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We work with many back pain patients in our Gadsden, AL chiropractic office, and Gadsden Family Chiropractic and our staff uses a variety of techniques to help get you out of pain and restore your spine's normal, healthy function. We find spinal decompression to be an effective approach.

Understanding Spinal Decompression Therapy

To help you better understand spinal decompression therapy, think of the discs in your spine like small balloons filled with jello. When you compress them (which occurs due to normal living, sustaining an injury, or other medical conditions), they can protrude, placing pressure on the nerves in your spine. This affects your brain's ability to communicate with tissues in the rest of your body.

If the force on the discs becomes too high, the discs can herniate or bulge. This reduces the cushion between your vertebrae and can cause pain. The purpose of spinal decompression therapy is to reduce this pressure to help increase your body's function and also reduce your level of discomfort.

Can Spinal Decompression Therapy Help Me?

Spinal decompression therapy relieves disc pressure through the use of a specially designed table that gently elongates your spinal column through slow and controlled movements. This decreases the pressure placed on your discs. Some studies show an increase in disc height by as much as 1.3 millimeters after just six weeks of spinal decompression therapy.

If you're wondering if spinal decompression therapy could help you feel and perform better, simply call our Gadsden, AL office and schedule an appointment with Gadsden Family Chiropractic today. Your optimal health is our number one priority!

Resources

Apfel CC, Cakmakkaya OS, Richmond C, et al. Restoration of disk height through non-surgical spinal decompression is associated with decreased discogenic low back pain: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2010;11(155). doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-155

In our Gadsden, AL practice, it's common for us to see patients struggling with sciatic nerve pain, and Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many of them recover with chiropractic. What makes chiropractic care so helpful to those who suffer with sciatica? First, it shortens their recovery time and a Norwegian medical study confirms it.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Sciatica Pain

In the article, which took place in a Norwegian hospital's orthopedic department, the authors looked at 44 patients who presented with abrupt low back pain that was diagnosed as acute sciatica. The participants were all treated by a chiropractor, with the mean follow-up being two years after treatment.

The researchers found that all but two patients went back to their jobs after receiving chiropractic adjustments, which is a 95% success rate. What's more, the average length of time that the patients spent off work "was reduced by two thirds as compared with that associated with conventional medical treatment."

Considering that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 170,450 days of work were missed in 2013 due to employees dealing with back or spine-related issues, that is nearly 112,500 work days that could potentially be recovered each and every year solely by receiving chiropractic care. Not only would that increase productivity, but it would also reduce costs to businesses and employees from lost work.

We Can Help Patients Find Relief From Sciatica

If you live in Gadsden, AL and you suffer from sciatica pain, Gadsden Family Chiropractic is here to assist. Give us a call at (256) 543-3033 and we'll work with you to find the root cause of your sciatic pain and get you back on the road to health.

Orlin JR, Didriksen A. Results of chiropractic treatment of lumbopelvic fixation in 44 patients admitted to an orthopedic department. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2007;30(2):135-139.

Headache and neck pain are common problems that affect millions of men and women around the world. If you are dealing with this type of problem, you're not alone. The good news is that chiropractic care is the best way to not only treat these common problems, but also help prevent future episodes.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Neck Pain and Headaches

For many years, people with neck and headache pain in Gadsden, AL have been helped by the chiropractic adjustments of Gadsden Family Chiropractic. Our success is backed up by a recent review done in Canada that found that non-invasive, non-drug solutions are the best choice for neck and headache pain.

The study looked at 15 studies from 1990 to 2015 and found that conservative treatment comprised of chiropractic adjustments, exercises, and stretches was recommended before turning to drugs or more invasive procedures.

Past scientific studies have shown that chiropractic is effective and safe for neck pain and many other health conditions.

We Can Help Clients Find Relief From Neck Pain and Headaches

If you're suffering from neck pain or headaches, Gadsden Family Chiropractic and our staff are here to help you heal. Give our Gadsden, AL office a call today at (256) 543-3033 for an appointment today.

Reference

Varatharajan S, Ferguson B, Chrobak K, et al. Are non-invasive interventions effective for the management of headaches associated with neck pain? An update of the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration. European Spine Journal 2016; February 6:1-29.

There are many different kinds of headache, but one of the most common types is known as "cervicogenic headache," or headaches that originate in your neck.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees a lot of people in our Gadsden, AL office who are struggling with frequent headaches. Thankfully, chiropractic can often help, potentially reducing these types of headaches by 50%, and research confirms it.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Cervicogenic Headaches

A study was conducted involving 80 participants who reported experiencing at least five cervicogenic headaches during the prior three months. The objective was to see how effective chiropractic care was for this type of head pain, as well as to ascertain the number of treatment sessions required to achieve a positive effect.

The individuals were split into four separate groups, so that each group was similar in age, gender, number of cervicogenic headaches, and their intensity. Of the four groups, two engaged in chiropractic treatments and two received light massage. Furthermore, one group assigned to each treatment received eight sessions and the other group received twice that amount.

Each person was assessed based on head pain, neck pain, and disability prior to the study and 12 and 24 weeks after treatment was complete. The researchers found that those who received chiropractic as opposed to massage reported fewer headaches at the conclusion of the study. Furthermore, improvements were maintained when checked six months after treatment ended.

Additionally, participants who were taking medications for their headaches were able to lower their intake after completing the study. Those who received chiropractic had lower drug usage 24 weeks post-study.

We Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Head Pain

Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many people who were suffering from headaches in our Gadsden, AL office. Call us today at (256) 543-3033 for more information or for an appointment.

Reference

Haas M, Spegman A, Peterson D, Aickin M, Vavrek D. Dose response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized controlled trial. The Spine Journal 2010; 10: 117-128.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees many patients weekly in our busy Gadsden, AL chiropractic office who are looking for relief from the pain and suffering they feel due to herniated discs. Our experience isn't unique; the medical literature confirms that chiropractic is an effective way to treat herniated disc problems.

Don't Suffer! Gadsden Family Chiropractic and Chiropractic Care Helps With Disc Herniation

One particular research study involved 27 people, 8 male and 19 female, who had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirming a disc herniation in either their neck or lower back. The individuals reported that they were experiencing pain, limited range of motion, and sensory issues bad enough to keep them off work.

During the course of the research study, the individuals were treated using one of two common chiropractic methods: traction for herniated discs in the cervical area or flexion distraction for the men and women who had herniation issues in the lumbar area.

Each person was treated four or five times per week for the first two weeks, then three times weekly, and then as needed for the rest of the study. Depending on the severity of the disc herniation, treatment varied anywhere from six weeks to six months, with MRIs being carried out at various stages to identify what impact, if any, the chiropractic care was having in regard to the disc herniation.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Herniated Disc

The investigators reported that 80 percent of the patients obtained a "good clinical outcome," meaning reduced pain and a reduction in other issues, such as numbness. Furthermore, 77 percent of these men and women also showed MRI evidence that their disc herniation was either reduced or resolved completely. This resulted in 78 percent of the study participants being able to return to their place of work and led the researchers to conclude that chiropractic care is both "safe and helpful" for disc herniations.

If you have a herniated disc and suffer from chronic back pain and are near Gadsden Family Chiropractic in Gadsden, AL, contact our office today to see what chiropractic can do for you!

Reference
BenEliyahu, DJ. Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical follow-up: study of 27 patients receiving chiropractic care for cervical and lumbar disc herniations. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1996;19(9):597-606.

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.