Sept.2010 issue Health & Wellness

• Jerry Rice, Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee, Gives Credit to His Longevity to Chiropractic
• Woman with Amenorrhea Helped With Chiropractic - Case Study
• Medical Errors Cost $19.5 Billion Per Year
• Another Study Shows Safety of Chiropractic
• Time Spent in Front of TV or Computer Screen Can Cause Problems for Children
• Chiropractic Effective and Safe for Neck Pain According to New Study

Jerry Rice, Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee, Gives Credit to His Longevity to Chiropractic

A release on Business News Wire on August 3, 2010 carried a title that read, "The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress Congratulates Jerry Rice on his Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction". Jerry Rice, a football superstar and longtime user of chiropractic is also a spokesperson for the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP).

The F4CP release noted that, "August 7, 2010, Jerry Rice and six other National Football League (NFL) icons will be honored in Canton, Ohio, as they become the latest members to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame." During his career, Rice made 13 trips to the NFL Pro bowl and holds 38 different NFL records.

The F4CP release quotes Jerry Rice's support of chiropractic when he stated, "Chiropractic care helped me stay healthy and succeed in the league for as long as I did."

The story reports that Rice’s first experience with chiropractic care took place during Super Bowl XXIII, where he witnessed first-hand how chiropractic care helped his injured 49er teammates perform, resulting in a win over the Cincinnati Bengals. One of these teammates was another long time supporter of chiropractic, Hall of Famer Joe Montana.

Jerry Rice continued with chiropractic after he left football. He credits chiropractic with his ability to perform on the TV show Dancing With The Stars. Rice was quoted as saying, "’Dancing with the Stars’ was every bit as exhausting and challenging – though not nearly as brutal – as football,” says Rice. “I had aches and pains that I never had before. Again, chiropractic care made the difference – and kept me dancing and in the competition."

New Hall of Famer, Jerry Rice, remains active and summed up his support for chiropractic by saying, "I have been blessed with a long and healthy career as a professional athlete, and as I move forward into the next stage of my life, chiropractic care will continue to be an important part of my game plan."

Woman With Amenorrhea Helped With Chiropractic - Case Study

A case study published on July 19, 2010 in the scientific periodical, the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal and Family Health, documents the care of a 25 year old woman who had not yet had her first menstrual cycle without the use of prescription birth control pills.

According to the case study authors, amenorrhea is defined as the “absence of spontaneous menses in a woman of reproductive age.” Primary amenorrhea, as was the case of the woman in this study, is where a woman has not experienced any menstrual periods by the age of 16. Most women have their first menstrual period by the age of 15.

In this case, a young woman sought out chiropractic care initially for a primary complaint of headaches. Upon taking her history, the woman revealed that she had never started her menstrual period as a child and that currently she had not experienced a menstrual period in approximately three years. By the age of 18, the woman was put on synthetic progesterone and birth control pills to force a menstrual cycle. She noted that she did not like the side effects and therefore discontinued the medication.

Examination revealed the presence of subluxations and a course of specific chiropractic adjustments was initiated. On her third visit, the woman reported that her tension headaches were much improved, but she still had not yet experienced a menstrual period. On her fourth visit, 19 days after her initial chiropractic evaluation, the woman reported she experienced two days of menstruation for the first time in her lifetime without the use of birth control.

The authors of the study presented a clear rationale for the reasoning behind why a woman with amenorrhea would respond to chiropractic care by stating, "Chiropractic’s role in this condition is based on the principle that there is a “neurospinal influence” upon the physiology of every organ and system within the body. This would include the reproductive and endocrine systems, which are primarily in control of the menstruation process. The chiropractic profession maintains that spinal misalignments, or “vertebral subluxations,” cause interference to this neurospinal system and that in turn the interference affects one’s state of health. Based on this premise, by correcting subluxations, chiropractic can reduce nervous system interference and improve nerve function thereby allowing the body, including the reproductive and endocrine systems, to function properly.

Medical Errors Cost $19.5 Billion Per Year

The Wall Street Journal carried an article with the headline, "Study Puts Cost of Medical Errors At $19.5 Billion", on August 9, 2010. The article is based on a study  commissioned by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and conducted by the actuarial and consulting firm Milliman. Researchers in this study used the data from insurance claims to gather their results. According to the study, medical errors and the problems they create cost the US economy $19.5 billion dollars each year.

In the study, the researchers conservatively estimate that they were able to identify 6.3 million measurable medical injuries as reported on insurance claims. Of the 6.3 million injuries, they estimate that 1.5 million were directly associated with a medical error. These errors caused more than 2,500 avoidable deaths and over 10 million lost days of work. The numbers in this study may be significantly underestimated as the researchers note that this study, "relies upon medical events which have been submitted for payment by medical providers."

Report co-author Jonathan Shreve noted, "We used a conservative methodology and still found 1.5 million measurable medical errors occurred in 2008. This number includes only the errors that we could identify through claims data, so the total economic impact of medical errors is in fact greater than what we have reported."

This study determined the price tag to be $19.5 billion only based on the factors of increased medical costs, costs related to an increased mortality rate, and costs related to lost productivity after the occurrence of an error. They did not count any costs related to pain and suffering, or malpractice. Of the total $19.5 billion, fully $17 billion was the increased cost of medical care rendered to those who were injured. The remainder was calculated as loss of productivity and cost related to increased mortality.

Jim Toole, the chairman of the SOA’s project oversight group summed up the impact of these numbers by noting, “This is so important, and yet it’s so overlooked,” says Toole. “We have wonderful information in this country about automobile safety and how in the last 20 years we’ve reduced highway deaths by 35% … but we have no starting point for medical errors or injuries.”

Another Study Shows Safety of Chiropractic

A research article published on August 3, 2010 in the journal, Chiropractic & Osteopathy, further shows the safety of chiropractic adjustments. The article itself was a review of numerous other studies done recently that looked at the chances of adverse events from chiropractic care.

One of the studies reviewed looked at the effectiveness of chiropractic for neck pain. In this additional study, published on July 9, 2010 in the journal Chiropractic & Osteopathy, authors noted that there were no serious adverse events among the subjects and that all minor events were resolved within 1 to 3 days.

One of the largest studies reviewed in this research article was one by a Dr. Cassidy and his colleagues in Canada. In this study, the researchers looked at official Canadian health records and reviewed 109,020,875 person-years of cases over a period of nine years. This study was so well constructed that it ruled out other factors so as to leave their conclusions unapproachable. The results of this study showed that the odds of a vascular adverse event occurring within 24 hours of a visit to a primary care physician was virtually the same as the chances of it occurring within 24 hours of a visit to a chiropractor.

Detractors of chiropractic have recently mounted a well funded campaign to try to scare the general public into believing that chiropractic carries a serious risk of arterial problems. This study, reporting on several others shows that in fact chiropractic is as safe, or safer than visits to general practitioners.

The size and funding of those trying to suggest that the safest health profession is somehow dangerous has led some to question the motives of those backing and funding the campaign of disinformation. A recent release from the International Chiropractors Association stated, “This smear campaign has little to do with public safety and everything to do with the old turf war between chiropractic and our old competitors,” said Dr. Robert Braile, a chiropractor from Marietta Georgia, and former president of the ICA. Dr. Braile continued, “It is of course a tragic event when any patient suffers a serious health issue, whether under chiropractic care or medical care.” Braile then asserted, “But to take advantage of those events in order to distort truth for a turf war is wrong.”

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Time Spent in Front of TV or Computer Screen Can Cause Problems for Children

A new study published in the June 9, 2010 issue of the BMC Public Health Journal warned that, "time spent on screen-based activity is a contributing factor to physical complaints among young people, and that effects accumulate across different types of screen-based activities."

Based on this study, an article in the Irish Times on August 10, 2010, reported that the Chiropractic Association of Ireland is warning parents about the effect of children spending too much time in front of computer and TV screens. In the article, the  Chiropractic Association of Ireland noted that, "excessive time in front of computer and television screens could mean an increase in back pain, neck and shoulder pain, and headaches for their children."

The Chiropractic Association of Ireland noted that the time spent in front of a screen watching television and playing computer games leads to back pain and headaches. The study itself points out that the kind of screen or activity that the child is engaged in is less important than the time spent in these activities.

In the Irish Times article, Dr. Attracta Farrell, president of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland said: “Not moving for extended periods causes the muscles in the neck, arms and back to stiffen up and become sore. On top of that, slouching increases the compressive force through the spine.”

Dr. Farrell stressed it wasn’t necessary for children or teenagers to give up technology entirely, but she did advise moderation. “It’s all about moderation. Computers and TV can be a valuable source of entertainment and education for young people and you’re never going to convince them to give it up altogether."

In their conclusion, the researchers again noted that the time spent in these activities was the important factor. They stated, "The observed associations indicate that time spent on screen-based activity is a contributing factor to physical complaints among young people, and that effects accumulate across different types of screen-based activities."

Chiropractic Effective and Safe for Neck Pain According to New Study

A study published in the journal, Chiropractic & Osteopathy, on July 9, 2010 looked at three types of chiropractic adjustments to see how patients with neck pain responded to care. The study also looked at the safety of these procedures by checking to see if there were any adverse reactions among participants in the study.

In this study, conducted at Anglo-European College of Chiropractic, in Bournemouth, Dorset, United Kingdom, volunteer subjects who met the criteria were divided into three groups. Each of the groups used a different kind of chiropractic technique for care. All three groups were also given exercise and advice. The researchers looked to see if there was any difference in the outcomes between the various kinds of chiropractic procedures. They also recorded any adverse events to see if there was any difference in that area as well.

The results showed that all three groups showed significant improvement over a 12 month period. No major differences were observed between the various groups. Additionally, none of the participants showed any significant or severe adverse reactions or events from the care. It was noted that a number of the participants did have some mild adverse reactions, but that all of them were resolved within 1 to 2 days.

The authors of this study concluded that although their study was small, it showed that three different types of chiropractic care resulted in improvement in the patients, with no adverse effects, "it appears that all three methods of treating mechanical neck pain had a long-term benefit for subacute neck pain, without moderate or serious adverse events associated with any of the treatment methods."