Fibromyalgia Miracle Cures-Or Mirages?

I am frequently on the web looking at information on fibromyalgia and I am often disgusted with the so-called “miracle cures”.  Anyone that puts out a web-site saying they have the answer for fibromyalgia, and all you have to do is take this one thing, is flat out wrong.

They are either totally ignorant of the problems associated with fibromyalgia, or they are out to make a buck from desperate people.

There is no known cure for fibromyalgia.  That’s because there are multitudes of reasons why a person can have wide-spread pain and fatigue.  Here’s just a partial list:

1. Chronic whiplash injury
2. Multiple herniated discs
3. Thyroid disorders
4. Adult Tethered Cord Syndrome
5. Metabolic disorders
6. High Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acid ratios
7. Dysbiosis
8. Gluten Intolerance
9. Latent Viral Infection
10. Low vitamin D levels
11. Failed Back Surgery
12. Heavy Metal Toxicity

And the list can go on and on.  The problem is, most medical doctors don’t treat these conditions.  In order to correct these problems, you need the help of someone trained to get your body to work right.  Not cover up symptoms with drugs.  You need someone to help you walk through the “maze”,  find out what the problems are, and find you a way out.

There is no “one thing” that cures everyone, but there are treatments that can help. For more information on fibromyalgia log on to: www.stopyourfibronow.com.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury – What’s That?

When you woke up today, you thought this was like any other day.  You packed the kid’s lunches and off to school they went.  You’re on your way to work and everything is on schedule- it’s a good day!  You are stopped at a red light when out of nowhere, someone crashes into the back end of your car and you feel your head snap back over the headrest and then bounce forwards, almost hitting the steering with your forehead. Everything goes blank for a second or two. “What just happened?”  Initially, you’re in “shock,” and after checking to make sure you’re not bleeding, you notice that your neck and head are hurting in a way that’s new to you.  When the police arrive and start asking you questions about what had happened, you try to piece together the sequence of events of the collision but you’re not quite sure how it all fits together.  Your memory just isn’t real clear. Within the first few days, significant neck pain and headache overshadow everything else but you begin to notice that you’re ability to “think clearly” is just not quite right.  Your memory seems fuzzy, you lose your train of thought easily, sometimes in the middle of a discussion, and you are tired – really tired! Taking a nap several times a day is needed. The other day, you were discussing a project with a group of co-workers and you had to ask “…now where was I?” several times during the discussion as you lost your place in the middle of a thought.

Mild traumatic brain injury or, MTBI, is exactly what is described above.  Many patients do not even mention these things to their chiropractor when they present after a car crash as it’s hard to describe these symptoms and many feel it’s just because they are tired or upset about the accident.  When directly asked if any of these symptoms exist, the patient is often surprised and say, “…how did you know?” They are even more surprised when they learn there is an actual reason and explanation for feeling this way. Most of the time, the patient has to be asked if these symptoms exist! This is actually “normal” behavior for those suffering from MTBI.

To better understand how this occurs, think of the more catastrophic situation where the person hits their head to the point of creating an internal bleed and is unconscious. In this case, it’s easier to appreciate the presence of a “brain injury.” With severe head trauma, the person usually has significant memory loss, having no memory of the accident and maybe worse, not being able to recognize family or friends.  Losing the memory of days, weeks, months or years of time is common with these severe head injuries.  However, in MTBI, there is less bruising to the brain and consequently, there are less severe symptoms.  Though the symptoms are similar, MTBI is in a way, a mild form of the above.  With MTBI, the person does NOT have to hit their head on anything to bruise the brain. This is because the speed at which the head is propelled forward and back literally slams the brain into the inside walls, creating the bruising.  Because the brain is suspended inside our skull, damage to some of the nerve cells occurs, most commonly the brain stem, the frontal lobe and/or the temporal lobe. Depending on which part of the brain is injured, the physical findings may include problems with walking, balance, coordination, strength/endurance, as well as difficulties with communicating (“cognitive deficits”), processing information, memory, and altered psychological functions. Recognizing these symptoms and managing MTBI in a coordinated approach with a neuropsychologist is sometimes needed.

We realize that you have a choice in where you seek help for your health care needs and we truly appreciate your consideration in allowing us to help you through that potentially difficult process.

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR WHIPLASH! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 262-251-8306

What Happens in “Whiplash?”

Whiplash is a slang term for an injury that occurs to the neck after the head has been literally “whipped” either forwards and backwards or sideways after a sudden jar. Therefore, this can occur from a slip / trip and fall, a bar room brawl, as well as from the classic car accident or motor vehicle collision. But what REALLY happens in a “whiplash” injury? To answer this, let’s talk about: 1. The mechanism of injury; 2. The different types of injuries; and 3. The treatment options.

1. The Mechanism of injury: Let’s take the example of a rear-end crash from a motor vehicle collision (MVC). In this scenario, the “target” vehicle is struck from behind by the “bullet” vehicle propelling it forwards.

All of this occurs in LESS TIME than what we can NORMALLY voluntarily contract a muscle, which takes about 500 msec., so even when we anticipate the impending crash and we brace ourselves, we can’t really stop our neck from going through these movements.

2. Types of injuries: The term “sprain” refers to ligament (tough non-elastic tissue that holds bone to bone) injury and “strain” muscle/tendon (elastic tissues that move our bones) injury. There are 3 grades of sprain & strains (mild, moderate, and severe).  When these tissues are injured, there is usually a loss of movement and neck pain but not arm numbness or pain. When there is nerve injury, there is arm pain, numbness &/or weakness and generally, this is more serious but usually manageable without the need for surgery. When fractures occur, it’s either stable or unstable and may require surgery &/or a rigid collar.

3. Treatment: Most whiplash injuries are safely managed by chiropractic approaches (fractures are the exception).  Studies have shown that early movement results in a better result than wearing a collar or, not allowing movement. Therefore, gentle mobilization and manipulation approaches “…as soon as tolerated” favor a better outcome or result. There are many different techniques we use to help speed up the recovery process. Prompt treatment is important!

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR WHIPLASH! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 262-251-8306 Or log on to: www.painfree-greatposture.com

Fibromyalgia Syndrome & Whiplash Trauma

A number of studies have linked Fibromyalgia Syndrome to physical trauma, including whiplash injury.

In their 1992 book, Painful Cervical Trauma, Diagnosis and Rehabilitative Treatment of Neuromusculoskeletal Injuries, C. David Tollison and John Satterthwaite state:

“A particularly frustrating group of patients are those with a typical whiplash injury who, rather than gradually improving, actually seem to progressively develop a generalized chronic pain state identical to the fibromyalgia syndrome.”

Tollison and Satterthwaite state that fibromyalgia follows trauma approximately 22% of fibromyalgia patients.

In 1992, Greenfield and colleagues reviewed 127 cases of fibromyalgia and determined that 23% were triggered by a traumatic event. They also noted that patients suffering from trauma fibromyalgia were more disabled than those suffering from primary (non-traumatic) fibromyalgia.

In 1994, Waylonis and Perkins evaluated 176 patients who had been suffering from post-traumatic fibromyalgia. The traumatic cause was determined to be whiplash injury in 61% of the subjects. Years after the initial diagnosis, “eighty-five percent of the patients continued to have significant symptoms and clinical evidence of fibromyalgia.

In 1997, Buskila and colleagues studied the relationship between cervical spine injury and the development of fibromyalgia syndrome. They assessed 102 patients with neck injury and a control group of 59 patients with leg fracture. Twenty-two percent of the neck injury patients developed fibromyalgia, while only 1.7% of those with leg fracture developed fibromyalgia. The authors concluded “fibromyalgia syndrome was 15 times more frequent following neck injury than following lower extremity injury.”

In 2002, Al-Allaf and colleagues stated that 25% to 50% of those with Fibromyalgia Syndrome have physical trauma immediately prior the onset.

In 2003, Neumann and colleagues evaluated the outcomes of 78 post-traumatic neck injury fibromyalgia cases. They determined that 60% were still suffering from their fibromyalgia symptoms at the three-year follow-up. They also determined that nearly all of the persistently symptomatic patients were women, indicating that whiplash fibromyalgia recovery is worse in women than men.

In 2005, Samuel McLean and colleagues from the University of Michigan Medical Center established the criteria to assign fibromyalgia to whiplash trauma. They state:

“To summarize, there are abundant data suggesting that it is biologically plausible that physical trauma, acting as a stressor, could lead to the development of chronic widespread pain, as well as a number of other somatic symptoms.”

“Using these above attribution elements, the association between fibromyalgia and motor vehicle collision meets criteria one (temporal association), two (lack of alternative explanations), three (biological plausibility), six (analogy), and possibly five (re-challenge). This meets or exceeds the recommended threshold for suspecting a causal relationship between an exposure and subsequent illness. To put the relationship between fibromyalgia and trauma in context, there are at least as much data supporting this relationship as there are for many other accepted environmentally associated rheumatic diseases.”

“Thus, trauma may be only one of many types of stressors capable of producing symptoms characteristic of fibromyalgia.”

For more information on how fibromyalgia can be treated log on to: www.stopyourfibronow.com

“The Only Proven Effective Treatment” for Chronic Whiplash?

You may have wondered, “If I get hurt in a car accident, who should I go to for treatment of my whiplash problem?”  This can be quite a challenge as you have many choices available in the healthcare system ranging from drug-related approaches from anti-inflammatory over-the-counter types all the way to potentially addicting narcotic medications.  On the other side of the fence, there are nutritional based products such as vitamins and herbs as well as “alternative” or “complementary” forms of treatment such as chiropractic, exercise, and meditation, with many others in between.  Trying to figure out which approach or perhaps combined approaches would best serve your needs is truly challenging.  To help answer this question, one study reported the superiority of chiropractic management for patients with chronic whiplash, as well as which type of chronic whiplash patients responded best to the care.  The research paper begins with the comment from a leading orthopedic medical journal stating, “Conventional [meaning medical] treatment of patients with whiplash symptoms is disappointing.”  In the study, 93 patients were divided into three groups consisting of:

Group 1: Patients with a “coat-hanger” pain distribution (neck and upper shoulders) and loss of neck range of motion (ROM), but no neurological deficits;
Group 2: Patients with neurological problems (arm/hand numbness and/or weakness) plus neck pain and ROM loss); and,
Group 3: Patients who reported severe neck pain but had normal neck ROM and no neurological losses.

The average time from injury to first treatment was 12 months and an average of 19 treatments over a 4 month time frame was utilized.  The patients were graded on a 4-point scale that described their symptoms before and after treatment.

Grade A patients were pain free;
Grade B patients reported their pain as a “nuisance;”
Grade C patients had partial activity limitations due to pain; and
Grade D patients were disabled.

Here are the results:

Group 1: 72% reported improvement as follows: 24% were asymptomatic, 24% improved by 2 grades, 24% by 1 grade, and 28% reported no improvement.
Group 2: 94% reported improvement as follows: 38% were asymptomatic, 43% improved by 2 grades, 13% by 1 grade, and 6% had no improvement.
Group 3: 27% reported improvement as follows: 0% were asymptomatic, 9% improved by 2 grades, 18% by 1 grade, 64% showed no improvement, and 9% got worse.

This study is very important as it illustrates how effective chiropractic care is for patients who have sustained a motor vehicle crash with a resulting whiplash injury.  It’s important to note the type of patient presentation that responded best to care had neurological complaints and associated abnormal neck range of motion.  This differs from other non-chiropractic studies where it is reported that patients with neurological dysfunction responded poorly when compared to a group similar to the Group A patient here (neck/shoulder pain, reduced neck ROM, and with normal neurological function).  We realize you have a choice in where you go for your health care needs and we truly appreciate your consideration in allowing us to help you through this potentially difficult process.

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR WHIPLASH! FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 262-251-8306 For more information log on to www.painfree-greatposture.com or www.thechiropracticimpactreport.com

Whiplash – What Can I Do To Help?

Whiplash occurs when the neck is suddenly and forcefully jerked, and is typically associated with car crashes.  The speed at which the neck is forced upon impact is faster than we can contract our muscles in attempt to stop the forceful movement.  This results in muscle, tendon, and/or ligament over-stretching, even tearing.  Symptoms include stiff and painful neck movements, weakness or, the head “feels heavy” making it challenging to “hold up” as well as headache, and sometimes dizziness, ear noises, TMJ or jaw pain, and “mental fog.” What should be done if a whiplash injury occurs?

The amount or degree of damage to the soft tissues – that is, the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and disks of the neck — will be the deciding factors as to how much rest vs. activity should be initially performed.  If there are no fractures, dislocations or other injuries resulting in an unstable cervical spine (neck), studies have shown rest and a soft collar is actually harmful when compared to early return to activity and exercises.  Chiropractic treatment, which essentially exercises the joints of the neck, has been shown to speed recovery when performed sooner rather than later after a whiplash injury.  A handy way to classify the injury includes four categories: 1) Pain with no significant abnormal clinical findings; 2) Pain with mild clinical findings and range of motion loss; 3) Pain with neurological injury (resulting in radiating arm pain); and 4) Pain associated with fracture and/or dislocation.  Those suffering with category 1 or 2 injuries should minimize rest, collar use, proceed with life’s activities and not be afraid to do desired activities.  More aggressive exercise and, utilizing chiropractic adjustments as soon as possible is very effective in the first two categories of injury.  Category 4 (fractures and dislocations) injuries require the use of a rigid collar usually for 4-6 weeks as rest/protection is imperative. Category 3 demands careful monitoring by your chiropractor as neurological problems like arm pain and numbness, muscle strength weakness, must be watched during the healing process.  The use of ice is helpful with all four categories of injury and exercise training is important and can be started sooner in the first two categories of injury.

What can you do if you sustain a whiplash injury?  The first order of self-help is the use of ice.  This is a much better choice over the use of heat as ice reduces swelling and pain while heat can increase swelling because it brings in more blood flow into an already swollen area.  The heat may feel good during its use but most patients report the pain either returns shortly thereafter or feels worse.    The good news is that you will never hurt yourself by using ice but, you can make it hurt worse by using heat too soon so, when in doubt, use ice!  The next, very important, recommendation is to utilize exercises to stretch and strengthen the neck and upper back region. The “general rule” of exercise is slow repetitions staying within “reasonable” boundaries of pain.  That is, a good, stretch type of pain is encouraged while avoiding sharp pain.  We have discussed several very practical neck stretches and strengthening exercises previously and we will again address this in the future. Posture correction and keeping your head back over your shoulders is very helpful as well. We realize that you have a choice in where you choose for your healthcare services.  If you, a friend or family member requires care for whiplash, chiropractic care is a logical first choice and we would be honored to offer our services to you.

YOU MAY BE A CANDIDATE FOR CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR WHIPLASH!
FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL 262-251-8306

Chiropractic – “Only Proven Effective Treatment” for Chronic Whiplash

You might have wondered, “who should I go to for treatment of my whiplash problem?”  You have many choices available in healthcare ranging from drug related approaches such as narcotic medications to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic, exercise, and physical therapy.  Trying to figure out which approach would best serve your needs can be challenging.  To help answer this question, one study reported the superiority of chiropractic management for patients with chronic whiplash.  It also looked into which type of chronic whiplash patients responded best to the care.

The research paper begins with the comment from a leading orthopedic medical journal stating, “Conventional treatment of patients with whiplash symptoms is disappointing.”

In the study, there were 93 patients divided into three groups consisting of:

1) Group 1: Patients with a “coat-hanger” pain distribution (neck and upper shoulders) and loss of neck range of motion (ROM), but no neurological deficits;

2) Group 2: Patients with neurological problems (arm/hand numbness and/or weakness) plus neck pain and ROM loss; and,

3) Group 3: Patients that reported severe neck pain but had normal neck ROM and no neurological losses.

The average time from injury to first treatment was 12 months and an average of 19 treatments over a 4 month time frame was utilized.  The patients were graded on a 4-point scale that described their symptoms before and after treatment.

Grade A patients were pain free;

Grade B patients reported their pain as a “nuisance;”

Grade C patients had partial activity limitations due to pain; and

Grade D patients were disabled.

Here are the results:

Group 1: 72% reported improvement as follows: 24% were asymptomatic, 24% improved by 2 grades, 24% by 1 grade, and 28% reported no improvement.

Group 2: 94% reported improvement as follows: 38% were asymptomatic, 43% improved by 2 grades, 13% by 1 grade, and 6% had no improvement.

Group 3: 27% reported improvement as follows: 0% were asymptomatic, 9% improved by 2 grades, 18% by 1 grade, 64% showed no improvement, and 9% got worse.

This study is very important as it illustrates how effective chiropractic care is for patients that have sustained a whiplash injury.  It’s important to note that the type of patient presentation that responded best to care were those with neurological complaints and associated abnormal neck range of motion.  This differs from other non-chiropractic studies where it is reported that patients with neurological dysfunction responded poorly.

YOU MAYBE A CANDIDATE FOR DRUG FREE RELIEF!

FOR A FREE NO-OBLIGATION CONSULTATION CALL JENNIFER AT 262-251-8306

To find out more about my office and how I treat chronic neck problems, log on to www.painfree-greatposture.com

Fibromyalgia and Cord Compression?

Fibromyalgia is a difficult problem to diagnose or determine its cause. Since exercises, diet, and weight loss can be so helpful to fibromyalgia patients, we may think they can completely solve the problem.  But often they don’t.

Chiropractors recognize the importance of good spinal posture in affecting a variety of health problems, including fibromyalgia. It’s important to not think of the disease as having a single solution, but rather as a more complex entity, needing a comprehensive approach. But is there any research on the spine being involved in patients with fibromyalgia?

Recent research (Holman AJ. Positional cervical spinal cord compression and fibromyalgia: a novel comorbidity with important diagnostic and treatment implications. J Pain 2008; May 20 epub.) has looked into a specific  problem seen in fibromyalgia patients: spinal cord compression. The scientist took MRIs of fibromyalgia patients with the neck in different positions such as max forward and backward bend. These positions can show the spinal cord is compressed/pinched where a neutrally positioned MRI or CT scan may not. In the study, 71% of patients with fibromyalgia had positional cervical spinal cord compression.

So what does this mean? It means if you have fibromyalgia there may be an undetected cervical compression problem that may also be affecting you.

Good neck posture and mobility are keys to good health. We can diagnose your condition and see if there is a spinal component to your problem that may have been overlooked. Sometimes it’s the low back pain that keeps us from exercising and ultimately getting rid of the fibromyalgia-inactivity-pain cycle. And, as the research above suggests, maybe the problem is in the neck and this needs to be addressed in a specific and comprehensive manner. Sometimes immobility in one area of the spine is compensated for in another, which can make your ability to heal somewhat lessened. Maybe the neck has been a concern of yours for a long time since the fibromyalgia symptoms came on following a neck trauma such as a whiplash. If you also suffer from headaches and have spinal pain, these are important clues that some of your symptoms may be spinally related.

It’s important to view your fibromyalgia symptoms from a global perspective, and not just think of one isolated issue as the root cause, and the only place where treatment needs to be directed.

To get more FREE information on how fibromyalgia can be treated without drugs or surgery log on to www.stopyourfibronow.com.

If you would like a complimentary consultation to begin to address your health concerns, just give Leah or Jennifer a call at 262-251-8306 to make an appointment.