Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Non-Surgical Treatment for Carpal Tunnel

Carpal tunnel syndrome is often described as pain, numbness, or tingling on the side of the wrists due to the Median nerve in the wrist being aggravated.  Carpal tunnel can affect both wrists simultaneously.  The pain comes from the Median nerve, which controls muscles and sensations in the arm and wrists.  The nerve is comprised of branches of nerves stemming from the spinal nerves in the middle neck and upper back.

When subluxations are present in the neck, we often see symptoms in other areas of the body, such as the case with carpal tunnel.  Patients feel numbness, tingling, and pain in the wrists and hands when the actual cause of the symptoms is rooted in the neck.  The pain associated with carpal tunnel can be debilitating, causing great stress by effecting everyday activities such as eating, driving, and personal care.  Chiropractic care has long been proven to help with carpal tunnel syndrome.

A study published in 2014 followed a woman with carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands who had improvement following just 5 chiropractic adjustments.  When an adjustment is made to the cervical spine to relieve the pressure on the nerves, those nerves are able to function optimally and symptoms are reduced.  Chiropractic adjustments are safe, gentle, and non-invasive treatment for carpal tunnel patients that provides treatment to the cause of the syndrome not just to the symptoms.

Murphy J Floyd R, Varnum C.  Resolution of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome following subluxation based chiropractic care: A case study [case report]. Ann Vert Sublux Res. 2014 Fal;2014(4):Online access only p 206-210.

Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson

Owner/Doctor

MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101 

Charlotte, NC 28214

Tel (704) 394-8556

Fax (704) 395-8556


"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." JV

Friday, May 26, 2017

Research Provides New Hope for MS Patients

After images taken of the spine in a weight-bearing position as opposed to laying flat, researchers have learned that many symptoms associated with MS can be caused by misalignments found in the vertebrae of the neck. This misalignments or subluxations can be related to injuries as far back as eight or more years ago!  These subluxations block cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from flowing freely to the brain and spinal cord.  These obstructions increase pressure in the skull and cause "leakages" into the surrounding brain tissue.  The protein found in the CSF leaks have been found to cause an autoimmune reaction in the brain that leads to symptom-generating lesions found in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Specific chiropractic adjustments can improve the flow of CSF by removing these misalignments and subluxations.  In a study published in 2011, one particular patient experienced immediate improvements in vertigo, vomiting just after their first adjustment!  The time between injury and onset of MS (8years) shows why it is essential to get checked regularly by your chiropractor, especially after any injury! Even if you are not experiencing symptoms after an injury, research is showing that particularly with MS patients the disease is showing 8 years after traumatic injury.



Damadian RV, Chu D.  The Possible Role of Craniocervical Trauma and Abnormal Cerebrospinal Fluid Hydrodynamics in the Genesis of Multiple Sclerosis and the Craniocervical Syndrome.  The Craniocervical Syndrome and MRI. September 2011:74-91.  doi:10.1159/000365473.




Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson

Owner/Doctor

MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101 

Charlotte, NC 28214

Tel (704) 394-8556

Fax (704) 395-8556


"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." JV

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Benefits of Chiropractic: Blood Pressure Regulation

A 2014 randomized control study showed the positive effects that chiropractic adjustments to the neck can have on blood pressure and the autonomic nervous system.  The autonomic nervous system controls unconscious activities such as digestion, breathing, heartbeat, and blood pressure.  There are 2 divisions of the autonomic nervous system which are the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions.  Fight or flight survival response is the sympathetic division, often seen as the "gas pedal" of your car (or your body).  On the opposite side the parasympathetic or the "brake pedal" to your car controls rest, growth, digestion, and relaxation.  This is the system in which we want to have in control, and to keep our sympathetic system out of overload mode.

When there is a subluxation, or nerve interference quite often in the upper cervical neck, is can drive our sympathetic system into a dominant state.  What this can mean is that we are stressed, having our body's physiology change and make our systems work in a "survival" mode.  For example, blood pressure will rise, release of increase of stress hormones, and the digestive system will slow as well as our immune system will suppress itself.  This leads to pain and disease.  During the study listed above, the findings proved adjustments to the upper and lower neck both shifted the body back into it's preferred parasympathetic state and decreased patients' blood pressure. By aligning the neck, the body was able to calm back into the "rest-relax-growth" system that it was meant to function in.

Win NN, Jorgensen AMS, Chen YS, Haneline MT.  Effects of Upper and Lower Cervical Spinal Manipulative Therapy on Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability in Volunteers and Patients With Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled, Cross-Over, Preliminary Study.  Journal of Chiropractic Medicine. 2015;14(1):1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jcm.2014.12.005.


Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson

Owner/Doctor

MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101 

Charlotte, NC 28214

Tel (704) 394-8556

Fax (704) 395-8556


"If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." JV