Surgery Not Better for Spine Narrowing, Study Finds

Have seen this result often from surgery studies over the last recent years. This new study is from the prestigious Spine Journal. Long term studies often show no benefit for surgery over non surgery treatment. That is one of the reasons I treat so many patients who have had spinal surgery. I often hear that the pain was lessened after the surgery but then returned.
Has anyone been through this scenario?

Surgery Not Better for Spine Narrowing, Study Finds

Alternative medical options including chiropractic now sought throughout NFL

Article from USA Today about NFL teams having chiropractic physicians and other non medical practitioners on their medical staffs. It states that probably every team in the NFL now has a chiropractor on staff.


Alternative medical options including chiropractic now sought throughout NFL

The Striking Truth Bonus Footage - UFC champion Georges St-Pierre, David Loiseau & Dr. Stuart McGill

"If you generate power with your spine, generally it will break, the discs will become damaged before you get to that ultimate performance." That is a quote from Dr Stuart McGill based on some of his newer research on elite athletes including MMA world champion George St-Pierre. His work has revealed that elite athletes protect their spine while generating tremendous power by using their hips and shoulders to create movement and super stiffening the spine at critical times. This discover translates to the average person in that we all need to learn to stiffen the spine when it is under higher loads so our spines and discs will be protected from damage.
One of several ways to do this is through abdominal bracing. Is anyone familiar with that technique?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb8ShtGSLHk

Dr. Stuart McGill demonstrates research based core exercises

I just spent 16 hours at a weekend seminar instructed by Dr. Stuart McGill, who is a world renowned spinal biomechanics researcher and who works with many world class athletes from many different sports. I have been following his work for about 15 years. Please take his advise and stop doing sit ups, crunches and the many other "abdominal" exercises that put repetitive flexion into the spine as these will many times eventually cause disc damage including herniations. He knows this because he has researched it in his lab at the Univ of Waterloo.
Here is a video form NY Times Magazine featuring his big four exercises.
Can you see why these exercises are much better for building the core?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kukmaW9CmSU

When to Say No to Your Doctor Medical Overutilization

I unfortunately see much very poor medical reporting by the media. 
Below is what I think is an extremely well researched article by someone who understands research analysis. It covers current findings on common screening tests, the over prescription of drugs, and the overutilization of surgery. It is rather long but I encourage everyone to read it as it may save you much time, money, worry, and unnecessary dangerous medical treatment.

http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/when-to-say-no-to-your-doctor-20140919?utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=092214_1201&utm_medium=email&ea=cGF0cmlja2ttY2NhcnRoeUB5YWhvby5jb20=

This article mentions the new VA chiropractic study that I just wrote about last week.
"VA doctors wrote more than 6.5 million prescriptions in 2012 for hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone and morphine — more than the total number of patients they saw and a 270 percent increase from 2001. As a result of the numbers, the Minneapolis VA launched the Opioid Safety Initiative in 2012. Since the beginning of the program, the Minneapolis VA says it has been able to decrease risky high-dosage opioid use among patients by 67 percent. The Minneapolis VA, will be collaborating on a study of how chiropractic care might best be used for vets who have a combination of musculoskeletal pain and mental health conditions."
Do you think this new program will be beneficial?

Minneapolis VA studying chiropractic treatment and other alternatives to pain meds

Researchers at the Palmer Chiropractic College were recently awarded a $718,00 research grant form the National Institutes of Health.
The DoD/VA Pain Management Task Force now recommends chiropractic as a Tier 1 treatment within its comprehensive pain-management program. 
This study will find how chiropractic care might be best integrated into existing Veterans Health Administration (VHA) clinical practice guidelines for veterans with a combination of musculoskeletal pain and mental health conditions.
Do you think having better access to chiropractic care will decrease the problem of narcotic dependence and deaths of the veterans?

http://www.chiroeco.com/news/chiro-article.php?id=15582