Chiropractic & Medical Paradigm of Healthcare

For all of those people out there that do not truly know the differences between chiropractic and medical interventions for treating musculoskeletal conditions, allow me to give a brief explanation. Chiropractic is founded on principles and evidenced based science that supports the concept of how proper structure and function of the neuromusculoskeletal system can influence the preservation and restoration of health without the use of drugs and surgery. Chiropractors look to ultimately determine the actual cause of a patient’s condition and objectively correct the cause with manual therapy techniques to influence proper neuromuscular movement patterns. Chiropractors carefully asses the postural muscular imbalances that afflict much of the population through a battery of assessment tools to determine the appropriate regions that are in need of corrective joint manipulation/adjustments. After restoring normal joint function and addressing the acute pain symptomatology, chiropractors will focus on strengthening adaptively weakened muscles, lengthening adaptively shortened muscles or "tight muscles". This requires the use of therapeutic exercises that are performed in office and eventually at home. Contrary to the chiropractic model is the medical paradigm. The medical approach is an allopathic model that treats the presenting symptoms to create a different effect to counter the symptoms of a condition with the use of pharmaceutical agents or surgical interventions. The allopathic model strives to quiet symptoms so the patient can experience relief with these masking agents. However, there are distinct repercussions with this healthcare model as it currently stands. Any foreign substance (i.e. drug/medicine) we consume not only has numerous side effects but alters the body's homeostasis. Homeostasis is the body's normal physiological cell function. Once we have altered or imposed outside persuasions to our delicate cell physiology the body will now have to recalibrate its homeostasis to a new set point which can produce abnormal biochemical changes to take place. This may lead to toxicity and possibly nutrient deficiency. My intention is not to insult the medical approach to healthcare but to educate my patients so they are armed with the best information to make an intelligent decision. Medicine does play a very pivotal role in many crisis situations that cannot be understated. Both models while different in their approaches, can be complementary when each discipline works together to improve the quality of life of their patients.

Vitamin D Deficiency And Chronic Pain

Most patients and most primary care physicians are unaware of the very real link between Vitamin D deficiency and chronic pain. It is a major cause for concern amongst chronic pain sufferers and has been recently discovered that Vitamin D deficiency is now at epidemic proportions in the United States. If you are a long time chronic pain sufferer, consider visiting your primary care physician to evaluate your Vitamin D levels. Make sure you request that he/she tests for 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This is a more accurate marker for true blood serum values. Optimal ranges are 50-65ng/ml! Once it has been determined that their is a deficiency your doctor will provide you with either a prescription Vitamin D supplement or recommend an over the counter supplement. If it is determined that you find yourself deficient it is important to follow your doctor's advice especially if you have any type of kidney failure, kidney stones, hyperparathyroidism or sarcoidosis.

Low Back Pain & Proper Movement Patterns

Most patients enter my office with the usual low back presentation that occurred as a result of what they would define as a specific mechanism of injury. However, research today demonstrates that most low back injuries are a result of improper movement patterns that have been precipitating for many months to years before the injury presents. When there is aberrant or abnormal movement patterns due to muscle imbalances, abnormal wear and tear of joints occurs. This leads to constant misfiring of muscles that eventually leads to the proverbial "straw that breaks the camels back" symptomatology. By correcting these aberrant movement patterns through chiropractic joint manipulation, soft tissue manipulation, & neuromuscular re-education patients are likely to experience pain relief initially through neurophysiological processes. In the next phase of treatment, correction of the initial cause of injury is addressed. Rehabilitative exercises are then implemented so that the patient may develop and strengthen their individual weaknesses as well as stretch the overactive muscles that have attributed to the cause of the injury. Ideally, this can be accomplished in a matter of a few weeks, sometimes sooner, and sometimes in a matter of a few months. It truly depends on the individual, their age, level of fitness, smoker or non-smoker, whether or not they are compliant, and their level of desire to maintain an exercise rehab program outside of the office setting.