The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona
by James Bogash
Six Weeks of Whole-Body Vibration Exercise Improves Pain and Fatigue in Women with Fibromyalgia
As the owner of a clinic that has one of the higher quality WBV units, I can attest that we see some pretty interesting results across a variety of conditions. I must add a caveat about the lower quality cam-driven units–they generate substantial G-forces that may lead to long term joint damage. Stick with the sonic driven units.
by James Bogash
The easy answer is, of course, yes. But why? Massage therapists, personal trainers and chiropractors have stated forever that massage helps to “wash out” lactic acid produced during a workout and this will help reduce soreness from competition or exercise. Turns out, this isn’t exactly true.
Actually, in this particular study, the levels of lactic acid went up after massage while, at the same time, blood flow was reduced in the muscle region being treated. This just continues to sound like the opposite of what has always been promoted under the health benefits of massage. So what did the researchers find?
Overall, massage sent chemical signals into the cells of the muscles (for those technical junkies… it activated the mechanotransduction signaling pathways focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2). This resulted in two powerful effects.
First, it lowered the production of inflammation in the injured / exercised muscle. Imagine this–forget taking anything like ibuprofen or Tylenol or Alieve because you worked out too hard–just call our office for an appointment instead! Not only do you avoid derailing the healing process with over the counter drugs, but you will actually lower the damage that would have otherwise occurred from the exertion. Pretty neat.
Second, and even more astounding, massage (via the signalling pathway noted above) actually increased the number of mitochondria! For those of you who are new readers, you may be scratching your head trying to remember what Ms. Pendleton had said about mitochondria in your high school biology class 30 years ago. Regular readers, however, will understand that the mitchondria are the holy grail of good health. The more mitochondria we have and the better they function, the less likely we are to get any disease. Period.
Could this mechanism be one of the reasons we see some of the benefits of massage and improvements in chronic pain patients, patients with fatigue or fibromyalgia patients? Could massage actually lower your risk of diabetes by improving mitochondrial function?? Stay tuned…
In the meantime, if you are local and have a strong desire to increase your own mitochondrial function, sign up for our massage club today and start improving your health.
by James Bogash
Enhancement of in vitro interleukin-2 production in normal subjects following a single spinal manipulative treatment
While we do not always mention it in our office, it is clear the spinal manipulation has effects that we have only begun to quantify that spread beyond the realm of helping patients achieve pain relief.
This particular study, while by no means enough to hang one’s hat on, finds that spinal manipulation has a stimulatory effect on an aspect of the immune system that is generated from T-cells.
by James Bogash
The Relationship Between Repeated Epidural Steroid Injections and Subsequent Opioid Use and Lumbar Surgery
While the results of this study may have surprised the authors, as a practicing chiropractor I can tell you that it comes as no surprise. The authors evaluated within the VA system whether the use of epidural injections would reduce the use of opioid pain medication use and lumbar surgery. Well..they actually increased the frequency of patients being on medication and increased the likelihood that they would need surgery. This coincides with other research that epidurals do not have evidence of long term improvement.
As a chiropractor, I would look at two potential pathways. First, the culture surrounding the use of ESIs is one of outside intervention and fosters an attitude of helplessness in the patient–that the answer will come from outside help, not inside recovery. This attitude would lead to further interventions. Secondly, it is entirely possible that the sanctity of the spinal canal is intruded in this procedure, leading to some degree of localized inflammatory response and fibrotic healing, further confounding the initial presenting complaint.
The bottom line is that every possible conservative, non-invasive method should be tried first and the quick jump to interventions like ESIs will likely lead to a worse outcome.
by James Bogash
A distinct pattern of myofascial findings in patients after whiplash injury
As a chiropractor that specializes in soft tissue treatment, studies like this confirm my decision to practice in this manner. Too often following whiplash type injuries patients will seek the care of a PT, their PCP or a DC. The statistics linking long term problems from whiplash injuries is frighteningly high, but I believe this is because few approaches attack the comprehensive nature of these injuries. The joints, soft tissues and the psychological impacts of the injury all need to be addressed. Without this comprehensive approach, it is likely that patients will fall into that category of long term neck pain.
by James Bogash
As a chiropractor, I obviously see my fair share of chronic low back pain patients. If they have been managed through mainstream medicine, there’s a very good chance they’re on some, if not multiple, medications. Currently, narcotic pain meds like Vicodin, Percocet and Oxycodone are given out like candy, despite their lack of efficacy in clinical trials. So what good options are present to help manage the pain of chronic low back pain? Luckily, there are options.
The first option (if you would really call it an option…) is to find a good chiropractor to be on your team. Numerous studies have shown that, when a chiropractor is the first point of entry for any musculoskeletal complaints, the costs are much lower, while drug, surgery and imaging use is cut drastically. A chiropractor can not only help with chronic pain in the office, but can guide you to other approaches that might help with your condition. These may include an inversion table for low back pain or a cervical traction device for neck pain.
I have always been much more of a fan of moist heat rather than ice. In reality, for most spinal conditions, ice and heat are going to have direct effects only about 1-2 cm beneath the surface. The tissues that create pain such as the muscles, joints and discs of the low back are much deeper than this. Thus, ice and heat are going to have their effects at a much deeper, indirect level. Here ice and heat have similiar effects.
Heat wraps probably had their origins for menstrual-related pain and cramps, and then gradually expanded their use from there. These packs (made by Thermacare, Sunbeam, etc…) use the exothermic reaction between oxygen in the air and iron in the wrap to generate hours of heat.
This particular article looks at the use of a heat wrap in chronic low back pain sufferers. Researchers evaluated the effects of 2 hours of use of this type of heat wrap on chronic low back pain sufferrers and found a decrease in muscle activity as well as an improvement in self-report of disability, pain-related anxiety, catastrophizing, and self-efficacy.
That’s pretty powerful stuff for such a simple and safe intervention. Now imagine what would happen when this is coupled with chiropractic care…
by James Bogash
The ADVANTAGE Seeding Trial: A Review of Internal Documents
A seeding trial is a trial done under the guise of research, but is actually created and administered by the marketing department. This particular study was run and published purely to get doctors used to writing prescriptions for Vioxx when it was first released.
Really. I’ve said it before that if the public truly knew how they were manipulated by drug companies with drugs with marginal effectiveness and frequent side effects for conditions THEY DON’T EVEN FIX–Chiros would be on the top of the health care pile. This also makes you wonder, if the physicians in these studies are so easily manipulated, are they truly acting as “physicians” or more like technicians being trained to give drug A for condition A?
by James Bogash
HOW DO WE SAVE MASS AMOUNTS OF MONEY FOR MEDICARE?? We make sure that the surgeries we do on seniors with lumbar spine arthritis are not merely to make money for the surgeons.
In a study spanning 5 years on seniors with lumbar spinal stenosis (an advanced degenerative condition of the lumbar spine), the number of complex (multilevel) fusions went up FIFTEEN times!! Sounds great if this was a better surgery than a simpler one, but unfortunately this is not even close–there was triple the risk of life threatening complications with the complex fusion. The price tag for this fiasco? $50,000 more for the complex surgery. Wow.
Good thing they need to hammer down on chiropractic claims. Wouldn’t want some evil chiropractor to rip Medicare off for $250…especially since our office uses Flexion Distraction which can be very successful for treatment of stenosis.
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