Benefits of Chiropractic Care over Opioids

 This is a short video from the Illinois Chiropractic Society on the benefits of chiropractic care over opioids.

CHIROPRACTIC SAVES (OPIOID CRISIS)

Signs Point to Greater Access to Chiropractic for Service Members, Civilian Beneficiaries

 The Department of Defense has conducted several demonstration projects designed to examine the cost and feasibility of chiropractic healthcare services for its beneficiaries. The results of these projects have concluded that it is feasible to implement chiropractic services as part of the military health care benefit, and the resulting patient satisfaction is higher than that seen with traditional medical care. 

Signs Point to Greater Access to Chiropractic for Service Members, Civilian Beneficiaries

Chiropractic Health Care month in Illinois

 October, 2021 has been designated as Chiropractic Health Care Month in Illinois. Every year two million Illinois residents visit chiropractic practices. 

LEGISLATION PASSED ADDING CHIROPRACTIC TO MEDICAID

 Illinois coverage for chiropractic care was discontinued eight years ago. Recently a bill containing a provision to re-instate chiropractic coverage to Illinois the Illinois Medicaid program as been passed and is expected to be signed by the governor. A plan will now be formulated by the Health and Family Services to be sent for federal approval.

LEGISLATION PASSED ADDING CHIROPRACTIC TO MEDICAID

Spinal Manipulative Therapy Far Safer than Opioids for Chronic Low Back Pain

New study from the April edition of the prestigious Spine Journal finds spinal manipulation (adjustments) significantly safer than opioids for treating chronic low back pain. Patients who received spinal manipulation first were 42 times less likely to experience an adverse drug reaction than patients who were first prescribed opioid drugs.

 Foundation for Chiropractic ProgressApplaudsSpineStudy Showing Spinal Manipulative Therapy FarSafer than Opioids for Chronic Low Back Pain

Muscle Relaxants vs. Manipulations for LBP

 Newer better studies show that relaxant drugs have no good evidence of effectiveness for low back pain, while having possible significant

adverse effects especially for people operating machinery. Multiple clinical trials have found that skeletal muscle relaxants are associated with 50 percent more total adverse events and 104 percent more central nervous system adverse events than placebo.

A recent randomized controlled trial showed that spinal manipulation as commonly practiced by doctors of chiropractic had significantly more effect on pain reduction that muscle relaxants or placebo.

Muscle Relaxants vs. Manipulations for LBP

Can Over exercising be detrimental

 Of course too much of just about anything can be detrimental, but the threshold for exercise on heart disease seems to be very high. A recently published 5 year study on 90,000 healthy individuals that used accelerometers to measure physical activity found that there was no maximal amount of exercise that increased risk for heart attack or heart disease.

Can You Exercise Too Much?

Stable Plaques: Why Exercisers Have Fewer Heart Attacks?

 New research is showing one of the reasons people who exercise, especially more vigorously, are less prone to heart attacks. They tend to form more stable plaques in their arteries which are less likely to break off and block an artery. If you have been told you have plaques in your arteries from a coronary calcium test, it is important to have them differentiate what type of plaques are present.

Stable Plaques: Why Exercisers Have Fewer Heart Attacks?

Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act

 Great news for patients and providers!

H.R. 1418, bipartisan legislation repeals the McCarran-Ferguson Act, passed in 1945, which allowed most health insurance companies to operate outside of federal antitrust laws established by the Sherman Act. Health insurers will now be subject to the same laws that other businesses are required to comply with and that prohibit unfair practices such as price fixing, price gouging, collusion and market allocations that hurt consumers.

ACA Applauds Signing of Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act

About the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project

The WHO in collaboration with several research organizations including Harvard and John Hopkins have published a series of studies showing that musculoskeletal disorders are the number-one cause of disability worldwide with low back disorders #1 and neck disorders #4.
These studies provide indisputable evidence that musculoskeletal conditions are an enormous problem in all parts of the world and need to be given the same priority for policy and resources as other major conditions like cancer, mental health and cardiovascular disease.

 https://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/about/en/?fbclid=IwAR2qIAYqGVNtJL2D3A_bRHGJgHYCYm85SsvvwC33l1jFMYAt8bu9So5JBkI

Arthroscopic Knee Surgery is Usually Useless

Good article from sports medical physician Dr. Gabe Mirkin, describing research studies showing that except for acute injuries or cases with locking and/or giving out of the knee, most cartilage surgery is useless.
With this amount of evidence, why do you think the medical physicians continue to perform 2 million of these procedures at a cost of $3 billion dollars per year?

Arthroscopic Knee Surgery is Usually Useless

The Nordic Maintenance Care program

These results from the recently published Nordic Maintenance Care study showed that patients that received regular chiropractic maintenance care had less days with bothersome low back pain over 52 weeks pain than patients who were just treated when they had pain episodes.
The Nordic Maintenance Care program

Exercising During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sports medicine physician Dr. Gabe Mirkin writes on the immune enhancing benefits of exercise. He cites research showing benefits while cautioning against exercising with symptoms of COVID.
Remember the newer research shows that small amounts of exercise can have large benefits.
Should You Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

How Your Mental Health Reaps the Benefits of Exercise

My last post concerned that beneficial effects of exercise on physical functioning. Research also shows large benefits for mental health. Studies are now showing that exercise appears to be as good as existing drug treatments across a range of conditions, such as mild to moderate depression, anxiety, and dementia.
We do not have to do marathons. Just about any amount is beneficial. Below is a great article from Psychology Today on this issue.

How Your Mental Health Reaps the Benefits of Exercise

New research shows why physical exercise is essential to mental health.

Weight Lifting for Middle-Aged and Older People

Exercise including strength training is now just as important and beneficial. Weight training or using resistance training machines will increase skeletal muscle strength, help prevent broken bones from falls, and make your heart stronger to reduce risk of heart failure. Walking and biking will not increase overall skeletal muscle strength like strength training.
Weight Lifting for Middle-Aged and Older People

Chiropractic Care Significantly Reduces Risk of Opioid Prescribing

Study from the March issue of Pain Medicine Journal using claim data from three states found that patients with spinal pain who saw a chiropractor had half the risk of filling an opioid prescription.
Impact of Chiropractic Care on Use of Prescription Opioids in Patients with Spinal Pain

U.S. Physician Recommendations to Their Patients About the Use of Complementary Health Approaches

The National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey showed that spinal/ osteopathic manipulation was the was the most common recommended complementary health approach by family and other primary physicians.
Would you be surprised to know that I have received patient referrals from well over 100 medical physicians of many specialities?
U.S. Physician Recommendations to Their Patients About the Use of Complementary Health Approaches

Expanding the VA Chiropractic Residency

The Veteran's Administration has operated a chiropractic residency program at five VA hospitals since 2016. They are now expanding the program to five more hospitals. This will give these DC's skills to practice in hospital and other medical settings.
Do you see benefit in chiropractors treating patients in the hospital?
https://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php…Expanding the VA Chiropractic Residency

More Payers Backing Chiropractic Care in 2020

This article from a website for the managed care industry states that many insurance plans including the military plan Tricare will be increasing coverage for chiropractic care after many studies now showing it reduces costs, reduces surgeries, and reduces opioid prescriptions.
Are you so surprised that this has taken so long?
Chiropractic care is becoming a method more recognized as a way to better treat patients and avoid pharmacological pain management methods.

More Payers Backing Chiropractic Care in 2020

Cost-Efficiency and Effectiveness of Including Doctors of Chiropractic to Offer Treatment Under Medicaid: A Critical Appraisal of Missouri Inclusion of Chiropractic Under Missouri Medicaid.

This is another in what is now a long list of studies showing cost effectiveness of chiropractic care. It looked at the Missouri Medicaid system and estimated adding chiropractic care would annually save the state between $14 and $49 million dollars by providing better outcomes for reduced costs, decrease utilization of surgery, and reduced use and abuse of opioids.
Why do you think some states including Illinois do not cover chiropractic care in their Medicaid programs?
Cost-Efficiency and Effectiveness of Including Doctors of Chiropractic to Offer Treatment Under Medicaid: A Critical Appraisal of Missouri Inclusion of Chiropractic Under Missouri Medicaid.