Is, "Pulling on Your Ear,' a Real Therapy?

Last week, a patient came in with numerous symptoms, one of the most bothersome was stabbing pain into her ear.  She said that she has been experiencing this pain for quite some time and that no doctor was able to explain to her why this was happening.  She decided to ask, "Dr. Internet," and someone who had this problem said that she had found that, "pulling on the ear," relieved the pain.

It's unfortunate that no medical doctor is aware of the mechanism of injury that leads to ear pain.  Ruling out ear or throat infections, the most frequent cause of pain radiating into the ear is simple to diagnose, but highly complex to treat....TMD or tempomandibular dysfunction....aka, TMJ.  However calling it, "TMJ" is a misnomer as the "J" stands for "joint," and all of us have a jaw joint.

We're working with this patient to rebalance the TMJ and all the other 20+ muscles that attach to this joint, affecting the neck, shoulder, arms, hands (often symptoms in the hands is mistaken for carpal tunnel syndrome and people are afflicted by surgery which usually makes things worse), taste, smell and causing light sensitivity, migraines, other types of headaches, tooth pain and pain in the face, head and ears.

Fortunately for this and numerous other patients, Dr. Kollars did an externship while in school with one of the country's foremost experts in treating TMD. We've successfully treated this condition for over 25 years. 

A word of caution.  Many dentists grind down the teeth of patients complaining of tooth pain that is not associated with dental caries.  Once this is done, there is no reversing the often far-reaching affects of this procedure. Grinding down teeth in the hope of alleviating pain does not address all the other imbalances caused by TMD.

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Fibromyalgia and Chiropractic Care

Many years ago, women came to me with a newly diagnosed condition...fibromyalgia.  Not much was known about it and not many treatment options were available.  I have to admit that I wasn't able to help these women much because trigger point therapy, microelectric current and adjustments simply didn't offer any significant relief.

The good news is that we now have treatments available that offer great relief and allow the patient to manage their condition to the point of little or no pain.  I was listening to a medical doctor who was introduced as a, "fibromyalgia expert," talk about the medical options for therapy.  She mentioned counseling (for depression), dietary changes, medication and yoga.  Unfortunately, none of these address the reason why the body is experiencing different levels of pain and energy on a daily basis.

Since the cause of this condition is not simple and involves many different systems: musculoskeletal,neurological, physiological and mechanical, the treatment also involves many different approaches: cold laser, meridian therapy, harmonic resonance, nutrition, life-style changes and emotional support.  I can tell you that we have had great success with these therapies. 

I have posted information on our website which details the reason for chronic pain from any condition and the stages of treatment necessary to restore normal function.  <ahref=http://fixdhealthcare.com>

The Benefits of Chiropractic Care for Children

Over the years, I have seen many children...infants through teenagers...for a number of different problems.  In each case, the parents felt that having their children receive chiropractic care improved their quality of life.  I've had cases of, "failure to thrive," (frequently caused by candida overgrowth from  antibiotics), sprains/strains, wrist, knee and ankle injuries, headaches and other  maladies.

In the 2006, Parents and Kids publication, the authors discuss the value of chiropractic care for all children, considering the amount of trauma babies go through, even in a "normal," vaginal delivery.  The authors state, "Nerve system stress, left unaddressed (sic), impairs the child's ability to function in a state of optimal health and well being."  The authors also realize that the, "pain and malfunction may not show up for years."  Earlier this week, we discussed the possible long-term ramifications of birth trauma on the digestive system of infants, as well as long-term behavior implications.  ADHD can also be traced, in part, to imbalances in a child's neurological system...something that we have personally been able to positively affect with our care.

Surprisingly to me, the article goes on to recommend that all infants/children receive a chiropractic examination to ensure proper nerve and mechanical function.  Suggested, also, is for parents to take their child to a chiropractor if any of the following have occurred: difficult birth, difficulty with nursing, colic, reflux, trouble sleeping, ear infections, frequent colds, allergies/asthma, behavioral problems, postural abnormalities, head tilt, high shoulder or hip.  We had one case in which the infant wasn't able to turn her head without screaming in pain....the pediatrician said she'd, "grow out of it."

The article concludes with what it calls, "successful" reported results of chiropractic care.  It includes: increased immunity, fewer colds/infections, increased athletic potential, increased energy, relief from allergies/asthma, better sleep habits, reduction in hyperactivity and improvement/reversal of scoliosis.  I can honestly say that we have seen all of the above results in our pediatric patients, too.  Food for thought.

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Acid Reflux in Babies....A serious condition

My first infant patient was diagnosed by her pediatrician as having pyloric valve prolapse.  The pyloric valve is a sphincter in the digestive tract.  If this is not developed normally, it can prolapse and allow milk/food to be projectile vomited (along with hydrochloric acid) every time the baby intakes nourishment...it's serious and needs immediate treatment.   Before the mother was willing to subject her baby to surgery, she thought she'd try my care.

Needless to say, this baby was undernourished and I was hesitant, but as I had helped the mother with some serious pain and mobility issues after delivery, she was trusting enough to let me try.  It didn't take too long, but the happy ending was that the baby didn't require surgery and no longer had any problems with keeping down any of the food she ate nor any further acid reflux problems.  We love happy endings.

The Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health, May, 2009 issue published the results of a study of infants, age 2 weeks to 11 months, with acid reflux who had been given chiropractic care.  Sixty percent of the infants had experienced birth trauma, also.  Damaging or impinging the cervical structures during birth can lead to many and varied symptoms, including digestive, sleep, mechanical and behavior problems.

Chiropractic care was administered to the infants for 2-6 weeks, with ALL of the infants' symptoms being resolved.  I think that's amazing.  How many other studies examining the efficacy of pharmaceutical intervention for a problem have resulted in a 100% cure rate?  None that I can remember.

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Chiropractic Therapy for Colic

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (heretofore known as JMPT) October 2009 issue reported that chiropractic therapy was shown to help reduce the duration and affects of colic in babies.  Furthermore, the researchers looked to see if early intervention for colic by this type of therapy could reduce the little-reported longer term behavioral affects that many of these children have been known to experience...such as temper tantrums and sleep walking.

Before I go further with this article, it's important to understand that this chiropractic journal is the only one of our profession to be listed in the Index Medicus.  It is also listed in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine. This is important because this journal's contents are equally respected in the scientific community to that of any medical journal...whether it be the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet or any other journal listed in the same Index.

A total of 228 post-colicky children were involved in the study...about half of the children received chiropractic care and half did not.  In assessing the toddler's behavior at 2 and 3 years of age, it was noted that the, "Untreated post-colicky infants demonstrated negative behavior patterns..."  The parents of the infants given chiropractic therapy reported fewer behavioral and sleep pattern problems than the parents of the toddlers who had no chiropractic care.

I have had personal experience with colicky infants.  One mother brought in her 6 month old and told me her baby hadn't had more than one hour of uninterrupted sleep in those 6 months!  Wow.  Anyone who is a parent can sympathize with that mom.  Within 2 treatments, the mother noted that the baby had slept through the night.  Within 6 treatments, the baby could be taken to church (something the whole family wanted) for the first time and showed no further signs of colic.  I still have that picture of the baby...one "before" crying, and one "after" smiling and happy. 

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M.D.'s Believe Alzheimer's is a Killer

A recent study reports that Alzheimer's is not only responsible for the death of some 500,000 people each year, but it is also the third leading cause of death (except when figuring in the death rate from properly and improperly prescribed medication) in this country.  The death rate attributed to this disease is six-fold of what it was thought to be, just a few years ago.

The significance of this new information is that it means that Alzheimer's doesn't just affect the memory portion of the brain...it must also be associated with  systemic and catastrophic systems' failure.  So far, there is no correlation between memory failure and death that I have read about in the literature.  I'm certain that this finding will encourage researchers to study about and try to find out about what neurological connections there are between this memory-depleting condition and its associated mortality.

It may be that since Alzheimer's is a progressive condition and that it first presents in older people, that by the time it has caused full memory loss, people may simply be dying because their bodies have deteriorated from old age.  Or, the aging process is accelerated because of the memory loss.  I'm certain that we all would like answers to those and other questions we may have concerning this horrible disease.

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Children Suffer from PTSD, too

The mental health profession has identified and is beginning to work with children who are showing the distinctive signs of post traumatic stress disorder.  The symptoms of this disorder are seen in those children who have experienced and continue to experience similar symptoms as adults who have had significant head trauma and the emotional trauma of war.  The difference is that these children have suffered neither head injuries nor experienced shootings, abuse or other significant events.  No, these children are homeless.

Children attending Caesar Chavez Middle School in California have been the subject of a 10 week-long program, developed by mental health professionals, that is teaching them "mindful behavior."  I have written about the importance of mindfulness in mitigating anxiety, depression and anti-social behavior in prior blogs.  The school principal said that it was the accumulated, everyday things about homelessness that were making the most significant impact on these children...no constant address, nowhere to send school information, no place to socialize with friends, the uncertainty of each day and so on.  Brain scans showed that these children's brains showed the same changes as those of adults who had had brain traumas. 

The children who were interviewed said that they were able to modify their negative reactions and behavior using the techniques that were taught by the psychiatric interns...primarily young men and women (A licensed psychiatrist was in charge of the program and oversaw its administration).  The principal noted that both behavior and academic deficiencies were positively impacted through the use of the mindful techniques. 

PTSD has to be treated; it doesn't simply go away with time.  And, this disorder showing up in our most at-risk population should be taken very, very seriously.  We have no idea what far-reaching consequences on both the affected children and society, in general, this disorder may have in the future.  Again, I recommend the book: Ten Mindful Minutes, by Goldie Hawn, to everyone, especially parents.

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