Category Archives: Wellness

The journal Chiropractic & Osteopathy recently published a thematic series on the chiropractic care of children. While I’m glad that many academics in our profession are interested in the growing arena of chiropractic pediatrics, I found the thematic series limited in the number of participant authors and feel it would have been better served with more differing views.   Dr. Joel Alcantara is the director of research for the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). In this capacity, he directs all research activities and oversees the largest and most successful practice-based research networks in chiropractic. Recently, Dr. Alcantara and colleagues published a landmark study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine on chiropractic care for children. In addition to characterizing pediatric chiropractic, they estimated that approximately 80 million pediatric visits are made to chiropractors each year. The authors acknowledge that this may be an overestimation, but it does support the study by Barnes and colleagues from the National Institutes of Health that chiropractic is the most popular CAM-based therapy for children. In this interview with Dr. Alcantara, I asked him to share his thoughts on the thematic series in Chiropractic & Osteopathy. Before I ask your opinion regarding the articles published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, can you give us a synopsis of the thematic series? Chiropractic & Osteopathy commissioned a thematic series on the chiropractic care of children and invited their key people in the field of pediatric chiropractic to provide an up-to-date review on the chiropractic care of children. You have Sharon Vallone and her colleagues providing their opinion on the chiropractic approach to the management of children; Ferrance and Miller addressing the diagnosis and chiropractic management of musculoskeletal conditions in children and adolescents; Kim Humphreys discussing the safety of pediatric chiropractic; Fay Karpousiz and her colleagues exploring care of the child with ADHD; and finally, Leboeuf-Yde and Hestbaek addressing the question: “Is research enough?” Overall, the articles addressed aspects of pediatric chiropractic we should all be aware of. I didn’t necessarily agree with all the opinions made, but the editorial commentary by Simon French, Bruce Walker and Stephen Perle was especially disturbing from my point of view as a researcher and a practitioner. In their article, they posed the question: “Should we be treating children at all?” and based this on the limited amount of research currently available. Please explain why you disagree with the position they took in their editorial commentary? Everyone would agree that the chiropractic profession needs more research. In terms of pediatric chiropractic, this is painfully true. French and colleagues questioned, given the sparse research evidence available on the chiropractic care of children, whether we should be treating children at all. They caution clinicians who accept without question the suggestion that a trial of chiropractic care is warranted, particularly with children presenting with non-musculoskeletal conditions. I don’t disagree with this cautionary statement. I think it prudent for every clinician to critically appraise the literature in the context of their clinical experience and expertise and the request of the patient or parent. This is essentially evidence-based practice. However, they go a bit further and, using the chiropractic care of children with colic as an example, quote the Bronfort Report by stating, “There is no evidence that chiropractic care for infant colic is more effective than sham therapy.” They then propose: “It may also be reasonable to suggest that a short trial of ‘placebo treatment’ is warranted.” Their comment was not only unjustified, but irresponsible. French and colleagues acknowledge the principles of evidence-based medicine, but they throw it out the window if it doesn’t support their point of view. The decision to pursue or recommend a trial of chiropractic care is based on many factors, with safety and effectiveness at the core of this decision and the principles of evidence-based medicine providing the overall guiding principle. So, what is a clinician to do when the research is not available? Evidence-based medicine allows you to rely on your clinical expertise and the needs and wants of the patient or the parent (in the case of pediatric chiropractic). Sackett and colleagues, in defining evidence-based medicine, stated: “Evidence-based medicine is not restricted to randomized trials and meta-analyses. It involves tracking down the best external evidence with which to answer our clinical questions.” When RCTs are not available, they recommend to “follow the trail to the next best external evidence and work from there.” Sackett and colleagues said it best: “External clinical evidence can inform, but can never replace, individual … Continue reading →

Not only is it safe to visit a chiropractor during your pregnancy, it’s also highly beneficial. All chiropractors are specially trained to treat pregnant women, but you may want to do a little research and find one who specializes in prenatal or perinatal care. Getting regularly adjusted while pregnant is a great way to relieve the added stress on your spine that comes along with the weight gain. It can also prevent sciatica, the inflammation of the sciatic nerve that runs from your lower back down through your legs and to your feet. It’s also important to maintain pelvic balance, which is oftentimes thrown off as your belly grows and your posture changes. Besides making you feel better during pregnancy, getting regular chiropractic adjustments can also help control nausea, prevent a potential C-section, and has even been linked to reducing the amount of time some women spend in labor.

How do I know if my horse needs Chiropractic Care? Loss or decrease in level of performance. Problems or difficulty executing desired movements. Behavioral changes (i.e. refusals, cinchy, bucking). Short striding. Diagnosed conditions, such as degenerative arthritis. Muscle imbalance, spasms, or atrophy. Gait problems, such as cross-canter, loss of collection, refusal to pick-up lead. Injuries resulting from falls, training, or other activities. Stressful situations, such as conformation of the horse, various riding and training equipment, performance level and ability of the rider, shoeing. There are numerous, common stressful or traumatic situations, such as the birth process, conformation of the horse, training and riding equipment, ability of the rider, shoeing trailers, or direct trauma, that can cause abnormal or restricted movement to occur in the spine. This change in proper movement of the spine is what chiropractors call a “subluxation”. When a subluxation occurs, the horse’s spine loses it’s normal flexibility. This results in stiffness which further leads to resistance and decreased performance. The most common symptom associated with spinal subluxations is pain, which can manifest changes itself in a variety of ways. Horses in pain will show compensatory changes in posture and gait. These changes can cause stress in other joints and muscles. Symptoms such as lameness, stiffness, lack of impulsion or power, difficulty in obtaining or maintaining collection, poor attitude, gait abnormalities, being cold-backed or cinchy, or the presence of muscle atrophy are commonly associated with spinal misalignments. Subluxations may also cause changes in muscle coordination and flexibility that affects the performance ability of the horse. These symptoms may be lack of coordination in gaits, unusual, perhaps indefinable gait abnormalities which vary from limb to limb and change depending on gait, stiffness in lateral movements of neck or back, rope walking, shortened stride in one or two limbs, inability to engage rear quarters, difficulty flexing at the poll, or on line or pulling on one rein. Common complaints from horse owners include resistance or stiffness when moving to one direction, irritability, decreased performance, and sensitivity to touch, such as when being groomed. To read more click here