Nerve System vs Immune System – It’s that time of year!

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Fear and stress weaken the immune system faster than anything else.” -unknown

Who has become ill and not gone to the chiropractor because they think the office does not want sick people to come in to get checked and adjusted? I would have to assume it is a fair amount of people who think that is the case but could not be further from the truth. We want sick people in the office! Like we’ve said before, we live our life through our nerve system. Sickness is the lack of adaptation of our bodies because a component of our body is not performing correctly, hence the immune system because of an interference within our nerve system. Proper messages cannot be sent to our immune system to function at its best when there is an interference. It is out of every chiropractor’s scope of practice to recommend medication or not recommend medication such as antibiotics but we will say antibiotics eliminate the pathogen immediately, not giving our bodies the chance to fight it off on its own. The reason this is crucial is because the body has a memory system.

Once there has been an exposure of a pathogen, the body will recognize it the second time and fight it off more quickly and effectively because our bodies have seen it before. We are about maximizing your health and focusing on preventative care and therefore getting less sick in the future or being able to make a quicker recovery. With these stressful times of our economy, the nerve system is under attack as well as our immune system. Know better and do better! Be pro-active and not re-active when it comes to your health! We focus on function, not feeling!

Do your body a favor and get checked to stay healthy this season!

X-rays: You Pose. We Expose

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X-rays: You Pose. We Expose

“To see is to know, to not see is to guess.” – Unknown

Does one build a house without blueprints? Absolutely not. That would be a clown show trying to build a house without being able to reference blueprints. The same goes for our spine. Chiropractors want to see the big picture of what they are dealing with. X-rays give chiropractors more insight on the shape of a patient’s spine and what should or should not be adjusted.  A seasoned chiropractor can have years of experience and have very gifted hands to feel up and down the spine for issues but there is a limitation to how much a chiropractor can feel. Therefore, it is the utmost importance to acquire visuals such as the x-rays films to know exactly what the patient’s spine is presenting with. People are born with congenital abnormalities that they may have no knowledge of until x-rays are taken of their spine and a chiropractor’s goal is obviously not to cause more harm, but without x-rays, increased risk is on the table.

X-rays dictate many factors when it comes to the proper care of a patient. The way chiropractors adjust is heavily influenced by x-rays involving what direction of the adjustment, how much force, and what table or instrument is used. Since our bodies are so good at masking pain because pain is usually the last thing to show up, people can live with subluxations (misalignments of the spine), fractures, anomalies or other contraindications without even knowing they are present or have been present for months to years. One cannot emphasize enough the importance of x-rays. They are a major piece to our puzzle of care and patients benefit the most with results when x-rays are performed.

Subluxation Nation!

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“To get rich, never risk your health. For it is truth that health is the wealth of wealth.” -Richard Baker

What is Chiropractic? What is the essence of why we do what we do? A true chiropractor seeks to find and correct vertebral subluxation and “A subluxation is the condition of a vertebra that has lost its proper juxtaposition with the one above or the one below or both; to an extent less than a luxation; which occludes an opening, impinges nerves and interferes with the transmission of mental impulses” (Stephen’s Chiropractic Textbook).

 Let’s break that down, so loss of juxtaposition is the misalignment of the vertebra in the spine, an occlusion of an opening is the narrowing of the intervertebral foramina which are the black holes that are seen on the lateral or side view of the spine on an x-ray. These black holes are responsible for nerve transmission meaning that hole is the exit for a spinal nerve root that comes off the spinal cord. When a subluxation is present, impingement on the nerve is involved meaning pressure and when there is pressure on the nerve, there is going to be an interference of that nerve, therefore the interference is going to decrease the function of wherever that nerve goes whether it be a muscle or organ etc. And let me tell you, it does not take much to decrease the function of a nerve…. the weight of a dime….A DIME will decrease a nerve’s function by 60%. It’s also not the bone itself that is putting pressure on the nerve causing interference of the brain and body communication but the surrounding tissue such as fat tissue, connective tissue and blood vessels.

What is the function of the nerve? It is to transfer information from our brain to our body by way of something called mental or nerve impulses which contains an electrochemical energy current and information that the brain needs to send to the rest of the body to operate properly. In essence, chiropractors restore the ability of the brain to send the mental/nerve impulses to the body by removing subluxations of the spinal column that cause interference. Stay healthy and get checked!

Stephen’s Chiropractic Textbook

Chiropractic Philosophy, Strauss.

Children and Chiropractic

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Children and Chiropractic

“Chiropractors don’t just believe that your child has unlimited potential, our job is to unlock it.” -Nick Spano, DC

When the public thinks about chiropractic, it most often involves the idea of adults with low back pain. That ideology could not be further from the truth. The developing years of a child are crucial and that means the overall function of their body. We didn’t stand a chance since birth. What way do we usually enter the world? Head first. With the head being the contact point for leverage to pull the baby out, there is always twisting, yanking, and pulling on that fragile neck leading to atlas (C1) subluxations as well as subluxations of other cervical vertebra and spinal cord compression.

Unfortunately, birthing trauma is not taken seriously by most. The sooner the subluxations are corrected, the better chance that baby has at adapting to the stresses of life and not develop conditions such as decreased muscle tone, fine movement disorders, autonomic dysfunction, and cardiovascular disorders. Having cervical subluxations can affect a child’s behavior by making them hyperactive or inactive as well as lower mental performance.

Parents want the best for their children and chiropractic can keep them healthy allowing their body and more importantly the brain, to function and develop properly. There is a fear that chiropractors use the same amount force for an adjustment on a child compared to an adult. With small children and especially babies, chiropractors use a sustained contact or vibratory contact to make the adjustment utilizing the least amount of force possible for the correction. Adjustments on a baby are safe, effective, and absolutely necessary.

Aside from conditions developing in a child, having a child checked and adjusted allows them to live out 100% of their potential. There are many benefits to your child receiving chiropractic care such as improving their immune function allowing their bodies to have a better chance at combating seasonal bugs as well as preventing them in the first place. Our immune system mainly stems from our gut and chiropractic can help with improving digestion, acid reflux and constipation. Sleep is a major contributor to the proper development of a child so having their nerve system clear of interference allows them to have an undisrupted sleep pattern including resolving issues with bed-wetting. 

Help your little one be the best version of themselves! Get them checked, keep them healthy!

https://aica.com/5-incredible-benefits-of-pediatric-chiropractic-care/

Sports Performance With Chiropractic

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                Neuromuscular fatigue aka exercise-induced muscle weakness and reduced power are not only detrimental to athletic performance but also increases the risk of sports-related injuries. These factors are brought about by neuromuscular mechanisms in which our brain and spinal cord control how much our muscles contract and reflex responses or how fast our muscles respond to something. By optimizing these factors, athletic performance is likely to be improved.

                Lucky for athletes receiving chiropractic care it has been shown that chiropractic adjustments alters many of the brain functions that control muscle reflexes, muscle endurance, muscle strength, and “muscle memory” (creating muscle patterns). (Herzog et al. 1999; Niazi et al. 2015; Kelly et al. 2000; Lersch et al. 2005; Haavik Taylor and Murphy 2007; Hillermann et al. 2006; Botelho and Andrade 2012).

                In a study performed by Lykke et al., 11 elite Taekwondo athletes were evaluated on muscular strength. In the study, the force during the push-off phase of walking was evaluated and following an adjustment this force was increased. In the control intervention, in which the participants did not receive an adjustment, their force decreased over time. Following the adjustment intervention force increased!

                This study supports the growing research that indicates chiropractic adjustments impact motor control and training. Chiropractic care can benefit patients by improving muscle performance which then affects sports performance, strength training, and other activities.

Chiropractic Care & Reaction Times

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How quickly do you react when someone pulls in front of you when you’re driving, or when a ball comes your way on the sporting field, or when you have a slip and need to catch yourself before you fall?Are you accident prone or a ninja warrior? If you’re accident-prone, how can you bring out your inner ninja warrior?

We all react to these day-to-day challenges at different speeds. Some of us react slowly and some of us react really quickly. How quickly you react to a situation can actually be really important in many ways, from helping to prevent accidents on the road, to reaching your optimal potential on the sporting field.

How quickly we react to a stimulus or situation is called our reaction time, and will depend on how fast our brain can sense what’s happening around us, then process that information, come up with a reaction plan, and then perform the appropriate response.

As you can see from this description, your reaction time depends on how efficiently your brain and nervous system are working. So, what can you do to help improve the efficiency of your nervous system? This is a really interesting question that chiropractic researchers have been trying to help answer. The reason that chiropractors are interested in reaction time is that chiropractic care aims to improve the communication between your brain and your body so you are better able to react and respond to your environment.

When your brain can accurately perceive what is going on inside and out, it can better control your body for the situation at hand, and move your muscles in the right order and at the right speed.1-3

Researchers have now published a number of studies that have shown that chiropractic care can actually make a difference to your reaction time.

One of the first really good studies to look at how chiropractic care affects reaction time was published back in 2000.4 In this study, the researchers asked a group of students to look at a computer screen that had a letter ‘R’ on it and to hit a key on the keyboard to show whether they thought the ‘R’ was the right way around or back to front. To make it tricky, the researchers rotated the ‘R’ to lots of different angles, that way the student being tested had to mentally rotate it back in their head to really work out if it was the right way around or not.

The researchers then got a chiropractor to either adjust the person or have them lie down on a chiropractic table, without doing an adjustment, as a control intervention. What the researchers found was that after an adjustment the study subjects improved their reaction time much more than the subjects who were in the control group. They concluded that the chiropractic adjustments may have affected how quickly their brain processed the information they were seeing, which was a really interesting finding.

In 2016, another group of researchers published a study that looked at how quickly a group of older people could take a step on a platform that had 4 panels that could light up.3 When a panel lit up, they’d have to stand on it as quickly as they could.

Being able to take a fast step is really important because scientists have shown that people who are quicker at taking a step are less likely to fall.5-6 In this study, they tested the older people before, during, and after receiving 12 weeks of chiropractic care or receiving their usual medical care. What they found, was that after 12 weeks there was a dramatic, significant improvement in the chiropractic group’s step time. The improvement seen in reaction time in this study was actually 2 and a half times greater than a large clinical trial that looked at the effects of 6 months of exercise on the same stepping task.7 This might be really important when it comes to someone stopping themselves from having a fall if they trip or slip.

In another study that was published recently, what they found was that after 12 weeks there was a dramatic, significant improvement in the chiropractic group’s step time. The improvement seen in reaction time in this study was actually 2 and a half times greater than a large clinical trial that looked at the effects of 6 months of exercise on the same stepping task.8

Eight researchers tested a group of special operation forces military personnel to see whether chiropractic adjustments improved how quickly they could react and touch a set of panels on the wall in front of them that would light up at random. What they found in this study, was that when these elite soldiers were adjusted, they were quicker at reacting and responding to the lit panels than if they had no adjustment. This is a really significant finding because just imagine how important reaction time could be to a soldier!!

So, you can see that researchers are discovering that chiropractic care really does seem to have an impact on how efficiently your brain can accurately perceive what is going on around you and react to it. And maybe this could help you to move from being accident-prone to a ninja warrior.

If you want to get your ninja warrior on, why don’t you consider having your spine checked by your family chiropractor?

References

  1. Haavik & Murphy. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012;22(5):768-76.
  2. Haavik & Murphy. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2011;34(2):88-97.
  3. Holt et al. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2016. 39(4):267-78.
  4. Kelly et al. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2000;23(4):246-51.
  5. Lord et al. Phys Ther 2003;83(3):237-52.
  6. Lord & Fitzpatrick. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2001;56(10):M627-32.
  7. Lord et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 2003;51(12):1685-92.
  8. DeVocht et al. Trials 2019;20(1):5-5. doi: 10.1186/s13063-018-3133-2. © 2020 Haavik Research Limited

Acknowledgments

  • Dr. Heidi Haavik – BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD
  • Dr. Kelly Holt – BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
  • Dr. Jenna Duehr – BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc

Pain Is Created In The Brain

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Did you know that scientists now know the feeling of pain is something your brain decides you should experience if it believes there is some tissue damage in your body? In fact, your brain can decide that you should feel pain even if it only thinks there is a potential threat of damage! 2-5

It may seem strange, but it’s totally up to your brain to decide whether you should feel pain or not. Your brain may decide you should experience pain even if you have no actual tissue damage yet,6 or your brain may not create the feeling of pain for you when tissue damage has actually occurred! 7 8 This is called the “pain paradox”. It means that the pain you feel does not always reflect the severity or even the location of your problem – if there is a problem at all. Science has shown beyond a doubt that pain is created in your brain! 2 4 9 10 

Sometimes pain can be very helpful and informative.1 Our brains create the experience of pain to let us know something is not ok.1 Maybe we are overexerting ourselves, or maybe we have had an injury that we need to be careful with to allow our body to heal. The pain can let us know what not to do while our body heals the problem.1 This pain is helpful and informative.1

If we listen to our body these pain experiences can be a good thing. But for some people, pain can persist even after the initial injury that caused it has healed.9 11 12 And for some people, the pain can spread to other areas that are not injured at all.6 For these people, the pain has become non-informative and non-helpful.9 11 12 The pain itself has become a problem. The brain has learnt to be in pain.9 11 12

The way the brain does this is very similar to the way the brain learns anything. It’s called neural plasticity – or brain adaptations.9 11 12 Brain scientists now know that what you focus on drives the way your brain will change.13-15 This can be a problem if you are focusing on your pain because it may make your pain worse. So, even if you’re in pain, try to focus on the good things in your life instead of your pain. Focus on what is working well. Focus on what makes you happy. This alone can help you!1

Brain scientists who have studied the effects of chiropractic spinal adjustments, have discovered that adjustments may change brain function.16

Chiropractic has a neuroplastic effect on the brain.16 In particular, adjustments change function in a part of your brain called the pre-frontal cortex.17 This part of your brain is actually the part of your brain that’s very involved in pain becoming chronic.8 18-21 This might be why getting chiropractic care early on when you have a problem has better long-term outcomes.22 It might also be that chiropractic care can prevent pain from becoming chronic.22

Neuroscientists believe that chiropractic care most likely helps reduce your feeling of pain by helping your brain ‘turn down’ or ‘switch off ’ the perception of pain in your brain.23 This means chiropractors may or may not adjust your spine exactly where you feel that it hurts. They are looking for parts of your spine and/or body where there is a lack of proper movement and they will adjust you there – so don’t worry if it’s not where you feel the pain.

References

  1. Seymour B. Pain: A Precision Signal for Reinforcement Learning and Control. Neuron 2019;101(6):1029-41.
  2. Koyama T, McHaffie JG, Laurienti PJ, et al. The subjective experience of pain: Where expectations become reality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2005;102(36):12950-55.
  3. Hadjistavropoulos TD, S; Goubert, L.; Mogil J.S.; Sullivan, M.J.L.; Vervoort, T.; Craig K.D.; Cano, A.; Jackson, P.L.; Rainville, P.; Williams, A.C.; Fitzgerald, T.D. A Biopsychosocial formulation of pain communication. Psychological bulletin 2011;137(6):910- 39.
  4. Wager TD. Placebo-Induced Changes in fMRI in the Anticipation and Experience of Pain. Science 2004;303(5661):1162-67.
  5. Ploghaus A. Dissociating Pain from Its Anticipation in the Human Brain. Science 1999;284(5422):1979-81.
  6. Curatolo M, Arendt-Nielsen L, Petersen-Felix S. Central Hypersensitivity in Chronic Pain: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications. Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America 2006;17(2):287-302.
  7. Fenton BW, Shih E, Zolton J. The neurobiology of pain perception in normal and persistent pain. Pain management 2015;5(4):297-317.
  8. Mitsi V, Zachariou V. Modulation of pain, nociception, and analgesia by the brain reward center. Neuroscience 2016;338:81-92.
  9. Apkarian AV, Hashmi JA, Baliki MN. Pain and the brain: specificity and plasticity of the brain in clinical chronic pain. Pain 2011;152(3 Suppl):S49.
  10. Atlas LY, Bolger N, Lindquist MA, et al. Brain Mediators of Predictive Cue Effects on Perceived Pain. 2010;30(39):12964-77.
  11. May A. Chronic pain may change the structure of the brain. PAIN® 2008;137(1):7-15.
  12. Costigan M, Scholz J, Woolf CJ. Neuropathic Pain: A Maladaptive Response of the Nervous System to Damage. Annual Review of Neuroscience 2009;32(1):1-32.
  13. Draganski B, Gaser C, Busch V, et al. Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature 2004;427(6972):311-12.
  14. Kolb B, Whishaw IQ. BRAIN PLASTICITY AND BEHAVIOR. Annual Review of Psychology 1998;49(1):43-64.
  15. Ungerleider L. Imaging Brain Plasticity during Motor Skill Learning. 2002;78(3):553-64.
  16. Haavik H, Murphy B. The role of spinal manipulation in addressing disordered sensorimotor integration and altered motor control. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012;22(5):768-76.
  17. Lelic D, Niazi IK, Holt K, et al. Manipulation of Dysfunctional Spinal Joints Affects Sensorimotor Integration in the Prefrontal Cortex: A Brain Source Localization Study. Neural plasticity 2016;2016:3704964.
  18. Apkarian AV, Thomas PS, Krauss BR, et al. Prefrontal cortical hyperactivity in patients with sympathetically mediated chronic pain. Neuroscience Letters 2001;311(3):193- 97.
  19. Seminowicz DA, Moayedi M. The Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Acute and Chronic Pain. The Journal of Pain 2017;18(9):1027-35.
  20. Kang D, McAuley JH, Kassem MS, et al. What does the grey matter decrease in the medial prefrontal cortex reflect in people with chronic pain? European Journal of Pain 2019;23(2):203-19.
  21. Loggia ML, Berna C, Kim J, et al. The lateral prefrontal cortex mediates the hyperalgesic effects of negative cognitions in chronic pain patients. The Journal Of Pain: Official Journal Of The American Pain Society 2015;16(8):692-99.
  22. Eklund A, Jensen I, Lohela-Karlsson M, et al. The Nordic Maintenance Care program: Effectiveness of chiropractic maintenance care versus symptom-guided treatment for recurrent and persistent low back pain-A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 2018;13(9):e0203029.
  23. Haavik H, Niazi IK, Holt K, et al. Effects of 12 Weeks of Chiropractic Care on Central Integration of Dual Somatosensory Input in Chronic Pain Patients: A Preliminary Study. 2017.
  24. Dalton PA, Jull GA. The distribution and characteristics of neck-arm pain in patients with and without a neurological deficit. The Australian journal of physiotherapy 1989;35(1):3-8.
  25. Holt K, Russell D, Cooperstein R, et al. Interexaminer reliability of a multidimensional battery of tests used to assess for vertebral subluxations. Chiropr J Aust 2018;46(1):101-17.
  26. Haavik H, Murphy B. Subclinical neck pain and the effects of cervical manipulation on elbow joint position sense. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2011;34(2):88-97.
  27. Holt KR, Haavik H, Lee AC, et al. Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care to Improve Sensorimotor Function Associated With Falls Risk in Older People: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2016.

Chiropractic Care and Pregnancy

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Chiropractic Care and Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be a really exciting time for parents as they get ready for their family to grow with the baby’s arrival. As the baby grows, mum’s body changes as she prepares to give birth.

Sometimes these changes can be uncomfortable or painful, with about three-quarters of pregnant mums suffering from pain in their back or pelvis.1, 2 This is one reason that so many pregnant mums seek chiropractic care.

Is it safe?

When deciding whether they should see a chiropractor, pregnant mums often ask ‘is it safe to be adjusted by the chiropractor when I’m pregnant?’ The good news is that chiropractors can tailor the care they provide to each individual patient and the research suggests that chiropractic care during pregnancy is safe for both mum and baby.4,6

What does the research say?

But what does the research tell us about the benefits of seeing a chiropractor while you’re pregnant? When it comes to back pain, not many big studies have been done yet that have looked at whether chiropractic care helps pregnant mums.3

So, although more research is needed, results from the research that has been done so far are promising and seem to show that for some pregnant mums, chiropractic care can be really helpful.4 In one study, researchers in Switzerland followed 115 pregnant women for a year who went to see a chiropractor with low back pain.5 What they found in this study was that over half of the patients said they ‘improved’ after just 1 week of chiropractic care, and after a month that figure had grown to 70%.

In a study conducted in New Zealand, researchers studied pelvic floor muscle function in pregnant women before and after they were adjusted by a chiropractor.

By the end of the study, about 90% of the mums who entered the study said their pain was better. From this study, we can’t be sure if it was the chiropractic care that really helped them but at the end of the study over 85% of the mums said they were happy with the care they received from their chiropractor.

Could chiropractic care help me through delivery?

One area researchers think chiropractic care may help pregnant moms is with the delivery of their baby. For a woman in labor, the ability to relax and contract her pelvic floor muscles is really important for helping the baby to move through the birth canal.7 Ideally, for the birth process to go as well as possible, giving the greatest chance of natural, vaginal birth, you want strong pelvic floor muscles that can relax and contract at just the right time.7, 8

New Zealand Research Study

In a study conducted in New Zealand, researchers studied pelvic floor muscle function in pregnant women before and after they were adjusted by a chiropractor. What they found was that after the pregnant women were adjusted, their pelvic floor muscles appeared to relax more when they were at rest.

This relaxation of their pelvic floor muscles after they were adjusted may mean that chiropractic care could help them to have a natural vaginal delivery. This was only a small trial, and the researchers couldn’t be sure how much of an impact these relaxed muscles would have on labour itself, but it does suggest that for pregnant mums, chiropractic care may give them more control over their pelvic floor muscles, which may make childbirth easier. Other research supports this idea with one study reporting that new mums experience on average a 25% reduction in the length of labour time with chiropractic care during pregnancy and that rises to a 31% reduction for mothers who have given birth before.It makes sense to keep yourself as healthy as possible during your pregnancy.

So, if you want help with the way your spine and nervous system are functioning, consider seeing your chiropractor, because it’s natural, safe, and may help you to feel better and boost your chances of having a faster, easier delivery of your little bundle of joy.

References

  1. Malmqvist, et al. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2012;35(4):272-8.
  2. Weis, et al. Journal Of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada 2018;40(8):1038-43.
  3. Stuber & Smith. Journal Of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2008;31(6):447-54.
  4. Borggren. Pregnancy and Chiropractic: a Narrative Review Of the Literature. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine 2007;6(2):70-74.
  5. Peterson, Muhlemann, Humphreys. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2014;22(1):15.
  6. Stuber, Wynd, Weis. Chiropr Man Therap 2012;20:8.
  7. Yan, et al. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Systems Biology and Medicine 2016;8(6):506-16.
  8. Du, et al. International Urogynecology Journal 2015;26(10):1415-27.

Acknowledgments

  • Dr. Heidi Haavik – BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD
  • Dr. Kelly Holt – BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD
  • Dr. Jenna Duehr – BChiro, BHSC (Nursing), MHSc

They’re Not Growing Pains

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Read on to learn more from Dr. Haavik and “growing pains”. Click on the Link!

Did you know that what we call growing pains aren’t actually associated with growing? 1

We know very little about growing pains apart from that some children get sore arms or legs at the end of the day and they usually wake up feeling better.

21st Century Epidemic – “text-neck”

Our children are experiencing more pain than ever before.5 Pain in kids is often associated with low levels of physical activity 6 and our kids are less active now than ever before.7 One reason for this inactivity is many children now spend between 5 to 8 hours a day on their smartphones and handheld devices! Text neck results in changes in the bones, ligaments and muscles that support the head and causes postural changes and pain in the neck and other related areas.4

Chiropractic Care can interpret the Pain Cycle in Kids

Text neck results in changes in the bones, ligaments and muscles that support the head and causes postural changes and pain in the neck and other areas.4 It can even cause eye problems and problems with breathing and circulation.4 Parents need to be aware of this major public health problem and be proactive about helping their children. The best place to start is by limiting screen time and encouraging physical activity. A research study looked at the benefits of chiropractic care for kids with recurrent headaches. Headaches in kids are very common8 which is a real problem, and kids with frequent headaches suffer from higher levels of stress and depression. Just like so many other types of pain, kids who suffer from headaches often go on to become adults who suffer from severe headache syndromes.8 Many things can cause headaches in kids, from poor food choices through to trauma on the sports field or playground.8 But, one other very important cause of headaches in kids is prolonged static posture – a scientific way of describing text neck. A group of researchers wanted to find out whether chiropractic care might help break the headache cycle in kids with recurrent headaches. So they did a study with almost 200 kids aged between 7 and 14 who suffered from at least one headache per week. They split the kids up to either receive chiropractic care for four months or fake chiropractic for four months. What they found was the kids in the chiropractic group had significantly fewer headaches than the kids in the control group and they felt better too. Almost half of the kids in the chiropractic group reported that their headaches had improved during the study which was a really good result for those kids! This study shows how chiropractic care can help interrupt the pain cycle in kids2,3 Remember though that chiropractic care isn’t just about treating pain. Chiropractic care is all about improving the communication between your brain and body so you can function at your optimal potential. It’s also good to know that chiropractic is known to be safe for kids and babies.9,10 So, make sure your child’s spine and nervous system are in great shape by taking them to see your family chiropractor and give them the best possible start in life.

Disclaimer and References

This information is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be professional advice of any kind. Haavik Research Ltd encourages you to make your own health care decisions based on your own research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. © Haavik Research 2021 chiroshub.com 1. Lehman PJ, Carl RL. Sports Health 2017;9(2):132-38. 2. Aartun E, et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2014;15:187. 3. Kjaer P, et al. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2011;12:98. 4. Fares J, et al. Surg Neurol Int 2017;8:72-72. 5. Nieswand V, et al. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2020;24(10):62. 6. Kędra A, et al. Eur Spine J Epub 2020/08/28. 7. Tremblay MS, et al. Health Rep 2010;21(1):7-20. 8. Lynge S, et al. Chiropr Man Therap 2021;29(1):1 9. Todd AJ et al. J Manipulative Physiol Ther Epub2014/12/03. 10. Doyle MF.Clinical Chiropractic 2011;14(3):97-105.

• Dr. Heidi Haavik BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD • Dr. Kelly Holt BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD • Dr. Jenna Duehr BChiro, BHSc(Nursing), MHSc

Chiroshub.com

Headaches & Chiropractic

By | Allergies, Asthma, Benefits of Chiropractic, chiropractic adjustment, Chiropractic Myths, kids chiropractic | No Comments

In this blog learn what Haavik Research has to say about headaches and chiropractic care.

Do you suffer from headaches or know someone who does? If you do, you are not alone.

The head is the most common site of pain in the body. Headaches can range from milk pain through to intense pain that leaves you bedridden.

Headaches are a sign that something is wrong. Your brain will create the sensation of pain if it thinks there is something wrong or if it thinks there is a potential problem – e.g. Your brain will give you a headache if you have taken too much medication – letting you know there is some chemical toxicity going on! And some headaches are a warning of life-threatening illness.

Chiropractic Care May Help

We know now, from research studies, that when your spine is not moving properly, this changes the way your brain perceives what is going on in and around your body, the way it integrates other sensory information, and the way it controls your body.1-3 The movement of your spine is very important for your brain to know where you are in space, and since you cannot see your spine with your eyes, your brain relies on the information it receives from the small muscles closest to your spine and skull. If the segments of your spine are not moving properly this may, for some people, manifest as headaches. Others may experience back pain. It’s possible that problems in the spine may even lead to some babies experiencing colic or some kids may not be fully aware of their bladder at night and end up with bedwetting. Research has shown that when a chiropractor then gently adjusts these subluxations, it helps the brain to more accurately ‘see’ what is going on in and around the body.

So, when you get adjusted by your chiropractor, if your spinal dysfunction was manifesting as headaches, these may improve. If your spinal dysfunction was manifesting as back pain, then this may get better.

Researchers have reviewed all of the randomized controlled trials that have looked at the effects of chiropractic care or spinal manipulative therapy on headaches.4-6 The results show that chiropractic care does really help some people with headaches and migraines! We don’t know for sure who will respond well, but for some people, when they get under chiropractic care, their migraines may almost completely resolve within just a couple of months. In another study,8 80 patients with chronic headaches that were due to a problem in their neck, called cervicogenic headaches, received eight weeks of chiropractic care and another similar group of 80 patients received eight weeks of light massage. What they found in this study was that the patients receiving chiropractic care improved significantly compared to the control group that received massage. These studies suggest that chiropractic care may really help some people suffering from different types of headaches. So, if you experience headaches, why don’t you consider chiropractic care and make sure your spine is functioning well so you can operate at your best!

Disclaimer and References

 This information is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be professional advice of any kind. Haavik Research Ltd encourages you to make your own health care decisions based on your own research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. © Haavik Research 2021 chiroshub.com 1. Uthaikhup S, Jull G, Sungkarat S, et al. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2012;55(3):667-72. 2. Haavik H, Murphy B. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012;22(5):768-76. 3. Treleaven J. Man Ther 2008;13(1):2-11. 4. Bryans R, Descarreaux M, Duranleau M, et al. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2011;34(5):274-89. 5. Bronfort G, Haas M, Evans R, et al. Chiropr Osteopat 2010;18:3. 6. Millstine D, Chen CY, Bauer B. BMJ 2017;357. 7. Tuchin PJ, Pollard H, Bonello R. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2000;23(2):91-95. 8. Haas M, Spegman A, Peterson D, et al. Spine J 2010;10(2):117-28

• Dr. Heidi Haavik BSc(Physiol) BSc(Chiro) PhD • Dr. Kelly Holt BSc, BSc(Chiro), PGDipHSc, PhD • Dr. Jenna Duehr BChiro, BHSc(Nursing), MHSc

Chiroshub.com