Chiropractic Care: A Rapidly Growing form of Health Care

As evidence supporting the effectiveness of chiropractic continues to emerge, health care consumers are turning in record numbers to chiropractic care — a form of health care aimed primarily at enhancing a patient's overall health and well-being without the use of drugs or surgery. More than 30 million people visited doctors of chiropractic last year for a variety of conditions, and more medical doctors are referring their patients to doctors of chiropractic, according to the American Chiropractic Association.

Just a few interesting facts on this increasingly popular form of health care:

• In 1970, there were an estimated 13,000 doctors of chiropractic licensed in the United States. This number increased to 40,000 by 1990 and to approximately 50,000 by 1994. Thus, there is roughly one doctor of chiropractic for every 5,000 United States residents.
• A recent study estimated that the number of doctors of chiropractic will double by the year 2010 – reaching more than 100,000 -- far exceeding the 16% increase projected for medical doctors. Thus, it appears that doctors of chiropractic will represent a substantially larger proportion of health care professionals in the coming years.
• The proportion of the United States population that uses chiropractic and the number of chiropractic visits per capita have nearly doubled during the past 15 to 20 years.
• According to a study published in the November 11, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 11% of the population visited a doctor of chiropractic in 1997. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, today there are approximately 273 million people in the country. This translates into approximately 30 million patients who visited a doctor of chiropractic in 1997.
• Chiropractic is the world’s third largest doctoral-level health care profession, following medicine and dentistry.

Chiropractic Care for Women: News from ChiroWeb

What are some of the main health issues of concern to women?

Women have most of the same health concerns that men have. But women face many health problems unique to them or that more often or more seriously affect women than men. Doctors of chiropractic have always recognized this and have developed and provided a wide variety of treatment options specifically suited to women's health needs. Because of this (and because most women tend to have a heightened awareness of their physical condition and are accustomed to seeking help from health professionals), more women than men regularly rely on chiropractic care.

Women must contend with specific health concerns raised by their female physiology, by the fact that the female body is designed to be able to bear children. Issues involving pregnancy and the menstrual cycle are centrally important health matters for women. Being pregnant, preparing for pregnancy, and recovering from childbirth are female indispositions. Pain during the menstrual period (dysmenorrhea), premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and chronic pelvic pain are among the distressing conditions, which disturb the otherwise healthy lives of many women.

Older women are much more likely than men to develop such serious ailments as Alzheimer's disease (which burdens the afflicted with near-total memory loss and reduced mental functioning) and osteoporosis (in which the bones become weak, brittle, and porous; the posture stooped with the shoulders rounded). These are just two of the problems of aging that women must be aware of and can take steps to prevent.

Less ominous, but more pervasive, are headaches. Women may get headaches during menstrual periods and pregnancy, as well as under ordinary circumstances. They are more likely to be troubled enough by headache pain to find a way to overcome it. Similarly, women are often victims of osteoarthritis (degenerative joint disease) and have a 200 to 300 percent greater chance than men of suffering rheumatoid arthritis.

What can chiropractic do?

Chiropractic offers demonstrated relief for many of women's health problems. Chiropractic adjustments have been shown to lessen the discomfort of dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain. Numerous back disorders that strike women are addressed and remedied daily, all over the world, by chiropractors skilled in treating those problems and in improving their patients' capacity to cope and to improve.

More and more women have become interested in diet, nutrition, weight loss, exercise, sports and physical activity, and methods for maintaining wellness and general fitness – about which chiropractors have considerable knowledge that they are eager to share with their patients. Chiropractic wellness programs are particularly well-suited to the special needs of pregnant women, new mothers, women who are overweight, who are in stressful situations, and others who need to protect and strengthen their bones, nerves, joints, muscles and overall health.

Great numbers of women rely on chiropractors because of the caring interaction that develops between patient and doctor and because of chiropractic's effective combination of expert diagnosis, effective spinal adjustments and soft tissue therapy, exercise and nutritional guidance, and lifestyle counseling.

Chiropractic Helps in Prevention of Recurring Ear Infections
Dr. John Zimmerman

In the October 1998 issue of the Ladies Home Journal appeared an article entitled, "Chiropractic Adjustments for Chronic Ear Infections." This article reviewed several studies showing the effectiveness of chiropractic care for preventing re-occurring ear infections known as Otitis Media or OM.

According to the article, reoccurring ear infections account for over 35% of all pediatrician visits in the United States. Sometimes these infections are due to bacteria and sometimes these are due to a virus. The most common medical care for this situation has been antibiotics, even though antibiotics have no effect on viruses. While the article mentions that the antibiotic may be effective in an acute bacterial infection, they do nothing to stop repeat infections. Research and statistics is now showing that repeated use of antibiotics is contributing to future infections by creating drug-resistant infections. The surgical approach has met with little long term results as the "tubes" placed in children’s ears often come out and usually require a child to be put under general anesthesia to do the surgery.

The article in the Ladies Home Journal states, "Chiropractic care is thought to prevent recurrent infections by correcting misalignments (called subluxations) and allowing normal fluid drainage from the middle ear." What the article took special note of was that 6 months after the chiropractic care was given to the children in the study, 80 percent had not suffered a recurrence of ear infections.

In closing the article did make a profound statement. They made a recommendation to parents on this subject. "If your child is between ear infections and his doctor suggests ear-tube surgery, ask if you can try chiropractic treatment first." While we agree with that sentiment, we suggest you not wait for a period between episodes, and you don’t have to "ask" permission from any other doctor to seek chiropractic care. As the sneaker company said, "just do it!"

"Chiropractic Care of 401 Children with Otitis Media: A Pilot Study"
Found in the March 1998 edition of Alternative Therapies and authored by Fallon and Edelman.

(Conclusion) "There is a strong correlation between chiropractic adjustment and the resolution of otitis media for the children in this study, which can serve as a starting point from which those in the chiropractic profession can examine their role."?

Chiropractic Treats The Problem, Not Just The Pain
Dr George Traitses

An injury, and the resulting pain, are the most common reasons that people seek chiropractic care, according to Dr.George I. Traitses of Scarborough/Markham, local Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) representative.

As the treatment progresses, the pain gradually diminishes. However, it is important to understand that chiropractic care does not treat the pain, it treats the problem, says Dr. Traitses.

Pain is a symptom that something is wrong but it is often the final symptom, only present in the very late stages of a health problem. For example, a cavity may be present for years before a toothache develops. Or, a heart attack may be the first symptom that a cardiovascular problem exists. Says Dr. Traitses,

The spinal situation is much the same: nerve impulses may be blocked by dysfunctional vertebrae (bones) in the spine called subluxation by chiropractors without causing pain. That’s possible because some 85 per cent of nerve fibres do not transmit pain signals. So, although the messages normally transmitted throughout the body by nerve impulses are being interrupted, there are no apparent symptoms.

The nervous system acts as the body’s master controller, much like a computer or telephone system. Our brains are constantly receiving information from and transmitting messages to all the tissues and organs in the body, although we are not aware of the process. Through this feedback loop, the nervous system’s job is to ensure that the entire body is functioning optimally.

"Chiropractic treatment corrects the subluxations and allows the nervous system to perform at its best, therefore allowing the body to be as healthy as possible", says Dr. Traitses.

Chiropractors are licensed as doctors, authorized to diagnose and treat conditions concerning the spine, muscle and nervous systems. Chiropractors work to promote optimal health and wellness through positive lifestyle changes.

The OCA is a voluntary membership organization representing more than 1,800 Ontario chiropractors. The objectives of the Association include public education and research devoted to improving the quality of health care for the citizens of Ontario.

See you next month!

Want copies of this newsletter for your friends? Stop by the office and we’ll give you some hard copies or write to us and we’ll add them to our mailing list. Please remember that everyone needs to be free from subluxations so bring your friends and loved ones for a spinal checkup.