Chiropractic News
Exercise “Talk Test”
Mar 20th
Can’t Talk?… Slow Down
How do you know when you’re overdoing it while exercising? Use this simple “Talk Test”: Say the Pledge of Allegiance out loud. If it’s difficult to voice those familiar words, you’re probably pushing yourself too hard.
In a study, researchers tested this technique on 16 healthy participants using two types of exercise equipment — a treadmill and a cycle ergometer. The subjects, who were moderately active, recited the Pledge of Allegiance during progressively more difficult stages of exercise. Following the speech, researchers asked participants if they could speak comfortably and recorded their answers.
Participants’ exercise intensity levels were also measured by established markers — heart rate, perceived exertion and ventilatory threshold. This threshold is the point where breathing increases disproportionate to the increase of workload. In other words, it indicates when an exerciser is approaching his intensity limit.
When results from specialized and accepted tests were compared with the “Talk Test,” researchers found that they were comparable. They concluded that the “Talk Test” is an acceptable form of monitoring exertion. In fact, they recommend it as a practical and easy tool to keep intensity levels in check.
Dr. Ferris’s comments:
This test can be used for any age or fitness level. The goal is to push your intensity level up to where it is difficult to carry on a conversation with someone. Once you reach this level, you should back off slightly. This is your optimum training level. With this test you do not need an expensive heart rate monitor. Don’t forget that after exercising, it is best to cool down with some general back and leg stretches. Happy exercising!
Chiropractic used by all 32 NFL teams
Mar 12th
Dr. Ferris’ comments:
I like this article because it is a good reminder that chiropractic is not just for those in pain. Most professional sports’ have a team chiropractor to keep their athletes performing at their peak. Also, many people who do see a chiropractor initially for a particular symptom often choose to return periodically to maintain spinal alignment and proper joint function even when they have little to no symptoms.
Chiropractic used by all 32 NFL teams
The Professional Football Chiropractic Society (PFCS) takes pride in announcing that all 32 teams in the National Football League offer their players and personnel chiropractic physician services as part of the triage in managing and preventing injuries. According to the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, this distinction is a benchmark for the profession and documents the important role that chiropractic care plays in optimizing athletic performance.
“The robust need for chiropractic care in the NFL has been deeply driven by the players’ desire for peak physical conditioning and not simply for injuries,” states Spencer H. Baron, D.C., DACBSP, immediate past President of the PFCS and Miami Dolphins team chiropractor for the past 14 years. “From the earliest years of full contact football, their bodies are subject to structural stress that doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are specially trained to care for. ”
Saints 2006 first round pick, Reggie Bush, has been receiving regular chiropractic care since playing football in high school and during his collegiate years. “I look at chiropractic care as important to keeping me healthy and at the top of my game.”
In fact, many professional athletes are outspoken about their experiences with chiropractic care. Most notably, 2010 NFL Hall Of Fame inductee Jerry Rice, who is a spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to educating the public of the many benefits associated with chiropractic care.
“I did a lot of things to stay in the game, but regular visits to my chiropractor made all the difference,” Rice asserts.
To see the full article click here… http://newsblaze.com/story/2010021607372200001.bw/topstory.html
Neck and back pain related to duration and posture when sitting
Mar 11th
The two key issues to consider in relation to sitting are duration and posture. The goal of this post would be to determine a few practical steps that can eliminate or reduce the amount of strain on one’s neck and back when sitting.
Seated Posture tips:
- Proper chair height should allow for both feet to be flat on the ground with a 90 degree angle formed between the lower legs and the thigh/pelvis. If you have to have your chair up higher to accommodate desk height then you may want to use one or more old phone books under your feet to maintain the angle described.
- If working at a computer, the middle of the monitor should be at eye-level height when one is sitting with their back straight up from pelvis.
- To reduce neck pain/strain, periodically make sure you are not leaning forward or bending your neck down toward the keyboard/mouse or forward towards the screen. Hint…if you were to look at yourself from the side, your ear should be directly over your shoulder.
- To reduce low back pain/strain, make sure you are not in a slouched position for long periods. To help out with this, make sure that you have adequate lumbar support on your chair. This means that back of the chair should have a hump just above the seat that will support the normal lumbar curve of one’s spine.
Duration of Sitting:
- Take short and frequent breaks to walk around and get some movement into joints of the hips and spine to help reduce low back pain/strain.
- To reduce neck pain/strain, periodically get some movement to the joints of the neck by slowly moving the head into full flexion (towards chest), extension (up and back), right ear to right shoulder, left ear to left shoulder, rotate/turn head all the way to right, then left. Try and hold each position at the full stretch position for at least 5 to 10 seconds.
How Chiropractic helped my child’s colic
Mar 10th
I saw the article highlighted at the bottom of this post and immediately thought of how chiropractic has benefited my own children when they were infants and thought more people might be interested in this option.
When my son was only a few weeks old, he had a real difficult night…and so did his parents. He was having trouble getting to sleep and then staying asleep. By 2am, my wife was completely exhausted and sleep deprived…so she tagged me and said it’s your turn. After a few hours of doing all the things that normally put him asleep, I thought to myself, “something just doesn’t seem right.” I remembered back to my grad school classes of pediatric chiropractic and the topic of colic. The instructors related their clinical experience with babies with colic to small kinks or misalignments in the baby’s neck that was causing neck discomfort and the resulting baby’s only line of defense…uneasiness and crying.
With that thought in mind…and my own sense of fatigue and passionate desire for sleep, I decided to check the joints of my son’s neck. Sure enough, one side was more restricted and seemed to be irritated when turning that direction. With an extremely gentle adjustment, the joint restriction was relieved and my son was asleep in less then five minutes…and he slept the rest of the night without waking. Needless to say, that was one instance where I was extremely thankful to be a chiropractor. As I joke with my wife, sleep is one of my favorite things to do.
Many people think that back and neck problems are only for adults, but children and even babies can have joints that get irritated and jammed up. For infants, one common cause of this joint misalignment is sustained periods of poor neck posture that commonly occurs when they sleep in their car seat with their neck twisted to one side.
With two children now, I have found out first hand that one of the most common reasons for colic is literally a “kink” in the neck.
Article Highlights:
“Research is revealing that minor disturbances to spinal alignment and function may be a factor in a number of disorders. These disturbances lead to nerve interference and can result in a host of disorders such as colic, constipation and sleep disorders” stated Dr. Sean Batte the author of the study. Other chiropractic researchers have reported on similar results and reviews of the scientific research reveal numerous other studies that have shown a similar connection.
“It makes a lot of sense when you think about it” stated Dr. Matthew McCoy a chiropractor, public health researcher and editor of the journal that published the study, “If you damage or compress the neurological structures in the spine this can have far reaching implications on the functioning of the body… correcting the misalignments or abnormal motion associated with these spinal problems reduces the nerve compression and people improve. In this study it was an infant suffering from colic, constipation, sleep disturbance and excessive crying.”
History and examination of the child revealed that he had a difficult birth, cried regularly, was not sleeping during the day, and if he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he was crying. At night, his sleep was sporadic and irregular and his parents were not able to sleep or catch up on sleep during the day as he wasn’t napping at all. The mother’s general practitioner recommended anti-depressants and tranquilizers for the child. The infant was evaluated and cared for using chiropractic protocols to reduce vertebral subluxations in the child’s spine. Within five visits his mother reported his bowel movements had started to become more regular, he was belching normally after meals, started to sleep better and the crying abated.
To read the full article, click here…
Medical Report Finds Chiropractic Care More Cost-Effective for Low Back and Neck Pain
Dec 30th
Medical Report Finds Chiropractic Care More Cost-Effective Then Medical or Physical Therapy for Low Back and Neck Pain
Dr. Arnold Milstein is one of the world’s foremost experts on clinical and cost effectiveness in health care, and the Mercer Reports, written by him and his team, are considered the gold standard among medical establishments, third party payers and legislators. In essence, if Dr. Milstein says it’s so, it’s accepted as unchallengeable, based on his reputation for objectivity and scientific reason.
Dr. Milstein’s curiosity with chiropractic connected him with the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress who commissioned him to study the effectiveness of chiropractic care compared to medicine and physical therapy, concentrating on neck and low back patients to begin with.
The results were startling. Chiropractic care was found to be more effective than either medicine or physical therapy – in fact, up to twenty-five times more cost-effective than a program of physical therapy exercises.
Dr. Milstein concluded, “Using data from high quality randomized controlled EU trials and contemporary US based average unit prices payable by commercial insurers, we project that insurance coverage for chiropractic physician care for low back and neck pain for conditions other than fracture and malignancy is likely to drive improved cost-effectiveness of US care. In combination with the existing US-based literature, our findings support the value of health insurance coverage of chiropractic care for low back and neck pain at average fees payable by US commercial insurers.”
Results of study:
- Chiropractic care is more effective than other modalities for treating low back and neck pain
- Chiropractic physician care for low back and neck pain is highly cost effective, represents a good value in comparison to medical physician care and to widely accepted cost-effectiveness thresholds.
If you are experiencing a musculoskeletal condition, such as neck or back pain, do some online searching for a chiropractor in your area to get a consultation and exam.
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- Dr. Matthew C. Ferris is a chiropractic physician practicing at Health Connections in Fishers, Indiana. Dr. Ferris has completed post doctorate certification in Whiplash and Brain Traumatology from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. If you or someone you know is experiencing neck or back pain, call for a complimentary consultation and exam to see if you are a candidate for our services. 317-585-9111.
Chiropractic Added to Senate Health Bill
Dec 30th
Kurt Wood, vice chancellor for clinic affairs at Palmer College of Chiropractic, said the inclusion of chiropractic into the Senate health-care bill is recognition of the “significant contribution we can make in the health-care system.”
“Obviously, there are a number of steps that have to take place before the final legislation is signed by the president, but it’s certainly an important step forward,” Wood said.
Wood said patients do not have to “believe” in chiropractic.
“What we have is data that has come from dozens of well-constructed studies that show the efficacy of chiropractic,” he said.
That is particularly true of complaints for back pain, neck pain and headaches, he said, adding that research shows the cost-effectiveness of chiropractic in “maintaining the health and well-being of the individual.”
The use of chiropractic by all kinds of elite athletes, from football players to Olympians, also is a reflection of how “chiropractic has become more mainstream as opposed to being an alternative,” Wood said.
What is important is that chiropractors are part of the health-care team, he said.
“In the past, chiropractors were a separate part of the health-care system,” Wood said. Now chiropractors have become a productive member of a person’s health-care team.
Not every patient responds to a particular type of treatment, he said. “What we’re interested in is what is in the best interest of the patient.”
Article written in Quad City Times. Thomas Geyer | Posted: Saturday, November 21, 2009 1:00 am
http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/article_aa6eee38-d659-11de-8c3a-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story
- Dr. Matthew C. Ferris is a chiropractic physician practicing at Health Connections in Fishers, Indiana. Dr. Ferris has completed post doctorate certification in Whiplash and Brain Traumatology from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. If you live in the Indianapolis area and would like a complimentary consultation and exam to find out if you are a candidate for our services, call 317-585-9111 or go to www.hcfishers.com.
12 Days of Health and Wellness this Holiday Season
Dec 30th
As the holiday season rolls around, one of the most difficult things for most of us to control is our eating and exercise habits. To combat this…check out this handy link from the American Chiropractic Association for tips on being more healthy this holiday season. Many times all it takes is for us to get our minds refocused, which can be difficult with all the holiday to-do’s. Just remember, each small step towards better nutrition and exercise is victory! So give it your holiday best this year. Click here…www.acatoday.org/12days.
- – Dr. Matthew C. Ferris is a chiropractic physician practicing at Health Connections in Fishers, Indiana. Dr. Ferris has completed post doctorate certification in Whiplash and Brain Traumatology from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. If you live in the Indianapolis area and would like a complimentary consultation and exam to find out if you are a candidate for our services, call 317-585-9111 or go to www.hcfishers.com.