Chiropractic
Stroke and Neck Adjustments – Understanding the Risk
February 11, 2012 | 
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When I explain the risk of stroke to my patients, I get one of three reactions:
1. Shock- they have never heard of this risk.
2. Fear – Well-meaning friends and family have told them a little bit about it- just enough to scare them.
3. Ambivalence – Just fix the pain, please!
The risk of stroke associated with neck adjustments is 1 in 5.85 million. In an article in Spine (Jan 08), researchers looked at whether or not there was an increased association between chiropractic care and stroke using nine years of data from Ontario health records. They found that the risk was the same as the risk of seeing one’s GP. The conclusion was that the risk exists because people who are having symptoms (likely due to a circulatory issue in the head and neck) seek care, whether it is from their GP or their chiropractor.
So, if you have concerns about neck adjustments and chiropractic care, talk to your chiropractor about it or book an appointment to see if your are a candidate for chiropractic care.
Spine 33(4S):S176-S183. Feb 15, 2008.
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Chiropractic Care and Kids
Many people wonder why kids should be checked by a chiropractor. Admittedly, their lives are not like adults, but they should be checked for different reasons.
For starters, the birth process may have been hard on their little bodies, not to discount mom’s experience. Then, it is all the falls and bumps associated with learning to crawl and walk. This is followed by spending time in desks for approximately thirteen years, without the benefit of an ergonomic assessment. Don’t forget about sports injuries either, or heavy backpacks or horsing around with their friends.
There is also the obvious benefit of having someone uniquely qualified to assess your child’s spine for a scoliosis screening. (Scoliosis refers to a curve in the spine that should not be there.)
The lovely thing about seeing kids is how quickly they respond to care. If you have spent a sleepless night with a sick child, only to have them bright-eyed the next morning, while you are struggling, you know how fast they can get better.
If you have questions about kids and chiropractic, please feel free to contact me at dr.wright@pillarsofhealth.ca
Getting the most out of your favorite summer activity
Now that the warm weather is finally here, you don’t want to waste a moment of it! So, if your idea of a fun summer is playing sports, a trip to the chiropractor may be help you reduce overuse injuries and improve performance.
Chiropractors are trained to analyze how well your spine and nervous system is working. If there are problems with the movement between the vertebral joints, the spinal nerves can be impacted, interfering in proper nerve function- this is termed a subluxation. By gently restoring movement to the joints through chiropractic adjustments, your chiropractor removes the subluxations, allowing your spine to work optimally.
SO, what this can really mean to you is that there is less stiffness in your back &/or neck and more ease of movement (in your golf swing, for example) which can translate into a better game or fewer injuries since things are working the way they should. In fact, many pro athletes have their own chiropractors.
Is this guaranteed to instantly improve my game? Of course not! You may need lessons, you may need a massage therapist, you may need to slow down and not do a million things at once. But, chiropractic care may be a step in the right direction.
“Back” to Summer Fun
To avoid back pain, here are a few simple tips:
1. Air travel: Get a small cushion or tuck a sweater behind your lower back as support. Get up and pace the aisle if possible, especially on longer flights. Do NOT swing your bag off the carousel- stand in front of it & lift it straight up and then turn your entire body to place it on the cart.
2.Staying with friends/family: Ask the best bed- do not ruin a nice vacation by sleeping on an awful mattress. Your host may not be aware of how bad the bed is, so let them sleep in it one night and they will replace it.
3.Camping: If you are tenting, use a Thermarest-type support or an air mattress, depending on where you are camping to keep you off the damp, cold ground. If your back has been giving you trouble, don’t camp in a tent.
4.Referral: If you are out of province or even just out of town, ask your chiropractor and RMT if they could give you a referral in case of emergency.
5.Gardening: Try not to do everything in one day. (Seems obvious, but not in NS, when the gardeners try to get all their work done on the nice days.) So, break jobs into smaller tasks, don’t stay in one position for too long and take breaks.
Enjoy your summer!