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In our Rutland practice, we see many patients who are suffering from back pain, and a few of these people have been advised they might need surgery to recover. Thankfully, Dr. Cyr has helped many people get pain relief without the need for any type of surgical treatment. The scientific research agrees with the results we see in our practice. One study published in the journal Spine found that consulting with a chiropractor as your first move in dealing with your back problems may literally keep you out of the operating room.

In this report, medical researchers from Dartmouth reviewed data from about 1,900 workers from Washington state who first saw either a surgeon or a chiropractor for their back-related issues. They then used three years' worth of follow-up medical information to ascertain whether the subjects wound up having back surgery in an effort to treat the problem.

What the authors discovered was that 42.7% of the patients who first saw a surgeon for their back pain ended up in surgery in that 3-year time frame, whereas only 1.5 percent of those who first saw a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:

"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."

These are remarkable outcomes. Seeing a chiropractor considerably decreases your odds of getting back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this scientific study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.

Let's also consider this important detail: this study was conducted by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and published in the world's most influential medical journal on spinal injuries.

Surgery: The Last Resort

Any surgery has risks, but a serious problem linked to spinal surgery is that there is a very high failure rate. In an important analysis in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:

"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."

The experts in this same study concluded:

"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."

As a chiropractor, Dr. Cyr believes that surgery should be the absolute last choice for treating back pain. Chiropractic care works to restore your spine to its normal function--without the need of risky surgery or drugs--and many studies have documented the usefulness of chiropractic for back pain.

If you live in Rutland and you need care for your back pain, give our office a call today at (802) 775-6961 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!

Studies

• Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, Wickizer TM, Chan KC, Franklin GM. Early predictors of lumbar spine surgery after occupational back injury: results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine 2013;38(11):953-964.
• Mannion AF, Elfering A. Predictors of surgical outcome and their assessment. European Spine Journal 2006;15(Suppl 1):S93-S108.
  

Back Pain is a common problem after a car accident, and it's something that Dr. Cyr sees frequently in our Rutland office. Let's take a look at why back pain is commonly experienced after an auto collision and see how chiropractic can help you recover.

During a rear-end motor vehicle accident, your car and car seat are rapidly accelerated forward against your body. Since car seats don't perfectly align with the curve of your spine, the car seat can put uneven pressure on your back. This can cause some of your spinal vertebrae to move in one direction while an adjacent vertebrae might move in another direction. This differential motion can sprain or strain the tissues that hold your spine together. These types of injuries can cause chronic back pain if not treated right away. Thankfully, chiropractic is one of the most effective ways to treat back pain.

If you've been injured in a car crash and you're experiencing back pain, Dr. Cyr is here to help. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your pain and then we will determine an appropriate treatment approach. Call us today at (802) 775-6961 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

When you're trying to support your family, take care of your household, and pay all of your bills on time, every day at work counts. Work injuries can be a huge problem for many people, and we see many of these types of injuries in our Rutland office. Dr. Cyr understands your situation and is here to help.

The advantages of chiropractic for work injuries are well-documented. A 2013 survey involving 651 adults who were troubled with either back or neck pain found that the men and women who didn't see a chiropractor missed work at twice the rate of those who were seeing a chiropractor.

So, why don't more people use Chiropractic Care?

According to the respondents in this report, two of the primary reasons were that they thought they needed a referral for chiropractic care (which is typically no longer true) and they overestimated the costs associated with chiropractic treatment sessions by almost 70 percent.

The fact is, chiropractic patients actually spend less on care than medical patients, plus they are less likely to use drugs for their symptoms.

Dr. Cyr Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Chronic Pain

If you live in Rutland and you've been injured at work, we can help. Give our office a call today at (802) 775-6961 for an appointment.

References

"Thousands of Minnesotans with Back and Neck Pain Don't Seek Treatment." (2013, June 12). ChiroCare.

Since injury to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is frequently quite painful, we do our best to help our Rutland patients find relief as quickly and effectively as possible. In fact, Dr. Cyr will tell you that the medical literature shows just how much chiropractic care can help ease pain in the jaw.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With TMJ Pain and Discomfort

For example, one study published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice involved 15 participants with jaw pain who were managed with neck adjustments, middle-back manipulation, and trigger point therapy via dry needling. Patients were examined prior to these methods and at two weeks and two months post-treatment. The clinicians reported positive outcomes such as reduced discomfort, greater jaw mobility, and lower disability at both follow-ups.

Another group of researchers conducted an analysis of almost 800 studies involving manual and manipulative therapy for disorders such as TMJ and discovered similar findings. The authors concluded that there is a "fair...level of evidence" that chiropractic care can help ease symptoms associated with TMJ and other upper extremity disorders.

This is great news since the causes of TMJ are largely unknown. While trauma to the jaw or neck can cause pain symptoms, there are other sources to consider as well, such as bruxism, osteoarthritis, and clenching of the jaw due to tension.

Dr. Cyr Can Help Patients Find Relief From TMJ Pain

No matter what is making your jaw hurt, call Dr. Cyr now and make an appointment to come into our Rutland practice. We'll do our best to help you smile pain-free!

Studies

• Gonzalez-Iglesias J et al. (2013, November). Mobilization with movement, thoracic spine manipulation, and dry needling for the management of temporomandibular disorder: a prospective case series. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice;29(8):586-95
• Brantingham J et al. (2013, March-April). Manipulative and multimodal therapy for upper extremity and temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;36(3):143-201
• Oral Care. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/temporomandibular-disorders-tmd on November 2, 2015

We encounter a large number of sports injuries in our Rutland office, and Dr. Cyr is generally able to assist these athletes. Stanford Children’s Hospital states that over 3.5 million children of the ages 14 and below are hurt each year while playing sports. Add that to the almost 2 million adults hurt every year while engaged in sports-related activities, as reported by statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and you can begin to see the importance of minimizing these types of common injuries. One approach to potentially achieve that goal, according to a study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, is to receive routine chiropractic treatments.

In Australian Rules football, hamstring and other leg injuries are commonplace, often sidelining the players and affecting their team's odds of winning. One specific study was administered using 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers to see if chiropractic could cut down on these injuries and help keep them playing.

For this study in particular, every one of the participants got medical treatment. Additionally, half of them also received chiropractic treatments at the rate of one session each week for the first 6 weeks, biweekly sessions for the next three months, and one treatment per month for the last three months of the study. The remaining participants had no chiropractic intervention at all and were used as the control group to assess the benefits of chiropractic.

After 24 matches, scientists reported a diminished number of lower limb muscle strains in the group that had been given chiropractic care. Furthermore, that same group also missed fewer matches correlated to non-contact knee injuries. This lead the researchers to come to the conclusion that chiropractic should be added to sports training programs to dramatically lessen the quantity of leg injuries.

If you or your child are active in sports and you want to ensure more time is spent on the field versus on the sidelines, call our Rutland office at (802) 775-6961 and schedule an appointment today. We will do our best to keep you in the game!

References

• Hoskins, W, & Pollard, H. (2010, April 8). The effect of a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention on the prevention of back pain, hamstring and lower limb injuries in semi-elite Australian Rules footballers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 11(64), doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-64
• Misra, A. (2014, March 17). Common sports injuries: Incidence and average charges. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Stanford Children’s Hospital. (n.d.). Sports injury statistics.

Dr. Cyr sees a lot of back pain patients in our busy Rutland chiropractic office. Many of these people have some type of spinal issue that is causing them pain and distress. Fortunately, Dr. Cyr finds that spinal decompression therapy is an effective way to help these individuals.

What is Spinal Decompression and How Can it Help Me?

Non-surgical spinal decompression is a treatment method that takes all of the positive benefits that one normally gets from chiropractic, traction, physical therapy, exercise therapy, and myofascial therapy and integrates them all into one.

The objective of this technique is to keep you off the operating table, and that is exactly what it's accomplished for a number of folks, as it has a documented 85% success rate.

Some of the problems spinal decompression helps with include generalized back pain, sciatica, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, compression fractures, and joint pain.

Spinal decompression works by reversing the effects of wear, tear, and the force of gravity that compresses the intervertebral discs in your neck and back. The video below shows how it works to relieve stress on your back and helps lessen pain and disability.

Dr. Cyr Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Chronic Back Pain

If you live in Rutland and you're struggling with back pain, spinal decompression therapy might be the solution. Call Dr. Cyr today at (802) 775-6961 for a consultation or appointment.

According to research, roughly 5 percent of the population will suffer from painful ailments like frozen shoulder syndrome at some time in their lives. That makes shoulder-related pain a common problem and one that Dr. Cyr sees in our Rutland practice on a regular basis.

Usually, this condition is more prevalent for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and it tends to affect women more frequently than men. While ice, heat, and gentle stretches can sometimes help relieve the pain, so too can chiropractic.

For instance, a study released in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine looked at 50 patients with frozen shoulder who were given chiropractic care. The length of care ranged from 11 days to 51 days, with 28 days being the average.

The researchers found that nearly all of the patients fared extremely well with chiropractic care. The study found:

• 8 of the subjects reported 50-75 percent improvement
• 25 indicated improvement ranging from 75- 90 percent
• 1 participant had complete resolution of their frozen shoulder pain

Only one participant reported an improvement of 50 percent or less, so studies like this demonstrate just how effective chiropractic care can be when it comes to decreasing shoulder pain and improving quality of life.

Let Dr. Cyr help you ease your suffering by contacting our Rutland office and scheduling your appointment today.

Resources

Murphy F et al. (2012, December). Chiropractic management of frozen shoulder syndrome using a novel technique: a retrospective case series of 50 patients. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine;11(4):267-272

Dr. Cyr works with many sciatica patients here in our Rutland office, and many of these individuals were worried that they might require surgery to treat their pain. The most recent research reveals that a large number of people don't require surgery for this prevalent issue, and that chiropractic is more successful at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A popular surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, physicians looked at 80 individuals with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

Forty patients were then randomly sorted into one of two groups. The first group received surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups got better; however, no obvious difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Additionally, about 60% of the participating patients who could not find relief from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Put another way, chiropractic offered the same positive benefits as surgery without needing to endure the increased levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often associated with that particular treatment option. Additionally, you also don't run the risks affiliated with surgical microdiscectomy, which includes nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Rutland and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Cyr a call today at (802) 775-6961. We'll help pinpoint the source of your pain and work hard to get you relief.

References

• McMorland, G et al. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33(8):576-584.
• Solberg TK, Nygaard OP, Sjaavik K, Hofoss D, Ingebrigtsen T. The risk of "getting worse" after lumbar microdiscectomy. European Spine Journal 2005;14(1):49-54.
  

While many women automatically assume that carrying a child and severe pain in the lower back go hand in hand, they are often pleasantly surprised when they learn that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, chiropractic adjustments can often help relieve back pain for pregnant women by as much as 85 percent.

Dr. Cyr has helped many pregnant women with back pain in our Rutland office.

A research study published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies involved 115 women who were pregnant (most of which were in their third trimester) and reported pain in their lower back region, pelvic area, or both. Data was gathered prior to the study, as well as one week, one month, three months, and one year after treatment commenced. At each follow-up, the participants were asked to rate their level of pain based on a 7-point scale to determine whether it was better, worse, or stayed the same. The results?

More than half reported that their pain was better after one week of chiropractic treatment. After one month, that amount jumped up to 70 percent, climbing even more to 85 percent showing improvement at the three month mark. Positive effects were still reported at six months post-treatment, which was generally after childbirth, and continued to the final data collection one year after treatment commenced.

There are also many additional advantages of chiropractic care during pregnancy. Not only does it efficiently relieve back pain, but it does it in a completely natural and non-invasive way. This means that you don't have to worry about taking any medications or undergoing any type of treatment that could potentially harm your unborn child.

Additionally, it makes your time spent carrying your baby more pleasant. When you're not sidetracked with pain, you can enjoy the experience even more as you prepare your home and your life for all of the fun and exciting changes that lie ahead.

We're here in Rutland to help you have a healthy, pain-free pregnancy. Give us a call today at (802) 775-6961 to make an appointment.

Peterson CK, Muhlemann D, & Humphreys BK. Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment: a prospective cohort study with short term, medium term and 1 year follow-up. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2014;22(15):doi:10.1186/2045-709X-22-15.

According to The American Academy of Pain Medicine, more Americans suffer with chronic pain than diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer combined. Furthermore, neck pain is the third most reported type of pain, beat out only by back problems and headaches.

Not surprisingly, many people come to our Rutland office looking for neck pain care, and Dr. Cyr has helped many of them find relief. This is a smart choice, as some studies have shown that over 90 percent of neck pain patients get relief with chiropractic care.

Studies Confirm Chiropractic Works

A report published in The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy involved 64 individuals who were suffering with neck pain. Approximately half were placed in an experimental group and the other half were assigned to a comparison group. Both received chiropractic adjustments of the neck as well as a home exercise plan, while the experimental group also received thoracic spine adjustments.

Information was gathered before treatment began and one week post-treatment. The authors found that 94% of the experimental group claimed "significantly greater improvements" in regard to pain and disability in their neck symptoms. Just 35% of the individuals who received neck adjustments showed the same level of improvement, showing that looking at the entire spinal column is a critical part of restoring the body's normal function.

Yet another study posted in Physical Therapy involved 60 adults who were suffering with neck pain. Each individual was randomly assigned to one of two groups--thoracic spine thrust manipulation or non-thrust manipulation--with follow-up exams occurring two and four days after the adjustments.

The investigators discovered that the study participants who received the thrust manipulations (the same adjustments that provided such positive results in the first report) "experienced greater reductions in disability" than the patients who received the non-thrust manipulations. Their pain was lower as well, which shows that this type of approach offers many benefits.

Chiropractic Even Offers Benefits After Failed Neck Surgery

Another study found the same kind of positive results after thoracic adjustments in a patient who had a failed neck surgical treatment. This specific case involved a 46-year-old patient who had recently had neck surgery but still reported neck pain, headaches, pain in her elbow, and muscle fatigue.

The patient documented reduced pain in her neck and reduced headache intensity, immediately after the first chiropractic adjustments. After six weeks of care, which involved chiropractic, exercise, and patient education, the patient still placed her pain at a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. Her neck disability reduced as well, with a rating score that represented that it was a "great deal better."

It is scientific studies like these that substantiate the effectiveness of chiropractic care, even if you've already attempted neck surgery that didn't provide relief. So, if you are suffering with neck discomfort and would like to find a solution that has a high success rate, try chiropractic. It may just be the help you're looking for.

Our office is in Rutland and Dr. Cyr can help you recover from neck pain. Give us a call today at (802) 775-6961.

References

• AAPM facts and figures on pain. The American Academy of Pain Medicine.
• Masaracchio M, Cleland JA, Hellman M, Hagins M. Short-term combined effects of thoracic spine thrust manipulation and cervical spine nonthrust manipulation in individuals with mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 2013;43(3):118-127.
• Cleland JA, Glynn P, Whitman JM, Eberhart SL, MacDonald C, Childs JD. Short-term effects of thrust versus nonthrust mobilization/manipulation directed at the thoracic spine in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Physical Therapy 2007;87(4):431-440.
• Salvatori R, Rowe RH, Osborne R, Beneciuk JM. Use of thoracic spine thrust manipulation for neck pain and headache in a patient following multiple-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a case report. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 2014;44(6):440-449.