Chronic Pain Causes Brain Shrinkage–Do Something About It!

First reported in 2004 by Apkarian et al in the Journal of Neuroscience, numerous studies now show that chronic pain affects us in multiple ways. Alarmingly, chronic pain is associated with brain atrophy of up to 11%, equivalent to 10-20 years of normal aging. Other affects include altered brain chemistry, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, immune system suppression, elevated stress hormones, adrenal exhaustion, depression, insomnia, and suicide. It takes...

Childbirth Epidurals, Headaches and Back Pain

Recently, a nice young woman we’ll call Mrs. X came in to Chiropractic Advantage for some help. She was complaining of severe headaches and back pain. The headaches had started two years earlier, when Mrs. X received an epidural injection during childbirth. Evidently, the procedure did not go off ideally, and there was some leakage of spinal fluid at the injection site. Many of our patients have gone through...

Genetically Modified Foods Trigger Belly Pain

Get ready for another pain in the belly. New information released by the Institute for Responsible Technology indicates that genetically modified foods (GM foods) trigger problems like impaired digestion and imbalanced gut flora. In turn, our injured guts may be more likely to become sensitive to gluten, found in foods like wheat. Wheat itself is not genetically modified, although it has been hybridized (bred for certain traits). While originally,...

Back Pain Overtreated by M.D.’s

If the brakes on your car were squealing, what would you think of your mechanic if he/she did expensive diagnostic testing on your car, then supplied you with and expensive set of earplugs to cover up the squealing sound? Crazy? Yes, but that’s the approach your medical doctor is likely to take when your back or neck sounds the pain alarm on you! According to researchers at Harvard Medical...

What Causes Heart Palpitations? Eight Common Causes

One of my patients, who works at Starbucks, says some customers ask for up to ten added shots of espresso in their morning cup of coffee. Others prefer the canned energy drinks found at gas stations. If one of those is you, go ahead and skip the rest of this article. You know why your heart is racing. However, if you’re confounded by your heart skipping, jumping, missing a...

Boy Keeps his Tonsils!

I couldn’t be happier for Gigo, pictured above, who was very sick last spring, and almost lost his tonsils. Everyone knows of a child like Gigo, who is dearly loved by his family and has access to modern medical care, but is sick a lot of the time. His mom has allowed me to share his story, and I hope it makes people stop and think about the difference...

Chiropractor or Pain Medication? What’s Best?

Say your back is hurting and you are in a lot of pain. Should you go to the urgent care and get medication, or go see a chiropractor? Well, often times chiropractic care can help, but it’s not going to be as immediate as taking a painkiller. The painkiller isn’t going to get at the root of your problem, but will quickly mask it for a while. Those of...

Can Chiropractors help with Migraines?

If you are a migraine sufferer, you know that a tension headache can’t hold a candle to your debilitating migraine attacks. You’ve lost entire days lying in dark rooms, missing out on work and play. A migraine with a visual aura or scotoma can be particularly frightening. Over the years, I have met so many people who have suffered with migraines, people who didn’t know that chiropractic care can...

Back Pain Solved by Wallet-ectomy

Quite frequently a man will come into Chiropractic Advantage with a particular kind of back pain. It may have started after a long drive, or from sitting a lot, say, in jury duty. Sometimes the pain goes down the buttock to the back of the knee. During the examination, I notice a bit of a limp, a hesitance to bend backward at the waist. If he’s really in trouble,...

Hand Washing: Keep it Simple, use Soap

When did hand washing become a dangerous activity? When chemical companies started telling us we needed triclosan, an antibacterial agent. Triclosan doesn’t seem to do a better job than regular old soap, but there are a number of hazards associated with its use. It is a hormone disruptor, so it supresses testosterone and thyroid hormone levels in the body. It promotes the development of super-strains of bacteria. It slows...