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

Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees a lot of patients in our Gadsden, AL office who are suffering with frequent, reoccurring headaches. Thankfully, chiropractic adjustments can usually help, potentially reducing these types of headaches by 50 percent, and research confirms it.

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

The subjects were divided 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 authors 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.

Furthermore, individuals who were taking medications for their headaches were able to lower their intake after completing the study. Those who received chiropractic adjustments had lower medication usage 24 weeks post-study.

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

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.

Although some people are still uncertain about chiropractic care, even the American Medical Association (AMA) recommends that adjustments should be tried prior to surgery--the one option that should be a last resort.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic has seen many back pain patients in our Gadsden, AL office who have been suffering for years and who are afraid that they might need an operation for their back pain. Gadsden Family Chiropractic has had great success in helping patients recover and avoid risky surgery, and the science backs up our experience.

Recently, in one study conducted on about 2,000 Washington State employees who suffered from a back injury while at work, more than 42% who saw a surgeon first following their injury found themselves having back surgery within three years. That compares to just 1.5% of the people who first sought treatment with chiropractic, showing that this natural approach is extremely effective at keeping you out of the operating room.

There are options to risky medical procedures. Chiropractic is a proven effective and safe way to improve the function of your spine, which is the root cause of back pain. Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many patients in Gadsden, AL recover. Give our office a call today at (256) 543-3033 for an appointment.

Goodman DM, Burke AE, Livingston. Low Back Pain. The Journal of the American Medical Association 2013;309(16);1738.

Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, et al. 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.

We treat many car accident cases in in our Gadsden, AL office, and a common symptom we see in our patients is thoracic outlet syndrome. The key to recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome caused by a crash is to understand the root cause of the problem and how chiropractic care can help.

The thoracic outlet is a bundle of blood vessels and nerves that travel through your neck and shoulder to your arm. These vessels don't have a lot of space, so they pass under and between the strong bands of muscles that support your head.

In a collision, these muscles can be stretched and strained. If injured, the muscles become inflamed and tender, and they can develop scar tissue which restricts movement and puts pressure on the tissues of the thoracic outlet. Pressure on the nerves can cause tingling or numbness in the shoulder, elbow and even the hand. Pressure on the blood vessels can also cause problems in the arm.

Gadsden, AL Thoracic Outlet Treatment

Chiropractic adjustments can be an effective way to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, as Gadsden Family Chiropractic will help improve mobility in your spine and restore normal nerve function in your neck and shoulder.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic is here in Gadsden, AL to help you recover from thoracic outlet syndrome. We've been helping patients since 2003 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 approach. Call us today at (256) 543-3033 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

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 people, and we see many of these types of injuries in our Gadsden, AL office. Gadsden Family Chiropractic appreciates your situation and is here to help.

The benefits of chiropractic for work injuries are well-established. A 2013 research paper involving over 600 adults who were suffering with either back or neck pain found that the individuals 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 participants in this paper, two of the major 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 reality is, chiropractic patients actually spend less on care than medical patients, plus they are less likely to use drugs for their symptoms.

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.

When performing sports activities that require a lot of lower body motion, like football, soccer, and basketball, it's not uncommon to suffer some type of injury to your hips or legs. Between pulled hamstrings, sprained ankles, knee injuries, and more, many people have found themselves sidelined. Gadsden Family Chiropractic has seen all of these problems in our Gadsden, AL patients. The good news is, chiropractic can help prevent some of these injuries from occurring and research proves it.

Gadsden Family Chiropractic keeps current with all of the latest scientific research, and in a report published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia studied 59 semi-elite Australian Rules football players. Roughly one-half were placed in a control group and the other half were put in a treatment group that received sports chiropractic care at regular intervals. During the first six weeks, this meant receiving care once every week. The following three months consisted of an adjustment every two weeks before reducing those to one visit monthly for the final three months of the study.

The authors noted that there was a "significant" difference in the number of lower limb strains the players received in the treatment group when compared to the control. Furthermore, they observed that the subjects who engaged in chiropractic also had fewer weeks of missed practice and games as a result of non-contact knee injuries. This led them to determine that sports chiropractic treatment should be added to "the current best practice management."

Every major sports team in the US and the US Olympic Team has chiropractors on staff for their players, because they know that chiropractic works. If you live near our office in Gadsden, AL and would like to see if Gadsden Family Chiropractic can help you boost your performance or reduce sports injuries, give our office a call today at (256) 543-3033 for an appointment.

Bibliographic Reference

Hoskins W, Pollard H. 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 2010;11(64).

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

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 stress on the discs becomes too high, the discs can herniate or bulge. This reduces the cushioning between your vertebrae and can cause pain. The goal of spinal decompression therapy is to reduce this pressure to help improve your body's function and also reduce your level of pain.

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 reduces the pressure placed on your discs. Some studies report 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 function better, simply call our Gadsden, AL office and schedule an appointment with Gadsden Family Chiropractic today. Your optimal health is our number one goal!

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

According to research, approximately 2-5 percent of the population will suffer from painful disorders like frozen shoulder syndrome at some time in their lives. That makes shoulder pain a common occurrence and one that Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees in our Gadsden, AL office on a regular basis.

Usually, this issue is more prevalent for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and it tends to affect women more often than men. While ice, heat, and gentle stretching can often times help relieve the pain, so too can chiropractic.

As an example, a study released in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine looked at 50 patients 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 can be when it comes to decreasing shoulder pain and increasing quality of life.

Let Gadsden Family Chiropractic help you decrease 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

In our Gadsden, AL practice, it's common for us to see people troubled with sciatica pain, and Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many of these people improve with chiropractic. What makes chiropractic care so helpful to those who suffer with this condition? First, it reduces their healing time and a Norwegian research study confirms it.

In the study, which took place in a Norwegian hospital's orthopedic division, researchers looked at 44 patients who reported sudden low back pain that was identified as acute sciatic nerve pain. The participants were all treated by a chiropractor, with the average follow-up being two years after treatment.

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

Given the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that over 170,000 workdays were missed in 2013 due to employees dealing with back or spine-related issues, that is almost 112,500 work days that could potentially be recovered each and every year solely by receiving chiropractic care. Not only could that increase productivity, but it could also reduce costs to businesses and employees from lost work.

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

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.

According to The American Academy of Pain Medicine, more people in the US suffer with chronic pain than diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer combined. Furthermore, neck pain is the third most documented type of pain, beat out only by lower back pain and headaches.

Not surprisingly, many patients come to our Gadsden, AL office looking for neck pain treatment, and Gadsden Family Chiropractic has helped many of them find relief. This is a smart choice, as some studies have shown that over 90 percent of neck pain patients benefit from chiropractic care.

Studies Confirm Chiropractic Effective for Neck Pain

A study published in The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy involved 64 men and women who were suffering with neck problems. Approximately half were placed in an experimental group and the other half were designated to a comparison group. Both were given chiropractic adjustments of the neck as well as a home exercise program, whereas the experimental group also received adjustments of the thoracic spine.

Data was gathered before treatment began and one week after the adjustments. The authors found that 94% of the experimental group reported "significantly greater improvements" in regard to pain and disability in their neck symptoms. Just 35% of the patients who received neck adjustments showed the same level of improvement, illustrating that thinking about the entire spine is a critical part of restoring the body's normal function.

Yet another study posted in Physical Therapy involved 60 adults who reported dealing with neck pain. Each man or woman was randomly assigned to one of two groups--thoracic spine thrust manipulation or non-thrust manipulation--with follow-up exams occurring two and four days after the treatments.

Researchers discovered that the study participants who received the thrust manipulations (the same manipulations that provided such positive results in the first study) "experienced greater reductions in disability" than the group that received the non-thrust manipulations. Their pain was lower as well, which shows that this type of approach offers many benefits.

Help After Failed Neck Surgery

Another study found the same type of positive outcomes after thoracic adjustments in a woman who had a failed neck surgical treatment. This specific case involved a 46-year-old patient who had recently had neck surgery but still reported neck pain, headaches, pain in her elbow, and muscle fatigue.

The woman documented decreased pain in her neck and reduced headache intensity, immediately after the first chiropractic treatment session. After six weeks of care, which involved chiropractic, exercise, and patient education, the patient still placed her pain at a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. Her neck disability reduced as well, with a rating score that represented that it was a "great deal better."

It is scientific studies like these that demonstrate the effectiveness of chiropractic techniques, even if you've already attempted neck surgery that didn't provide relief. So, if you are dealing with neck discomfort and would like to find a remedy that has a high success rate, try chiropractic. It may just be the relief you're looking for.

Our office is in Gadsden, AL and Gadsden Family Chiropractic can help you recover from neck pain. Give us a call today at (256) 543-3033.

References

• AAPM facts and figures on pain. The American Academy of Pain Medicine.
• Masaracchio M, Cleland JA, Hellman M, Hagins M. Short-term combined effects of thoracic spine thrust manipulation and cervical spine nonthrust manipulation in individuals with mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 2013;43(3):118-127.
• Cleland JA, Glynn P, Whitman JM, Eberhart SL, MacDonald C, Childs JD. Short-term effects of thrust versus nonthrust mobilization/manipulation directed at the thoracic spine in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Physical Therapy 2007;87(4):431-440.
• Salvatori R, Rowe RH, Osborne R, Beneciuk JM. Use of thoracic spine thrust manipulation for neck pain and headache in a patient following multiple-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a case report. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 2014;44(6):440-449.
  

With the Migraine Research Foundation reporting that migraine headaches affect 38 million adults and children in the United States (more than asthma and diabetes put together), it's not surprising that Gadsden Family Chiropractic sees a lot of migraine patients in our Gadsden, AL office. While some people try to relieve migraine pain with drugs, chiropractic is a fantastic, all-natural approach that usually provides positive results.

For instance, one study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics involved 127 participants ranging in age from 10 to 70-years-old who suffered with regular (at least monthly) migraines. Each subject received up to 16 chiropractic sessions. The patients noted that their headache frequency, duration, and disability two months before the study began, during the duration of the sessions (which was two months), and two months post-treatment.

What the researchers discovered is that chiropractic reduced the frequency, duration, and disability of the migraine pain when compared with the control subjects who didn't receive chiropractic. Furthermore, this allowed them to take less medication for the pain, offering them an all-natural solution for a chronic problem.

Another report found that a combination of chiropractic and neck massage reduced migraine headaches almost 68%.

If you have migraine headaches and are looking for help, call Gadsden Family Chiropractic today and request an appointment in our Gadsden, AL chiropractic office. We'll do what we can to help you become pain-free!

Studies

Migraine Fact Sheet. Migraine Research Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.migraineresearchfoundation.org/fact-sheet.html on November 2, 2015
Noudeh Y et al. (2012). Reduction of current migraine headache pain following neck massage and spinal manipulation. International Journal of Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork;5(1):5-13
Tuchin P et al. (2000, February). A randomized controlled trial of chiropractic spinal manipulative therapy for migraine. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;23(2):91-5