Chiropractic Care and Headaches

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Apr 17, 2012 in Blog, Drug Free Treatment, Free Exam, Free Treatment, Health Tips | 0 comments

Headaches, we’ve all had them, and at times we’ve all struggled to get rid of them.  There are many different types of headaches, as well as many causes.  Types of common headaches include Migraines, which are debilitating and are usually brought on by some sort “trigger” like flashing lights, a certain smell, or a type of food (“triggers will vary from person to person).  Tension headaches are usually caused by a stiff neck and increased stress.  Cervicogenic headaches are specifically caused by dysfunctional structures within the neck.  There are also headaches that result from head trauma, such as from an athletic activity or a motor vehicle accident. Studies have shown that most (but not all) headaches do in fact share a relationship with the neck, most likely due to restricted function of the neck.

What can help?

- Chiropractic Care: Studies have also shown that chiropractic adjustments can be an effective form of treatment for certain types of headaches.
- Life Style Changes:  If stress is your “trigger” for tension or other types of headaches, try exercise, yoga, or other types of relaxing activities. They might help reduce your stress levels, and headaches.
- Hydration: Yes, this has become a common occurrence in our blogs, but we can not stress enough the importance of staying properly hydrated.  By drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day you can reduce the chances of becoming dehydrated and thus decrease the chances of suffering headaches.
- Diet: Sometimes, especially with migraine headaches, there can be a certain food that can trigger a headache.  Try to identify types of food that trigger your headaches and then try to avoid them as best you can.

It is very important for the chiropractor to do a thorough history and exam on a patient experiencing headaches, so that a proper diagnosis can be made. In some cases where headaches are “sudden and severe”, occur after trauma/injury, or cause nausea or vomiting, an immediate referral to the emergency room is required.  If you suffer from headaches come in for your free spinal exam and free chiropractic treatment to help you get on the road to wellness.

Sciatica

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Apr 10, 2012 in Blog, Drug Free Treatment, Health Tips | 0 comments

The term sciatica describes the symptoms of leg pain and possibly tingling, numbness or weakness that travels from the low back through the buttock and down the large sciatic nerve in the back of the leg. The clinical diagnosis of sciatica is referred to as a “radiculopathy,” which means simply that a disc has protruded from its normal position in the vertebral column and is putting pressure on the radicular nerve (nerve root) in the lower back, which forms part of the sciatic nerve.

An important thing to understand is that sciatica is a symptom of a problem — of something compressing or irritating the nerve roots that comprise the sciatic nerve — rather than a medical diagnosis or medical disorder in and of itself. This is an important distinction because it is the underlying diagnosis (vs. the symptoms of sciatica) that often needs to be treated in order to relieve sciatic nerve pain.

Chiropractic adjustments along with muscular rehab are very successful in the correction and relief of sciatica.

Is Beef Still For Dinner?

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Apr 3, 2012 in Blog, Diseases, Health Tips | 2 comments

From fast food drive-in hamburgers to ground beef tacos to that juicy steak for dinner; no source of protein may be more of a fixture in the standard American diet than Beef.  This, and other sources of red meat are not the only sources of high-quality protein available for us to choose from, but they are by far our most common choice.  However, more and more research is suggesting this may not be a smart choice on our part, and the evidence continues to pile up demonstrating how red meat may play a role in many chronic health conditions.

One study published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine looked at the health and eating habits of over 100,000 Americans through the course of more than 20 years.  Death rates from cardiovascular disease and cancer were collected and compared to other health and diet measures.

The results of this study found that, on average, every 1 serving per day of red meat increased each person’s risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 18% and risk of death from cancer by 10%.  The authors conclude that substituting 1 serving per day of red meat with a healthier protein source (for example fish, nuts, or legumes) can offer an even greater protective benefit against these fatal diseases.

Therefore the results of this study strongly suggest that red meat is an unhealthy choice of protein to be regularly included in our diets, and high intakes over a lifetime puts people at a significantly greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Spinal Fusion Surgery: Is It All For Profit?

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Mar 13, 2012 in Blog, Health Tips, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Spinal-fusion surgery is one of the most lucrative areas of medicine. An estimated half-million Americans had the operation this year, generating billions of dollars for hospitals and doctors. But there have been serious questions about how much the surgery actually helps patients with back pain and whether surgeons’ generous fees might motivate them to overuse the procedure.  The majority of patients that come into me with spinal fusion are still in chronic pain.  This article was very informative and interesting:    The Spine as Profit Center – New York Timeswww.nytimes.comSerious questions have been raised on whether generous fees might motivate doctors to overuse a lucrative spinal-fusion surgery.

Can Popping Your Knuckles Cause Arthritis?

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Mar 6, 2012 in Blog, Health Tips | 0 comments

Ever since I became a Chiropractor one of the most popular questions has always been does cracking my knuckles cause arthritis?  You would think that popping and popping your knuckles would eventually cause so much repetitive trauma that it would lead to arthritis. Arthritis being an inflammation of the joints caused by overuse (actually caused by abuse or mis-use). There’s also a genetic version of arthritis known as Rheumatoid arthritis, but that’s not a concern here.

In a recent edition of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, Kevin deWeber, MD, FAAFP, Mariusz Olszewski, MD and Rebecca Ortolano, MD put this old wives tale to the test. In an article based on original research-entitled Knuckle Cracking and Hand Osteoarthritis, their conclusions were somewhat surprising to some, but not to me.

It’s not too technical and very interesting to find out that there is actually no correlation between cracking your knuckles and getting arthritis.  For those that also ask about why your joints make that cracking sound, you’ll also find your answer in this report of their original research.

Medicine or Chiropractic Adjustment for Neck Pain?

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Feb 28, 2012 in Blog, Drug Free Treatment, Health Tips | 0 comments

What gives you a pain in your neck?  Maybe it’s your job, maybe it’s something else, but either way, you’re not alone.  Almost 75% of our population will have neck pain at some point in their life, and the possibilities for treatments are nearly as varied as the causes.  However, most people usually turn to medication first to try and fix their neck pain.  But recent research is casting doubts on that habit, suggesting that there are safer and more effective alternatives available.

This month the journal “Annals of Internal Medicine” published a study comparing the effectiveness of chiropractic adjustments, medication, and exercise for subacute neck pain.  In this study, over 300 people with neck pain were divided into three groups for a 12 week course of treatment.  One group received chiropractic adjustments.  The second group received medication as prescribed by a medical doctor.  The third group was assigned a series of home exercises to complete.  After 12 weeks pain levels and functional measurements were taken and follow up measurements were also recorded 6 months and 1 year following the end of the treatment.

The results of this study found that both chiropractic adjustment and the exercise groups did better than the medication group.  However, the chiropractic adjustment group did the best overall and was significantly better than the medication group.  Also, the most serious side effects were seen in the medication group, with 60% of patients reporting side effects of some kind.

Therefore the conclusions of this study suggest that chiropractic adjustments are the safest and most effective treatment for subacute neck pain, followed closely by exercise. So if you can’t get rid of that pain in your neck on your own, chiropractic adjustments can help you get to the root of the problem.

1. Bronfort G, Evans R,AndersonAV, Svendsen KH, Bracha Y, Grimm RH. Spinal manipulation, medication, or home exercise with advice for acute and subacute neck pain: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2012 Jan 3;156(1 Pt 1):1-10.

Better Sleep

Posted by Dr. Wirtz on Feb 21, 2012 in Blog, Free Exam, Free Treatment, Health Tips | 0 comments

Over the past few weeks I have been experiencing some sleepless nights and not quality sleep.  I know it’s from stress and I seem to have trouble turning my mind off at night.  I found this great article that talks about sleep and certain foods you can eat to help with sleep.  Here is the link http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp_195160/Stressed_Out_-_Having_Trouble_Sleeping. Eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, and getting regular chiropractic adjustments will help too!  So, stop in and get your free spinal exam and free treatment today!