Source: http://laderafamilyandsportschiropractic.com/index.php/resources/library?start=126
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 11:03:33+00:00

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The November/December 2003 issue of the magazine "Autism Digest" contained an interesting article on the subject of Autism and the effect of chiropractic care on those children. The article was authored by world known chiropractor for children, Dr. Joan Fallon. In her article she notes, "While it has regularly been associated with back pain or headache, increasing numbers of parents are seeking chiropractors for children and especially for children with developmental issues."
The article starts off by noting that Temple Grandin, an author of two books on autism, is herself autistic. The article notes that in her books she repeatedly discusses sensory integration difficulties as being the core of her autism. Additionally, a growing numbers of professionals also tout sensory difficulties as one of the hallmarks of autism.
Dr. Fallon describes this phenomenon by saying, "Sensory integration is defined as the disorganization of the multisensory input into the body. People who experience sensory integration problems have profound and often debilitating difficulty with touch, taste, smell, sound or visual input. Non-autistics can often experience sensory issues as well, such as the irritation we feel from a band playing too loudly, or an immediate headache from a certain smell. While these may be bothersome to the typical person, such sensory stimuli can be noxious to the autistic child and often manifest in infancy as colic and in the older child as hyperactivity, the â€œinability to listen, or unexplained behavior issues, especially in children who lack communication."
The article continues by stating that Chiropractic care should be the cornerstone of the sensory integration treatment plan for the Autistic child. Dr. Fallon notes, "Chiropractic care differs from many of the other therapies used with autistics in that it is directed to the heart of the problem: the lack of homeostasis in the body, which can, in turn, produce a disease state. Treatments are directed to the imbalances in the nervous system which inhibit sensory processing. By directly affecting the nervous system, chiropractic care for the autistic child can begin to change the many sensory integration issues by facilitating input into the organs and areas of the body involved in sensory integration, including the skin and the nervous system."
The article then explains that the imbalances in the nervous system are caused by "Subluxations" in the spine. "The presence of Subluxation can cause illness as well as a host of other problems for the child," contends Dr. Fallon. "The chiropractor administers an adjustment as the mainstream portion of care. The adjustment is administered in areas where there is the presence of a SUBLUXATION. Subluxation occurs where a segment of the spine consisting of two vertebrae and a disc between them, has lost their juxtaposition. Proper juxtaposition is necessary to maintain the integrity of the various systems that are located there, not the least of which is the nervous system."
Dr. Fallon describes this phenomenon by saying, "Sensory integration is defined as the disorganization of the multisensory input into the body. People who experience sensory integration problems have profound and often debilitating difficulty with touch, taste, smell, sound or visual input. Non-autistics can often experience sensory issues as well, such as the irritation we feel from a band playing too loudly, or an immediate headache from a certain smell. While these may be bothersome to the typical person, such sensory stimuli can be noxious to the autistic child and often manifest in infancy as colic and in the older child as hyperactivity, the inability to listen, or unexplained behavior issues, especially in children who lack communication."
Lance Armstrong is the first American to win the Tour de France three years in row. One of the methods he uses to keep in peak performance is chiropractic care. The chiropractor he uses to help him is Dr. Jeff Spencer.Â Dr. Jeff Spencer is no stranger to the sport. He is a former champion cyclist who competed on the 1972 United States Olympic Team as a sprint cyclist and he serves as chiropractor for the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling Team.
According to Dr. Spencer, "My job with Lance and the team is to optimize the neuromusculoskeletal component of their training and, in the event of a crash, minimize down time and get them back in the race as quickly as possible. I adjust them as needed and guide them in choices of diet and supplements, which helps reduce the likelihood of injury."
Several international stories have reported about a top Tour de France cyclist from Australia, Bradley McGee, and how chiropractic care kept him from dropping out of the Tour de France. One story appears on the International Fox sport network on July 6, 2004, and another on the Geo network on July 8, 2004.
The Fox story starts off by stating, "Australia's Bradley McGee has survived to fight another day at the Tour de France." The Geo story started by reporting, "McGee survived to fight another day at the Tour de France on Monday, after the work of a chiropractor reduced the pain in his hip which almost forced him out of the race."
McGee himself noted, "Thanks to the work of the chiropractor I was a lot straighter on the bike, that's the important thing but unfortunately I still haven't got a lot of power and so I couldn't help Baden Cooke in the sprint and I was just another number in the main field." After seeing his chiropractor, McGee felt more optimistic about his chances of being able to make it through the rest of the three-week race. He stated, "I'm a lot happier now and should be okay to carry on."
From the Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health comes a case study published on May 6, 2013 documenting the improvement of a case of Tourette Syndrome from chiropractic care. The study authors describe Tourette Syndrome as being characterized by sudden, brief, repetitive involuntary or semivoluntary movements and or sounds.
The Tourette Syndrome Association defines Tourette Syndrome as, "a neurological disorder which becomes evident in early childhood or adolescence before the age of 18 years. Tourette syndrome is defined by multiple motor and vocal tics lasting for more than one year." The authors of this study note that medical treatments can involve behavioral, pharmacologic, or surgical interventions, dependent on the extent to which the disorder incapacitates the person.
In this case a 14 year old boy was brought to the chiropractor by his mother seeking possible relief from the symptoms associated with his Tourette Syndrome. Due to the severity of his motor tics, migraine headaches and severe fatigue attributed to his prescribed medications, the boy had missed school the two previous days.
The boy's history revealed that he was having 1,000 violent motor tics a day that consisted of whipping his head involuntarily in flexion and extension. He was also getting migraine headaches daily. In an attempt to treat his problems, the boy was taking 6 Ibuprofen pills, 10 mgs of Abilify® (aripiprazole), and 1mg of Orap® (Pimozide) per day.
A chiropractic examination was performed which included palpation of his spine, range of motion, thermal (heat) scans and spinal x-rays. A determination was made that subluxations were present in the boys spine and a specific protocol of spinal correction was initiated.
Upon a re-examination the authors reported measurable changes in the thermal scans, x-rays and other findings. The boy's problems improved significantly going from having 1,000 tics per day to only 30-35 tics per day. Additionally the boy was no longer dependent on Ibuprofen since his first week of chiropractic care. The dosage of Abilify was reduced to 2.5mg daily, and ORAP (Pimozide) was reduced to 0.5 mg daily on medical consent.
A story in the July 2004 issue of Chiropractic Economics magazine reported on a July 6, 2004 press release from the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). The USOC press release stated, "A 47-person medical staff has been announced by the U.S. Olympic Committee to provide health care for more than 540 American athletes in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The USA Medical staff consists of medical doctors, certified athletic trainers, massage therapists, chiropractors and pharmaceutical experts."
Notable is the fact that two chiropractors were included in this list. Dr. Ira A. Shapiro of Old Bridge, N.J., and Dr. Marc P. Jaffe of Summit, N.J., are the chiropractors who were selected to join the other health professionals who will care for more than 540 American athletes in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens Aug. 13 through Aug. 29, 2004.
The Chiropractic Economics article notes that these Doctors of Chiropractic are only the eighth and ninth chiropractors ever selected by the U.S. Olympic Committee to represent the United States at any Olympic event in an official capacity.
In order to be selected, Drs. Shapiro and Jaffe had to pass an initial assessment process. They were then allowed to adjust athletes at several events prior to the Olympics. Dr. Shapiro worked with nearly 200 American athletes at the 2003 Titan Games in San Jose, Calif., while Dr. Jaffe worked with more than 150 American athletes at the 2003 Summer World University Games in Daegu, South Korea.
Chiropractic has been used by athletes for some time to not only help them when they may be injured, but more importantly to help maximize their performance abilities.
Jim Scherr, the USOC's chief executive and chief of sports performance, speaking in generic terms about all the care the athletes will receive stated, "We feel that our athletes get the best medical care in the world.Â We go to every length to care for these athletes who have accomplished their goals to get here. We want to make sure they take that next step with the best medical care available."
For the past several years Medicare administrators have made doctors of chiropractic and their patients a target for selective enforcement and regulatory restriction under Medicare because of a medical prejudice that is a gross disservice to both the patient and doctor of chiropractic. On May 16th, 2002, before a packed congressional hearing room, that trend was significantly exposed and debated.
At that hearing Small Business Committee Chairman, The Hon. Donald Manzullo (R-IL) and over a dozen other Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, pounded Medicare Administrator Thomas Scully for that program's ongoing policy of provider harassment. In a four-hour hearing, witness after witness, including ICA's Central Regional Director Dr. Michael Hulsebus (above) of Rockford, Illinois told the Committee how Medicare had conducted completely unjustified and overtly hostile and prejudicial attacks, post-payment audits and other strong-arm activities aimed at hurting non-MD providers.
Dr. Hulsebus addressed the issue succinctly with his testimony in which he stated, "Chiropractic providers and patients alike find it alarming when Medicare administrators take it upon themselves to use program policies to force health care decisions onto beneficiaries that ought to be left to the patients themselves. How else can you characterize policies that restrict access to one form of care, in this case chiropractic care, regardless of the clinical realities, and force those beneficiaries onto second-choice, specialist-based care that is far more expensive than the chiropractic care that is being denied? This is not only offensive in terms of personal liberties and control over one's own health care; it is also very poor public policy."
This historic hearing marks a major change in the role Congress is willing to play in protecting Medicare providers and Medicare patients from the heavy handed, arbitrary and prejudice driven operations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), the May 16th hearing was titled: "CMS, New Name, Same Old Game?" The anger and outrage of the Committee reached a peak when it was revealed that witnesses at earlier hearings on Medicare harassment had been subjected to snap Medicare audits on the very day they appeared before the Small Business Committee. Chairman Manzullo immediately called for an investigation of what he described as intimidation and witness tampering by Medicare and set a July 17th hearing date for a full review of this "horrific and frightening" abuse of power by Medicare authorities.
The establishment of on-going, regular chiropractic care as a routine benefit at all DVA facilities, and the establishment of a chiropractic oversight committee to assist in the rapid implementation of full chiropractic availability within the DVA.
A mandatory schedule for deploying in-facility doctors of chiropractic at all DVA medical centers, adding on-site practitioners at 30 sites per year until all locations have in-facility coverage. The first 30 sites are to be identified within sixty days of final passage of the bill.
The securing of primary care provider status for DCs so that all eligible veterans can have direct access to chiropractic care without the need for a referral from a medical doctor.
The appointment of a senior doctor of chiropractic to serve as a Director of Chiropractic Services within the DVA. This key individual would be directly responsible to the Secretary for Veterans Affairs and thus able to by-pass a historically hostile and obstructionist medical bureaucracy.
The establishment of an effective program of training and education to inform and orient other providers and beneficiaries as to the important role and availability of chiropractic services within the DVA.
News of a pilot program to expand chiropractic coverage in Medicare was reported in the April 7, 2005 issue of the Senior Journal. According to the report the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid have announced the start of a two-year demonstration to expand Medicare coverage of chiropractic services in five states. The purpose of this pilot program is to determine the impact on satisfaction, use of services, and costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
The states involved in the pilot program involve areas in Maine, New Mexico, Illinois, Iowa, and Virginia. In the areas of this pilot program, chiropractors are able to offer Medicare Part B patients an expanded array of services that they are allowed to provide by state law to their entire list of patients, but that were not previously paid for by Medicare.
Normally, only chiropractic adjustments are a covered service under Medicare. In the pilot program the services that will also be covered will include diagnostic and therapy services, including extraspinal manipulation or adjustment of a body part other than the spine, x-rays, EMG and nerve conduction studies, clinical lab tests, and certain additional procedures.
The program is designed to last for two years and evaluate the possibility of expanding chiropractic coverage in Medicare across the entire program.Â Centers for Medicare Services Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D noted, "Medicare currently only pays for a limited number of services from doctors of chiropractic, even though chiropractic services may be less costly alternatives to other types of medical care. He continued, "By expanding chiropractic coverage in this demonstration, we are reducing out-of-pocket costs for seniors who visit chiropractors, and we will learn whether paying chiropractors for delivering these additional services can help improve health outcomes and keep Medicare costs down."
In a recently passed bill, the US House and Senate agreed on language that sets up open access to chiropractic care in the VA (Veterans Administration). This new law, when enacted, will open access for all US military and veterans to receive chiropractic care under that program. The details and implementation of the program have still to be worked out but the intent was clear.
The bill contains the following language, "at least one site for such program (chiropractic) in each geographic service area of the Veterans Health Administration" (VHA). The chiropractic care specifically includes subluxation care, as well as a training program to orient the VHA personnel regarding the benefits of chiropractic care and services and employment of doctors of chiropractic. This means that chiropractic care should be made available through the hiring of chiropractors at each geographic location that the VA has a health care facility.
Chiropractic organizations have been attempting get a law such as this passed that gave these benefits to US veterans since 1936. In response to the law passage, the International Chiropractors Association released the statement, "This represents a great victory for the chiropractic profession and the veteran beneficiary alike, and comes in the face of massive opposition from competing professions as well as agency bureaucrats who have opposed and obstructed any meaningful access for veterans to chiropractic services for decades."
Although it is not entirely clear how the VHA will fully implement this new law, or how long it may take to be up and running, the language of the law does ensure that care will be provided. Probably one of the most telling portions of the law reads, "The chiropractic care and services available under the program shall include a variety of chiropractic care and services for neuro-musculoskeletal conditions, including subluxation complex."
On April 2, 2002 the US Supreme Court ruled unanimously to uphold a Kentucky law known as an "Any Willing Provider Law". Although this ruling did not get much press coverage, this ruling will have a profound effect on how health care is offered to the general public. Additionally, the law will have a considerable impact on the availability of chiropractic care in managed care programs.
This ruling upholds state laws that force HMOs to open up their doctor networks, allowing regulations in about half the states to give patients broader health care choices. The ruling is a blow to the managed care industry, which argued that closed networks are more cost-effective because doctors and hospitals that join agree to accept lower fees in return for a guaranteed stream of patients.
State "Any Willing Provider" laws basically allow all licensed doctors who agree to the terms of the HMO to become participating doctors in the HMO. This prevents HMO's from limiting the number of doctors in their network. According to many state laws HMO's are not allowed to discriminate against chiropractors.
This ruling upholds those laws and opens up networks allowing more chiropractors to participate in various health plans.
The laws affect HMOs in all areas, but are particularly helpful to patients in rural areas or small towns, where health care choices are limited. In those areas, patients sometimes have to drive many miles to see an in-network health care provider. The Kentucky statutes were challenged by a group of HMOs and an industry trade association. The case turned on whether the laws regulate insurance, which states are allowed to police, or regulate employee benefits, an area reserved for Congress. The Bush Administration, had asked the court to uphold the Kentucky laws.
A report of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) on the Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Project was finalized by DOD consultants Birch and Davis and was submitted to the U.S. Congress. The report authors, were cautious at best with their recommendations but the results of the study speak for themselves. The following are some of the statistics of patient responses to chiropractic care verses medical care.
How satisfied are you with improvement in your condition: Excellent - Chiropractic care, 81.5% v. 55.6% for medical care. How satisfied are you with the practitioner's willingness to spend time with you: Excellent: Chiropractic care, 93.7% v. 77.5% for medical care.
How satisfied are you with the explanation of your treatment: Excellent: Chiropractic care, 95.1% v. 81.1% for medical care. What best describes you today? Not restricted: Chiropractic care, 48.5% v 32.1% for medical care. Somewhat restricted Chiropractic care, 44.1% v. 50.0Â for medical care. Very restricted: Chiropractic care, 7.4% v. 17.9% for medical care.
Chiropractic care, 6.9% v. 28.8% for medical care.
Chiropractic care, 88.0% v. 70.5% for medical care.
Days off duty (0 days) Chiropractic care, 87.1% v. 66.1% for medical care. (1-4 days) Chiropractic care, 9.6% v. 25.8% for medical care.(5+ days) 3.3% v. 8.0% for medical care. Days on restricted duty (0 days) Chiropractic care, 71.5% v. 51.1% for medical care.(1-4 days) Chiropractic care, 4.2% v. 8.2% for medical care, (5+days) Chiropractic care, 2.3% v. 40.7% for medical care.
A research report from the November 8, 2006 issue of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research shows the benefits of chiropractic care for patients suffering from vertigo. In this study 60 patients who were diagnosed by their medical physicians as having various forms of vertigo, received chiropractic care and the results were documented and published.
Vertigo is a condition characterized by dizziness with a sensation of spinning. Because of the feeling of movement or rotation, many sufferers also feel nausea and can experience lightheadedness and balance problems. The diagnosis of vertigo is typically based on the symptoms of the patients as there are not specific lab tests and the patients may have a variety of situations that seem to be related. In this study, the nervous system was looked to for a causal relationship.
Of the 60 patients in this study, 56 reported having some form of physical trauma prior to the onset of their vertigo. Of these 25 had reported having automobile accidents, 16 had suffered a sports injury including skiing, bicycling, or horseback riding, and 6 slipped and fell on ice. It was noted that all of these individual's suffered trauma to either their head or neck area.
Upon initial examinations of the subjects, it was reported that vertebral subluxations were found in all 60 patients. Analysis procedures using paraspinal digital infrared imaging and laser-aligned radiography, were performed in order to have a consistent means of measuring subluxation findings and progress of correction.
Specific chiropractic care for the correction of subluxations was rendered to all 60 subjects in this study. The results showed that all of the patients in this study responded positively to the chiropractic care. The time frame for the responses varied from between one and 6 months. Of the original 60 patients, 48 were totally symptom free within six months. The remaining 12 patients had also shown good improvement by either decreases in severity or frequency in episodes of vertigo.
In the conclusion, the author of the study noted, "A causal link between trauma-induced upper cervical (neck) injury and the onset of vertigo appears to exist. Correcting the injury to the upper cervical spine through the use of IUCCA protocol (a form of chiropractic care) appears to improve and/or reverse vertigo disorders."
An article published in the Journal of Orthopedic Medicine in 1999 pointed out the superiority of chiropractic care for patients suffering from long term whiplash. The authors of the article noted that a previous study had shown that 26 of 28 patients, or 93 percent, of patients with chronic whiplash benefited from chiropractic care.Â In the authors own study, they interviewed 100 consecutive chiropractic referrals of patients with chronic whiplash. Their results also showed that of the 93 patients who remained in the study, 69 of them, or 74 percent, found improvement. The researchers concluded their opening comments with the statement, "The results from this study provide further evidence that chiropractic is an effective treatment for chronic whiplash symptoms."

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