What is your pain costing you?, Chronic Pain cost Americans up to $635 billion a year

Chronic pain is costing Americans as much as $635 billion each year, according to a new study out of John Hopkins.  This includes medical costs and lost work time. This averages out to more then $2,000 a year to each American including infants and children.   The study, published in the Journal of Pain, found average health care costs for adults were $4,475. People suffering from moderate pain paid $4,516 more in health care costs than those without pain, the researchers said. Patients with severe pain spent $3,210 more than people with only moderate pain. Costs were also $4,048 higher for those with joint pain, $5,838 higher for people with arthritis… Read More

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Chiropractic Care Beats Medication for Neck Pain, Makes Headlines

New research published this month in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) and exercise more effective at relieving neck pain than pain medication. The study divided participants into three groups that received either SMT from a doctor of chiropractic, pain medication (over-the-counter pain relievers, narcotics and muscle relaxants) or exercise recommendations. After 12 weeks, about 57 percent of those who met with DCs and 48 percent who exercised reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group. After one year, approximately 53 percent of the drug-free groups still reported at least a 75 percent reduction… Read More

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Prevention of Migraine Headaches (excerpt from ChiroAccess)

Migraines can be a debilitating and frustrating  problem.  The cause is not always known and there are lots of different triggers to cause the migraine.  Migraines can make it so that you can not function and can last up to 72 hours (3 full days).  Often times you have both light sensitivity and sound sensitivity so that you can not work, read, or watch tv.   Medications can help, but not always the same medication will work for everyone and not all the time. Please note exercise, proper posture, looking for food triggers and nutrition, stress reduction, and chiropractic can also help with migraines. For more information about headaches and migraines… Read More

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Comfrey Root: good for back pain, arthritis, and ankle sprains: research point to.

Note:  Should be used topically only!!!.  Orally has shown some mutagenic properties with a chemical in it, pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). Some manufacturers claim their topical creams are PA free. Comfrey Root has been used for a long time for wounds and sprains/strains. Recently research has been done to show effectiveness. There are several alternatives to normal pain medicine for relief.  Bromalain is also a very good anti-inflammatory.  Herbs can have less side effects than medication, but they do have possible issues.  They can interact with certain drugs and certain people can be allergic to comfrey root. Herbs should be used under supervision of an educated healthcare practitioner and you should… Read More

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Research: Cervical adjustment decreases elbow pain

A recent research article published in the peer-reviewed journal JMPT,  helps show what chiropractors and others have been saying and seeing for years; that both structural changes in one area can effect  areas above and below and neurological changes (changes in nerve firing)  effects different areas.  In this study, patients that had outside elbow pain had a significant decrease in measurable pain to touch with their neck adjusted (cervical manipulation) with also decrease in mid back adjustment (thoracic manipulation) but not as much as the neck.  Basic anatomy shows that the nerves sending signals of pain (and others) go into the spinal cord at the cervical region (neck).  This study… Read More

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