Daniel Palmer, a holistic practitioner with a clinic in Davenport, Iowa, founded modern chiropractic in 1895. The clinic's janitor had been deaf for 17 years. Upon inquiring about his condition, Palmer examined him and noticed a bump, indicating a misaligned vertebra. On September 18,1895 he gave him an "adjustment" to realign his spine, and the janitor regained full hearing. Palmer theorized that the nervous system was not working due to this spine alignment problem. He further reasoned that returning the alignment towards normal should improve the condition. Thus began the practice of modern chiropractic.
Icame upon this most interesting study that surveyed 311 chiropractic patients aged 65 or older;the study compared similarly aged non chiropractic patients and found the following. The chiropractic patients spent only 31% of the amount on healthcare services as compared to the non chiropractic patients. The chiropractic patients had 50% less visits to a medical provider compared to their peers. In addition their was a decrease in smoking and the use of non prescription drugs.
JMPT 2000;23(1):10 RL Rupert, D Manello, R Sandefur Maintenance Care: health promotion services administered to US Chiropractic patients aged 65 or older part 2.
The month of September marks the beginning of the school year. Most students, from kindergarten to college, carry a backpack. I am often asked, "How much weight should you carry in a back pack?" The answer is 15% of your body weight, as recommended by the American Pediatric Association. Unfortunately many children carry well in excess of this recommendation. For example, a 75-pound child should only be carrying 11.25 pounds! Imagine carrying more than the recommended weight for 12 years of schooling. Then, at age, 25 this person shows up in my office with mid back or lower back pain and wonders where the pain came from. Please consider using a backpack that has wheels. If the backpack has a waist belt, use it, as this transfers weight to the hips instead of the back. Check the weight of your pack and try to lighten the load.
Purses don't come with wheels, but maybe they should. If you are carrying a purse, weigh it. If it weighs more than 10 pounds and you have "knots" in your neck, we can point to the purse as the cause. The weight pulling on the muscles on one side will damage the muscles and stretch the ligaments out, which can injure the cervical spine. The vertabrae will not slide and glide normally, resulting in pinching of a nerve in your neck. The pinched nerve can cause headaches, neck pain, tight muscles and even pain radiating to your arm(s). Try a fanny pack, switch shoulders or lighten the load.
Wallets can also cause problems. I have measured wallets in the back pocket of some patients and have found them to be 2 inches thick! If I asked you to sit with a 2-inch piece of wood propping up your chair on one side, I am sure you would be uncomfortable in minutes. Imagine what your spine feels like if you have a desk job and sit for 8 hours a day. This uneven posture can lead to lower back pain, pelvic muscle imbalance and sciatic pain. There is a story of a salesman who went to the chiropractor for left sciatic pain, he was treated and his chiropractor told him to take his wallet out of his left back pocket. 3 years later he shows up with right sciatic pain. We have smaller billfolds available, to be carried in your front pocket. If possible put your wallet in your front pocket or your coat. If not try to lighten the load.
Listed below are some of the symptoms/conditions that are treated at our office.
neck pain
lower back pain
shoulder and arm pain
headache
jaw pain
numbness of the arm or hand
herniated disks
weakness of the arm or hand
pain between the shoulder
pinched nerves
William L. Krieger DC
5225 Sheridan Dr.
Williamsville, NY 14221
IN PAIN? Call Dr. Krieger at 633-6044 or
docbillchiro@juno.com
Website: Kriegerchiropracticofwny.topchiro.com