Category: Chiropractic

Dr Heidi Haavik Taylor and her Brilliant Analogy of a Spinal Adjustment

March 16, 2017 No Comments Dr. Chesten
When was the last time you gave your nervous system a reboot?

I hope the purpose of this picture makes sense! Yes, I took a screenshot on purpose and I hope the highlight on the restart button is noticeable. I was aiming for being creative about bringing Dr. Haavik-Taylor’s statement to life.

Dr. Heidi Haavik-Taylor is a brilliant woman who has done a tremendous amount of work and research for the chiropractic profession. This is one of the statements she had made regarding chiropractic back in 2007. Dr. Haavik-Taylor continues to contribute to research and provide thorough analytical insight on chiropractic and its benefits.

#rebootyoursystem #improveyourlife #improvedfunction #chiropractic #getadjusted #newdaychiropractic #drchestencantrell #rockymountva

Chiropractic care reduces neck pain as well as affects the brain in a positive manner

March 6, 2017 No Comments Dr. Chesten

One of the adjusting techniques that is used at New Day Chiropractic is Activator. This technique involves adjusting with a hand-held instrument called an Activator.

I have had people raise an eyebrow when they see the Activator prior to treatment. “You are going to adjust me with that? Does it even do anything?” they would asked. After care, however, they are a believer in the power of an adjustment with an Activator.

In this research article, the method used to adjust these male participants is Activator technique. All of the participants had a history of neck pain and shoulder stiffness. After chiropractic care, the participants had a decrease in neck pain.

What’s interesting is the participants also had changes in their brain. The participants who received chiropractic care had activation in parts of their brain that are involved with sympathetic relaxation. The participants who received chiropractic care also had deactivation in parts of their brain that are involved with pain and stress.

Basically, participants who received chiropractic care had a decrease in neck pain. It also appears that chiropractic care affects areas of the brain involved with sympathetic relaxation and decreasing pain.

#Activator #chiropractic #chiropractor #getadjusted #relaxation #changeyourbrain #neckpain #newdaychiropractic #drchestencantrell #rockymountva

Here are more details about the research:

Ogura T, Tashiro M, Masud M, Watanuki S, Shibuya K, Yamaguchi K, Itoh M, Fukuda H, Yanai K. Cerebral metabolic changes in men after chiropractic spinal manipulation for neck pain. Alternative Therapies. Nov/Dec 2011;17(6):12-17.

All participants were men who had neck pain and shoulder stiffness. The participants were separated into two groups. The participants had a PET scan performed twice. One time after chiropractic treatment and one time after resting without treatment. The amount of time between the chiropractic treatment or rest and the time the PET scan occurred was the same. The treatment was chiropractic spinal manipulation based on analysis through the Activator Methods protocol. The adjustment was performed with the Activator Adjusting Instrument. There was a significant difference between resting and chiropractic treatment conditions. It was found that there was an increase in glucose metabolism* in the inferior prefrontal cortex**, anterior cingulate cortex**, and middle temporal gyrus in the chiropractic treatment scans compared to the resting scans. There was also a decrease in glucose metabolism*** in the cerebellar vermis^ and visual association cortex in the chiropractic treatment scans compared to the resting scans. The scores of the participants regarding their neck pain also improved after the chiropractic treatment compared to rest. There was also a significant decrease in salivary amylase^^ in the chiropractic treatment group.

* Increase in glucose metabolism means that area of the brain is activated

** Activation of the inferior prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulated cortex indicate that sympathetic relaxation occurred in that individual.

*** Decrease in glucose metabolism means that area of the brain is deactivated.

^ Cerebellar vermis is known to play a role in perception of pain, mental stress, and is involved with the autonomic nervous system.

^^ Salivary amylase has been shown to correlate with psychological stress. A decrease in salivary amylase suggests a decrease in psychological stress.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22314714

Poor Posture Can Predict Mortality in Geriatrics

February 28, 2017 No Comments Dr. Chesten

Did you know posture plays a big role in your life?

Posture has been shown to be especially important as a person ages. Kado and other researchers in their study found that an older person who does not have a dowager’s hump has a greater chance of living a longer life than an older person with a dowager’s hump.

It was also found that the larger/greater the dowager’s hump, the greater the chance of that person passing away. What’s interesting was there was not a relationship found between osteoporosis and mortality. However, there was an association found between a person having a dowager’s hump and atherosclerosis*.

What’s a dowager’s hump? It is considered an abnormal outward curvature of the thoracic vertebrae in the upper back. The area can also be called hyperkyphotic. It is considered preventable in the medical community. One of the ways it can be prevented in through chiropractic care!

While an older person can be seen for care to help with posture, it is always a good idea to be proactive instead of reactive. Always make sure to take care of your posture because it affects your life in a multitude of ways.

* Atherosclerosis is hardening and narrowing of the arteries. Overtime, it silently and slowly blocks arteries and causes a decrease in blood flow. Atherosclerosis has been associated with strokes, heart attacks, and peripheral vascular disease. According to WebMD, one of the causes of atherosclerosis is damage to the blood vessels due to high blood pressure.

#chiropractic #chiropractor #improveyourposture #betterposturebetterlife #posture #hyperkyphosis #kyphosis #dowagershump #newdaychiropractic #drchestencantrell #getadjusted

Here are more details about the research:

Kado DM, Huang M, Karlamangla AS, Barrett-Connor E, Greendale GA. Hyperkyphotic posture predicts mortality in older community-dwelling men and women: A prospective study. 2004. JAGS;52:1662-1667.

A group of older men and women were studied. They were separated into two groups. Group 1 had no hyperkyphosis. Group 2 had a hyperkyphotic posture. Group 2 was subdivided into levels of severity of the hyperkyphosis. It was found that older men and women have an increase mortality rate when they have hyperkyphotic posture compared to those with normal posture. Also, the more severe the hyperkyphosis, the greater the increase of mortality. There were more older men than women who had hyperkyphotic posture. Overall, older men with hyperkyphosis had the lowest survival rate compared to everyone else in the study. Older women with hyperkyphosis had a lower survival rate than older women without hyperkyphosis. There did not appear to be a relationship between osteoporosis and mortality rate.

There was a weak association between hyperkyphosis and pulmonary related deaths.

However, there was a strong association between hyperkyphosis and atherosclerosis. It is hypothesized this strong association is due to a possible underlying pathology that connects hyperkyphosis and atherosclerosis together. It had been found in another study mice that aged prematurely had evidence of both hyperkyphosis and atherosclerosis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15450042

Chiropractic Care Provides Relief for Veterans with Low Back Pain

February 27, 2017 No Comments Dr. Chesten

Did you know that low back pain is the most common and costly chronic condition in veterans? Treatment for low back pain in veterans increased from 2000 to 2007 by 4.8% per year!

Chiropractic care has been shown to be an effective form of treatment for low back pain among veterans with service-connected disabilities and multiple co-morbidities.

The Veteran’s hospitals and Veteran’s administration as a whole should consider adding chiropractic care to their repertoire because it is conservative care that could lead to decrease of prevalence of low back pain and decrease the cost of low back pain treatment for our veterans.

#veterans #chiropractic #chiropractor #getadjusted #newdaychiropractic #lowbackpaintreatment #lowbackpain #drchestencantrell #rockymountva

Here are more details about the research:

Dunn AS, Green BN, Formolo LR, Chicoine D. Retrospective case series of clinical outcomes associated with chiropractic management for veterans with low back pain. Journal of Rehabilitation Research & Development. 2011;48(8):927-934.

Chiropractic treatment ranged from 2 to 26 times according to each individual veteran. The veteran was seen 1-2 times per week and was re-evaluated when indicated. Multiple forms of chiropractic technique were used. Exercises and stretches were also given to veterans that suited each veteran’s individual needs. Many of the veterans from this study had service-connected disabilities and multiple co-morbidities.

There was a statistically significant improvement in Numeric Rating Scale and Back Bournemouth Questionnaire scores. These were both used to measure low back pain and determine improvement under care.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22068371

Chiropractic Care can Lead to an Increase in Proprioception of the Upper Extremities for Those Who Have a History of Neck Pain

February 25, 2017 No Comments Dr. Chesten

Adjustments in the cervical area can increase proprioception (body awareness) in the upper extremities.

What does that mean exactly???

When a person has experienced mild neck pain, ache, and/or stiffness, the person’s nervous system isn’t as aware of where their upper limb is in space compared to a person who’s never had neck symptoms. After receiving a cervical adjustment, the person with neck symptoms has a significant increase of awareness of where their upper limb is in space. This is called increase proprioception.

Does this matter? Yes!

Imagine how important it is to know where your arm is in space? We all rely on body awareness every day and don’t even realize it! Gymnasts, swimmers, kayakers, and rowers rely heavily on proprioception in their upper extremities. On a daily basis when you eat, brush your teeth, and/or fix your hair, you are relying on proprioception.

That’s not including the importance of proprioception in your lower body when you walk, run, skip, and jump. Without proprioception, you wouldn’t be able to walk well because your body wouldn’t know where it is in space. Proprioception is important for all of us!

#neck #stiffneck #bodyawareness #chiropractic #drchestencantrell #wellness #newdaychiropractic #rockymountva #franklincountyva #proprioception #chiropractor #getadjusted 

Here are more details about the research:

Haavik H, Murphy B. Subclinical neck pain and the effects of cervical manipulation on elbow joint position sense. JMPT;34(2):88-97.

This study compared people who had subclinical neck pain* against a control group. All of the participants did a test to determine how accurate their elbow joint position sense** was. Those with subclinical neck pain were not as accurate as the control group. None of these participants had a history of shoulder or elbow pain! After receiving an adjustment, those with subclinical neck pain had a significant improvement in accuracy of their elbow joint position sense. This implies that issues in your neck could cause a disturbance in proprioception in the neck and upper limb. It also is possible that receiving a spinal adjustment improves it.

*Subclinical neck pain is when mild neck pain, ache and/or stiffness occur with or without a history of neck trauma. The symptoms are not consistent. All of the participants were adjusted when they did not have any neck symptoms!

**Elbow joint position sense means; does the person’s nervous system know where the elbow is? Their elbow was placed in a position. The participant moved their arm around and then was supposed to place their arm back in the original position. This was done with the participant’s eyes closed.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21334540

Chiropractic Care Can Cause Changes in the Brain that Lead to Improved Functional Movement of the Neck and Upper Extremity

February 9, 2017 No Comments Dr. Chesten

Bumps and bruises are part of life, right? How many people do you know that suffer from neck pain? Well, Taylor and Murphy found that when a person injures his/her neck, it is possible for the injury to cause harmful changes to the brain. These changes in the brain can result in chronic neck pain and/or a decrease in functional movement of the neck and (possibly) the upper extremity (like the shoulder, arm, forearm, and/or hand).

The good news is that Taylor and Murphy also found that a cervical spine adjustment to a person with a history of neck problems can cause changes in the brain that lead to improved functional movement of the neck and upper extremity.

#neckpaintreatment #chronicpaintreatment #improvefunction #chiropractic #chiropractor #drchestencantrell #newdaychiropractic #rockymountva #franklincountyva #proprioception #wellness #getadjusted

Here are more details about the research:

Taylor HH, Murphy B. Altered sensorimotor integration with cervical spine manipulation. JMPT. 2008;31:115-126.

All participants had a history of neck pain or stiffness. However, during the time of the experiment all of the participants were pain free. The researchers wanted to see changes in corticomotor measures that had nothing to do with processing pain. Instead, any changes observed would be the effects of spinal manipulation on a dysfunctional joint*.

The same participants were used for both the adjustment group and the control group. The participants met the researchers two times. One time, the participants were in the adjustment group and one time the participants were in the control group. The researchers made sure there were enough weeks separating the two times to ensure there wasn’t inaccurate data. When the participants were in the control group, they had the cervical area palpated without receiving an adjustment. When the participants were in the adjustment group, each participant was evaluated for dysfunctional cervical joints and a single adjustment was performed by a chiropractor. The technique used was manual adjusting of the cervical.

Data collected included EMG of the abductor pollicis longus and extensor indices proprios muscles of the right hand and transcranial magnetic stimulation of the head on the side opposite of the right hand. This is because the left side of the brain controls the right hand.

In the control group, there weren’t any statistically significant changes in data. In the adjustment group, there were significant changes that support the theory “that specific intracortical inhibitory and facilitatory pathways are altered in a muscle-specific manner after spinal manipulation of dysfunctional spinal joints.”

The results of this experiment may help explain why a cervical adjustment leads to pain relief and improvement of functional abilities in a patient.

* For this study, a dysfunctional joint is when there is restricted motion between two cervical vertebra and palpable tenderness at the restricted area. Both are found to be reliable methods of determining a dysfunctional joint.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18328937