Denver Chiropractic, LLC

The sound of brakes squealing behind you can be a perilous sound that no one wants to hear. You have been rear ended, and are now a victim of someone else’s carelessness. Car accidents in Denver happen like this everyday. We have the third worst traffic in the country, and with heavy traffic, rear end type collisions are common.

Unfortunately, not everyone will completely recover from their injuries sustained. Whiplash, or cervical acceleration deceleration syndrome, is one of the most common injuries that occur to the human body. Injuries can take a very long time to heal if they are not treated by a professional. This blog article has been written for the people that have been in an auto accident and are seeking help for their pain.

You have plenty of options when it comes to seeking care, and depending on the extent an severity of your injuries, will somewhat dictate what type of professional you see. Usually, the auto accident victim will be transported to the emergency room. If there is no serious, or red flag type of injuries, you will be discharged with some home instructions on icing, and given some pills to help with pain and muscle spasms.

As a Denver chiropractor, many people have come to my office seeking help from auto injuries. As far as treatment goes, there are plenty of options which I would like to list.

Treatment options for car accident injuries:

1. Chiropractic manipulative therapy
2. Electrotherapy
3. Ultrasound
4. Cold laser
5. Kinesiotaping
6. Traction
7. Exercise
8. Moist Heat
9. Ice
10. Supplements
11. Bracing
12. Trigger Point Therapy
13. Graston Technique
14. Muscle Energy Techniques
15. Topical Analgesics
16. Pelvic Blocking
17. Mechanical or manual massage
18. Nutrition
19. Spine sparring strategies
20. Acupuncture
21. Active Release Technique or other similar forms
22. Surgery
23. Pharmaceuticals
24. Topical Analgesics
25. Wait and watch

As you see, there are plenty of options, but I would highly recommend you to avoid the wait and watch method. Rarely, do people get better by doing nothing. I see first hand when patients get done with treatments here at Denver Chiropractic, LLC, that improvement is instant and noticeable.

As you have noticed, I’m a bit biased towards chiropractic in the list. This is not because I think chiropractors are the only ones to heal patients involved in car crashes. Car accident victims have serious injuries, and there is no magic cure, or silver bullet to healing. Most of the times, you will get care from several specialists, but what makes the chiropractor unique is our training in spinal and extremity manipulation.

Chiropractors have a minimal of 7-8 years of school behind their name. I went to school for ten years, and have three degrees. All chiropractors are doctors of chiropractic (DC). We are well trained in being able to diagnose conditions with the joints, nerves, muscle, and associated tissues.

Chiropractic manipulative therapy is not suited for everyone, and the chiropractor does a great job of selecting who gets manipulative therapy and who does not get manipulative therapy. Auto accidents usually produce damage to multiple types of tissues in the human body. In particular, the muscles will spasm, which create misalignments in the spine. No one is better suited to treat the misalignments, or as we say, subluxations.

Another reason to seek the help of a chiropractor is because many of us have additional and special training in handling auto accidents. Auto accidents are unique, because you are dealing with auto insurance companies, courts, potentially a car accident lawyer, and jurors. The level of documentation and the quality of documentation increase almost exponentially with these types of cases.

In summary, get help, and if you are not getting better, seek the help of another professional or ask for a referral.

I wish you well, and a speedy recovery.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd
Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com

Forget about sending smoke signals, or telegrams, we’ve moved into the 21st century. This isn’t Star Trek times, but we are getting much closer to the future. I’m talking about texting. Texting is a great way to communicate, but it should be done at the right time. Unfortunately, texting is being blamed for the latest death of the plastic surgeon, Dr. Frank Ryan. Dr. Frank Ryan is the successful surgeon who did Heidi Montag and many other celebrity figures. My thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Ryan’s family

Texting is not only dangerous while driving, but can also wreak havoc on your neck. As a chiropractor in denver, I am seeing more people with neck pain lately due to their texting habits. Sometimes I’ll catch them in the act. As I enter the room to greet them for the first time, they are busy texting. That seemingly harmless activity, can cause headaches, neck pain, and shoulder pain. The prolonged forward bend of the neck causes the muscles to fatigue and eventually strain.

It is similar to wearing a back pack all day, eventually your muscle will tire and give out. Muscles can only work so long without giving them a break. So, text safely, and text with your head in a neutral position. This will put less strain on your neck muscles, and then you can text all you want.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd
Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211

www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com

Denver is such a beautiful city, but hard to enjoy when you have neck pain. Neck pain can be caused by a multitude factors, some serious, and some not so serious. What is causing your neck pain?

As a chiropractor in Denver, I regularly see people come to my clinic for help with their neck pain. When there is no trauma, or other disease processes, neck pain can be typical for the person that spends lots of time at the computer. Computer monitors are like black holes, they suck you in, and are very hard to escape. I’ve had my fair share of neck pain, but who can blame us. Computers are fascinating and life changing, but they can be a hazard to our health.

I like to think of our head like a bowling ball. Pretend you are holding a bowling ball, like the women in the picture. If you tilt your arm one way, certain muscles in your hand/arm have to work harder than the other muscles. Now move the bowling ball in the other direction, and notice the different muscles being activated. Try holding that bowling ball all day, everyday. Your head is like a bowling ball, if it is to far in front of your body, the muscles in the back of your neck have to work much harder than the muscles in the front of your neck. We call this problem anterior head carriage, or forward head.

This constant contraction of the muscles in the back of your neck will make them fatigue. Once your muscles fatigue, your muscles will start to send pain signals, and become knotted. The knots in your muscles are referred to as trigger points. Trigger points can cause considerable pain, and send pain signals far away from the actual trigger point.

There are many therapies that help with painful necks. Here is a short list,

1. Chiropractic Manipulative Therapy – Re-Aligns the spine causing decrease in muscle tension
2. Massage Therapy
3. Ultrasound
4. Electrotherapy
5. Exercises to balance out muscle imbalances
6. Laser Therapy
7. Myofascial Release
8. Trigger Point Therapy
9. Muscle Stretching
10. Muscle Energy Techniques
11. Mechanical Massage
12. Ergonomic Changes
13. Postural Awareness
14. Heat/Cold therapy

There are number of ways to treat this problem, but the point is to get it treated and looked at by a professional.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
Denver Chiropractic, LLC
3890 Federal Blvd
Unit 1
Denver, CO 80211
http://www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com/

By Nathan Seppa, Science News

A large survey of postmenopausal women has found that fish oil may guard against breast cancer. Although the study wasn’t designed to show a cause-and-effect relationship, it sets the stage for an upcoming trial of fish oil consumption that may clarify the issue.

Meanwhile, 14 other over-the-counter dietary supplements had their hopes dashed, showing no apparent benefit against breast cancer, researchers report in the July Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

While other studies have found that fish oil supplements or a diet high in fish shows promise against cardiovascular ailments, (SN: 2/15/97, p. 101) the new study is the first to suggest a link between fish oil and a lower risk of breast cancer, says study coauthor Emily White, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

White and her colleagues used data from a massive survey of women in western Washington who filled out questionnaires between 2000 and 2002 regarding their diet, supplement intake, exercise habits and overall health and lifestyle. The analysis included more than 35,000 postmenopausal women ages 50 to 76 who didn’t have breast cancer at the study outset. By the end of 2007, 880 of these women had developed breast cancer.

Women who reported taking fish oil at the start of the study were roughly half as likely to develop ductal carcinoma of the breast, the most common form of breast cancer, during the follow-up years. Women taking fish oil showed no reduced risk of the less-common lobular breast cancer.

The scientists accounted for factors that might have influenced the women’s cancer risk such as age, body weight, fruit and vegetable consumption, aspirin use, smoking status, age at which they first gave birth and age at menarche.

“It seems to me that this is not a fluke or a false positive finding, as least with respect to the methods — it’s pretty solid work,” says Timothy Rebbeck, an epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. “Short of a randomized trial, this is as about as well as you can do. This is really something that has to be followed up.”

Researchers at Harvard Medical School are now beginning a five-year randomized trial of 20,000 people to examine the effects of fish oil and vitamin D on the risks of cancer, heart disease and other ills.

Other supplements showed no anticancer benefit in the new study. These included glucosamine, chondroitin, grapeseed, black cohosh, soy, dong quai, St. John’s wort, coenzyme Q10, garlic pills, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, melatonin, acidophilus and methylsulfonylmethane.

How fish oil might prevent cancer remains unknown, but inflammation — linked to cancer in many studies — may play a central role. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which impede a compound called nuclear factor kappa-B, White notes. “Fish oil inhibits this major inflammatory molecule,” she says.

By Mary Brophy Marcus, USA TODAY

Improved living and diet habits — including lots of physical activity, regular tea-drinking and sufficient vitamin D levels — could reduce the risk of brain decline, according to three studies presented Sunday.
“These are encouraging,” says William Thies, chief medical and scientific officer of the Alzheimer’s Association. “These types of studies make people think, ‘Well gosh, maybe I can do something about this disease.’ ”

The studies were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Honolulu.

One of the studies is from the Framingham, Mass., cardiovascular risk study, in which researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, among others, tracked more than 1,200 elderly people over 20 years, 242 of whom developed dementia.

The researchers found that participants who had moderate to heavy levels of physical activity had about a 40% lower risk of developing any type of dementia. Those who reported the least amount of activity were 45% more likely to develop dementia compared with those who logged higher levels of activity.

In a second study, including data on more than 4,800 men and women ages 65 and older, participants were followed for up to 14 years. Tea drinkers had less mental decline than non-tea drinkers. Those who drank tea one to four times a week had average annual rates of decline 37% lower than people who didn’t drink tea.

Coffee didn’t show any influence except at the highest levels of consumption, researchers say. Author Lenore Arab of UCLA says, “Interestingly, the observed associations are unlikely to be related to caffeine, which is present in coffee at levels two to three times higher than in tea.”

In a third study, British researchers looked at vitamin D’s effect on brain health. They examined data from 3,325 U.S. adults ages 65 and older from the NHANES III study. Vitamin D levels were measured by blood test, and cognitive tests were administered. Odds of cognitive impairment were about 42% higher in those deficient in vitamin D, and 394% higher in people severely deficient.

“Vitamin D is neuro-protective in a number of ways, including the protection of the brain’s blood supply and the clearance of toxins,” says author David Llewellyn of the University of Exeter Peninsula Medical School.

“More and more studies are suggesting that lifestyle changes may be able to silence the expression of risk genes, a phenomenon called epigenetics,” says Duke University’s Murali Doraiswamy, an expert on aging. He says learning how to tap into that is going to be a high priority.

The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine 23 (3): 354-362 (2010)
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2010.03.080252

Original Research

Perceived Benefit of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) for Back Pain: A National Survey
Anup K. Kanodia, MD, MPH, Anna T. R. Legedza, ScD, Roger B. Davis, ScD, David M. Eisenberg, MD and Russell S. Phillips, MD
Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School Osher Research Center, Boston (AKK, RBD, DME, RSP)
Department of Medicine, Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston (AKK, RBD, RSP)
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Cambridge (ATRL)
Department of Medicine, Osher Clinical Center for Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston (DME), MA

Correspondence: Corresponding author: Anup Kanodia, MD, Division for Research and Education in Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, Suite 22-A West, Boston, MA 02215 (E-mail: Anup_Kanodia@hms.harvard.edu)

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is commonly used to treat back pain, but little is known about factors associated with improvement.

Methods: We used data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey to examine the associations between the perceived helpfulness of various CAM therapies for back pain.

Results: Approximately 6% of the US population used CAM to treat their back pain in 2002. Sixty percent of respondents who used CAM for back pain perceived a “great deal” of benefit. Using multivariable logistic regression, the factor associated with perceived benefit from CAM modalities was reporting that a reason for using CAM was that “conventional medical treatment would not help” (odds ratio [OR], 1.46; 95% CI, 1.14–1.86). The 2 factors associated with less perceived benefit from CAM modalities were fair to poor self-reported health status (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41–0.82) and referral by a conventional medical practitioner for CAM (OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.54–0.92). Using chiropractic as a reference, massage (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.46–0.83), relaxation techniques (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.14–0.45), and herbal therapy (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.19–0.46) were all associated with less perceived benefit whereas those with similar perceived benefit included yoga/tai chi/qi gong (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.41–1.22) and acupuncture (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.37–1.38).

Conclusions: The majority of respondents who used CAM for back pain perceived benefit. Specific factors and therapies associated with perceived benefit warrant further investigation

One of the most common types of car accidents are rear end type collisions. So common, about 3 million of them will happen each year. And a small percentage will experience neck pain for the rest of their lives due to an others carelessness and irresponsibility. Sometimes a good offense is having a good defense.

There are several ways to decrease your risk of getting neck pain, when in a rear end type accident. First off, good driving habits pay off. I highly recommend taking driving classes, especially for new drivers. Teenagers have minimal experience, and guided practice by a professional just might save their life. Besides taking classes, there are several factors that one needs to be aware of, such as:

1. Choose a safe car to drive! Not all cars are made the same, and each offer a slightly different level of protection.

* When purchasing a car, it is your responsibility to research safety ratings. Go to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and read about the ratings on different cars. Safety should always be high priority when choosing a vehicle. In particular, look at head restraint ratings. Volvo and Saab’s have very good anti-whiplash protection seats.

2. Adjust your head rest! Imagine a point in the center of your brain, that point should be at the same level to the center of the head rest. All to often, I notice drivers that have improperly positioned head rests. They are usually to low, and have never been adjusted, this is an easy change to make to help protect yourself.

3. Adjust the seat back rest angle! While sitting, your head should be resting on the head rest, or close to the head rest. The closer your head to the head rest, the safer you will be.

4. Be aware of the cars behind you! In particular, when you are stopped, be watchful of on coming cars that might not notice your stopped car. Many cases of whiplash that I treat in Denver, Colorado are from drivers waiting at a stop light. They are hit from behind by drivers that are simply not paying attention. It is known that people suffer more injuries, when they are not aware of the impending impact.

If you see a driver behind you, and know that you are going to get hit. The following will help decrease your chances for developing serious neck pain. I highly recommend you practice this with your entire family. Do drills, and use a simple command that when heard, everyone will do the following.

1. Look straight ahead! Looking to the right or left while getting rear ended, will increase your odds of developing serious neck pain.

2. Place the palm of your hands on the wheel without gripping the wheel! Others in the car should wrap their arms around their body, similar to giving yourself a hug. Serious shoulder and wrist injuries can occur with gripping the steering wheel.

3. Place your head and back against the seat back and head rest! The farther your body is away from the seat, the more your risk increases for serious back and neck pain.

4. Put your foot firmly on the brake! You want to avoid hitting the car in front of you once you have been hit. Without putting your foot on the brake, you will hit the car in front of you resulting in a double impact that your body will under go.

5. Tilt your head back! Having your head tilted slight in extension will reduce the amount of motion your neck will undergo after impact.

6. Shrug your shoulders! This decreases the tension on your neck and reduces chances of tissue in your neck from being injured.

Practice this scenario several times. Preparedness is your only offense when it comes to this type of auto accident.

If you are unfortunate enough to be in an accident. I urge you to seek a well qualified chiropractor that has special training in car accidents / auto injuries. Thinking that your pains will just go away, would be faulty, and unwise. People heal much better and faster when they receive treatment as soon as possible.

Dr. Trent Artichoker MS, DC
http://www.denvercoloradochiropractic.com/

Rear end type accidents are among the most frequent of accidents. Two factors that can help protect you from getting whiplash are to adjust your back rest and head rest in an optimal position. Watch the video and learn how to adjust your seat correctly.

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