March 2010 issue Health&Wellness

• Breech Pregnancy Correction with Chiropractic Confirmed on Ultrasound - Case Study
• Childhood Obesity Linked to Early Adult Death
• Chiropractic Care Helps Boy With Migraine-Type Headaches - A Case Report
• Study Shows Chiropractic Helps Golfers With Full Swing Performance
• Chiropractic Care Included in 2010 Olympic Vancouver Winter Games
• Chiropractic Extremely Safe for Children According to New Study

Breech Pregnancy Correction with Chiropractic Confirmed on Ultrasound - Case Study

A research article published on February 2, 2010 in the scientific periodical, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health, documented the case study of a pregnant woman whose breech pregnancy was corrected with chiropractic care. This case study involved a 35 year old woman who was pregnant with her third child. She had recently been to her OBGYN for an ultrasound, which showed the male fetus to be in a breech position.

The woman, now in her 31st week of pregnancy, had also been experiencing pain in her pelvis just 2 weeks earlier. Because of this pain she was forced to discontinue her daily exercise regimen which included running three miles per day. She described the pain as more of a pressure in her pelvis as opposed to a pain.  In addition, the woman reported that she had gained more weight with this pregnancy than with either of her two previous pregnancies and she was experiencing heartburn and acid reflux.

The woman went for a chiropractic examination after having done some research on the Internet where she found some information about breech pregnancies being helped with specific forms of chiropractic care. Her examination showed some postural irregularities indicating some spinal involvement. In addition, bilateral surface temperature measurements and surface EMG tests also showed asymmetry indicating spinal involvement.

Based upon the chiropractic examination findings care was initiated using the "Webster Technique", a specific chiropractic technique used in breech pregnancy when certain examination findings are present. The case study noted that the Webster Technique has been shown to have high rates of success, based on a previous survey of 112 chiropractic practitioners who utilized the Webster Technique in their offices. In that survey study 92% of the cases had resolution of breech presentation, and of this 88% resulted in unassisted vaginal births.

In this case, the woman received seven Webster Technique adjustments over the course of a three week period. An ultrasound was performed by the patient's obstetrician after the patient's fifth adjustment, showing that the fetus had successfully moved into a normal vertex position. The patient gave birth to the 7 pound 12 ounce boy vaginally after an uncomplicated 12 hour labor five days earlier than the baby's projected due date and approximately one month after the mother had started chiropractic care.

Childhood Obesity Linked to Early Adult Death

A study on childhood obesity was published in the February 11, 2010 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) showing that children who are obese are twice as likely to die by age 55 of illness or a self-inflicted injury, than their slimmer counterparts.

The study was also reported on in the February 10, 2010 edition of the New York Times, which started by noting that the study was very rare in that it followed thousands of children through their adult years. The study showed that children with pre-diabetes were at almost double the risk of dying before 55. Additionally, those with high blood pressure were also at some increased risk of an early death.

Helen C. Looker, M.B., B.S., an author of the study commented in the Times article, "This suggests that obesity in children, even prepubescent children, may have very serious long-term health effects through midlife, that there is something serious being set in motion by obesity at early ages. We all expect to get beyond 55 these days.”

An unrelated, but timely study published in the February 2010 issue of The American Journal of Public Health showed that it is not watching TV that contributes to childhood obesity, but rather watching the commercials. This study, reported on by Science Daily on February 10, 2010, shows that childhood obesity is directly related to children's exposure to commercials that advertise unhealthy foods, rather than just the amount of TV a child watches.

This study showed that there is a difference between children who watch commercial TV as compared to those who watch non-commercial TV such as DVDs and educational television programming. Amazingly, the study showed that by age 5, most children have seen an average of more than 4,000 television commercials for food each year.

Dr. Fred Zimmerman, the study’s lead author and chairman of U.C.L.A.’s Department of Health Services, noted that commercials for sweetened cereals, junk food and fast food chains probably had an insidious influence over a child’s food preferences. He stated, "Commercial television pushes children to eat a large quantity of those foods they should consume least: sugary cereals, snacks, fast food and soda pop."

In the Science Daily article, Dr. Zimmerman concluded, "Just as there are far better and more nutritious foods than those advertised on television, there are also far better and more interesting shows on television than those supported by advertising. Educational television has come a long way since today's parents were children, and there are now many fantastic shows on commercial-free television and, of course, wonderful content available on DVD."

Chiropractic Care Helps Boy With Migraine-Type Headaches - A Case Report

A case report was published in the January 2010 issue of the scientific publication, "Explore, the Journal of Science and Healing", documenting the case of an 11 year old boy who was suffering from migraines and was helped with chiropractic care.

In this case an 11 year old boy was brought to a chiropractor after having suffered with headaches for the previous four years. The boy was diagnosed by their family physician with “migraine-type headaches” three years prior to the chiropractic visit. He was prescribed medications which provided only minor and temporary relief. According to the boy's mother her son experienced at least one severe headache every seven weeks and two to three mild to moderate headaches on a monthly basis.

In his description of the pain, the young boy described his pain as throbbing, but he was unable to point to any one spot. His headache attacks would last from a couple of hours to 5 hours in duration, and were sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

A chiropractic examination revealed that several areas of the boy's neck were very sensitive to the touch causing him to pull back as the chiropractor was examining these areas. Care was initiated using specific adjusting procedures for his spinal findings with the sensitivity to his neck being considered.

After a four week period it was noted that the boy experienced only one "mild" headache attack during this initial period of care.  At a follow up visit nine months later the boy reported that he had only experienced “couple of mild headaches but no migraine-type headaches."  Six months after that visit the report noted that the boy was symptom free. At the mother's request the boy continued periodic chiropractic visits for preventative purposes.

Study Shows Chiropractic Helps Golfers With Full Swing Performance

A scientific study published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine further documents the benefits of chiropractic care for athletes. The stated objective of this study noted that there has been an increased usage of chiropractic care for athletes who wish to increase their performance. This study specifically looks at golfers to see their improvement under chiropractic.

In this study golfers at 2 different clubs in São Paulo, Brazil, were studied. A total of 43 golfers were divided into 2 random groups for comparison in this study. One group received only a stretch program while the second group received the same stretch program in addition to chiropractic care.

All participants in this study were initially asked to perform three full swing maneuvers. Measurements of the average distance they were able to hit the ball for the 3 swings were made. Then the golfers were put through either just the stretching program, or the stretching plus chiropractic depending on which test group they were a part of. After either just stretching, or chiropractic plus stretching, the participants were asked to repeat the same three swing maneuvers and measurements were taken. This entire process was repeated for a period of four weeks over the course of the study.

To maintain consistency, the study noted that of the 43 golfers in this study, the average age, handicap, and initial swing were comparable among all golfers. The results showed that there was no improvement in what the study called the "full swing performance", (average distance the golfers were able to hit the ball), in the group that only did the stretching program prior to hitting the golf balls.

However, after the fourth session of stretching and chiropractic care, the golfers in this group showed a statistically significant improvement in their "full swing performance" translating into better distance when hitting golf balls.  The authors of the study concluded, "Chiropractic in association with muscle stretching may be associated with an improvement of full-swing performance when compared with muscle stretching alone."

Chiropractic Care Included in 2010 Olympic Vancouver Winter Games

A news release from the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) on February 5, 2010 also printed on the EarthTimes website opens with the statement, "For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, will include chiropractic care inside the Olympic Village Polyclinic, a multi-disciplinary facility that offers comprehensive health care and medical services."

The release notes that chiropractors have been part of the Olympic games by helping athletes as part of their individual country's healthcare staffs. However, this time in addition to the chiropractors from the individual nations, chiropractic care will be offered by the host nation of Canada at the Polyclinic which is open for all athletes from around the world.

The F4CP release notes that throughout the years, chiropractic has become a mainstay in the care of world-class athletes, leading to a growing number of doctors of chiropractic included in the Olympic Games. Countless athletes attribute the care they receive from their chiropractors, working along-side other health care professionals, as a key to properly preparing their bodies to perform optimally.

The release also reports that chiropractic care has experienced several major moments in Olympic history. The first may well have been when a chiropractor, Dr. Leroy Perry, provided chiropractic care to athletes representing Antigua during the 1976 Games in Montreal, Canada.  The F4CP also noted that during the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY, another chiropractor, Dr. George Goodheart, became the first official chiropractor appointed to the U.S. Olympic team. Since then each subsequent Olympic Games and Pan American Games, the U.S. teams, along with a growing number of other national teams, have included at least one doctor of chiropractic on their medical staff.

Dr. Bill Moreau, a chiropractor recently promoted to the Director of Sports Medicine Clinics for the US Olympic Committee, stated, "Inclusion inside the Polyclinic is another major milestone for the chiropractic profession, and we are grateful to the Host City of Vancouver, the head of Medical Services at the Polyclinic, Jack Taunton, M.D., and to Robert Armitage, D.C., who helped make this possible.”

Chiropractic Extremely Safe for Children According to New Study

A study published in the December 2009 issue of the scientific periodical, the Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics shows that chiropractic care is extremely safe for children. In research for this report, the study author undertook a review of all previously published reports of "adverse events" for chiropractic care delivered to children.

In this study the author, a chiropractor from the Anglo European College of Chiropractic, and lead tutor for Advanced Practice for Chiropractic Pediatrics, Joyce Miller, B.Sc., D.C., D.A.B.C.O., set out to review and examine the chiropractic safety record for care of children in comparison to the safety record of medications given to children. She noted that the safety issue of medications given to children is an increasing concern.

In her published study, Dr. Miller reported that according to the United Kingdom's, National Patient Safety Agency, in 2006 out of a total of 33,446 reports of medical pediatric care, 19% experienced a medication problem, 14% had a procedural safety breech, 9% showed errors in documentation, and an additional 7% had errors in medical clinical assessment.

The reported results of the authors research showed that there were six separate published reports that addressed safety of what was called "Manual Therapy" for children delivered by either chiropractors or medical practitioners. The author specifically looked at the care rendered by chiropractors for the purpose of this study.

The results showed that over a 59 year time frame, a systematic review of the literature only uncovered 8 incidences of hurt or harm to children due to chiropractic adjustments.  With an estimated 30 million pediatric adjustment visits to chiropractors made each year, the risk factor is calculated to be extremely low.

In her conclusion, Dr. Miller wrote, "Based on the published literature, it appears that manipulation, when given by a skilled chiropractor with years of training carried out with low forces recommended for pediatric care, has few side effects in the healthy infant and child and their recorded incidence is exceedingly low.