PODCAST · health
Pain Relief Chiropractic
by William Holdsworth
Providing listeners with research-based information regarding musculoskeletal topics with an emphasis on chiropractic. New episodes Monday-Thursday.
Episodes
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Whiplash and Mid-Back Pain – How Can This Happen?
Research regarding whiplash or whiplash associated disorders (WAD) classically focuses on neck pain; however, the data show acute thoracic spine / mid-back pain (MBP) occurs in 66% of WAD injures with 23% still complaining of MBP at one-year post-injury. It’s easy to visualize how the cervical...
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Treatment on the Wrist for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
When treating patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), doctors of chiropractic can employ a variety of options to reduce pressure on the median nerve. While this can include dietary recommendations (to reduce inflammation), adjustments to address dysfunction elsewhere along the course of the...
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Multi-Modal Care for Whiplash Patients
The term whiplash associated disorders (WAD) describes a constellation of symptoms that includes (partial list) pain, stiffness/limited motion, dizziness, headache, depression/anxiety, and brain-fog. The condition is associated with accelerations/deceleration events like car accidents, sports...
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Factors That Can Hinder Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Recovery
As with most musculoskeletal conditions, treatment guidelines for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) recommend non-surgical or conservative management initially, with surgery only in emergency situations or after non-surgical options are exhausted. So, is there a way to know who will respond best to...
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Neck-Specific Exercises for Headaches & Neck Pain
As screens (televisions, computers, and smartphones/tablets) become an increasingly important part of daily life, many people gradually take on a more slumped posture, which can place added strain on the neck and shoulders, raising the risk for neck pain and headaches. Luckily, it’s possible to...
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Reducing the Risk of Car Accident Injury
While doctors of chiropractic enjoy helping their patients get better, the preference is to avoid injury in the first place, and if that’s not possible, to reduce the risk for serious injury. This is especially important when it comes to car accidents, as whiplash associated disorders (WAD)...
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Two GREAT Treatment Options for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) has long been recognized as an occupational disease, and though the incidence of many other occupational diseases has decreased over time, CTS appears to be becoming more prevalent. A 2019 study looked at the impact/benefit of wrist-specific exercises and oral enzyme...
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Whiplash and Tinnitus
While tinnitus is commonly associated with a ringing sound in the ears, it can also involve a buzzing, hissing, or whistling noise. The sound can be intermittent or constant and can change in volume. The noise often intensifies in a quiet room when background noise is absent, such as at night,...
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Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and is caused when the smooth cartilage surface of an articulating/moving joint wears away until there is bone-on-bone contact that results in both loss of movement and pain. Although OA most commonly affects the joints under the greatest...
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Chiropractic Management of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
When someone is diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), there seems to be an automatic assumption that surgery is imminent or at least inevitable. However, treatment guidelines for CTS that are intended to be followed by ALL healthcare professionals ALWAYS recommend an initial course of...
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Exercise Can Help Knee Osteoarthritis
In the face of musculoskeletal pain, it’s common to restrict activity. Unfortunately, doing so can weaken the muscles and joints in the affected area, which can prolong pain and elevate the risk for future injury. Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee often fall into this trap. So, what type…
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The Role of Neck-Specific Exercises for Whiplash Recovery
The cervical spine relies heavily on muscular support, particularly from the deep muscles in the front and back of the neck. Some experts estimate that up to 70% of the stability of the cervical spine arises from these deep neck muscles, particularly those in front of the spine. Studies have...
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 101
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common entrapment neuropathy, or pinched nerve, in the extremities. The condition is estimated to affect 3-6% of the population, often in both hands. Let’s discuss what causes CTS, its symptoms, how it’s diagnosed, and how it’s treated… Causation: Carpal...
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Whiplash Injury, Severity, and Recovery
Experts estimate that whiplash associated disorders (WAD) from motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) affect about 300 for every 100,000 people in the Western each year. Suffice it to say, that’s a lot of people! Crash tests have demonstrated that the risk for whiplash is much greater when the backrest…
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The Reason Blood Pressure May Rise in the Winter
A 2009 study that monitored over 8,800 elderly French adults found that an individual’s blood pressure can fluctuate with the seasons. In particular, the researchers observed that as temperatures fell, both systolic and diastolic blood pressure could rise to unhealthy levels, but they were unable...
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Whiplash Associated Headaches
One of the symptoms commonly associated with whiplash associated disorder (WAD) is headaches. The current research suggests that up to 50% of patients who experience whiplash-associated headaches may continue to suffer from them for up to a year or more, and many of those will continue to have...
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Common Shoulder Sports Injuries
With many sports requiring overhead movements that can place the shoulder at the extreme end of its range of motion, it’s not surprising that shoulder injuries are so common among athletes. For instance, up to 50% of NCAA college football players have some history of shoulder injury, which...
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When to Seek Surgical Care for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition that occurs when the median nerve is compressed as it passes through the wrist. One treatment option available to patients is carpal tunnel release surgery, which severs the carpal tunnel ligament to reduce pressure on the affected nerve to resolve the...
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Forward Head Posture and Neck Pain
Neck pain is one of the most common complaints that drive patients to seek chiropractic care. Sometimes the cause of injury is a known traumatic event, but in many cases, neck pain is the result of wear and tear from poor posture—forward head posture in particular. The head, which weighs 10-11…
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Spinal Stability and Low Back Pain
When it comes to managing a low back condition, the goal of chiropractic treatment is for the patient return to their normal daily activities as soon as possible. This not only means addressing low back pain but also low back disability, including impaired postural control and reduced spinal...
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The Link Between Whiplash and Jaw Pain
While neck pain is most commonly associated with whiplash associated disorder (WAD), patients often report jaw or temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain following a car accident, sport injury, or slip and fall. Common symptoms associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) include pain in the jaw...
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Pregnancy
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a condition that we typically associate with overuse activities, especially occupations that require fast, repetitive hand work such as typing, sewing, and packaging. However, the hormonal changes that occur in pregnancy can also lead to swelling or inflammation in...
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The Link Between Whiplash and Fibromyalgia
It’s estimated that up to 50% of whiplash associated disorder (WAD) patients will develop chronic symptoms such as neck and upper back pain, headache, dizziness, emotional and cognitive disturbance, referred pain, and physical dysfunctions. Fibromyalgia (FM) is a condition that is also...
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A Link Between Cold Sores and Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the #1 cause of dementia, representing an imminent threat to our senior population. It is one of mankind’s cruelest afflictions that causes patients lose their memory, personality, and eventually self-care skills. According to the Centers for Disease Control and...
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Scapular Stabilization for Shoulder Pain
The shoulder is one of the largest and most complex joints in the body. It’s actually three joints—the AC or acromioclavicular joint (the collar bone/acromion of the shoulder blade joint), the glenohumeral joint (the ball-and-socket joint), and the scapulothoracic joint (the shoulder blade/rib…
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Cervical Traction for Neck Pain
In addition to spinal manipulation, doctors of chiropractic often use other conservative therapies to reduce pain and improve function in patients with neck pain. When it comes to neck conditions involving herniated disks, radiating arm pain (“radiculopathy”), strains, facet syndromes or sprains,...
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Lowering the Risk for Chronic Disease
It’s common for the elderly to have multiple chronic conditions, all of which can impact their ability to live a vibrant, independent lifestyle. While it may not be possible to avoid adverse health conditions in our later years, it appears there are steps we can take now to give ourselves the…
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Reducing the Risk for Chronic Whiplash-Related Pain
A study published in 2019 found that nearly half of whiplash associated disorders (WAD) sufferers are still symptomatic one year after their injury. Why is that, and what can one do to reduce their risk for chronic WAD symptoms? The most common source of pain from WAD injuries arises from joint...
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Footwear Changes for the Knee Osteoarthritis Patient
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the leading cause of knee pain and disability in the elderly population. While treatment to address knee OA will often focus on the knee itself, a patient may also need to change their footwear. Why is that? During normal walking, joint loading is NOT evenly distributed…
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Repetitive Movement and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Of all the potential contributing factors for carpal tunnel syndrome—diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, inflammatory arthritis, pregnancy, birth control usage, and obesity—perhaps the most well-known is participating in jobs and activities that require fast, repetitive hand movements that can place...
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Neck Pain Among Office Workers
Neck pain is the second most common reason patients seek chiropractic care, and it’s particularly a problem with office workers. One study estimated that neck pain affects 42-69% of those who work in office environments. Many such individuals will experience recurring episodes of neck pain, and…
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A Link Between Back Pain and Urinary Incontinence
While under chiropractic treatment, it’s not uncommon for a patient to report improvement for an issue that seems unrelated to their chief complaint. For example, a patient with a temporomandibular disorder may experience an improvement in their jaw symptoms following treatment to the neck or…
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A Less Obvious Cause of Back Pain?
Multiple studies have shown that hyper-pronation (HP), or too much rolling-inwards of the ankle, can have effects on the body far beyond the foot. For example, abnormal motion of the ankle can lead to slight changes in how the knees and pelvis move as you carry out your normal daily activities,...
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Chronic Low Back Pain: Which Treatment Is More Effective?
For patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP), treatment guidelines recommend a non-surgical approach as the FIRST-LINE treatment. Ideally, the goal would be to avoid an initial surgery unless it’s absolutely indicated. That means, unless there is loss of bowel or bladder control or retention...
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Can Bad Backs Heal Themselves?
Low back pain (LBP) from a herniated disk often leads to surgical intervention. However, there are patients with this painful malady who can successfully “ride it out” and repeat MRI imaging six to twelve months later often fails to show little, if any, evidence of the original herniated disk…
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Can Damaged Nerves Regenerate?
Previously, we discussed how herniated disks can resorb all by themselves, especially large herniated disks. But what about a damaged nerve—can it self-repair too? First, it’s important to realize that damage can occur when enough pressure is applied to any living tissue. The anatomy of our…
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Circadian Clocks and Low Back Pain
According to the National Institutes of Health, circadian rhythms include physical, mental, and behavioral changes that roughly follow a 24-hour cycle, responding largely to environmental light and darkness. Most living things possess this trait including animals, plants, and many microbes. So…
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Chiropractic Treatment for Wry Neck
Wry neck, also known as torticollis, is a painful condition in which the top of the head usually tilts to one side while the chin rotates to the opposite side. Torticollis can have several causes from infection (cold, flu, or otitis media, for example) to sleeping in a draft; however, the cause…
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Migraine Headaches and Nutrition Approaches
People with migraines know all too well about that throbbing, pulsating, and nauseated feeling that accompanies their headaches and the associated disability that often results. The underlying cause of migraine headaches is still not well understood, but genetics (family history), chemical...
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How Do Adjustments Help Patients with Neck Pain?
Mechanical neck pain—neck pain without neurological compromise, often without a specific cause—is associated with a loss of mobility, poor activity tolerance, increased pressure pain sensitivity (or hypersensitivity to a normal stimulus), and increased joint position sense error (JPSE—difficulty...
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Low Back Pain and Sleep (Part 3)
For the last two months (Part 1 and Part 2), we’ve discussed the importance of sleep and its effect on low back pain (LBP). Last month, we offered 9 ways to improve sleep quality, and this month we will conclude this topic with 11 more. Sleep deprivation has been called, “…an epidemic” by the...
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Low Back Pain and Sleep (Part 2)
On the last podcast, we discussed the relationship between sleep deprivation and low back pain (LBP) and found that LBP can cause sleep loss AND sleep loss can cause LBP. It’s a two-way street! This episode, we will look at ways to improve your sleep quality, which in return, will reduce your…
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Low Back Pain and Sleep (Part 1)
Low back pain (LBP) can arise from a lot of causes, most commonly from bending, lifting, pulling, pushing, and twisting. However, there are other possible causes, including sleep. This not only includes sleeping in a crooked or faulty position, such as falling asleep on a couch, in a chair, or...
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When Back Pain Can Be Extremely Dangerous…
Have you ever had leg pain and immediately blamed your lower back? Many patients (and unfortunately, many doctors) conclude such pain to be “sciatica” or a “pinched nerve.” When this diagnosis is wrong, it can lead to an inappropriate type of treatment which can delay more appropriate care, or...
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When Spinal Fusion Is Needed…
You’ve probably heard of a friend or loved one whose back pain resulted in a spinal fusion surgery, but you may not understand what prompted surgery over non-surgical approaches, including chiropractic care. Simply put, spinal fusion is a surgical technique that aims to eliminate excessive motion...
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Walk for Longevity
In recent decades, several studies have identified risk factors for early death such as reduced cardio-respiratory fitness (CRF), obesity, smoking, diabetes, heart disease, pulmonary disease, etc. Of all the causes listed, poor CRF appears to be the leading risk factor for early death. If CRF is…
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Car Accident Risk-Reducing Technologies
Whiplash associated disorders (WAD) is a collection of symptoms commonly associated with motor vehicle collisions. Because WAD can have such a negative effect on one’s quality of life, it makes sense to take steps to reduce the risk for a car accident. Let’s look at some of the modern…
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Groin Pain Syndrome
Groin pain syndrome is a term used to describe groin pain without clinical evidence of hernia or hip pathology. Though the condition is thought to affect between 2% and 20% of athletes, there is not a lot of conclusive research on its cause or the best way to treat it. Most of the published...
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Traction for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral neuropathy that affects roughly 4-5% of the general population and about 10% of working adults. The chiropractic treatment approach for the CTS patient typically involves many of the same therapies as those used for conditions like neck…
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Electronic Tablet-Related Neck Pain
When individuals use their smartphone, they often adopt an awkward posture in which their head rests forward of their shoulders. This forward head posture, or “text neck,” places added strain on the muscles in the back of the neck, shoulders, and upper back, which can lead to musculoskeletal…
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