The Manga Report was commissioned by the government of Ontario in Canada. Leading economists found that chiropractic care for patients with low back pain is superior to medical care in terms of safety, scientific evidence of effectiveness, cost and patient satisfaction. According to the Manga Report, "The higher satisfaction levels expressed by patients of chiropractors...offers an overwhelming case in favor of much greater use of chiropractic services in the management of low-back pain."

In 1990 an article published in the British Medical Journal stated the following; "Scientific studies have been done by medical physicians comparing chiropractic care with medical care and physical therapy non-surgical care of the back and neck show that doctors of chiropractic relieve chronic and severe pain, both immediate and long term, in one half the time it takes medical physicians not trained in chiropractic procedures."

Chiropractors have helped millions of people with low back problems, often saving them from pain, disability, drugs and surgery. The chiropractor's purpose is to make your spine and its nerves, discs and muscles healthier, stronger and more stable by correcting your vertebral misalignments. Anyone suffering from a spinal problem should see a chiropractor to make sure there is no spinal nerve stress and to have it removed or corrected if it is found.

Chiropractic, Pain and Degeneration

Pain has a purpose, it is a warning signal, like a fire alarm, telling you something is wrong and should be attended to, or a part should not be moved for healing (like a broken arm or damaged joint).

We often equate pain with disease instead of seeing it as the body's early warning system, calling attention to potential problems. Instead... people grab the nearest painkillers. "The warning signs are then ignored and the symptoms are treated, sometimes allowing the problem to escalate," says Norman Cousins, author and faculty member of the UCLA School of Medicine.

A large cause of pain in the senior population is arthritis. There are many different types of arthritis. Osteoarthritis or OA , also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common arthritis of all; almost everyone over the age of 50 has a touch of it.

OA is considered the result of too much spinal stress that creates wear and tear on the joints. It's often a sign that the spinal column is unbalanced and not moving properly. Bone growths called "lipping" and "spurring" which are the signs of OA may be a body defense - the body is trying to strengthen an area by building up more bone. Sometimes the boney growth may compress nerves, cause pain and affect the health of internal organs.

The standard medical approach to pain and degeneration is treatment of symptoms-a lifetime of taking drugs, heat, hot packs or exercise in warm water and similar treatments-are suggested. If a joint becomes overly deteriorated then surgery may be considered.

Aspirin, while it may reduce pain, stiffness and inflammation, often requires eight to 24 tablets a day and can cause stomach irritation, bleeding and ulcers. Drugs such as Tylenol™, Advil™, Naprosyn™, and Indocin™, can cause kidney damage and hemorrhage of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum, and small intestine. According to Newsweek Magazine, approximately 10,000 arthritic sufferers die every year from the gastrointestinal complications of various arthritis drugs. Steroids with prolonged use, may cause thinning and severe weakening of the bones.

The chiropractic approach to pain and arthritis is to normalize posture, and restore normal movement to the joints of the body. This can help to relieve spinal stress and pain due to abnormal spinal mechanics. Studies have shown that up to 90% of osteoarthritis sufferers improved under chiropractic care. By beginning to normalize spinal motion, patients can help prevent further degeneration of the spinal joints, and start to reduce pain levels. This is done without drugs and surgery and all the risks associated with drugs and surgery. For more information please call Siegenthaler Chiropractic at 569-6099.

What Makes People Sick?

The simple answer is stress, this stress can take numerous forms, including physical, chemical, emotional, psychological etc. Simply put when external invasive forces (stress) surpasses internal resistive forces (health potential), the body is overcome and the result is ill health of some variety. Therefore the better we can fortify our health potential, the less likely we are to become ill, and, if we do become ill, the shorter the duration and severity of the disease process. In the last newsletter we discussed some ways that people can bolster their health potential, these included improving the quality of our food, water, oxygen, and nerve impulse.

A large misconception is that germs make people sick. This statement has some validity to it, but it is largely false. When we talk about germs, we are largely talking about bacteria, and to a lesser degree viruses. Science and micro-biology has shown that less then 1% of all bacteria are pathogenic, meaning that less than 1% of bacteria will truly make a healthy person sick! Of the other 99% of bacteria most are very beneficial to the human body (helping to keep yeast, mucous, and serous populations under control), and the other bacteria are normally harmless, unless they come in contact with a lowered health potential host. This explains why a husband can be home sick from work, while his wife feels normal and conducts her daily routine and vice versa. If it were truly germs, the entire family, then the neighborhood, school, and eventually community, state, etc. would get identical symptoms and have the same disease 100% of the time. Obviously we all know that this situation does not occur. Viruses follow a similar pattern, and for the most part attack a deconditioned host.

This topic brings up an interesting story often told by micro-biologists. There is a dead bird on the side of the road and its decomposing body is being consumed by maggots. Two men are walking down the side of the road, the first man passes this unsightly scene and surmises that the bird must have died and then as the birds health potential reached zero the maggots infested the host, the second man passes the same scene and comes to the conclusion that the poor bird was flying too low to the ground and the nasty maggots jumped up and attacked the bird, fought and killed the bird, and are now eating their fresh kill. As silly as this story sounds, it is quite similar to believing that germs make people sick.

Health Care Trends

Many people are beginning to question whether modern medicine is truly allowing people to lead a healthier life. Based on some recent research some are beginning to question the science, effectiveness, and safety of medicine. Dr. David Eddy, professor of health policy at Duke University, stated that only 15% of medical treatments have a scientific foundation for use. This same percentage has been applied to everyday surgical procedures, as well as medical evidence for various treatments. A recent Harvard study revealed that medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 1994 that 180,000 people die each year as a direct result of medical treatments, regardless of their original illness or disease. To put this number into perspective, it would be the equivalent of two full loaded jumbo jets crashing every day for an entire year! I have to believe that people would think twice about flying the friendly skies.

Please bear in mind that the point of this article is not to bash medicine, but rather to share results from research some by the medical community on various topics. It is not intended to curse the darkness, but to try to show people a light. Medicine is important and helpful, but not always necessary and works best in emergency situations. Chiropractic is certainly not a cure-all, but it's approach is preventative and is best used when one includes other preventative lifestyle habits, such as eating right, exercising regularly, drinking plenty of clean water, and having a positive perspective on life. Health is a lifelong journey, it is not based on luck, it is based on careful planning and being responsible for ones health.

What To Do If You Are Injured

As the intensity of your workouts increase so to will your risk of injury. The human body is very complex and many times many different structures can be damaged. Injuries can occur to muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints of the entire body. In order to decrease your injury time away from the gym, it is important that you understand what types of injuries can occur and what to do to quickly and properly heal. This allow s you to get back to your regular routine and to achieve your workout goals.

MUSCLES / TENDONS / LIGAMENTS

MUSCLE
- the human body has over 600 different muslce that make up approximately 40% of your body weight.
- is a tissue with at least 2 attachments conisisting of fibres organized into bands and bundles that contract and shorten to cause movement.
- muscle depends on a rich supply of blood for oxygen, nutrients and waste removal.
- nerves supply electrical impulses transmitted from the brain to the muscle to induce contraction.
- if the nerve supply is stopped or inhibited, it will cause muscle imbalance and weakness.
- damaged muscle tissue, when not given the chance to heal properly can be replaced with fibrous scar tissue.

TENDON

- is a band of strong fibrous tissue that connects a muscle to a bone.
- tendons can not stretch or contract as does muscle.
- many sports injuries are due to torn fibres in a tendon.
- the blood supply to a tendon is very poor so that is why it can take a long time for tendon injuries to heal properly.


LIGAMENT

- a strong, fibrous band of connective tissue connecting 2 or more bones or cartilage or supporting a muscle or organ.
- ligaments have a poor blood supply, take a long time ot heal and usually heal with fibrous scar tissue.

JOINTS

- there are many types of joints in your body and when a joint is injured, usually muscle and ligament damage occcurs.
- joints if not functioning properly or due to heavy wear and tear will start to degenerate. This condition is referred to a arthritis of degenerative joint disease.

TYPES OF LIFTING INJURIES

SPRAINS AND STRAINS

Strain - strectch or tear of a muscle and/or tendon.
Sprian - stretch or tear of a ligament.

These types of injuries are commonly caused by:

a) Not warming up properly.
b) Twisting or jerking during the lift.
c) Lifting TOO MUCH weight TOO FAST or with too little rest.
d) Putting too much strain on an old injury before it has healed.

Common areas strained while lifting include the chest and back muscles (neck and mid and lower back muscles), arm muscles (shoulder girdle), hamstrings and quadriceps.

Common areas sprained while lifting include the sacroiliac joints (lower back and pelvis), shoulder, knee, wrist and ankle.

TENDINITIS

When fibres of a tendon tear, inflammation occurs and this is accompanied by swelling and tenderness. This is usually caused by too many repititive motions. Areas commonly affected include the shoulder, elbow, knee, achilles tendon and patella tendon.

BURSITIS

A Bursa sac is a fluid filled sac that is located in or near a joint to reduce friction between tendons, tendons and bone and ligaments. Burisitis is an inflammation of the bursa due to a pinching or from an abrasion. The shoulder is the most common site of bursitis for lifters but it can also commonly occur in elbows, knees and hips.

PART 2 : HOW TO TREAT COMMON ATHLETIC INJURIES

If you work out regularly, you will probably get injured now and then. Most injuries are minor and can be self treated if you follow a few simple guidelines. However, if the pain you are experiencing is severe or continues, if you can not move the injured part or if the injury does not seem to be healing, seek professional help immediately.

What to do when you are first injured:

There are 3 Basic Stages of Healing that occur after an injury.
1) ACUTE INFLAMMATORY STAGE:
* CLASSIC SIGNS PAIN, SWELLING, REDNESS and HEAT.
* Lasts up to 72 hours (3 days) after the injury.
*This first stage is usually subdivided further:

A) 0-24 HOURS AFTER AN INJURY
- Treatment goals are to reduce inflammation to limit the amount of scar tissue formation (R.I.C.E.)

R = REST
- if injury is severe rest is very important.

I = ICE
- constricts blood vessels and decreases blood flow to injury therefore reducing swelling and increases flexibility and movement of injured part.
- ice should be applied for no longer than 10-15 minutes/time and be kept off for at least 20-60 minutes before reapplying the ice (2-3x/day).

C = COMPRESSION
It is recommended that you wrap the injured part with an elastic bandage or an elastic bandage with ice to compress the area and help decrease the swelling. DO NOT wrap too tightly and cut off blood supply to the area. If the injured area becomes blue or numb, loosen the bandage.

E = ELEVATION
This will help to reduce the swelling by allowing excess fluid to drain away.

B) 24-72 HOURS
- Treatment goals are to increase circulation to the injured area so that waste products from the damaged tissue can be removed.
- Pain and swelling should persist in this stage.
- OFF and ON again ICE can be used with light massage and gentle range of motion movements.

2) REPAIR STAGE

- 72 Hours up to 6 Weeks;the body attempts to regenerate the damaged tissue
- Repair tissue is NOT AT FULL STRENGTH and the injured part is succeptable to further injury.

* ACTIVE RELEASE TECHNIQUES CAN BE PERFORMED ONCE PATIENT IS ABLE TO TOLERATE ASSOCIATED DISCOMFORT.

3) REMODELING STAGE
- 3 Weeks up to 12 Months; damaged tissue is further being remodeled.
- Tissue attempts to return to original quality and tensile strength.

* ACTIVE RELEASE TECHNIQUES TREATMENT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL IN ENSURING PROPER MUSCLE/LIGAMENT REPAIR.

During Stages 2 and 3, movement of the injured part is very important in order to ensure that proper tissue repair occurs. If you have any questions about a recent or old injury ,please stop back at Siegenthaler Family Chiropractic Center. We look forward to serving your health needs.