San Jose Chiropractor, A Chiropractic Blog

October is the month to pay attention to two serious health issues: breast cancer & obesity. I will try to keep things brief since these are two big topics. The ACA or American Chiropractic Association is promoting obesity awareness for all age groups . Obesity is a leading cause of health risks according to the CDC such as: Coronary heart disease Type 2 diabetes Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon) Hypertension (high blood pressure) Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides) Stroke Liver and Gallbladder disease Sleep apnea and respiratory problems Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint) Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility) The NIH recommends the following for losing weight: Choosing low-fat, low-calorie foods Eating smaller portions Drinking water instead of sugary drinks Being physically active To prevent breast cancer, obesity is also a risk factor. He

Image: healingdream / FreeDigitalPhotos.net The New York Times reports on new research from The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine regarding the "Preliminary Study of the Effects of a Single Session of Swedish Massage on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal and Immune Function in Normal Individuals." The report says that there is an increase in oxytocin which affects the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal axis which in the end reduces ACTH and cortisol, a stress hormone. Oxytocin is used for breast feeding, giving birth with uterine contractions and other functions. Cortisol affects many biological functions like inhibiting insulin (reduced blood sugar metabolism), reducing collagen (increased skin wrinkles), reduced stomach & kidney functions, inhibiting sodium secretion (inhibiting normal blood ion levels), increasing blood pressure, reduces immunity by inhibiting copper function and T cells, lowers bone formation (increased osteoporosis), increases "fl

Image: Filomena Scalise / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Yesterday on Dr. Dean Edell's radio show on KGO 810 AM, Dr. Edell questioned the validity of acupuncture with a recent randomized double-blind study of acupuncture on knee arthritis. Dr. Edell summarized that it was a double-blind study so that the doctor could not influence the results. When the doctor said that the treatment would work well, the patient had better results than when the doctor said that the acupuncture may or may not work on knee arthritis. The study seems to back up another study in 2007 by the German journal, Archives of Internal Medicine . Dr. Edell said that patients should try alternative medicine in general because patients do have good results with back pain in particular instead of just taking pain medication with limited results. He back away from this when a called questioned validating a method that has not been proven to be effective. Questions rose when a recent article in the journal Arthritis Care a

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net In June, a peer reviewed medical journal, Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, statistically analyzed and interpreted an older National Health Interview Survey. The study revealed that 60% reported "a great deal" of benefit. Chiropractic had the highest success rate among the 6 most popular CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) with 66% reporting significant benefit followed by massage, yoga and qi gong tied for second place. (Sorry for the following style this editor has a bug with making html tables) Perceived Benefit of the 6 Most Frequently Used Complementary and Alternative Medicine Modalities for Back Pain Modalities* Those with Great Benefit from CAM (Weighted %) Chiropractic (n _ 1,163) 66% Massage (n _ 196) 56% Yoga, Tai chi, Qi Gong (n _ 45) 56% Acupuncture (n _ 89) 42% Herbal therapies (n _ 78) 32% Relaxation techniques (n _ 76) 28% *The modalities listed are not mutually exclusi

Obesity in the US is a growing problem in the US. One can say that it is a major reason why healthcare costs are rising due to America's desire for the magic pill rather than wellness. With many under financial stress, it is easier to buy unhealthy food especially with subsidies to corn based products such as fructose and cancel that gym membership. Some patterns that can be seen from the latest Gallup report are slightly more males are obese. African Americans at 35.8% have the highest obesity rates followed by Hispanic Americans at 28% and Asian Americans have the lowest obesity rate at surprising 8 %! The Southern states have the highest rate at 28.6% and the Western states have the lowest but only slightly better rate at 23%. Most income levels have obesity rates about 28.9% while incomes $90k+ have about a 21% rate. Obesity is linked to diabetes, heart disease, strokes and even certain types of cancer. For more information about Gallup's Well-Being Index follow here . Oth

Now that the dust has settled. The healthcare reform bill signed by President Obama is now law. How does it affect your chiropractic care? Some things like increased taxes take affect immediately but other things like requiring everyone to have insurance will take affect years later. Medicare funding has also been cut by hundreds of billions so it will most likely affect Medicare Advantage coverage eventually. I did not find any wording to that effect so far. It does not make sense to keep the pay rates the same or increase them when you are increasing the people covered and cutting the funding. Currently, basic Medicare only covers chiropractic adjustment and no physiotherapy modalities like heat, ice and therapeutic techniques. However, "increases the Part D initial coverage limit by $500 for 2010 to reduce the size of the coverage gap(Effective January 1, 2010) (Section 10328.)" A few things specifically relating to chiropractic are: Non-discrimination in health care; Se

The winter olympics are over. Behind the scenes, five chiropractors were chosen to be a part of the US medical team of the Winter Olympics . According to Dr. Andrew Klein from the Summer Olympics 2000, "Athletes have come to rely on manual therapy because the list of banned substances (for the Olympics) is so long, and also because they feel it enhances their performance." Athletes such as Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Willi Banks, Edwin Moses have use chiropractic for peak performance. Dr. Michael Reed, a former SCU faculty member, was the medical director of the Sports Performance Center. Other SCU alumni such as Eric St. Pierre, DC, and Tetsuya Hasegawa, DC served as part of the US Olympic medical staff. With the US breaking the record for total medals on a foreign soil , everyone's efforts including the benefits of chiropractic should be recognized. ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA ChiroWorksCareCenter.com Graston Technique

Neck Pain Task Force presented before the Connecticut Board of Chiropractic Examiners that "patients suffering from headache and neck pain are no more likely to suffer from a stroke following a visit to a chiropractor than they are after a visit to a family medical physician." The Neck Pain Task Force studied nine years worth of research. The Cennecticut board also concluded that the media "often sensationalized" and perpetuated the myth with chiropractic adjustments. Their conclusions are in agreement with my previous blog entry. ChiroWorks Care Center Anthony Tsai, D.C. Chiropractor in San Jose, CA ChiroWorksCareCenter.com Graston Technique Certified FAKTR-PM Completed Disclaimer: The content in this blog is for informational purposes only and an opinion for specific individualized circumstances.  It is not a prescription for therapy or diagnosis for you . All opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the particular author and do not n

Connecticut advocacy groups are trying to force chiropractors warn patients of strokes with every chirorpractic neck adjustment. Strokes after a chiropractic adjustment is probably one of the most common concerns that I find with patients who have never had chiropractic treatment. It is almost like the "dirty" little secret in chiropractic. Chiropractic stroke aka "vertebral artery dissection" (VAD) and "vertebrobasilar arterial ischemia" (VBI) can occur in the beauty salons with "Beauty parlor stroke syndrome," painters, swimming and bow hunting. For a good source of information about chiropractic strokes, you can visit chiro.org's link here or NCMIC's brochure here . It is important to keep in mind some common symptoms associated with strokes in general: 5 D’s And 3 N’s: SIGNS OF STROKE Diplopia -- Double vision or other vision problems Dizziness -- Vertigo, light-headedness Drop attacks -- Sudden numbness/weakness of face/arm/l