Governor Rauner Designates October 2017 as Chiropractic Health Care Month

Governor Rauner has issued a proclamation to designate October 2017 as Chiropractic Health Care Month in Illinois. The proclamation highlights the benefits and importance of chiropractic care throughout the State. The proclamation also recognizes the dedication chiropractic physicians have for their patients. Every year approximately 30 million Americans and two million patients in Illinois visit chiropractic physicians.
Governor Rauner Designates October 2017 as Chiropractic Health Care Month

Steroid Injections May Increase Cartilage Breakdown

"Steroid (cortisone) injections for osteoarthritis is like Snapchat. Everyone seems to be doing it, and no one is quite sure why."
Most previous studies have not been of high quality and have not shown much benefit. 
The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published probably the best study on this topic. It found no benefit of steriod injections over placebo of saline solution over two years. We have known that steroids are harmful to the joint cartilage and this study showed a significant loss of cartilage thickness in the steroid group.
Has anyone had benefit of a knee disorder with chiropractic or other manual treatments?

Steroid Injections May Increase Cartilage Breakdown

7 Clear Signs Your Back Pain is Actually Sciatica

Informative article on sciatica from Reader's Digest. It can cause intense pain and I have had many patients over the years with severe sciatica say they wish someone would cut their leg off! 
Unfortunately the pain medications are generally not that effective for sciatic pain because they will not unpinch a pinched nerve.
Has anyone experienced sciatica?

7 Clear Signs Your Back Pain is Actually Sciatica

RAND Report: Chiropractic Scores Big in the Military

RAND Report: Chiropractic Scores Big in the Military
The private research group RAND just completed a study of complementary health services at military bases.
More than half of bases provide chiropractic services. Chiropractic is by far the most frequently utilized service. Almost two-thirds of patients say chiropractic improves patient satisfaction and patients' quality of life.
Do you see increased availability of chiropractic care to the military as a positive change?
RAND Report: Chiropractic Scores Big in the Military

Take the Sting Out of Sciatica

I treat patients with sciatica every day at my clinic. As an avid cyclist, I thought I would post the findings of this new study from Finland which studied 35,000 people. They found a 33% decrease of hospitalization for sciatica in bikers and walkers. This contrasts with a 33% increase with obesity and a significant increase with smoking.
This was an observational study so it cannot show causation, but there are still many documented benefits of exercise on back disorders including sciatica to make it a very worthwhile habit.
Has anyone felt that exercise helped them with a back disorder including sciatica?
Take the Sting Out of Sciatica

Choosing Wisely to Avoid Wasteful and Unnessary Medical Treatments and Tests

The American Board of Internal Medicine along with Consumer Reports has created the Choosing Wisely Initiative to advance a national dialogue on avoiding wasteful or unnecessary medical tests, treatments and procedures. The American Chiropractic Association has joined nearly 100 health groups in supporting this initiative.
According to the Institute of Medicine, up to 30 percent of health care spending is duplicative or unnecessary. This translates to hundreds of billions of dollars wasted every year in our country.
Has anyone had unneccessary or duplicate treatment or testing?

Choosing Wisely

A comprehensive guide to the new science of treating lower back pain

Great article on the current science concerning treatment of low back disorders. Drug therapy, injections, and many spinal surgeries has been found to be much less effective than previously thought and can have very significant side effects. 
It is commonly stated that it unfortunately takes on average 15 years for new scientific methods to become part of standard medical practice, so do not expect most medical practitioners to change their practice habits any time soon. 
So it is important for you to educate yourself so you can get effective safe research based treatments for your low back and spinal disorders including sciatica and spinal stenosis.
Are you aware of the new practice guidelines?

A comprehensive guide to the new science of treating lower back pain