Acetaminophen – also known as paracetamol and marketed under brand names such as Mapap, Panadol and Tylenol – is not effective for the treatment of lower back pain and offers little value for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, according to a study published in The BMJ. The systematic review and meta-analysis is a synthesis of the research evidence from 13 randomized controlled trials designed to investigate the safety and efficacy of acetaminophen in the management of spinal pain – lower back or neck – and osteoarthritis. The paper concludes that the widely used painkiller is ineffective against lower back pain and offers only “minimal short-term benefit” for people with…

When muscle joints are pulled apart there forms a tiny cavity filled with gas which then collapses, creating a popping noise. The wince-inducing sound of knuckles cracking is caused by a small bubble building up in the fluid of the fingers then ‘popping ‘, scientists believe, and it could even be beneficial to health. For decades researchers have debated what causes the unpleasant sound and argued about whether knuckle cracking could cause joint problems like arthritis. Now a new study from the University of Alberta suggests that when muscle joints are pulled apart there forms a tiny cavity filled with gas which then collapses, creating a popping noise. It takes…

More often than not, patients presents to a chiropractic clinic as a last resort for their lower back pain. Even more frequent, are the revelations of patients being advised to opt for a corticosteroids injection directly on to the painful area, the so called ‘epidural injection’. However, when asked about its effectiveness, doubts start to raise as the medical and scientific evidence on this topic is shockingly poor considering the frequency with which this procedure take place in modern practice. Lower back pain is a condition that is often encountered and treated by doctors of chiropractic, so it is necessary to take a critical look at this procedure. Looking in…

SOURCE:   Surgical Neurology Internat 2011; 2: 83 Nancy E Epstein, Donald C Hood Department of Neurological Surgery, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA INTRODUCTION:   Although one spine surgeon may decide that a patient needs surgery, another surgeon [e.g. a second opinion] might decide that surgery is “unnecessary”. Here we define “unnecessary surgery” as spinal surgery based upon “pain alone”. That is, the patient has no neurological deficit and no significant abnormal radiographic findings on dynamic X-rays, MR, and/or CT. Surgeons can, and do, debate whether it is appropriate to operate on patients with pain alone. To put this debate in context, however, we need to better understand the…

Integration: A Conversation with the Neuroscience Institute It’s happening! More and more we see examples of outreach from the medical community to doctors of chiropractic (DCs). In February 2013, the physicians and staff of the Neuroscience Institute and Comprehensive Spine Center at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center invited all local DCs to a dinner and case presentation by Stephen Troyanovich, DC.The physicians who attended the presentation were seeking information and evidence on the proven health benefits of chiropractic. As someone who spends her days educating and assisting DCs with how to become more integrated, I am always intrigued as to what the mechanisms are behind this phenomenon. I asked for an interview, and, in keeping with its friendly…

In 2007, the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society listed a number of recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Low Back Pain. it included the following: for patients who do not improve with self care options, clinicians should consider the addition of non pharmacologic therapy with proven benefits—for acute low back pain, spinal manipulation; for chronic or sub acute low back pain, intensive interdisciplinary rehabilitation, exercise therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, spinal manipulation.Read the full article.

In 2004, European Guidelines for the Management of Chronic Non-specific Low Back Pain (CLBP) were released. They recommend spinal manipulation as an effective conservative treatment. They further state that: Surgery for non-specific CLBP cannot be recommended unless 2 years of all other recommended conservative treatments — including multidisciplinary approaches with combined programs of cognitive intervention and exercises — have failed. Read the full article. Additionally, these list a series of NOT RECOMMENDED treatment options which, nowadays, seem to be a fairly common medical advise – Bed rest – Acupuncture – Epidural corticosteroids – Intradiscal injections – Intra-articular (facet) steroid injections – Local facet nerve blocks – Trigger point injections – Prolotherapy – Botulinum toxin…

Neck pain can be a disabling condition which may severely affect our daily lives and could also result in sleeplessness, chronic pain and depression. Patients with neck pain often present with arm pain in a specific dermatomal, and/or myotomal, pattern resulting in weakness of specific muscles and altered sensation, paresthesia. This is typically known as radiculopathy, where one or more nerve root is/are affected; the general term for such condition is neuropathy. In May 2013, the European Chiropractic Union (ECU) convention took place in Spain and amongst the many scientific topics, the ECU Research Council and the European Academy of Chiropractic (EAC), awarded the best research project presented by doctors…