It’s a pain. About 80 percent of adults in the United States will experience lower back pain at some point. Treating back pain typically involves medication, including opioids, surgery, therapy and self-care options. Efforts to reduce opioid use and increase physically based therapies to reduce pain and increase physical function and safety are crucial.

Worldwide, more than 23 percent of the population suffer from chronic low back pain (CLBP). This makes CLBP the most prevalent chronic pain disorder, associated with immense costs to the health care system. The problems are often attributed to risks at the workplace, but are usually related to physical factors such as incorrect posture or sitting for too long.

Q: How is a chiropractic adjustment performed?

A: Chiropractic adjustment or manipulation is a manual procedure that utilizes the highly refined skills developed during the doctor of chiropractic’s intensive years of chiropractic education. The chiropractic physician typically uses his or her hands—or an instrument— to manipulate the joints of the body, particularly the spine, in order to restore or enhance joint function. This often helps resolve joint inflammation and reduces the patient’s pain. Chiropractic manipulation is a highly controlled procedure that rarely causes discomfort. The chiropractor adapts the procedure to meet the specific needs of each patient. Patients often note positive changes in their symptoms immediately following treatment.

The world’s population is steadily growing older. Along with increased age comes a variety of age-related health problems, and degenerative spine diseases constitute a common health problem in older persons.

Spine surgery can improve quality of life in many patients with damaged or deteriorating spinal components. This is true for older patients as well as for younger ones. But what about patients in the upper range of elderly, those 80 years of age or older? Is spine surgery advisable in this group and what risks does it carry?

A review of the evidence on the use of complementary and alternative (CAM) therapies to treat babies with colic has shown some that some treatments—including probiotics, fennel extract and spinal manipulation—do appear to help, but that overall the evidence on the use of these therapies is limited so should be treated with caution.

Researchers reviewed published ‘systematic reviews’ on the use of CAM therapies to treat babies with colic. Systematic reviews bring together all the studies on a topic, to understand the totality of the evidence available.

Nagging pain should not be ignored. If you have persistent neck, shoulder, upper back, lower back, hip, knee or foot pain, chances are great that Darrell Johnson, D.C., and his chiropractic team can help.
In a candid interview, Dr. Johnson shared his experience of discovering chiropractic care, studying in New York, interning in Canada, and starting a practice and providing chiropractic care for his neighbors here in Union County.

Yoga and physical therapy (PT) are effective approaches to treating co-occurring sleep disturbance and back pain while reducing the need for medication, according to a new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
The research showed significant improvements in sleep quality lasting 52 weeks after 12 weeks of yoga classes or 1-on-1 PT, which suggests a long-term benefit of these non- pharmacologic approaches.

A new study shows that more than half of office-based physicians in the U.S. recommended at least one complementary health approach (CHA) to their patients during the previous 12 months, with female physicians more likely to recommend a CHA than male physicians.

The typical applicant at a chiropractic college has already acquired four years of pre-medical undergraduate college education, including courses in biology, inorganic and organic chemistry, physics, psychology and related lab work. Once accepted into an accredited chiropractic college, the requirements become even more demanding—four to five academic years of professional study are the standard. Because of the hands-on nature of chiropractic, and the intricate adjusting techniques, a significant portion of time is spent in clinical training.

Good posture helps us stand, walk, sit, and lie in positions that place the least strain on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement and weight-bearing activities. The benefits of correct posture are as follows:

• Helps us keep bones and joints in correct alignment so that our muscles are used correctly, decreasing the abnormal wearing of joint surfaces that could result in degenerative arthritis and joint pain.

• Reduces the stress on the ligaments holding the spinal joints together, minimizing the likelihood of injury.