[originally published in KCN, May 1999]
No, you won’t find this in any anatomy book, and the treatment of mentally deranged nerves was never brought up during my years in chiropractic college. However, ask anyone who has had the unfortunate displeasure of suffering from the intense leg pain that this “nerve” generates, and they will emphatically stand by this tongue-and-cheek, layman’s designation. Read the rest of this post »
[originally published in KCN, April 1999]
As a chiropractor, going to dinner parties and other social functions can often be an interesting experience. Invariably, one of the guests, upon learning of my degree, will announce for all in the room to hear, why he would never need my professional services, as he proceeds to make a public display of theatric proportion, “cracking” and “popping” every joint his spine has to offer — an auditory performance that would certainly make Orville Redenbacher green with envy. Read the rest of this post »
[originally published in KCN, May 2009]
As I read the recent press release of the survey on back pain conducted by Consumer Reports from 14,000+ of its subscriber base, I flashed back to the Richard Dawson-version of the Family Feud from the 1970’s. This was a TV game show in which two families were pit against one another to come up with the most popular responses to “survey-type” questions. Richard would start the battle by shouting, “Let’s play the Feud!”
[originally published in KCN, January 1999]
The newspapers, television, and radio remind us every now and again about the leading causes of death in our society. So much in fact, that it is pretty much common knowledge that the number one killer in the United States is…you guessed it, heart disease. Number two and three might take a little more head scratching, but if cancer and stroke come to mind, you’d be correct. But what about number four? Nobody ever talks about number FOUR. Read the rest of this post »
[originally published in KCN, November 1998]
It is not uncommon for low back pain sufferers to be told by their medical doctors not to worry, the pain will go away on its own. Unfortunately, words like these bear little comfort to someone down for the count with lumbago. Like it or not, it’s a common “truth” in the medical arena. An article published in the medical journal Spine, just over ten years ago, stated, “80-90% of attacks of low back pain recover in about six weeks, irrespective of administration or type of treatment.” More recently, back pain guidelines published out of Australia touted similar verbiage: back pain patients should be “given the assurance that they will recover naturally.” In a way, I guess this line of thinking sort of fits with our human nature and is somewhat comforting. It’s much easier to ignore the gigantic gray elephant sitting in your living room, than to face the fact that something might actually be wrong. “Maybe it will just ‘go away.’”
[originally published in KCN, October 1998]
It’s been tagged as the surgery of the decade. Its prevalence has nearly doubled in the past ten years. Its gained recognition as the most common peripheral nerve entrapment neuropathy in the United States. And more and more workers’ compensation claims are being filed for it.
I’m talking about a condition that is well known to many people — carpal tunnel syndrome.
[originally published in KCN, April 2009]
I recently posed the following question to my patients: Suppose, for a moment, that you had to catch a cold. Now, obviously, no one in their right mind really sets out to do such a thing, but, for the sake of argument, let’s just say that your goal was to actually catch a cold. How would you go about doing it? Read the rest of this post »
[originally published in KCN, September 1998]
Now while it’s true that we doctors still have a lot to learn — that’s why we’re always practicing — you would think that we would have our anatomy down pat. Right? Well not exactly.
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