A new study reported in the May 2018 issue of JAMA Network Open (study) of 750 active duty US military personnel with acute low back pain (LBP) compared the effectiveness of standard care alone (medication, physical therapy, pain management) vs. a collaborative care plan that included chiropractic manipulation.  The study concluded:

“Chiropractic care, when added to usual medical care, resulted in moderate short-term improvements in low back pain intensity and disability in active-duty military personnel. This trial provides additional support for the inclusion of chiropractic care as a component of multidisciplinary health care for low back pain, as currently recommended in existing guidelines.”

Chiropractic co-managed patients reported:

· significantly lower mean worst pain intensity;

· significantly less symptom “bothersomeness”;

· significantly better global perceived improvement;

· significantly greater mean satisfaction with care;

· significantly less pain medication use; and

· no serious treatment-related adverse events.

A related editorial published by Medscape Medical News noted: “These findings are particularly noteworthy because it is usually more difficult to detect meaningful treatment benefits in patient populations who have especially promising natural histories as they are young, physically fit, and unlikely to be using opioids (<6% of patients) and include a large fraction of patients with acute pain.”

Call the office and make an appointment. See if chiropractic can help you feel better faster.

Goertz CM, et al. Effect of Usual Medical Care Plus Chiropractic Care vs Usual Medical Care Alone on Pain and Disability Among US Service Members With Low Back Pain A Comparative Effectiveness Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open. 2018;1(1):e180105.

Here’s another great article about gut microbes (probiotics). Probiotics are a hot topic these days.  It seems likemnew information is being discovered about gut microbes each day. Our gut microbes are affected by what we eat and environmental factors (toxins).  What we put into our mouth or on our bodies can effect gut microbes.  If the research continues to point that our intestinal health can effect our overall health and maybe even help in fight cancer, it’s a good idea to eat healthy and take care to protect gut microbes.

“Cancer has been a late bloomer in the microbiome revolution that has surged through biomedicine. Over the past few decades, scientists have linked the gut’s composition of microbes to dozens of seemingly unrelated conditions — from depression to obesity. Cancer has some provocative connections as well: inflammation is a contributing factor to some tumours and a few types of cancer have infectious origins. But with the explosive growth of a new class of drug — cancer immunotherapies — scientists have been taking a closer look at how the gut microbiome might interact with treatment and how these interactions might be harnessed.”

If you have any question about probiotics please call or stop in.  Dr. Steve would love to answer any question you have.

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05208-8?utm_source=Dan+John%27s+Wandering+Weights&utm_campaign=9f0cd584cb-DJWW186&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d663067162-9f0cd584cb-37015289&mc_cid=9f0cd584cb&mc_eid=52a146f87d

Just because you had MRI showing you have disc pathology, that does not mean you found the cause of the pain.

• Be a healthy weight
• Be physically active (Weight lifting and aerobic cardiovascular exercise)
• Eat a diet that’s rich in vegetables, fruits and beans
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
• Floss your teeth
• Healthy personal relationships are a must
• Sleep at least 8 hours a day as many days as possible
• Limit your consumption of fast food and other processed foods high in fat, starches or sugar
• Limit your consumption of processed meats
• Limit your consumption of sugar sweetened drinks (soda, sports drinks, energy drinks)
• Limit your consumption of alcohol
• Limit your consumption of saturated  and trans fats
• Don’t smoke and limited your exposure to smoke