If you suffer from fibromyalgia, you are not alone, as Dr. Isom sees many people with this particular problem in our Shawnee chiropractic practice. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that roughly two percent of all adults in the US have fibromyalgia. Thankfully, chiropractic is one treatment option that can provide positive results.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps Fibromyalgia

In a paper published in mid-2015, 215 women and men with fibromyalgia were evaluated based on factors ranging from pain to quality of sleep to the levels of depression symptoms or anxiety they felt. Then they were divided into two groups with one group receiving a multi-modal therapy plan for three months and the second group receiving the same program plus chiropractic adjustments (specifically, to the upper neck area) for the same length of time.

The subjects who received chiropractic adjustments combined with the multi-modal treatment approach reported greater benefits in all areas (pain, sleep, depression, and anxiety) at three months post-treatment when compared to the study patients who received multi-modal therapy without chiropractic. Additionally, those positive results were long-lasting as the patients reported continued improvement one full year later.

Fibromyalgia can significantly decrease your quality of life, both mentally and physically. If you're dealing with fibromyalgia, we might be able to help.

You don't have to suffer! To see what Dr. Isom can do for your fibromyalgia pain, call our Shawnee chiropractic office today.

Sources

• Fibromyalgia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm on November 2, 2015.
• Moustafa I & Diab A. (2015, July). The addition of upper cervical manipulative therapy in the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Rheumatology International;35(7):1163-74.

Regrettably, quite a few of our Shawnee patients know the pain caused by a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. Isom has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of medical studies have confirmed that chiropractic care can help patients recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Herniated Discs and Chiropractic

In one study, researchers from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were suffering with pain in their low back and legs due to a herniated disc (which was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). Each individual then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the area of his or her disc herniation.

Data was gathered after the initial treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year--to establish what type of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to treating this particular condition. Among the information gathered was the person's self-reported changes in both back and leg pain.

The authors found that, as a whole, the patients reported "significant improvement" for both types of pain every time the results were collected. In fact, over 90% of the patients reported that their pain "improved" within the first three months, with 88% still citing improvement one year after their first treatment session.

Even those test subjects who were defined as "chronic" still claimed an improvement in pain at a rate of 89% one year beyond when treatment first began. This is the same positive result that was found in the following case study.

Case Study Shows that Chiropractic Benefits Chronic Disc Herniation Symptoms

In this study, a 26-year-old man had presented with disc herniation symptoms such as pain in the lower back, left leg, and left groin area, along with left foot drop and muscle weakness. He had suffered with these problems for more than two years after sustaining an athletic injury, and his herniated disc was confirmed via MRI.

After receiving chiropractic care, "The patient responded favorably and his multi-symptom complex resolved within 90 days of treatment." In addition, the patient was still experiencing relief one year after the chiropractic intervention.

Studies like these show how helpful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and treating the symptoms they cause. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and want to find some relief, chiropractic may be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Shawnee office a call today at (913) 735-9565 for a consultation or appointment.

References

• Leemann S, Peterson CK, Schmid C, Anklin B, Humphreys BK. Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high-velocity, low-amplitude, spinal manipulative therapy: a prospective observational cohort study with one-year follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2014;37(3):155-163.
• Polkinghorn BS, Colloca CJ. Treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation using activator methods chiropractic technique. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1998;21(3):187-196.
  

Dr. Isom sees a lot of patients struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome in our busy Shawnee chiropractic office. While some people think that the source of this wrist-related pain is muscular, it's actually a condition that stems from the nerves--and not just the nerves in your hands.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

A recent study published in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy evaluated 71 women between the ages of 35 and 59 who were diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Upon investigating the subjects' neck range of motion, the researchers discovered that the patients had less cervical mobility when compared to a healthy control group.

Furthermore, it was also observed that the level of the women's reported carpal tunnel discomfort was related to the lateral flexion of the cervical spine. In short, the less mobility in the neck area, the higher the level of pain.

This study is extremely important, as you cannot effectively address a condition until you fully understand its source. By recognizing that the root of carpal tunnel pain is in the neck, this means that all-natural approaches such as chiropractic can often restore normal function, eliminating the need for risky surgery.

We Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Carpal Tunnel

If you suffer with carpal tunnel pain, call our Shawnee office and ask how Dr. Isom can help you get relief!

Research Studies

De-la-Llave-Rincon A et al. (2011, May). Women with carpal tunnel syndrome show restricted cervical range of motion. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy;41(5):305-10.
Simon H. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. University of Maryland Medical Center. Updated May 6, 2012. Retrieved from https://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/carpal-tunnel-syndrome on November 2, 2015.

We see a number of back pain patients in our Shawnee practice, and Dr. Isom has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, recovering from back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical care, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with Each Other

In a report published by the academic journal Spine researchers¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute pain and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder were given chiropractic adjustments together with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which patients fared better.

The authors observed that the group that got standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical treatment only group who indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two- and four-week marks.

Therefore, incorporating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic and medicine can work together, chiropractic offers some distinct strengths over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each approach plays a 50/50 role, there is one major advantage that chiropractic care has over medical treatment and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a piece of research done at UCLA² that was printed in the American Journal of Public Health reports that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than those undergoing medical care.

According to the experts, the main aspects that patients liked over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't surprising, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical therapy, but a great deal of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Instead of focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and more permanent results.

You don't have to endure back pain or other health issues. Give our Shawnee office a call today at (913) 735-9565. We'll do our best to help you get and remain free from back pain.

References

1. Goertz CM, Long CR, Hondras MA, Petri R, Delgado R, Lawrence DJ, Owens EF, Meeker WC. Adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard medical care for patients with acute low back pain: results of a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness study. Spine 2013;38(8):627-634.
2. Hertzman-Miller RP1, Morgenstern H, Hurwitz EL, Yu F, Adams AH, Harber P, Kominski GF. Comparing the satisfaction of low back pain patients randomized to receive medical or chiropractic care: results from the UCLA low-back pain study. American Journal of Public Health 2002;92(10):1628-1633.

We work with many car accident cases in in our Shawnee office, and a widespread symptom we see in our patients is shoulder pain. Chiropractic care can be very helpful for shoulder pain symptoms after a crash. Let's see what causes shoulder pain and why chiropractic works.

There are at least two different ways that you can get shoulder pain after a car crash: by direct injury to the shoulder joint or by radiating pain from the neck.

Direct damage can be caused by striking your shoulder on a hard surface in the car during the crash, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end crash. With this type of injury, you'll usually be aware of the pain shortly after the wreck.

More frequently, Dr. Isom finds that shoulder or arm pain does not immediately appear after a crash, but begins a few days or weeks after the injury. This type of shoulder pain actually starts in the neck. Injured soft tissue in your neck can tweak nerves in your neck, causing tingling, numbness, or soreness in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've worked with many types of shoulder pain in our Shawnee office. This treatment involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural flexibility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

Dr. Isom has been helping patients in Shawnee since 2015, so we know what you're experiencing. We're here to help you, too. First, we'll do a careful evaluation to determine the root cause of your pain, and then decide how to restore your body's natural functioning. Give our office a call today at (913) 735-9565 to make an appointment.

Asthma is a significant worry for many people in Shawnee and for a society as a whole, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that this condition currently affects almost 19 million adults and 7 million kids in the US. A full-blown asthma attack likely means a hospital visit. Fortunately, Dr. Isom has helped many folks in Shawnee get relief from asthma symptoms.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Asthma

The scientific literature confirms what we see in our office. For example, a paper published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy evaluated 31 adult asthma patients after receiving four weeks of chiropractic treatments. The researchers found that the patients who received chiropractic adjustments had a 34% decrease in asthma symptoms.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics printed another asthma-based study, except this one involved kids. In this paper, the 36 patients ranged from 6 to 17 years in age and their asthma was regarded as either mild or moderate in severity.

After 12 weeks of chiropractic care, as a whole, the children reported a higher quality of life and a reduced level of severity. As a bonus, they also reported that they depended less on their bronchodilator and these positive effects were still being demonstrated one year after chiropractic care was finished.

We Can Help People Find Comfort From Asthma

So, whether you're 8 or 80, if you have symptoms of asthma, be sure to contact Dr. Isom in Shawnee and schedule an appointment today. We'll do what we can to help you breathe easier!

Sources

• Asthma. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Bronfort G et al. (2001, July-August). Chronic pediatric asthma and spinal manipulation: a prospective clinical series and randomized clinical pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;24(6):369-77
• Nielsen N et al. (1995, January). Chronic asthma and chiropractic spinal manipulation: a randomized clinical trial. Clinical and Experimental Allergy;25(1):80-8

Approximately 2.3 million people are injured each year in automobile accidents in the U.S. While most people are able to heal from their injuries fairly easily, many folks are left to deal with chronic pain and disability. We see many of these patients here in our Shawnee office. Thankfully, Dr. Isom is here to help you recover from your auto injury.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps Prevent Chronic Pain After an Auto Accident

The science confirms what we see in our office: A British study was conducted on 28 individuals diagnosed with chronic whiplash syndrome. Each participant received chiropractic care and 93 percent of them experienced improvements following their adjustments, even though 43 percent of whiplash sufferers overall usually never find relief. This confirms that chiropractic care is a great way to avoid chronic pain after a crash.

It's important to note that research has also found that delaying treatment after a car crash can adversely affect healing time, so getting in to see Dr. Isom as soon as possible is key to having a speedier recovery.

We Can Help Clients Find Relief From Pain After a Car Accident

Dr. Isom has worked with many auto injury sufferers, and we're here to help you, too. Call our Shawnee office today for more information or an appointment.

Sources

• Association for Safe International Road Travel. Retrieved from http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics
• Dies S & Strapp J. (1992, September). Chiropractic treatment of patients in motor vehicle accidents: a statistical analysis. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 36(3), 139-145.
• Woodward M et al. (1996, November). Chiropractic treatment of chronic 'whiplash' injuries. Injury, 27(9), 643-645.

We tend to a large number of people in our Shawnee office, and Dr. Isom has helped countless people overcome a variety of health challenges. In spite of this, a common worry that seems to prevent a lot of women and men from getting care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of many on the subject), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women between the ages of 20 and 85. Each individual reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received actual chiropractic care visits whereas the remaining patients received two sham chiropractic adjustments. Data was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to see if any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the genuine chiropractic treatments.

Researchers reported that none of the patients documented any significant adverse side effects in any way after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some participants did report that they had a headache (9% of patients) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the results were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

The next research study(2), also published in the influential medical journal, Spine, was performed in an effort to determine the safety of chiropractic care. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 patients. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the neck, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Again, the researchers found no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total adverse reactions to be approximately six out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (16 out of every 1,000 treatment consultations and 15 out of every 1,000 treatment sessions) or a headache (4%), and this caused the authors to conclude that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Adjustments are Safe for Children

This third research paper(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, researchers analyzed results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the children, chiropractors answering the survey documented only three cases where there were negative side effects. When parents were surveyed, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."

Based on studies like these, chiropractic has been deemed safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our Shawnee clinic and schedule an appointment today at (913) 735-9565.

References

1. Walker BF, Hebert JJ, Stomski NJ, Clarke BR, Bowden RS, Losco B, French SD. Outcomes of usual chiropractic. The OUCH randomized controlled trial of adverse events. Spine 2013;38(20):1723-9.
2. Thiel HW1, Bolton JE, Docherty S, Portlock JC. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine: a prospective national survey. Spine 2007;32(21):2375-8.
3. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The safety and effectiveness of pediatric chiropractic: a survey of chiropractors and parents in a practice-based research network. Explore NY 2009;5(5): 290-5.