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In our Gadsden, AL office, we see a large number of patients who are suffering from back pain, and a few of these folks have been informed they might need surgery to recover. Thankfully, Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many people get pain relief without the need for any type of surgery. The scientific literature confirms the results we see in our practice. One study published in the medical journal Spine found that seeing a chiropractor as your first step in dealing with your back issues may actually keep you off of the operating table.

In this study, medical researchers from Dartmouth analyzed statistics from about 1,900 workers from the state of Washington who first saw either a surgeon or a chiropractic doctor for their back-related issues. They then examined three years' worth of follow-up medical data to ascertain whether the patients wound up having back surgery in an attempt to treat the issue.

What the researchers found was that about 43% of the individuals who first saw a surgeon for their back problems ended up in surgery in that 3-year time span, whereas only 1.5 percent of those who first consulted with a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:

"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."

These are impressive findings. Consulting with a chiropractor drastically decreases your odds of having back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this scientific study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.

Let's also keep in mind this important point: this study was performed by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and printed in the world's most prestigious medical journal on spinal injury.

Surgery: The Last Resort

Any surgical procedure has risks, but a serious problem linked to spinal surgery is that there is a very high rate of failure. In an important review in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:

"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."

The experts in this same study concluded:

"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."

As a chiropractor, Gadsden Family Chiropractic is convinced that surgery should be the absolute last resort for treating back pain. Chiropractic care works to restore your spine to its normal function--without high-risk surgery or drugs--and many studies have confirmed the efficacy of chiropractic for back pain.

If you live in Gadsden, AL and you need relief for your back pain, give our practice a call today at (256) 543-3033 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!

Studies

• Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, Wickizer TM, Chan KC, Franklin GM. Early predictors of lumbar spine surgery after occupational back injury: results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine 2013;38(11):953-964.
• Mannion AF, Elfering A. Predictors of surgical outcome and their assessment. European Spine Journal 2006;15(Suppl 1):S93-S108.
  

Shoulder Pain is a common condition after an auto injury, and it's something that Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees often in our Gadsden, AL office. Let's take a look at why shoulder pain is frequently experienced after an auto collision and see how your chiropractor can help you heal.

There are at least two ways that you can get shoulder pain after an accident: by direct injury to the shoulder or by referred pain from the neck.

Direct trauma can be caused by striking your shoulder on a hard object in the car during the impact, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end crash. With this type of injury, you'll often be aware of the pain shortly after the wreck.

More frequently, Gadsden Family Chiropractic finds that shoulder or arm pain doesn't immediately appear after a collision, but begins a few days or weeks after the trauma. This type of shoulder discomfort actually starts in the cervical spine. Injured soft tissue in your spine can pinch nerves in your neck, causing tingling, numbness, or pain in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated both types of shoulder pain in our Gadsden, AL office. This process involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural mobility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

Let us help you recover from shoulder pain. Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many people with the same problem, and we can probably help you, too. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your pain and then we will determine an appropriate treatment strategy. Ready to make an appointment? Give us a call at (256) 543-3033 and we'll get you back on the road to health.

Asthma is a serious issue for many people in Gadsden, AL and for a society as a whole, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that this problem currently affects almost 19 million adults and 7 million kids in the United States. A full-blown asthma attack likely means a hospital visit. Thankfully, Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many folks in Gadsden, AL get relief from asthma symptoms.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Asthma

The medical research verifies what we see in our practice. For example, a paper published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy evaluated 31 adult asthma patients after receiving four weeks of chiropractic treatments. The researchers reported that the individuals who received chiropractic adjustments had a 34% decrease in asthma symptoms.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics printed another asthma-based study, except this one involved kids. In this paper, the 36 patients ranged from 6 to 17 years in age and their asthma was regarded as either mild or moderate in severity.

After 12 weeks of chiropractic, as a whole, the children reported a higher quality of life and a decreased level of severity. As a bonus, they also reported that they relied less on their bronchodilator and these positive effects were still being demonstrated one year after chiropractic care was complete.

We Can Help Clients Find Relief From Asthma

So, whether you're 6 or 60, if you have symptoms of asthma, be sure to contact Gadsden Family Chiropractic in Gadsden, AL and schedule an appointment today. We'll do what we can to help you breathe easier!

Studies

• Asthma. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Bronfort G et al. (2001, July-August). Chronic pediatric asthma and spinal manipulation: a prospective clinical series and randomized clinical pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;24(6):369-77
• Nielsen N et al. (1995, January). Chronic asthma and chiropractic spinal manipulation: a randomized clinical trial. Clinical and Experimental Allergy;25(1):80-8

We see a large number of patients in our Gadsden, AL office, and Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped countless people eliminate a range of health challenges. In spite of this, a frequent issue that seems to stop some women and men from pursuing care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of quite a few on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women. Each person was suffering from spinal pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic adjustments whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic treatment sessions. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to see if any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic treatments.

Researchers found that nobody documented any serious adverse adverse reactions at all after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they had a headache (just 9% of people) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Nationwide Survey Finds that Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe

The next article(2), also released in the prestigious publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the researchers found no serious negative side effects. The experts determined the risk of total side effects to be about six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. Plus, just as with the previous study, some volunteers did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this caused the researchers to conclude that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Is Safe for Your Children

The third study(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for children. In this article, the authors investigated data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the kids, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were surveyed, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."

Based on studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Gadsden, AL clinic and make an appointment today at (256) 543-3033.

References

1. Walker BF, Hebert JJ, Stomski NJ, Clarke BR, Bowden RS, Losco B, French SD. Outcomes of usual chiropractic. The OUCH randomized controlled trial of adverse events. Spine 2013;38(20):1723-9.
2. Thiel HW1, Bolton JE, Docherty S, Portlock JC. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine: a prospective national survey. Spine 2007;32(21):2375-8.
3. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The safety and effectiveness of pediatric chiropractic: a survey of chiropractors and parents in a practice-based research network. Explore NY 2009;5(5): 290-5.

When you're trying to sustain your family, take care of your home, and pay all of your bills on time, every day at work counts. Work injuries can be a serious problem for many folks, and we see many of these types of injuries in our Gadsden, AL office. Gadsden Family Chiropractic understands your situation and is here to help.

The benefits of chiropractic care for work injuries are well-documented. A 2013 survey involving 651 adults who were troubled with either back or neck pain found that the men and women who didn't see a chiropractor missed work at twice the rate of those who were seeing a chiropractor.

So, why don't more people use Chiropractic Care?

According to the respondents in this paper, two of the primary reasons were that they thought they needed a medical referral for chiropractic care (which is typically no longer true) and they overestimated the costs associated with chiropractic treatment sessions by almost 70 percent.

The truth is, chiropractic patients actually spend less on care than medical patients, plus they are less likely to use drugs for their symptoms.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic Can Help People Find Comfort From Chronic Pain

If you live in Gadsden, AL and you've been injured at work, we can help. Give our office a call today at (256) 543-3033 for an appointment.

Sources

"Thousands of Minnesotans with Back and Neck Pain Don't Seek Treatment." (2013, June 12). ChiroCare.

We see a large number of sports injuries in our Gadsden, AL clinic, and Gadsden Family Chiropractic is usually able to assist these athletes. Stanford Children’s Hospital states that more than 3.5 million children of the ages 14 and younger are hurt each year when playing sports. Add that to the nearly 2 million adults injured annually while participating in sports-related activities, according to statistics collected by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and you can start to see the necessity of minimizing these sorts of common injuries. One approach to potentially realize that goal, as reported by a study released in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, is to engage in routine chiropractic care.

In Australian Rules football, hamstring and other leg injuries are commonplace, frequently sidelining the players and affecting their team's likelihood of winning. One specific study was administered using 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers to see if chiropractic could cut down on these injuries and help keep them in the game.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps in Treating Sports Injuries

For this study in particular, all of the participants got medical treatment. In addition, half of them also were given chiropractic treatments at the rate of one session per week for the first 6 weeks, biweekly sessions for the following three months, and one session per month for the remaining 3 months of the study. The other half had no chiropractic intervention at all and were used as the control group to assess the benefits of chiropractic adjustments.

After twenty-four matches, specialists reported a lessened number of lower limb muscle strains in the group that had been given chiropractic care. Furthermore, that very group also missed fewer matches correlated to non-contact knee injuries. This lead the researchers to conclude that chiropractic ought to be added to sports training programs to dramatically decrease the number of leg injuries.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic Can Help Patients Find Relief From Sports Injuries & Help You Recover Faster

If you or your child are active in sports and you want to ensure greater time is spent on the field versus on the bench, call our Gadsden, AL office at (256) 543-3033 and schedule an appointment today. We will do our best to keep you in the game!

References

• Hoskins, W, & Pollard, H. (2010, April 8). The effect of a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention on the prevention of back pain, hamstring and lower limb injuries in semi-elite Australian Rules footballers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 11(64), doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-64
• Misra, A. (2014, March 17). Common sports injuries: Incidence and average charges. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Stanford Children’s Hospital. (n.d.). Sports injury statistics.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees a lot of back pain patients in our busy Gadsden, AL chiropractic office. Many of our patients have some form of spinal disorder that is causing them pain and discomfort. Fortunately, Gadsden Family Chiropractic finds that spinal decompression therapy is a great way to help these folks.

What is Spinal Decompression and How Can it Help Me?

Non-surgical spinal decompression is a treatment technique that takes all of the positive benefits that one normally gets from chiropractic adjustments, traction, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, and myofascial therapy and merges them all into one.

The goal of this technique is to keep you away from the surgeon's knife, and that is precisely what it's accomplished for a number of people, as it has a documented 85% success rate.

A few of the issues spinal decompression helps with include generalized back pain, sciatica, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, compression fractures, and joint pain.

Spinal decompression works by reversing the effects of wear, tear, and the force of gravity that compresses the intervertebral discs in your spinal column. The video below shows how it works to relieve pressure on your back and helps lessen pain and disability.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Chronic Back Pain

If you live in Gadsden, AL and you're struggling with back pain, spinal decompression therapy might be the solution. Call Gadsden Family Chiropractic today at (256) 543-3033 for a consultation or appointment.

According to experts, roughly 5 percent of the population will experience painful ailments like frozen shoulder syndrome at some time in their lives. That makes shoulder-related pain a common problem and one that Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees in our Gadsden, AL practice on a regular basis.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Shoulder Pain

Generally, this ailment is more common for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and it tends to affect women more frequently than men. While ice, heat, and gentle stretches can often times help relieve the pain, so too can chiropractic adjustments.

As an example, one study released in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine looked at 50 people with frozen shoulder who were given chiropractic care. The length of care ranged from 11 days to 51 days, with 28 days being the average.

The doctors found that almost all of the study participants fared extremely well with chiropractic care. The authors found:

8 of the subjects reported 50-75 percent improvement
25 indicated improvement ranging from 75- 90 percent
1 participant had complete resolution of their frozen shoulder pain

Only one participant reported an improvement of 50 percent or less, so studies like this show just how beneficial chiropractic care can be when it comes to decreasing shoulder pain and increasing quality of life.

We Can Help Clients Find Relief From Shoulder Pain

Let Gadsden Family Chiropractic help you ease your suffering by contacting our Gadsden, AL office and scheduling your appointment today.

Resources

Murphy F et al. (2012, December). Chiropractic management of frozen shoulder syndrome using a novel technique: a retrospective case series of 50 patients. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine;11(4):267-272

Gadsden Family Chiropractic works with countless sciatica patients here in our Gadsden, AL office, and quite a few of these men and women were nervous that they might need surgery to treat their pain. The most recent research reveals that a large number of people don't need surgery for this widespread issue, and that chiropractic is more effective at resolving sciatic nerve pain.

A typical surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers looked at 80 women and men with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

Forty patients were then randomly placed in one of two groups. The first group was to receive surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups got better; however, no apparent difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between either group. Furthermore, about 60 percent of the participating patients who could not find relief from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Put another way, chiropractic delivered the same positive benefits as surgery without having to endure the greater levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through extended recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment method. Plus, you also don't run the risks affiliated with surgical microdiscectomy, including nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Gadsden, AL and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Gadsden Family Chiropractic a call today at (256) 543-3033. We'll help identify the start of your pain and work hard to get you relief.

References

• McMorland, G et al. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33(8):576-584.
• Solberg TK, Nygaard OP, Sjaavik K, Hofoss D, Ingebrigtsen T. The risk of "getting worse" after lumbar microdiscectomy. European Spine Journal 2005;14(1):49-54.
  

While many women automatically assume that back pain and pregnancy go hand in hand, they are often pleasantly surprised when they learn that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, chiropractic adjustments can often help alleviate persistant back pain for pregnant women by as much as 85 percent.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Pregnancy

In our busy Gadsden, AL chiropractic office, it isn't uncommon for pregnant women to reach out to Gadsden Family Chiropractic for help relieving their back pain.

A research study published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies involved 115 women who were pregnant (most of which were in their third trimester) and reported pain in their lower back region, pelvic area, or both. Data was gathered prior to the study, as well as one week, one month, three months, and one year after treatment commenced. At each follow-up, the participants were asked to rate their level of pain based on a 7-point scale to determine whether it was better, worse, or stayed the same. The results?

More than half reported that their pain was better after one week of chiropractic treatment. After one month, that amount jumped up to 70 percent, climbing even more to 85 percent showing improvement at the three month mark. Positive effects were still reported at six months post-treatment, which was generally after delivery, and continued to the final data collection one year after treatment commenced.

There are also many additional advantages of chiropractic care during pregnancy. Not only does it effectively relieve back pain, but it does it in a completely natural and non-invasive way. This means that you don't have to worry about taking any medications or undergoing any type of treatment that could potentially harm your unborn child.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic Can Help People Find Relief From Back Pain During Pregnancy

Additionally, it makes your time spent carrying your baby more pleasant. When you're not sidetracked with pain, you can enjoy the experience even more as you prepare your home and your life for all of the fun and exciting changes that lie ahead.

We're here in Gadsden, AL to help you have a healthy, pain-free pregnancy. Give us a call today at (256) 543-3033 to make an appointment.

Peterson CK, Muhlemann D, & Humphreys BK. Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment: a prospective cohort study with short term, medium term and 1 year follow-up. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2014;22(15):doi:10.1186/2045-709X-22-15.