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Looking for a safe and effective back pain treatment? Breaking Back Pain News: Survey Says Chiropractic Outperforms Other Back Pain Treatments – Even Medication

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

SURVEY SAYS!!!! If you have back pain, you are probably old enough to remember Richard Dawson first yelling that phrase on the popular 70s and 80s game show, The Family Feud. If not – it doesn’t matter – you just learned something interesting about American pop culture and game show history.

So, What Does The Survey Really Say?

According to an August 9, 2011 article on chiroeco.com, “In a new survey, chiropractic outperformed all other back pain treatments including prescription and over-the-counter medications, deep-tissue massage, yoga, and Pilates. According to the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), this news reinforces the use of conservative care options as a first line of defense against pain.

The survey, released by a leading consumer product rating and survey publisher in late July, found that 65 percent of those surveyed using chiropractic care for back pain said it helped a lot. Only 53 percent of respondents using prescription medications found them as helpful.

“Additionally, about half of those surveyed who are using, yoga or Pilates said those treatments helped a lot and only 28 percent of respondents using over-the-counter medications reported that they helped a lot.

“Current evidence-based guidelines support the use of conservative care such as chiropractic for conditions such as chronic lower back pain.” One serious eye-opener was that only 28% of respondents said over-the-counter medications helped a lot. It has been known for quite some time that common over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAID) have serious side effects. One of these side effects is that an estimated 16,500 people die every year.

Natural, conservative options like Chiropractic, deep tissue massage, yoga, and Pilates are most likely better and safer choices when it comes to relieving back pain.

Tags: alternative medicine, back pain, chiropractic, chiropractor, health, massage
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Chiropractor In San Diego Reveals New Spinal Decompression Therapy Protocol To Eliminate Back And Neck Pain

Friday, November 4th, 2011

Back and neck pain can be potentially debilitating conditions for many individuals. These conditions will strike millions of Americans this year alone. Many of them will suffer for the rest of their lives due to incorrect information from friends and bad care from doctors. The good news is that San Diego chiropractic doctor Dr. Mike Pritsker is sharing little known secrets that are helping thousands of people live pain free and enjoy their life. And best of all, the spine treatment program doesn’t involve risky medication and dangerous surgery.

Reality is most of us are all influenced by slick commercials that sell neck and low back pain medicine. That’s why we keep our medicinal cabinets, handbags, and car glove compartments fully stocked with all the stuff. As a matter of fact, they now sell pain medication at Costco and Walmart in huge quantities. People go down the aisles and toss a case in their shopping cart like it’s a bag of potato chips or a 12 pack of beer. And of course drug companies don’t tell the causes of neck and low back pain because they know that they sell medication to cover up the symptoms and to really treat the cause of the condition.

There are many different options for the treatment of neck and low back pain. Some of these options include but are not limited to chiropractic care, massage therapy, acupuncture, physical therapy, medicine, and spine surgery. Many of these options unfortunately may not work for people suffering from back and neck pain that is related to disc injuries such as disc rupture and disc bulges. Many people unfortunately end up turning to risky spine surgery to help their back problems. Others may opt for spinal injections consisting of Cortisone and Epidurals which only offer short term relief. They soon discover that it just masks the problem by covering up the symptoms while the condition worsens all along.

There are safer and better options for eliminating back and neck pain. Many people suffering from back pain and leg pain are turning to New Century Spine Centers in San Diego to learn about advanced spinal decompression therapy and specialized chiropractic care to fix their spinal condition. On their website, visitors can watch videos of San Diego’s spinal decompression chiropractor Dr. Michael Pritsker, DC revealing his revolutionary technology on special television appearances on Fox6 news and channel 10 news. Many people are finding the solution to their back and neck pain with Dr. Michael Pritsker’s revolutionary treatment program.

Spinal decompression therapy has been successfully treating back and leg pain for over a decade. Since 2001, Dr. Mike Pritsker has helped thousands of people live pain free and enjoy their life free from pain. Spinal decompression treatment with specialized chiropractic treatment in San Diego has worked for conditions like sciatica, leg pain, cramps, spinal stenosis, muscle spasms, neuralgia, disc bulges, arthritis, facet syndrome, and disc herniations. It even has worked in some cases when all else has failed. Back pain not only causes back and leg pain. It causes other conditions like depression, lost days from work, and can seriously impact someone’s lifestyle. Getting the proper treatment for the condition is important to get the best results. And it’s not a matter of what kind of spinal decompression machine the doctor uses. There are several available. There are the DRX9000, ABS, Triton, Vax-D and more. It’s more important to choose the best back doctor to properly utilize the equipment.

Dr. Mike Pritsker is a chiropractor at New Century Spine Centers in San Diego. He uses advanced spinal decompression treatment and specialized chiropractic care to get rid of back and neck pain in some of the most severe cases. People travel from long distances to the city of San Diego to see Dr. Pritsker to fix their back problems. Dr. Michael Pritsker regularly works close with other healthcare professionals to make sure that his patients get the best care possible for their back problems. Dr. Mike Pritsker can be reached at New Century Spine Centers in San Diego at 619-630-9153. Anyone suffering from back or neck pain can also request a free report and free video from the New Century Spine Centers website.

Tags: back doctor, back pain, back treatment, best chiropractor, chiropractic, chiropractor, disc bulge, disc herniation, disc injury, leg pain, michael pritsker, neck pain, neuralgia, neuropathy, pain management, san diego, sciatica, spinal decompression, spine decompression therapy, spine specialist, stenosis
Posted in Chiropractic, Health, Low Back Pain, Neck Pain, Spinal Decompression | No Comments »

San Diego Chiropractor Help Patients With Torticollis

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

It happens to everyone; the experience of waking up with neck pain is remarkably debilitating. Medically known as adult torticollis, this condition occurs more frequently than you think and is profoundly annoying. You go to bed feeling fine, and you wake up unable to turn your head without pain. There are some common things that cause this condition, and some simple things you can do to ease your suffering.

Overnight you have little control over the circumstances in which you sleep. You may unintentionally place your head in an abnormal position. The temperature may drop and cause neck muscles to spasm. Unusual activities the day before may have put a strain on your neck. Regardless of the exact source, you wake up with muscles that have tightened to the point of immobility. When the muscles lock up, they cause the facet joints of the vertebrae to jam against one another. The small muscles that control movement along these joints get tighter and the cycle repeats itself. It becomes a vicious circle until you get the neck muscles to relax.

Among one of the more common forms of neck pain, torticollis, also known as wry neck, is when one's neck feels stiff and experiences spasms that make the neck tilt to one side. Torticollis can be either congenital or acquired, with the former being somewhat rarer compared to the latter. It is often diagnosed in very young children but there have been cases of it presenting in adults who were probably not diagnosed in their youth. The most common treatment given for congenital torticollis is physical therapy that allows the affected area to be stretched, strengthened, and handled.

If you catch the problem right at the beginning, you will have a better chance of a quick solution. Ice and anti-inflammatory medications will help combat the pain and inflammation for the first 24 hours. If the spasm remains active for more than 48 hours, you may want to consider physical therapy, massage, and chiropractic. A chiropractor is trained in maintaining proper range of motion and function in your muscles and joints. With a variety of passive and isometric exercises, a chiropractor can help your neck muscles "reset" and resume full motion.

A normal course of chiropractic treatment for torticollis involves 3-4 sessions. Overtime, the joints and muscles will return to place and relax. Barring an unusual trigger, almost all cases of torticollis are resolved successfully in a matter of a couple of weeks, at the most. While very painful and generally annoying, torticollis or neck pain isn't a serious situation. It is important to correct torticollis early on so as to avoid any facial asymmetry or undue lingering neck pain.

Tags: alternative health, muscle spasms, neck pain, New Century Spine Centers, san diego, stiff neck, Torticollis
Posted in Chiropractic, Health, Neck Pain | No Comments »

WARNING HEART PATIENTS: Should You Take These Popular Over-The-Counter Pain Medications After A Heart Attack?

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Many visionary health care providers warned about it. Most laughed it off. Now, the research is really piling up and the evidence is getting too strong to ignore. Back in July 1998, The American Journal of Medicine reported, “Conservative calculations

estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures of all NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is

generally under-appreciated.”

From the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine: “If deaths from gastrointestinal toxic effects from NSAIDs were tabulated separately in the National Vital Statistics reports, these effects would constitute the 15th most common cause of death in

the United States. Yet these toxic effects remain mainly a ‘silent epidemic,’ with many physicians and most patients unaware of the magnitude of the

problem. Furthermore, the mortality statistics do not include deaths ascribed to the use of over-the-counter NSAIDS.”

A New Study Warns Heart Patients About NSAIDs

According to the Elsevier Global Medical News, “For patients with a history of myocardial infarction, any length of treatment with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs poses an unacceptably high risk for death or recurrent heart attacks, based on

findings from Danish study using hospital and pharmacy registry data and published online May 9 in Circulation.

The risk elevation began during the first week of therapy and continued throughout the course of treatment, with some differences in the magnitude of risk between NSAIDs.” The authors stressed the results of the study are not in line with the American Heart Association recommendations regarding NSAID treatment in patients with established cardiovascular disease “because we demonstrate that even short-term NSAID treatment is associated with increased cardiovascular risk in patients with prior MI,” The article also stated, “Despite some limitations of the study, namely the observational design and the possible effects of information bias, and the need for randomized clinical

studies… The accumulating evidence suggests that we must limit NSAID use to the absolute minimum in patients with established cardiovascular disease.”

You Are Probably Taking NSAIDs And Do Not Even Know It

Estimates say that over 30 billion over the counter tablets and 70 million prescriptions are sold annually in the United States alone. NSAIDs include Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Advil, and Motrin as well as prescription products like Celebrex, Daypro and more.

Is There A Better Pain Solution?

One of the principles of medicine is, “first do no harm.” In other words, make sure the treatment is not worse than the original problem. That’s why, if at all possible, conservative natural options should always be looked into before more invasive and chemical treatments are used.

Chiropractic care has been helping patients relieve pain naturally, without the deadly side effects of NSAIDs since 1895. As research and proof piles up – and so do the deaths – Chiropractic care becomes the intelligent, obvious choice.

Tags: cardiac, chiropracor, heart, heart disease, New Century Spine Centers, san diego
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San Diego Chiropractor Explains The Common Cause Of Having A Short Leg

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Have you ever been told you have a short leg and you wonder how is that possible? For some people, it might not affect their activities of daily living but for others it might cause them moderate pain. A short leg can add to muscle imbalances because it makes your weight distribute unevenly throughout your body. Ask any doctor who treats chronic back pain and they will agree, that correcting the short leg is the first approach to correcting the problem.

The hip is a ball and socket joint. It allows for a variety of movements of the leg, so it relies heavily on the muscles of the lower back, the leg and buttocks for support. The condition of each of these supporting muscles, will determine the angle at which the neck of the femur sits in its socket. If problems with any of the relevant muscles on one side of the body cause the neck of the femur to draw up or downwards slightly, it will affect the length of that leg. This causes the pelvis to tilt and other muscles in the body to start compensating.

Unfortunately because of our active lifestyle these days, changes to the muscles supporting one of the hip joints can come about very easily, either through an injury, accident, or overuse of a certain joint from a particular sport. If left untreated you may develop uneven muscular definition that will prevent you from reaching your full potential at your favorite sport, or worse yet, have frequent muscle spasms or chronic pain.

Whether any problem with these muscles or joints become permanent or not depends largely on things like posture, stress levels and whether the original problem is given the correct treatment at the time. When the correct treatment is not received, the supporting muscles don’t do their job properly and so excessive wearing of the hip or knee joint can happen, resulting in the need for joint replacement surgery later in life, something I am sure no one would want to go through.

Once a person has a short leg their pelvis is drawn down on that side and up on the other. This causes tension in the spine and in the erector spinae muscles of the back. When this happens it’s possible for the spine to curve and some of the vertebrae to become twisted or tilted especially in people with weak muscles. This is often the underlying cause of back pain, scoliosis, or facet syndrome. If you see one of your shoulders higher than the other when you look in the mirror or if one leg of your pants is always longer on one side, go see your local chiropractic doctor and see if he/she can help you correct your problem for good! If you have any questions, visit us at www.BackCareTreatment.com

Tags: ball and socket, facet syndrome, hip pain, knee pain, low back pain, michael pritsker, muscles, neuromuscular reeducation, New Century Spine Centers, san diego, scoliosis, Short leg, spinal decompression, tilted pelvis, wear and tear, www.BackCareTreatment.com
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Tips To Treating And Preventing Ankle Pain

Thursday, August 4th, 2011

A sprained ankle is a very common injury. The most common problems in ankle injury is when you turn it in when you wear high heels or when you turn it over when stepping on a stone or the edge of something. This is commonly known as ankle sprain. The condition results in a lot of bruising and swelling. A severe sprain can actually tear the elastic fibers of the ligaments.

Usually, it takes around a few weeks to recover from the injury but the ligaments do not heal or repair completely and are often left with scar tissue. This will increase the chances of recurrent sprains. This not only alters and affects the working of the ankle but also results in problem with the working of the joints of the knee and spine. This happens while taking long walks or jogging on uneven surface.

A Grade 1 sprain is a slight stretching and some damage to the fibers (fibrils) of the ligament. A Grade 2 sprain is partial tearing of the ligament. If the ankle joint is examined and moved in certain ways, abnormal looseness (laxity) of the ankle joint occurs. A Grade 3 sprain is a complete tear of the ligament. If the examiner pulls or pushes on the ankle joint in certain movements, gross instability occurs.

You can avoid any such kind of chronic pain and recurrent problems with the help of chiropractic treatment. A good chiropractor can analyze and recognize if your ankle pain is due to weakness in the leg muscles or if a bone in your foot/ankle is out of alignment. A misalignment left untreated can result into hammer toes, bunions, flat feet, knee pain, or even hip pain.

If you are suffering severe pain, consider easing the pain temporarily with an over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen. Follow the directions on the product label. After a thorough exam, your chiropractor should prescribe you more appropriate treatment for long term relief. If the diagnosis of your foot/ankle pain is due to weak muscles, he/she will prescribe stretching and exercises to strengthen them. If the cause of your pain is due to a misplaced bone, then an adjustment is appropriate. If your pain stems from dropped arches in your feet, orthotics or podiatrist will be referred.

Tags: ankle pain, foot pain, joint pain, knee pain, ligaments, muscles, rehabilitation, sprain, strain, twisting ankle
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Chiropractic Care – A Wise Decision For Injuries After An Auto Accident

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Most are still in the dark about the importance of having a chiropractic consultation and exam after an automobile accident. Usually attention is only given to the obvious injuries. Commonly, one may wonder about the need of visiting a chiropractor when they are already admitted in a hospital with so many doctors around. There are different types of doctors with different approaches and philosophies. Hospital doctors look for fractures and internal bleeding. Chiropractors look for spinal misalignments and soft tissue inflammation.

Any automobile accident causes bad reactions in the body, even with a slow or low impact crash. This can result in misalignment along your spine that eventually will lead to problems elsewhere, such as an organ or system malfunction. Remember, all parts of the body are connected and work in unison with each other. A problem in one part of the body will lead to other troubles elsewhere. In such scenarios, receiving chiropractic treatment is a good idea. A doctor of chiropractic is trained to find these misalignments and work to correct them naturally thru adjustments.

If vertebra moves out of its normal alignment, it can cause pressure in your head, neck, and back resulting in pain immediately after the accident. Due to shock and the initial worries of the car’s damages, many auto accident victims do not experience symptoms until a few days after the accident. If you are experiencing any such symptoms, it might be an indicator that there is some kind of sprain or strain resulting in tears of the various soft tissues in the body.

Sometimes damage is not detected until months or even years after an accident. Just like someone discovering they are dying from cancer or AIDS has actually been sick with the disease for a long time, they just didn’t know it until they had outward signs of health which unfortunately comes in the final stages. Absence of symptoms does not necessarily equal a clean bill of health! The cause always comes before the symptoms.

Visiting a chiropractor for a chiropractic consultation is a wise choice when one is involved in an automobile accident. There is no reason that someone should live with chronic neck and back pain for years due to the result of an automobile accident. Chiropractic care is gentle, easy, and safe. It can relieve neck and back pain with non-surgical alternatives such as spinal decompression, pro adjuster, and other safe, approved techniques. Do not let the consequences of an automobile accident diminish the quality of your life. Visit your local San Diego chiropractor at New Century Spine Centers right now for an evaluation.

Tags: 92108, auto injury, chiropractic, chiropractor, health, san diego, spine, sprain
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A Few Things To Keep In Mind When Looking For A Chiropractor

Monday, July 18th, 2011

When you need to see a chiropractor, you don't want to leave the job to just anyone. You need somebody you can trust to crack your back. Once you start looking, your head will spin with all the different styles, philosophies and methods they use. So, how do you find the right chiropractic practitioner?

Word Of Mouth is still the best way to start. Ask your doctor for the names of a few good chiropractors. Your primary care physician will be able to direct you to some chiropractic offices that are well known, trustworthy and reputable. If you have any friends who have had work done, ask them for names. It's always best to go with a clinic that is turning out happy customers whose back problems have vanished because of their excellent quality treatment.

Is the clinic legit? Here are a few easy ways to tell if a practitioner is the real thing. First, they should have completed 4 years of advanced chiropractic training from an accredited institution. Look for their diploma and credentials on the wall. Second, they must have a license to practice in your state. This should be prominently displayed in their clinic. If they don't have it, or if they start telling you reasons why they don't have it, skip them. There are lots of practitioners out there, and not all of them are legitimate.

During the consultation, a good chiropractor will take a thorough history and give you a complete physical, orthopedic, and neurological exam. The chiropractor should palpate for any misalignments or abnormalities. They should look at the areas that hurt as well as the surrounding areas that may indirectly affect your area of complaint. You don't need a lot of x-rays a minimal series might be adequate to diagnose your problem.

Some chiropractors primarily provide treatment for symptomatic relief, while others believe in providing some degree of rehabilitation of underlying problems, and still others do long-term treatment to permanently correct skeletal alignment as much as possible. The differences in these approaches are considerable when it comes to the frequency and duration of treatment prescribed. A good chiropractor will give you honest expectations about how many visits you might need before you see real noticeable results. But most importantly, go with what feels right to you.

Tags: adjustments, alternative medicine, back pain, biomechanics, Carissa Hang, chiropractic care, chiropractor, exercise, joint pain, manipulation, michael pritsker, muscles, neck pain, nerve interference, New Century Spine Centers, preventive care, rehabilitation, san diego, shoulder pain, spinal decompression, subluxation
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Popular Obesity Surgery Worse Than They Thought

Thursday, July 7th, 2011

As a chiropractor in San Diego, I regularly help patients with nutrition for losing weight and I also encounter patients that undergo weight loss surgery. Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person’s weight and height, and provides a reasonable indicator of body “fatness” and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and Type 2 Diabetes.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-three states had prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; nine of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.”

Obviously, obesity is a big problem, but, what if a treatment is worse than the “Disease?” This may be the case, according to a study on the long-term effects of laparoscopic gastric band surgery. Researchers of the study, published in the Archives of Surgery, said, “The bands eroded in almost one in three patients. Sixty percent had undergone additional surgery, including 17 percent who went on to have gastric bypass.” Researchers concluded the adjustable gastric band surgery, which is growing in popularity in the United States, “appears to result in relatively poor long-term outcomes.”

A related article in The New York Times added: The results “are worse than we expected,” said Dr. Jacques Himpens of the European School of Laparoscopic Surgery and St. Pierre University Hospital in Brussels, lead author of the new study. Dr. Himpens advised those considering gastric band surgery not to “nourish exaggerated expectations,” adding that “anyone who has had the procedure should see a care provider on a regular basis and be vigilant about signs of infection or band erosion.”

Is there a better solution? Once again, research has shown there are almost always unwanted side effects to every drug or surgery. So, the question becomes – is the potential benefit worth that negative side effect? But, an even smarter question is – is there an all natural alternative that does not come with the same inherent risks of drugs and surgery? In this case, the answer for many people is… YES!

For many people, obesity and weight problems can be accomplished by permanent lifestyle changes. In other words, finding what foods work for your body chemistry, eating those foods, and exercising correctly for the rest of your life. This may seem like a daunting task, but the alternative is chilling. As research shows, quick fixes tend to lead to more problems. Nothing in life worth having comes without a price. To achieve real health, the price is putting in the effort to eat right, exercise, reduce stress and keep your body working properly.

Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, dieting, health, michael pritsker, nutrition, san diego, surgery, weight
Posted in Health, Nutrition, Weight Loss | No Comments »

Chiropractor In San Diego Reviews Groundbreaking Study Noting Anti-Depressants May Be No Better Than Placebo

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

As a chiropractor in San Diego, I see many patients suffering from everything from back pain to stress and more. Researching some of the latest studies helps me help my patients in many ways. And since pain being a common cause for depression, I find this article fitting.

Napoleon Hill, author of the self-help bible “Think and Grow Rich”, is quoted as saying: “What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” He also said we become our dominant thoughts. Research is showing he may be 100% accurate with those statements… especially the latter. Here is why: Starting in 1998, studies began to raise questions about the “scientific proof” behind the widespread use of antidepressants versus placebos.

University of Connecticut researchers, Irving Kirsch and Guy Sapirstein, found antidepressants seemed to get results, but so did placebos. In 38 studies conducted with over 3,000 depressed patients, placebos improved symptoms 75 percent as much as legitimate medications.

“We wondered, what’s going on?” said Kirsch in a 2010 interview with Newsweek. The medical community, skeptical of his analysis, asked him to instigate a more comprehensive study with the results of all clinical trials conducted by antidepressant manufacturers, including those unpublished – 47 studies in total.

Over half of the studies showed no significant difference in the depression-alleviating effects of a medicated versus non-medicated pill. With this more thorough analysis, which now included strategically unpublished studies from pharmaceutical companies, placebos were shown to improve symptoms 82 percent as much as the real pill.

According to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights International: “However, if experts and antidepressant manufacturers are aware of this, the general public certainly isn’t … Millions of people every year feel better, simply because they believe they’ll feel better.”

Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, depression, drugs, health, medication, placebo, san diego, stress
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