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...

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...

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...

Movie Night at Chiropractic Advantage: “Doctored”

I am looking forward to seeing “Doctored,” the movie. I have ordered the DVD and we’ll have a free showing here at Chiropractic Advantage on the following dates: Tuesday, November 13, 6:45 p.m., and Wednesday, November 14, at 4:00 p.m. Please RSVP to 909 483-5295 or email us at dcsharonmartinez@aol.com if you would like to attend. Please come! Our health care choices determine, to a great degree, the quality...

Numb Feet, Jittery Hands, and Losing Your Hair?

Back in chiropractic school, we were taught that nutritional deficiencies were something you’d see in poor countries where people didn’t get enough to eat. As a chiropractor who has been practicing over 20 years, I wish there was a way I could have known then, what I know now. Vitamin deficiencies resulting from malnutrition are common in people right here in Rancho Cucamonga. There are several reasons why this...

Keep on Truckin’

A medical doctor, a lawyer, and a trucker are having lunch together at the local diner. Which one would you trust to best explain chiropractic to you? I hope you picked the trucker. For many years, truckers and chiropractors have had a sort of symbiotic relationship. The truckers keep chiropractors busy, and we keep them working. For a guy (or gal) who is self-employed, being unable to drive because...

Yahaira’s 100% Natural Pregnancy

I am so excited! My “nephew” Gerald’s wife Yahaira is expecting soon. I am so proud of Yahaira for the homework she’s doing to make sure she has a natural childbirth and a healthier baby. She’s been getting adjusted while pregnant. (Yes, pregnant women can definitely get adjusted. I use a pregnancy cushion so they can still lie face down until about month 6 or 7. After that I...

Back Surgery? No Thanks, Doctor!

Say you hurt your back at work, and they sent you for an x-ray and an MRI, and they told you that you needed surgery? Would you agree to the surgery, just to get back to work sooner? Would you reason that, once you had the surgery, you could get by with less pain medication than before? Unfortunately, a study of 1,450 injured workers in Ohio tells a different...

Chiropractor vs. MD for Lower Back Pain: Let the Evidence Decide

One of the positive things coming out of health care reform is that health care providers are going to have adhere to “evidence-based practice guidelines.” That means, if clinical studies provide evidence that one thing works better than another for a certain condition, doctors should advise patients about the thing that works better. An example would be, if eating cherries cleared up gout just as well as an expensive...