may themselves eventually cost you your health.  Call or email us to schedule a consultation at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic to see whether we can help you be free of this life-impacting issue, naturally.

Chiropractic Care For ADD/ADHD: A Drug-Free Solution?

For unknown reasons, the prevalence of ADD and ADHD have skyrocketed during the past two decades.  In 1987, 500,000 cases of ADHD were diagnosed in children aged 3-18; in 1993, this number grew to 3.2 million; in 2003, the number of diagnoses swelled to 7.4 million.  Roughly 70% of these children are on prescription medication for their symptoms (click here for source).  According to recent CDC data (click here), the current statistics on ADD and ADHD are as follows:

• Number of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD:  5.0 million
• Percent of children 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD:  8.0%
• Percent of boys 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD: 11%
• Percent of girls 3-17 years of age ever diagnosed with ADHD 4.8%

These statistics indicate that in a given classroom of thirty pupils, between one and three kids will have issues with ADD or ADHD.  ADHD and ADD represent serious challenges to our growing generation, and this challenge is often met by treating the symptoms with medications such as Ritalin or Adderol.  While these drugs do in many cases attenuate these symptoms, medication of children is not without risk.  (Kevin Miller's documentary Generation RX is a well-researched and chilling exploration of the short term effects and long term consequences of medicating children, click here for a link; also see video below)  These statistics and concerns bring forth an important question:  If ADD and ADHD are so prevalent, and if drugs are not a good answer, what IS?

The use of chiropractic care for ADD/ADHD was first suggested in 1989 (click here).  Numerous case studies suggest that chiropractic care can be helpful for improvement or resolution of ADD/ADHD (click here, here, and here for a few).  Unfortunately, the peer-reviewed literature on ADD/ADHD and chiropractic has yet to be strengthened by meta-analysis (click here); however, the evidence in this field is growing (click here), and evidence from both parents and clinicians abounds.  The following is one such story:

If your child or a child you know is affected by ADD or ADHD, perhaps chiropractic care can help reduce their symptoms.  Call or email us to schedule an appointment at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic for a spinal check to see whether chiropractic care may be of help.

Chiropractic management can reduce scoliosis 

The spine normally contains curvatures in the neck, the mid back, and in the low back when viewed from the side (click here for an image).  These normal curvatures are important for the structure and function of the spine.  When the spine is viewed from the front, it should be straight and plumb (click here for an image).  Scoliosis is a neuro-musculoskeletal condition in which the spinal column is curved abnormally from side to side. These additional abnormal curves cause stress on the spine and on the spinal cord contained within it, as outlined in the abstracts of the articles found here,here, and here (copies of these articles are available at Path of Life), and can have negative impacts on the nervous system, and therefore on your health.  

The classic "medical" approach to management of a scoliosis is to observe but not treat the patient if the scoliosis is below a certain limit, to instruct a patient to wear a spinal brace if the scoliosis meets certain qualifications, or to perform surgery to insert rods to straighten the spine if a scoliosis is deemed to be severe enough to be a threat to health and life quality.  One philosophical question, however, is as to whether it is better to take a hands-off "wait and see" approach about a scoliosis not deemed "bad enough" for classical medical intervention, or to undertake a conservative management strategy to reduce the scoliosis if possible, or to reduce or prevent its progression?  According to the studies referenced above, abnormal spinal position indeed impacts the nervous system, and therefore impacts the body's ability to govern and heal itself.  It follows, then, that a management approach to naturally reduce or eliminate scoliosis would be better for a patient's overall health than an approach of observation with no intervention.   

Several case studies have shown that spinal adjustment in conjunction with specific exercises such as traction, weights, and neuromuscular re-education can reduce abnormal spinal curvatures significantly.  In particular, Dr. Mark Morningstar's recent case series demonstrates that chiropractic adjustment along with use of the Pettibon system can yield excellent scoliosis reduction results.  In this case series, 19 scoliosis patients showed an average decrease in their scoliosis of 17 degrees after 4-6 weeks of treatment.  For the full article, including x-rays of several of these patients before an after treatment, click here.  Similar articles can be found here andhere. 

Not all scoliosis can be reduced or resolved.  Certain types of scoliosis result from malformation of spinal bones, are present to compensate for legs that are different lengths than one another, or of disease origin, and therefore cannot be corrected.  These cases, however might benefit from gentle chiropractic adjustment to ensure that the spine has as much movement and function as possible, and to ease the discomfort and pain that may be associated with scoliosis. 

The only way to determine whether you have a scoliosis, and if so, if that scoliosis can be treated, is to have your spine checked.  Call or email us to schedule an appointment at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic for an assessment of whether your spine is "curvier" than it should be, and to explore whether you may benefit from chiropractic management.

Chiropractic Care and Hearing Loss:  The Birth of a Profession 

The first recorded chiropractic adjustment was administered by the founder of Chiropractic, Daniel D. Palmer, to Harvey J. Lillard  in 1895.  Mr. Lillard had suffered from partial hearing loss for some 17 years.  D. D. Palmer administered a chiropractic adjustment to Mr. Lillard not for the purpose of restoring his hearing, but rather to correct what he identified as as abnormal "bump in his back."  When Mr. Lillard's hearing was restored, D. D. Palmer recognized the significance of this finding and theorized that correction of spinal misalignments had an impact on the nervous system that could correct health problems.  The restoration of Harvey Lillard's hearing was one in a series of events that led to the birth of the field of chiropractic care.  (Source:  Palmer, D.D., The Science, Art and Philosophy of Chiropractic.  Portland, Oregon: Portland Printing House Company, 1910.)  If you are interested in learning more about the history of Chiropractic, click here.  

Dr. Joseph DiDuro's recent article Improvement in Hearing after Chiropractic Care:  A Case Series (Chiropractic and Ostopathy (2006) 14:2, click here for a PDF) lends a more quantitative and data-driven analysis to the question of whether chiropractic care can help to counter hearing loss.  In this case series, DiDuro describes the outcomes of fifteen hearing-impaired patients who were assessed for hearing loss, then given a single chiropractic adjustment, and assessed again.   A Welch Allyn AudioScope 3 was used to screen frequencies of 1000, 2000, 4000 and 500 Hz at three standard decibel levels 20 decibels (dB), 25 dB and 40 dB for hearing loss.  The results showed improvement or restoration of hearing capacity in the majority of study participants.

Bjorne et al's study Cervical Signs and Symptoms in Patients with Meniere's Disease: A Controlled Study (The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice July 1998, Vol 16, NO. 3, CHROMA Inc. ) offers potential explanations of the connection between subluxation in the neck and hearing loss.  For a synopsis of this paper, clickhere.  In short, Bjorne (a D.D.S.) found "a much higher prevalence of signs and symptoms of cervical spine disorders [subluxation] in patients diagnosed with Meniere's disease compared with control subjects from the general population."

Click here and here for two more case studies that show how chiropractic care can help reduce hearing loss.

If you or someone you love has hearing loss, we may be able to help.  Make an appointment by phone or email for a spinal check today at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic to see whether subluxation is causing your problem, and to see whether we can help you to solve it.

Chiropractic Care May Help With Fertility Issues

Many healthcare options exist for those who are having difficulty starting a family.  Unfortunately, many of the traditional options are invasive, expensive, and risky, and sometimes painful, as anyone who has ever been through the process will confirm.  What if there was another way to help your body help itself, naturally?  All of the organs in the body need to be able to communicate back and forth with the brain in order to function properly (which, in turn, works in tight coordination with the endocrine and immune systems).  If the signals from the brain to the organs, or from the organs to the brain, are not transmitting all the necessary information in a timely manner, will the organs be working properly?  Subluxation causes interference with the messages traveling through the nerves and spinal cord between the brain and the organs it controls.  Could subluxation be preventing your body from operating at its best, and hindering the process of conception? 

For a more detailed exploration of how subluxation could interfere with conception, see Cody William's Pathways (publication of the ICPA) article here. 

Dr. Madeline Behrendt published an excellent retrospective review of fourteen cases of resolution of infertility issues with chiropractic care in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in 2003 (click here for the abstract; the complete paper is available at Path of Life upon request).  In each of these cases, subluxation findings were decreased or eliminated with chiropractic care, and the patient successfully conceived.  

Alcantera recently published a review of three case studies entitled Female Infertility, Subluxation, and Chiropractic Care:  A Case Series and Selective Review of the Literature (click here for the abstract; a copy of the article is available at Path of Life).  These three women all presented with infertility and vertebral subluxation.  Each these women successfully conceived after a period of chiropractic care to resolve their subluxations.   

Sims and Lee published a report on resolution of infertility in a 23-year old female who initially presented with amenorrhea (lack of menstruation) and symptoms of subluxation.  After 3 1/2 months of care, the patient reported having her first normal menstrual period; after 4 1/2 months of care, the patient reported pregnancy which was then confirmed by ultrasound.  Click here for the abstract for this paper.  Lyons reported a similar result of successful pregnancy after chiropractic adjustment in a 27 year old female with a five year history of unsuccessful medical treatment for infertility issues.  Click here to read the abstract.  Both of these papers are available at Path of Life upon request. 

The idea that chiropractic care can help with infertility issues has recently become more mainstream.  Some examples include Fighting Infertility at the Chiropractor:  A CBS Special Report (click here), this article from the American Pregnancy Association (click here), and in this Fox special report (click here).

Would you like to find out whether chiropractic care might help you to start or add to your family?  Call or email us to schedule an appointment at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic where we can check your spine for subluxation that might be interfering with your plans.

Chiropractic Care and Pregnancy: Helping a Woman's Body to Adjust!
Bartholomew Family Chiropractic 2415 N. Triphammer Rd. Ithaca, Ny
Saying that a woman's body changes during pregnancy is somewhat like saying that the Tour de France is a bike ride.  The demands on a pregnant woman's body require that she be able to constantly adapt to changes in her internal and external environments, both physical and physiological.  A healthy nervous system is integral to this process, since it governs and controls these adaptive processes.  Regular chiropractic care can help to make a pregnancy as comfortable as possible and also promotes an environment where the body can adapt to the unavoidable stresses of the pregnancy experience.

About 60% of women experience back pain during pregnancy.  Women are turning to chiropractic care in increasing numbers (click here, here, and here for articles), due in part to research that indicates that chiropractic adjustment may ease low back pain associated with pregnancy.  In 2006, Dr. Anthony Lisi published a retrospective case series of seventeen pregnant patient with low back pain, sixteen of whom experienced clinically important improvement in their symptoms after chiropractic care (click here for the abstract).  Similarly, Stuber and Smith published a literature review in 2008 that showed positive results for resolution of low back pain in pregnant women  using chiropractic care (click here for the abstract).  A more comprehensive narrative review was published in 2007 by Cara Borggren (click here for the PDF).  

While relief of low back pain during pregnancy is a great benefit of chiropractic care, a more important one may be reduction of intrauterine constraint via chiropractic adjustment.  Intrauterine constraint is defined as any force outside of the developing baby that obstructs its normal movement.  Intrauterine constraint is correlated with such conditions as craniostenosis, congential hip deformity, and breech presentation (click here and here).  The Webster Technique, a specific chiropractic technique developed in 1978 by Dr. Larry Webster, can be used to relieve musculoskeletal conditions that can result in intrauterine constraint.  A survey of 112 chiropractors using the Webster technique indicated a high rate of success in relieving the musculoskeletal causes of intrauterine constraint.  Of these 112 surveys, 102 (92%) resulted in resolution of the breech presentation, while 10 (9%) remained unresolved (click here to download the PDF).  Several individual case studies have also demonstrated positive outcomes by ultrasound analysis (click here and here for abstracts)   

In the US, more than 80% of infants with breech presentation are delivered by C-section.  Chiropractic adjustment may help women by empowering their bodies to reposition the baby into a vertex position, allowing for a vaginal birth and thereby avoiding major abdominal surgery and the resultant recovery.  If your baby is breech, or if you know someone in this situation, please consider a chiropractic check of the spine and pelvis for indicators of intrauterine constraint. A simple, gentle, specific chiropractic adjustment might make the difference between a natural birth experience and major surgery.  

Lastly, a study by Dr. Joan Fallon entitled "The Effect of Chiropractic Treatment on Pregnancy and Labor:  A Comprehensive Study (Proceedings of the World Federation of Chiropractic, 1991: 24-31) showed a 24% reduction in labor time for first-time moms under chiropractic care, and a 39% reduction in labor time for women under chiropractic care who had given birth previously.  This promising study confirms what chiropractors, midwives, and doulas have seen for years - that chiropractic care can ease labor and reduce its duration. 

The evidence clearly suggests that chiropractic care can help to make pregnancy more comfortable.  If you'd like to experience this yourself, get started by coming in to Bartholomew Family Chiropractic to get your spine assessed today!

Chiropractic Adjustment Improves Athletic Performance

Numerous elite athletes, including Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretsky, Michael Jordan, Lance Armstrong, and Tiger Woods, have credited chiropractic care with helping them on their path to excellence.  These athletes have experienced firsthand the benefits of getting adjusted.

An elegant research study by Smith et al in JMPT in 2006 demonstrates how a chiropractic adjustment gives an athlete a competitive edge.  In this randomized controlled study, participants were asked to perform a task before and after an adjustment.  Participants who received an adjustment had a significant increase in reaction time, while control participants who did not receive an adjustment had only nominal change in reaction time.  Click here to view the abstract.  

Chiropractic care has also been shown to increase proprioception, which is the communication between the brain and muscles helping with balance, coordination and focue.  Click here, here, and here for abstracts.  All athletes and coaches want to find ways to reduce injuries.  A recent paper by Hubscher et al, entitled Neuromuscular Training for Sports Injury Prevention:  A Systematic Review, shows evidence that  chiropractic care coupled with wobble chair and head weighting type exercises helps reduce the incidence of sports injuries among adolescent and young athletes.  Click here for the abstract for this paper.  
 Chiropractic care helps keep an athlete at the top of his/her game by helping to correct the issues that result from wear-and-tear (or accidents), and by helping to maximize the brain-body connection for optimal performance.

The following video, featuring chiropractor and four-time Olympian, Dr. Terry Schroeder, describes how chiropractic care gives athletes an edge:

If you'd like to see how chiropractic care can help you improve your game, call or email Bartholomew Family Chiropractic to request an appointment!

Chiropractic Adjustments Can Help You Be Free Of Headaches

There are many different types of headaches, including acute and chronic headaches, tension headaches, migraine headaches, and headaches that can result from more serious issues.  Some 45 million Americans suffer from headaches, and it is one of the leading causes for missed days of work.  Chiropractic care can often solve the underlying cause for the headache, relieving symptoms and thereby reducing or eliminating the use of drugs to combat these symptoms.  What would you rather do, take a pill to dull the pain, or choose a treatment that identifies and solves the problem that causes the pain, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for medication?

The following articles describes the anatomical and physiological basis for how subluxation in the neck can result in chronic headaches:  click here,  here and here.

Boline et al published a study (click here for the abstract) demonstrating that chiropractic care is an effective treatment for chronic tension headaches.  The authors also noted sustained greater long-term theraputic benenit from chiropractic adjustments as compared to drug therapy, with few or none of the side effects associated with drug treatment.

A 1998 study by Nelson et al establishes chiropractic care as a treatment for migraine headaches that is as effective as drug therapy, but lacking its side effects.  Click here for the abstract.

In 2001, 19 experts from different health care disciplines published a literature review comparing several headache treatment approaches.  The authors concluded that chiropractic care results in immediate improvement of headache symptoms, with longer lasting relief than drug therapy.  Click here for the PDF.

If you suffer from headaches, chiropractic care may be able to help you be free of them so you can live a better and fuller life!  Call or email us to set up an appointment to get your spine checked at Bartholomew Family Chiropractic and see what we can do to help you.