What's Holding Me Back? Understanding your condition.

During my 10+ years of practice, I've had a chance to treat many different patients with many different conditions. A vexing part of practice is when you have a patient who doesn't respond as expected. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. Part of the process with patients is trying to convey, to the best of your ability, what kind of results a particular patient can expect. Some factors that patients may not realize that affect the outcome is what kind of condition THEY are in. Factors that affect success at relieving pain are the same things that make anyone better able to get over illnesses. Conditions such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, smoking, substance abuse or history of it, advanced age, lupus, fibromyalgia, and even depression can slow down the healing process. On the flip side, patients who are "super athletes" push their bodies so hard that the bodies ability to heal is being used to repair muscles and ligaments damaged with hard workouts or games.
People who are stressed out, overworked, sleep deprived, eating a fast food diet in their car, and unwinding every night with a couple of drinks and sleep meds, suffering from acid reflux and popping ibuprofen for pain aren't going to get over sinus infection very well, much less a complex spinal condition. Getting healthy is a vital part of getting well. If you are under care, realize that it doesn't mean you aren't going to get well, but it may take much longer than other people with the same type of problem. As I've told many patients, I'm not a miracle worker, I'm doing my best with what skills I've been given. But, I also have to do my best with what you as a patient have brought me to work with. Being patient while being a patient is the most important thing to do. Remember, most problems didn't get that way in 1 day and they rarely resolve in 1 day of treatment.

What do Chiropractic Doctors Treat?

Many people think of DC's as treating low backs only. Or, they think of them as only treating necks and low backs. People are oftentimes surprised to know that DC's treat conditions such as

1. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (wrist/hand pain),


2. Foot and ankle pain including heel spurs and plantar fascitis,


3. Headaches-Migraine, TMJ, and Neck related


4. TMJ Dysfunction (Jaw pain)


5. Knee pain


6. Nutritional disorders


7. Bulging discs and pinched nerves

While not only treating the spinal and muskuloskeletal disorders, Chiropractic Doctors have had patients note relief with the following disorders while under a DC's care:

1. GERD or Heartburn


2. Colic in infants


3. Enuresis or bed-wetting


4. Sinus congestion


5. reduction in severity of Otitis Media or middle ear infections


6. Difficulty sleeping


7. Painful periods and lack of periods in women

Surprised? Most people are! Doctors of Chiropractic not only treat a multitude of conditions, they are trained to diagnosis and detect other conditions that might warrant the need for a referral to a specialist. In my practice, I've found tumors, diabetes, severe hypertension, gallstones, and kidney stones that needed to be seen by their respective medical specialists.

Patient Education

Last night, I spoke at our weekly New Patient Orientation Class. What I realize every time I give the class, is that there is a profound lack of knowledge in the general public about Chiropractic and Doctors of Chiropractic. Whose fault is this? Certainly not the patient. They just want to feel better. The finger points squarely at us. The doctors and staff of chiropractic clinics. Ask a typical person what they think about Chiropractors and you'll get a ton of different answers but usually nothing definitive other than "they pop backs." Our class is designed so that patients not only know what we do, but why we do it and how that makes them achieve health. As a professor of mine in school once said, " You have to give them a reason to think you're more than just a glorified wrestler." What I have found since we started doing these classes over a year ago, is that patients get more satisfaction from their care, they understand their condition better, and are better able to relate what we do to their family and friends. Ask someone what a dermatologist does or a dentist. That person can probably say several sentences on the finer points of both professions. Unless we make a concerted effort to educate patients on the benefits of chiropractic care, we'll always be relegated to second class status and sometimes open disdain. What I try to impress upon my patients are these 4 things. 1. We're extremely safe. No matter what anyone says, we rarely hurt anyone and even more rarely kill someone. The New England Journal of Medicine has stated that over 180,000 people are killed each year from medical errors. Believe me, if DC's killed just 180 people per year, we'd all be run out of town. 2. We're extremely effective. For low back pain, study after study shows we have better patient satisfaction. 3. We're very cost effective. Sometime do some asking around about medical procedures. Ask how much a steroid injection costs. One procedure is the same price as 12 weeks worth of typical care in my office. and finally, #4. How healthy you are is mostly dependent upon how well you treat yourself. If you don't work at making yourself healthy, no one else can do it for you. Do patients know this? Rarely. Do your patients know this? Ask them. See if they do. If your a patient reading this. Does your doctor of chiropractic explain these things? If not. Ask him or her why not. Or find someone who will.

Certified Kennedy Decompression Technique

In November 2007, I received my certification in Decompression Therapy. Having done the Non -Surgical disc decompression for approximately 18 months and seeing good but not great results, I realized that I may need more training than the standard Chattanooga training on the DTS. Dr. Kennedy's course is a condensed version of his 20 years of using this therapy on disc patients. Simply put, it made me much more effective in not only identifying who would benefit from the Decompression therapy, but also who wouldn't and what might help the other types of patients. His course laid bare some of the failures of the Chiropractic dogma as it relates to treating most cases with only manipulation. It's a fact, not every patient benefits from the adjustment. No matter your philosophical leanings, every DC has had cases that absolutely did not respond to adjustments. Dr. Kennedy reveals why certain patients are like this and what would best benefit. He also explained why all the hype from different Decompression table companies such as the DRX 9000, Chattanooga DTS, Vax D, et. al. is simply fluff. People "drink the kool-aid" as he puts it. The table is not magic. There's no hocus pocus or space age technology. The tables are just vastly different in price but not in function. The difference is the skill of the Doctor. The classification of the patient regarding disc compression, motion disorders, facet syndrome, core instability or a combination of the whole bunch is essential to getting patients out of pain. Since taking the course and becoming certified, I've become a better clinician with better outcomes and better patient satisfaction. I've become more confident that when I put a patient with a disc problem on the table, they are going to see results. Not every time of course, but much more often than previous. I've seen the greatest results in severe headache pain with a referred pain into the shoulder or rhomboid area. I've dealt with these patients for years with limited success. Since November, I've had 10 patients or so with debilitating headaches and severe neck pain and pain in the shoulder blade area have almost complete resolution in pain after 1 treatment. This relief lasts for a day or 2 initially, but, after a series of treatments, relief has been measured months. Surprisingly enough, the majority of these patients have not received any chiropractic adjustments. Their problem isn't a chiropractic subluxation problem. It's a disc compression syndrome that, once treated properly, responds very quickly and efficiently.

Welcome to the Lubbock Chiropractic Blog

Welcome to the first installment of what I hope becomes a place to get information about Chiropractic, health and wellness. The Chiropractic profession has been at fault for not educating patients about the science and art of Chiropractic. Thus, we have the "believers" and "non-believers" camps instead of the informed and mis-informed. Chiropractic isn't a belief system. Much like gravity, it doesn't care whether you believe or not, it simply works. And, like anything, it only takes a few bad apples to spoil the bunch. My goal is to give people an understanding about what Chiropractic is, but, more importantly, what we can treat safely and effectively.

The first thing I want to get straight is: yes, we are doctors. My doctoral degree is accredited by the same association that accredits the other schools in the region including Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University, and University of Texas. I earned that degree with hundreds of hours of classwork. My professors were PhD's, MD's, DC's, and even a DDS, and a DVM. Attached is a link of course hours of an MD and a DC. http://healthandwellnesspdx.com/Articles/How%20well%20educated%20is%20your%20chiropractor.pdf

So, that being settled, I won't reference again the validity of my credentials. I do acknowledge the sad fact that people rarely "try a Chiropractor" but rather "try Chiropractic." When a patient sees a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) and has a bad experience, statistics show that they rarely will try a different DC. They've determined in their head that "Chiropractic" isn't going to "work" for them. Everyone has had a bad haircut or gotten a bad steak but that doesn't keep them from trying a different stylist or a different restaurant. Why is that the status quo for the Chiropractic profession? My only guess is lack of education by the Chiropractic community. My words of advice for a potential patient is to ask around. Find out where people are going. Ask for a consultation. Meet with the Doctor. We're all different. We're trained the same just like cosmetologists are trained the same but each doctor has his or her own style. I encourage you to look for the fit for you. And, if you haven't had a good experience, look elsewhere. There is a DC right for you and your family.