TV Celeb: Chiropractic is 'amazing!'

Emmy Award-winning talk show host Montel Williams, gave an enthusiastic endorsement of chiropractic on the Dec. 18th episode of his television show, saying, "It's the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me!"

Williams, who was diagnosed in 1999 with multiple sclerosis, told the audience that after suffering from pain 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, he experienced almost instantaneous relief from pain with his first chiropractic adjustment. "There's not a person who knows me who will not confirm this," he said. "...I am walking differently, my pain is less, I've already regained strength in my left leg. Williams added that he could stand up straight without pain for the first time in more than five years.

The broadcast included a filmed segment with Williams' chiropractor, Patrick Kerr, DC, who uses Atlas Orthogonal upper cervical techniques. Dr. Kerr, using a model of the upper spine, explained the basic workings of the spine, noting that misalignment of the spine, particularly at C1 and C2, causes mechanical compression of the nerve roots that exit the spine, causing dysfunction.

The broadcast included a filmed segment with Williams' chiropractor, Patrick Kerr, DC, who uses Atlas Orthogonal upper cervical techniques. Dr. Kerr, using a model of the upper spine, explained the basic workings of the spine, noting that misalignment of the spine, particularly at C1 and C2, causes mechanical compression of the nerve roots that exit the spine, causing dysfunction.

Kerr also appeared as a guest on the show, which was recently canceled after 17 years on the air. After introducing his chiropractor, Williams jokingly said, "Everyone knows my head is screwed on wrong ... basically, you screwed it on right!" Later, he expressed amazement that the cervical adjustment gave him "almost instantaneous" relief of much of his lower body pain, that he "felt weird" afterwards and that "it was almost as if for the first time I could stand straight in the last five years."

The chiropractic portion of the show was quickly circulated across the Internet, as doctors and chiropractic supporters placed a popular YouTube video of the program on their own sites. That video can be seen at www.worldchiropracticalliance.org

Source: The Chiropractic Journal - March 2008; 1 & 27.

Does Exercise Make Kids Smarter?

The research team from the University of Illinois presented their findings this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

"We have found a strong relationship between academic achievement and fitness scores," elucidates study co-author Darla Castelli. "Those who scored well in academics also did well in physical fitness. We're not suggesting that if we run more laps it will make us smarter, but there does appear to be a correlation."

Along with researchers Charles Hillman and Sarah Buck, Castelli analyzed about 500 third, fourth and fifth graders. They compared the subjects` aerobic capacity, flexibility, muscle fitness and cognitive function (as determined by standard achievement tests and neuroelectric and behavioral responses to stimulus discrimination tasks).

"We found that fit children allocated more resources towards identifying stimuli, and also processed stimuli faster," Hillman pronounced. "Behaviorally, these effects showed up in that these fit children made fewer errors than sedentary ones."

"Despite increased incidence of childhood obesity and type II diabetes mellitus, physical education time is being reduced to address academic issues related to federal `No Child Left Behind` legislation," adds Castelli. "If evidence existed that physical education contributed to intellectual development, it may gain credibility and instructional time."

Source: Society for Psychophysiological Research - October 20, 2004. http://sprweb.org/

SOFT DRINK CONSUMPTION SKYROCKETING

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have calculated that calorie intake from soft drinks in the United States rose 135% between 1977 and 2001. Over the same span milk intake plummeted 38%.

"There has been considerable controversy about the promotion of soft drinks in schools and elsewhere," notes study author Dr. Barry M. Popkin. "Extensive research on all age groups has shown that consuming these soft drinks and fruit drinks increases weight gain in children and adults."

Source: Journal of Preventive Health - October 2004

CHRONIC BACK PAIN EATS AWAY AT BRAIN

Scientists in Chicago have discovered new clues into what role the brain plays in chronic back pain (CBP).

The investigators used magnetic resonance imaging brain scans to compare the morphology of 26 individuals with CBP with 26 pain-free control subjects.

According to the report "patients with CBP showed 5-11% less neocortical gray matter volume than control subjects. The magnitude of this decrease is equivalent to the gray matter volume lost in 10-20 years of normal aging. The decreased volume was related to pain duration, indicating a 1.3 cm(3) loss of gray matter for every year of chronic pain."

The study also showed that CBP patients had decreased gray matter density.

"Our results imply that CBP is accompanied by brain atrophy and suggest that the pathophysiology of chronic pain includes thalamocortical processes," conclude the authors.

Source: Journal of Neuroscience - November 2004;24:10410-5.http://www.jneurosci.org/

EARLY RECOVERY FROM LOWER BACK PAIN PREDICTS LONG-TERM OUTCOME

What demographic factors affect a chiropractic patient's recovery from chronic low-back pain (LBP). To find out, 115 chiropractors in Norway pooled data on 875 patients. All patients had suffered LBP for at least 2 weeks at the time of their initial chiropractic consultation and a minimum of 30 days altogether during the preceding year.

According to the report, gender, social benefit, severity of pain, duration of continuous pain at first consultation and additional neck pain all influenced outcome at the fourth visit and at 3 months.

Early recovery was identified as a strong predictor of long-term outcome. Specifically, being free of back pain at the fourth visit was associated with triple the odds of remaining pain-free at 3 and 12 months.

Source: JMPT - October 2004;27:494-502.http://www.mosby.com/jmpt 

Chiropractors don't raise stroke risk, study finds

A research report published in the Spine Journal, the official journal of the North American Spine Society confirms what chiropractors have said for years: chiropractic care does NOT cause an increased risk of strokes due to arterial dissection. ("Risk of Vertebrobasilar Stroke and Chiropractic Care: Results of a Population-Based Case-Control and Case-Crossover Study." Spine 33(4S) Neck Pain Task Force Supplement:S176-S183, February 15, 2008. For a link to the study's abstract, visit www.worldchiropracticalliance.org .)

"We didn't see any increased association between chiropractic care and usual family physician care, and the stroke," said researcher Frank Silver, professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and director of the University Health Network stroke program. "The association occurs because patients tend to seek care when they're having neck pain or headache, and sometimes they go to a chiropractor, sometimes they go to a physician. But we didn't see an increased likelihood of them having this type of stroke after seeing a chiropractor."

During the past several years, chiropractic has come under intense attack by anti-chiropractic organizations, including several that claim to represent chiropractic "victims." Despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary -- including a 2001 study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal that the risk of suffering a stroke due to chiropractic adjustments was less than one in nearly six million -- critics have kept up their attacks and tried to persuade the public that chiropractic adjustments are dangerous.

For this latest project, a Canadian research team studied nine years of patient data and found that, of the 818 cases involving this kind of stroke, patients were just as likely to have visited their family medical doctor as they did a chiropractor. There was no increased risk from having received chiropractic care.

Dr. Silver admitted that he and his team were specifically looking for an increased association between chiropractic care and stroke but found none.

According to the report's conclusion, "The increased risks of VBA stroke associated with chiropractic and PCP visits is likely due to patients with headache and neck pain from VBA dissection seeking care before their stroke. We found no evidence of excess risk of VBA stroke associated chiropractic care compared to primary care."

Terry A. Rondberg, DC, president of the World Chiropractic Alliance stated: "This research study is important, but we have to continue our vigilance and our own research. This one report will not silence all those critics who have tried to frighten the public into thinking chiropractic is dangerous. We have to pile on more and more evidence andkeep public education at the top of our priority list."

Source: The Chiropractic Journal - March, 2008; 1 & 17.

Latest Research CHRONIC PAIN

"Vast majorities of people suffering from chronic pain are actually the result of unnecessary back surgery. In one study, I demonstrated that at least 80% of those who had lumbar surgery for a presumed ruptured disc had not had a ruptured disc before their first surgery. (Shealy CN. Percutaneous radiofrequency denervation of spinal facets.

Treatment for chronic back pain and sciatica. J of Neurosurgery.1975;43:448-451.) By the time they had between 5 and 7 unsuccessful back operations they certainly were invalids....In selective patients with back pain, we have found two significant problems: locked or degenerative facet joints or a sacral shear."

Source: C. Norman Shealy, MD Ph.D. Chronic Pain Management in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients. Jan. 2005. PP 22-23

CHRONIC BACK PAIN IMPAIRS DECISION MAKING

Scientific evidence supports the hypothesis that chronic pain impairs an individual's decision-making capability

As part of one study, investigators compared 26 healthy people with 26 patients with chronic back pain (CBP) and 12 patients with a condition called chronic complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). CRPS is a chronic nerve disorder typically afflicting the arms or legs, which usually onsets following an injury.

The study participants were asked to perform a test researchers use to assess emotional decision-making. The test, called the Iowa Gambling Task, is a gambling card game.

Subjects with CBP performed 41% worse than did pain-free individuals. Those with CRPS performed even poorer.

The study's authors conclude that "our evidence indicates that chronic pain is associated with a specific cognitive deficit, which may impact everyday behavior especially in risky, emotionally laden, situations."

"Other cognitive abilities, such as attention, short-term memory, and general intelligence tested normal in the chronic pain patients."

Source: Pain - March 2004;108:129-36.http://www.sciencedirect.com/

OPTIMISTS LIVE LONGER

A sunny disposition may be the key to long life, finds a study suggesting that optimists live longer than their less positive peers.

According to a 9-year inquiry of 941 adults in the Netherlands between the ages of 65 and 85 years, the most optimistic participants were 29% less likely to die during the study period than the most pessimistic of subjects.

Subjects who had an upbeat take on life were 77%less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than were pessimists. These findings were not influenced after researchers controlled for confounding issues such as age and lifestyle factors.

Source: Archives of General Psychiatry - November 2004; 2004;61:1126-35.http://archpsyc.ama-assn.org/

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