Recent Posts

Many people suffer with headache pain, and tension headaches are a common problem in our busy world. Postural problems and stress are common causes of tension headache pain, and ones that Dr. Cyr and the team here in our Rutland chiropractic office have a lot of experience in treating.

Research Supports Chiropractic Eases Tension Headaches

The scientific literature verifies our findings: A 2016 study from Spain treated a group of 76 men and women with chronic tension headaches. The participants were divided into four treatment groups: 19 patients were treated with suboccipital inhibition (the doctor presses on the tight tissues at the top of the spine); 19 with chiropractic adjustments; 19 with both adjustments and suboccipital inhibition; and 19 received no treatment.

The authors reported that the spinal adjustments were effective at relieving pain, and that the best results were found when spinal adjustments were coupled with the suboccipital inhibition.

When we get run down, the nerves and tissues in the neck can be disrupted, causing pain. Chiropractic works by eliminating these stresses and restoring the normal nerve function to the tissues.

We're Here to Help Clients Find Comfort From Tension Headaches

If you live in Rutland and are dealing with any kind of headache, we're here to help you get relief. Call Dr. Cyr today at (802) 775-6961 for an appointment or more information.

Source

Espi-Lopez GV, Rodriguez-Blanco C, Oliva-Pascual-Vaca A, et al. Do manual therapy techniques have a positive effect on quality of life in people with tension-type headache? A randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Physical Rehabilitation Medicine 2016; February 29.

Chiropractic is centered on the approach of allowing your body to naturally heal through spinal adjustments and lifestyle changes that stimulate wellness. For Dr. Cyr, this means working to restore your body's natural functioning to avoid the need for medications or surgery. We notice that most of our Rutland patients are happy to find a natural solution for their health conditions.

One benefit of chiropractic care is that it helps people reduce or eliminate the use of narcotics. Prescriptions are oftentimes supplied to individuals who have back pain. This is such a serious crisis that the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) issued a report stating that opioid (painkiller) risks outweigh the benefits when prescribed for back pain.

Some of the most popular opiates, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, include hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin and Percocet), morphine, and codeine. Figures offered by the AAN mention the fact that approximately 50% of the patients taking these drugs for a period of three months are still on them five years later. This can further complicate the problem of back pain and healing, especially if an narcotic addiction occurs.

Compare that to chiropractic which engages natural healing and the benefits are clear. While a drug might be useful at temporarily relieving the symptoms of a health condition, it's not a solution to the problem. Drugs can't fix your damaged spine; it will only conceal the pain.

Dr. Cyr will first examine you to get to the root of your back pain and then work with you to eliminate the problem -- without risky drugs.

If you're ready for pain relief, naturally, give our Rutland office a call at (802) 775-6961 to make an appointment with Dr. Cyr.

References

• Risk of opioids outweigh benefits for headache, low back pain, other conditions. American Academy of Neurology;September 29, 2014.
• What are opioids? National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs/opioids/what-are-opioids

We manage many auto injury cases in in our Rutland office, and a widespread symptom we see in our patients is thoracic outlet syndrome. Chiropractic is an excellent way to treat thoracic outlet syndrome. Let's look at how thoracic outlet syndrome is caused by a crash and how Dr. Cyr can help you.

The thoracic outlet is a bundle of blood vessels and nerves that pass through your neck and shoulder to your arm. These nerves and blood vessels don't have a lot of space, so they travel underneath and between the strong bands of muscles that support your head.

In a crash, these muscle groups can be stretched and strained. If injured, the muscles become inflamed and tender, and they can develop scar tissue which limits movement and puts stress on the tissues of the thoracic outlet. Pressure on the nerves can cause tingling or pins and needles in the shoulder, elbow and even the wrist. Pressure on the blood vessels can also cause problems in the arm.

Rutland Thoracic Outlet Treatment

Chiropractic can be an effective way to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, as Dr. Cyr will help improve mobility in your spine and restore normal nerve function in your neck and shoulder.

Dr. Cyr has been helping patients in Rutland since 1985, so we know what you're going through. We're here to help you, too. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your pain and then we will determine an appropriate treatment strategy. Call us today at (802) 775-6961 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

When playing sports that require a lot of lower body movement, like football, soccer, and basketball, it's not uncommon to sustain some type of injury to your hips or legs. Between pulled hamstrings, sprained ankles, knee injuries, and more, many players have found themselves out of commission. Dr. Cyr has seen all of these problems in our Rutland patients. Fortunately, chiropractic adjustments can help prevent some of these injuries from occurring and research proves it.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Sports Injuries & Recovery

Dr. Cyr keeps up-to-date with all of the latest scientific research, and in a study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia studied 59 semi-elite Australian Rules football players. Roughly one-half were placed in a control group and the other half were put in a treatment group that received sports chiropractic care at regular intervals. During the first six weeks, this meant engaging in care once a week. The following three months consisted of an adjustment every two weeks before decreasing those to one visit monthly for the final three months of the study.

Researchers noted that there was a "significant" difference in the number of leg strains the players received in the treatment group when compared to the control. Furthermore, they observed that the subjects who engaged in chiropractic also had fewer weeks of missed practice and games as a result of non-contact knee injuries. This led them to conclude that sports chiropractic intervention should be added to "the current best practice management."

Every major sports team in the US and the US Olympic Team has chiropractors on staff for their players, because they know that chiropractic works. If you live near our practice in Rutland and would like to see if Dr. Cyr can help you boost your performance or reduce sports injuries, give our office a call today at (802) 775-6961 for an appointment.

Dr. Cyr Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Sports Injuries and Recover Faster

If you're troubled with severe pain, Dr. Cyr and our staff are here to help you recover. Give our Rutland office a call today at (802) 775-6961 for an appointment today.

Original Study

Hoskins W, Pollard H. 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 2010;11(64).

We work with many back pain patients in our Rutland chiropractic office, and Dr. Cyr and our staff uses an assortment of techniques to help get you out of pain and restore your spine's normal, healthy function. We find spinal decompression to be an effective approach.

Understanding Spinal Decompression Therapy

To help you better understand spinal decompression therapy, think of the discs in your spine like small balloons filled with jelly. When you compress them (which occurs due to normal living, sustaining an injury, or other medical conditions), they can protrude, placing pressure on the nerves in your spinal column. This affects your brain's ability to communicate with tissues in the rest of your body.

If the pressure on the discs becomes too high, they can herniate or bulge. This reduces the cushion between your vertebrae and can cause pain. The purpose of spinal decompression therapy is to alleviate this pressure to help restore your body's function and also reduce your level of pain.

Can Spinal Decompression Therapy Help Me?

Spinal decompression therapy relieves disc pressure through the use of a specially designed table that carefully elongates your spinal column through slow and controlled movements. This lessens the pressure placed on your discs. Some studies show an increase in disc height by as much as 1.3 millimeters after just six weeks of spinal decompression therapy.

If you're wondering if spinal decompression therapy could help you feel and perform better, simply call our Rutland office and schedule an appointment with Dr. Cyr today. Your optimal health is our number one priority!

Resources

Apfel CC, Cakmakkaya OS, Richmond C, et al. Restoration of disk height through non-surgical spinal decompression is associated with decreased discogenic low back pain: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2010;11(155). doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-155

In our Rutland practice, it isn't uncommon for us to see patients suffering with sciatica, and Dr. Cyr has helped many of these people improve with chiropractic. What makes chiropractic care so beneficial to those who suffer with sciatica? First, it reduces their time of recovery and a Norwegian research study confirms it.

In the article, which took place in a Norwegian hospital's orthopedic division, researchers looked at 44 patients who had abrupt low back pain that was diagnosed as acute sciatic nerve pain. The participants were all treated by a chiropractor, with the mean follow-up being two years after treatment.

The authors discovered that all but two patients went back to their jobs after receiving chiropractic care, which is a 95% success rate. Furthermore, the average amount of time that the individuals spent off work "was reduced by two thirds as compared with that associated with conventional medical treatment."

Given the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 170,450 days of work were lost in 2013 due to employees dealing with back or spine-related issues, that is about 112,500 work days that could potentially be recovered each and every year solely by receiving chiropractic care. Not only could that increase productivity, but it might also decrease costs to businesses and employees from lost work.

If you live in Rutland and you suffer from sciatica pain, Dr. Cyr is here to assist. Give us a call at (802) 775-6961 and we'll work with you to find the root cause of your sciatic pain and get you back on the road to health.

Orlin JR, Didriksen A. Results of chiropractic treatment of lumbopelvic fixation in 44 patients admitted to an orthopedic department. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2007;30(2):135-139.

There are many different kinds of headache, but one of the most common types is known as "cervicogenic headache," or headaches that originate in your neck.

Dr. Cyr sees a lot of patients in our Rutland office who are suffering with recurring headaches. Thankfully, chiropractic can often help, potentially reducing these types of headaches by 50 percent, and research confirms it.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Cervicogenic Headaches

A study was conducted involving 80 participants who reported experiencing at least five cervicogenic headaches during the prior three months. The goal was to see how effective chiropractic was for this type of head pain, as well as to determine the number of treatment sessions necessary to achieve a positive effect.

The patients were divided into four separate groups, so that each group was similar in age, gender, number of cervicogenic headaches, and their intensity. Of the four groups, two engaged in chiropractic treatments and two received light massage. Furthermore, one group assigned to each treatment received eight sessions and the other patients received double that amount.

Each person was assessed based on head pain, neck pain, and disability prior to the study and 12 and 24 weeks after treatment was complete. The researchers found that those who received chiropractic as opposed to massage reported fewer headaches at the conclusion of the study. Furthermore, improvements were maintained when checked six months after treatment ended.

Additionally, patients who were taking medications for their headaches were able to lower their intake after completing the study. Those who received chiropractic care had lower drug usage 24 weeks post-study.

We Can Help People Find Relief From Head Pain

Dr. Cyr has helped many patients who were suffering from headache pain in our Rutland office. Call us today at (802) 775-6961 for more information or for an appointment.

Reference

Haas M, Spegman A, Peterson D, Aickin M, Vavrek D. Dose response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized controlled trial. The Spine Journal 2010; 10: 117-128.

Dr. Cyr sees many patients weekly in our busy Rutland chiropractic office who are searching for relief from the pain and agony they feel due to herniated discs. Our experience isn't unique; the medical literature verifies that chiropractic is a great way to treat herniated disc pain.

Don't Suffer! Dr. Cyr and Chiropractic Care Helps With Disc Herniation

One particular research study involved 27 people, 8 male and 19 female, who had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirming a disc herniation in either their neck or lower back. The individuals documented that they were experiencing pain, limited range of motion, and sensory issues bad enough to keep them off work.

During the course of the research study, the subjects were treated using one of two common chiropractic practices: traction for herniated discs in the cervical area or flexion distraction for the people who had herniation issues in the low back.

Each individual was treated four or five times per week for the first two weeks, then three times weekly, and then as needed for the rest of the study. Depending on the seriousness of the disc herniation, therapy ranged anywhere from six weeks to six months, with MRIs being carried out at a variety of stages to identify what impact, if any, the chiropractic care was having in regard to the disc herniation.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Herniated Disc

The authors reported that 80 percent of the subjects experienced a "good clinical outcome," meaning reduced pain and a reduction in other symptoms, such as numbness. Furthermore, 77 percent of these subjects also showed MRI evidence that their disc herniation was either reduced or resolved completely. This resulted in 78 percent of the study participants being able to return to their place of employment and led the authors to conclude that chiropractic adjustments is both "safe and helpful" for disc herniations.

If you have a herniated disc and suffer from chronic back pain and are near Dr. Cyr in Rutland, contact our office today to see what chiropractic can do for you!

Reference
BenEliyahu, DJ. Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical follow-up: study of 27 patients receiving chiropractic care for cervical and lumbar disc herniations. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1996;19(9):597-606.

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.