Chiropractic Facts

Chiropractic Facts

Chiropractic care has been known to help many people suffering from a wide variety of nerve/muscle/joint-related conditions. If the chiropractor examines a person and finds joint dysfunction, nerve irritability and/or connective tissue abnormalities related to the problem area, it is likely that chiropractic care will help.

Chiropractic services are in high demand. Tens of millions of Americans routinely opt for chiropractic services and this number is rapidly growing. In 1993, more than 30 million consumers made chiropractic a regular part of their health care program.

Chiropractic utilizes a "hands on" active approach. The principle treatment is adjustment/ manipulation of the spine and supportive soft-tissue techniques. There is a focus on lifestyle counseling, prevention, and patient responsibility for health (for example, in the areas of posture, diet, exercise, stress-reduction, etc.).

All treatment is based on an accurate diagnosis of your back pain. The chiropractor should be well informed regarding your medical history, including ongoing medical conditions, current medications, traumatic/surgical history, and lifestyle factors. Although rare, there have been cases in which treatment worsened a herniated or slipped disc, or neck manipulation resulted in stroke or spinal cord injury. To be safe, always inform your primary health care provider whenever you use chiropractic or other pain relief alternatives.

Doctors of chiropractic provide effective, low-cost health care for a wide range of conditions. Studies conducted according to the highest scientific standards and published by organizations not affiliated in any way with chiropractic institutions or associations continue to show the clinical appropriateness and effectiveness of chiropractic care. One of the most recent, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, stated emphatically that:

The process of chiropractic adjustment is a safe, efficient procedure which is performed nearly one million times every working day in the United States. There is a singular lack of actuarial data that would justify concluding that chiropractic care is in any way harmful or dangerous. Chiropractic care is non-invasive, therefore, the body's response to chiropractic care is far more predictable than its reactions to drug treatments or surgical procedures. Of the nearly one million adjustments given every day in this country, complications are exceedingly rare. Perhaps the best summary statement on the subject of safety was published in 1979 by the Government of New Zealand which established a special commission to study chiropractic. They found:

"The conspicuous lack of evidence that chiropractors cause harm or allow harm to occur through neglect of medical referral can be taken to mean only one thing: that chiropractors have on the whole an impressive safety record."

Stone Mountain Middle School

About Stone Mountain Middle School

OVERVIEW Stone Mountain Middle School was the first school in the DeKalb County School System to pilot the middle school concept. The middle grades philosophy centers around a team approach, and each student is part of a team. Each team has four core teachers who teach English, math, science, and social studies. Four classes of students make up a team and circulate through the same core teachers. Besides the four core disciplines, Stone Mountain Middle School offers band, orchestra, French, Spanish and P.E. Through the exploratory enrichment blocks, students can experience art, chorus, music, computer applications, career education, Family & Consumer Science, and technology.

UNIQUE ASSETS

Stone Mountain Middle School is situated in a charming suburban community just east of metro Atlanta. The unique and impressive Stone Mountain creates a scenic background to our school campus. The faculty of Stone Mountain is multicultural, with widely diverse interests. Our student population is also diverse, representing twenty countries. In an effort to give our students varied experiences to grow and learn, we offer numerous clubs and school enrichment activities.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS Our school is home to one of the most outstanding and award winning band programs in the district. We also host the Small Fry to Go program, a unique, award-winning year-long, project-based, science, mathematics, and communications program for middle school students developed by Georgia Tech University.

Stone Mountain Elementary

Stone Mountain Elementary

Core Values

Stone Mountain Elementary is a place where learning is our highest mission. We pledge to provide a respectful, caring and purposeful environment that values every child. We are committed to building character, celebrating improvement and honoring each other in our pursuit of excellence. Staying in the C.I.R.C.L.E. C-Care: compassion, empathy and understanding I-Improve: always giving our best effort, never settle for less R-Respect: treat other's how you want to be treated C-Cooperate: collaborate and work together L-Learn-personal excellence and success begins with learning E-Every day-committing to doing your best all the time

Meningitis outbreak highlights failed oversight efforts

FRAMINGHAM, Massachusetts (CNN) — If Sarah Sellers’ warnings had been taken seriously 10 years ago, 12 people might be alive today.

Sellers, a pharmacist and expert on the sterile compounding of drugs, testified to Congress in 2003 about non-sterile conditions she’d witnessed.

“Professional standards for sterile compounding have not been consistently applied,” she told the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. “The absence of federal compounding regulations has created vulnerability in our gold standard system for pharmaceutical regulation.”

Nearly 10 years later, there are still no federal sterility guidelines for compounding pharmacies that make and distribute drugs all over the country.

Now, 137 cases and 12 fatalities nationwide are blamed on a rare, noncontagious form of meningitis linked to contaminated steroid injections made by the Massachusetts-based New England Compounding Center.

The latest death to be connected to the outbreak was that of a 70-year-old man who died in Florida in July, prior to the discovery of the contamination.

Tennessee is the hardest-hit state, with 39 infections and six deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three deaths occurred in Michigan and one each in Maryland and Virginia, the CDC said.

Patients contracted the deadly meningitis after being injected in their spines with a preservative-free steroid called methylprednisolone acetate that was contaminated by a fungus. The steroid is used to treat pain and inflammation.

As many as 13,000 people may have received the medicine between May 21 and September 24, the CDC said.

The New England Compounding Center announced Wednesday it has established a recall operations center to manage the removal of all its products from circulation. Last week, the pharmacy voluntarily surrendered its license to operate until the Food and Drug Administration’s investigation into the contamination is complete.

Health officials say 75 medical facilities in 23 states received the contaminated steroid injections from NECC.

At least two lawmakers are introducing bills to strengthen the FDA’s oversight of compounding pharmacies.

“Unfortunately, compounding pharmacies are a 19th century service operating in a 21st century industry, and we need to update and strengthen the rules that govern these operations so that patients can safely benefit from the unique service they offer,” Rep. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to introduce this legislation and to ensure FDA has the authority it needs to oversee these pharmacies and protect patients.”

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, vowed similar action. “This outbreak and the corresponding recall of products from the New England Compounding Center expose dramatic gaps in our drug safety standards that create an unnecessary risk to the public health,” she wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

While compounding pharmacies were intended to create customized medications for specific patients, some “have evolved into large scale operations that produce sizeable quantities of some drugs,” she wrote. “For example, cases in the current outbreak are spread across nine states and more than 17,500 doses of the potentially contaminated drug were shipped to 23 states. At the same time, the FDA lacks clear authority for ensuring the safety of these products and last updated its guidance for (the) industry in 2002.”

The FDA has been working on new guidelines since at least 2006, but the effort is “still in progress,” FDA spokeswoman Erica Jefferson said.

Currently, the FDA does not have jurisdiction over compounding pharmacies until there is a problem. FDA officials say they have been fighting to change that for more than 20 years.

The compounding pharmacy industry has challenged those efforts, and courts have ruled that individual state health departments are in charge.

“These facilities are inspected upon initial licensure and in response to complaints,” said Alec Loftus of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Massachusetts requires compound pharmacies to be licensed by the state board, but does not require accreditation. That’s a voluntary process that only 162 out of 3,000 compounding facilities have obtained, according to the Pharmacy Compounding Accreditation Board.

“The oversight appears to be quite lax,” said CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reporting from Massachusetts about the contaminated drugs. The New England Compounding Center “can distribute thousands of doses of drugs and it doesn’t necessarily have to be accredited.”

The center’s building in Framingham is also home to a garbage compactor and recycling center. CNN observed a medical waste truck making a drop, as well as piles of garbage, boxes, and old mattresses on the back side of the pharmacy compound building. Both companies are owned by the same people.

If the site had been accredited, officials would have examined the facilities and considered whether there are concerns about the site sharing space with a garbage facility, Gupta said.

“Our investigation into NECC and the outbreak with our partners in Massachusetts are ongoing, so I can’t comment directly on how this factors in,” said Jefferson, the FDA spokeswoman.

There is no law that specifies a minimum proximity between a compounding pharmacy and other establishments.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has warned the NECC multiple times since 2002 about unsanitary conditions at its facility.

Statutory and regulatory requirements stipulate that compounding can be done only on receipt of a patient-specific prescription, Dr. Madeleine Biondolillo, director of the department’s Bureau of Healthcare Safety and Quality, told reporters Wednesday.

Asked if there had been a violation, she said some organizations may have operated contrary to the licensing regulations, but that is part of the investigation.

Compounding pharmacies were originally created for doctors or pharmacists to make small amounts of custom medications — for example, adding flavored syrup to a cough medicine, or creating a smaller dose for an individual patient if it’s not created commercially.

They’ve grown into a much larger business. Pharmacy compounding accounts for 37 million prescription drugs in the United States each year.

Some compounders ship thousands of custom drugs all over the country. NECC is licensed to distribute to surgery centers and pain clinics in 50 states.

Nearly 10% of drugs administered in the United States come from compound pharmacies, according to a 2003 Government Accountability Office report.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It is usually caused by an infection, frequently with bacteria or a virus, but it can also be caused by less common pathogens, such as fungi in this case, according to the CDC.

Fungal meningitis is very rare and, unlike viral and bacterial meningitis, is not contagious.

Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN that fungal infections are not usually mild. He said when a fungus invades small blood vessels, it can cause them to clot or bleed, which can lead to symptoms of small strokes.

In addition to typical meningitis symptoms like headache, fever, nausea and stiffness of the neck, people with fungal meningitis may also experience confusion, dizziness and discomfort from bright lights. Patients might just have one or two of these symptoms, the CDC says.

Health officials say any patients who received an injection at one of the facilities beginning May 21 and who began showing symptoms between one and three weeks after being injected should see their doctor right away.

The earlier a patient gets treatment, the more likely he or she will survive.

Patients are treated with anti-fungal medication, which is given intravenously, so patients have to be admitted to the hospital, the CDC said. Patients may need to be treated for months.

The FDA is urging anyone who has experienced problems following an injection with the NECC product to report it to MedWatch, the FDA’s voluntary reporting program, by phone at 1-800-FDA-1088 or online at www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.

CNN’s Danielle Dellorto reported from Framingham; CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen and William Hudson reported from Atlanta. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Josh Levs and Ann Curley contributed to this report.

Four new meningitis cases reported at Ann Arbor hospital

Ann Arbor — Four new cases of fungal meningitis in Michigan have been confirmed at St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor, officials said Wednesday.

Lauren Smoker, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said officials have confirmed four more cases of the disease, raising the total number of cases being treated at the facility to 22.

Also Wednesday, state health officials updated the number of Michiganians sickened by the outbreak tied to tainted steroids to 28, including three deaths. Nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the outbreak has now reached 137 cases, including 12 deaths.

In Michigan, Lilian Cary, 67, of Livingston County, a 78-year-old Washtenaw County woman and a 56-year-old Genesee County woman have died in the outbreak.

Other states where cases have been found include Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana and Florida. The largest concentration has been in Tennessee, which has 39 cases and six deaths. Michigan is second. Virginia was third with 24 cases and one death.

Most of those cases are believed to have resulted from steroid shots administered to alleviate back pain.

Fungal meningitis is the inflammation of the protective coverings of the brain and spinal cord. It is not contagious, but it can be fatal.

As many as 13,000 people may have received tainted injections nationwide.

In Michigan, four health facilities received shipments of the contaminated steroids.

They are:

— Michigan Neurological Institute in Grand Blanc

— Michigan Pain Specialists in Brighton

— Neuromuscular & Rehabilitation in Traverse City

— Southeast Michigan Surgical Hospital in Warren

CDC reports eighth fungal meningitis death

ATLANTA (WLS) - Health officials estimate that 13,000 people may have been exposed to contaminated lots of an epidural steroid that has been linked to a rare fungal meningitis that has infected 105 people across nine states, killing eight of them. Fourteen new cases and one new death have been reported since Sunday.

Although the number of cases has increased, the outbreak does not include any new states. The number of people with fungal meningitis, which is not spread person-to-person, has grown by 64 percent since Friday.

The outbreak of aspergillus meningitis has been linked to spinal steroid injections, a common treatment for back pain. A sealed vial of the steroid, called methylprednisolone acetate, was found to contain fungus, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The states with reported cases include Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. Tennessee has the most cases, with 35, including four deaths.

"FDA is in the process of further identifying the fungal contaminate," said Dr. Ilisa Bernstein, acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Office of Compliance. "Our investigation into the source of this outbreak is still ongoing."

The steroid came from the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass., a specialty pharmacy that has recalled three lots of the drug and shut down operations. Calls to the pharmacy were not immediately returned and its website is down.

Roughly 75 clinics in 23 states that received the recalled lots have been instructed to notify all affected patients.

"If patients are concerned, they should contact their physician to find out if they received a medicine from one of these lots," said Dr. Benjamin Park of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adding that most of the cases occurred in older adults who were healthy aside from back pain.

Meningitis affects the membranous lining of the brain and spinal cord. Early symptoms of fungal meningitis, such as headache, fever, dizziness, nausea and slurred speech, are subtler than those of bacterial meningitis and can take nearly a month to appear. Left untreated, the inflammatory disease can cause permanent neurological damage and death.

"Fungal meningitis in general is rare. But aspergillus meningitis -- the kind we're talking about here -- is super rare and very serious," said Dr. William Schaffner, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and chairman of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. "There's no such thing as mild aspergillus meningitis."

The disease is diagnosed with a lumbar puncture, which draws cerebrospinal fluid from the spine that can be inspected for signs of the disease. Once detected, it can be treated with high doses of intravenous antifungal medications.

"Treatment could be prolonged, possibly on the order of months," said Park, adding that the IV treatment would require a hospital stay.

Unlike bacterial and viral meningitis, fungal meningitis is not transmitted from person to person and only people who received the steroid injections are thought to be at risk.

The FDA has, however, advised health providers to stop using any product made by the New England Compounding Center during the investigation.

Meningitis cases linked to steroids increase; no California cases so far

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A meningitis outbreak linked to epidural steroid injections that so far is affecting the eastern half of the United States is continuing to grow, with health officials continuing to monitor patients in the North Coast region who received the steroids.

On Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta reported that the outbreak of fungal meningitis cases linked to contaminated methylprednisolone acetate injectable steroids had grown to 105 cases across nine states, with eight deaths.

No cases have so far been reported in California, the agency said.

Affected states included Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia, according to the CDC, which is coordinating the investigation into the outbreak.

The CDC said the manufacturer of the methylprednisolone acetate injections, New England Compounding Center located in Framingham, Mass., began a voluntary recall of the drugs on Sept. 26.

State and federal officials said 75 health care facilities in 23 states received the contaminated product.

In California, four health facilities received the drug, which is used as an epidural injection for chronic pain.

Among them was Ukiah Valley Medical Center, which last week sent out letters to patients notifying them of the issues, as Lake County News has reported.

Also receiving the compound in California were the Cypress Surgery Center in Visalia, the Encino Outpatient Surgical Center and Universal Pain Management in Palmdale, the CDC reported.

To date, no patients have been admitted to UVMC with meningitis-type symptoms as a result of receiving this compound, the hospital said Monday.

Meningitis is a swelling of the meninges, the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord.

The CDC said infected patients have developed a variety of symptoms approximately one to four weeks following their injection. The symptoms include fever, new or worsening headache and nausea. Some also have suffered strokes.

The CDC investigation thus far has revealed that the meningitis linked to the steroid injections was caused by a fungus that is common in the environment but rarely causes meningitis. The source of the fungus, however, has not been identified.

Officials said the fungal meningitis in this outbreak is not contagious.

Anyone who has had one of the epidural steroid injections since May 21 should talk to their doctor immediately if they experience a worsening headache, fever, sensitivity to light, stiff neck, new weakness or numbness in any part of your body or slurred speech, according to the CDC.

In a Monday statement, UVMC said it selected the New England Compounding Center in spite of a 75 percent higher cost for the compounded medication because the center is a specialized “compounding-only pharmacy” dedicated to providing medications and services to patients and prescribers.

“The team of registered pharmacists at UVMC did not choose the product based on price,” according to Heather Van Housen, UVMC’s patient care executive.

“The product was selected because it contains no preservatives or buffers that other pharmaceutical manufacturers offer that may cause higher risk of infection or other complications,” Van Housen said.

Natural History of Stone Mountain

Natural History of Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain sits on the western edge of a large belt of Lithonia Gneiss granite although the younger intrusive granite that comprises the mountain is entirely different from Lithonia granite. Rising to a height of 1,683 feet above sea level (roughly 650-750 feet above the surrounding Georgia Piedmont, depending on where it is measured), it is visible from Kennesaw Mountain to the west, Amicalola Falls State Park to the north and Mount Yonah to the northeast.

Technically known as a pluton, the mountain was formed during the complex folding and faulting that created the Blue Ridge Mountains, although Stone Mountain is not part of that range. The magma that created Stone Mountain was formed deep inside the earth, then forced its way out of the earth's molten center. Before the molten rock hit the air it stopped, initially forming the west side of the "pluton." Successive attempts at eruption (breaking through to the surface of the earth) also failed, but added to the size of the dome from west to east. Once the pluton was formed it began to cool. This occurred during the Alleghenian Orogeny, a massive collision of tectonic plates perhaps 350 million years ago.

Geologists, however, are stumped as to how this enormous rock (the largest known granite formation) became exposed. Some believe that the entire Georgia Piedmont region was higher than the mountain and over time, erosion simply wore the dirt and metamorphic stone surrounding the mountain away. Others believe that the area was flooded after the formation of the mountain and the water eroded the surrounding material. A third theory includes post-formation geological events (primarily earthquakes). Analysis of the rock reveals that the magma that created the pluton was comprised of quartz, feldspar, microcline and muscovite with smaller amounts of biotite and tourmaline. Embedded in the granite are pieces of biotite gneiss and amphibolite.

Disc Injuries in Rear Impacts

Disc Injuries in Rear Impacts

               Discinjuries following rear-end impacts are often observed in clinical practice by physicians, many following in the low-speed delta-V range. I have seen many disc bulging or herniation cases over the years in the delta-V range of 4 to 10 mph. Most of these disc cases had preexisting degeneration in the spine noted with imaging studies or out-of-position issues leading to susceptibility. Smith evaluated 72 real-world rear impacts with accident reconstruction to determine the delta-Vs and the types of injuries that were diagnosed by physicians. Discbulges or herniations were found in the cervical spine with delta-Vs as low as 8km/h and in the lumbar spine as low as 11.3 km/h. Yoganandan et al. exposed four entire human cadavers to rear impacts with 4.4 to 6.8m/sec (9.8 to 15.2 mph) delta-V and a mean of 3.3 or 4.5g acceleration. After single impact, the cervical spine was analyzed for any traumatic findings using standard radiology and CT scanning. X-ray and CT analysis only found an avulsion fracture of the C5 body and C5-C6 disc distraction injury without a fracture. Then the specimens underwent cry sectioning to determine if any soft tissue injuries occurred that were not noted in the radiological evaluation. Cryosectioning revealed the following: annular tears at C5-C6, diastasis of C1-C2 and C5-C6 zygapophysical joints with associated tears of capsular ligaments, tears of C6-C7 ligamentum flavum, and tear/rupture of C5-C6 anterior longitudinal ligament.

Symptoms of Poor Posture

Years and years of poor posture can trigger a series of symptoms in the average adult. They can start by:

Fatigue – you wake up and don’t feel like doing anything. Your muscles are weak, without energy, and so is your mind. Things lose brightness and taste. You think to yourself: “the solution to this problem would be to do some exercise”,  but ironically the problem is that you don’t feel like going out or doing exercise. A vicious cycle starts, which can only be ended by adopting a good posture.

Tight muscles in the neck, back, arms and legs. You’ll know that you’ve reached this stage because you’ll feel your muscles and ligaments stiff, tight and painful, specially neck and back muscles. That typical image of a person sitting in front of the computer and moving their head to relieve the pain says it all. Most of neck and back problems are the consequence of years of bad posture.

Joint stiffness and pain – this is especially dangerous in later years, because of the risk of arthritis, or what is called degenerative osteoarthritis. Joints are then very sensitive, since they’ve been supporting the weight of the body for years.

Chiropractic Care Helps Allergies

The next time you sneeze, it may be a good time to visit a chiropractor. Yes, a chiropractor. Most people never think about it, but chiropractic care can help provide allergy relief.

That’s because chiropractic care, often thought necessary for only back and neck problems, can help with keeping the body operating at peak performance. The body’s immune system helps with preventing disease and infection, dealing with stress and overall well being. The immune system also tackles the invasion in a body of foreign substances such as pollution, dust, dead cells, etc. Current research is showing that there is a direct link between the nervous system and the immune system. Chiropractors remove nerve interference and allow the immune system to work optimally.

The immune system is affected by nerves and hormones. An immune system not operating effectively can:

• Fail to recognize and remove abnormal cells such as those that are cancerous.
• Be unable to fight infections.
• Overreact to things such as bee stings, penicillin, certain foods, pollen etc.
• Become depressed making you more vulnerable to disease.

But just how can chiropractors help with such problems?
The answer is simple, chiropractic care releases stress on a patient’s nervous system. This allows the immune system to operate more effectively, which is beneficial to anyone and especially those suffering from allergies.

The chiropractic approach is to remove subluxations, a term for a misaligned spinal vertebra pinching a nerve. Subluxations place stress on the nervous system. Free from nervous system stress, your body will work more effectively to neutralize the allergy-causing chemicals in your environment.
No matter what disease or condition you have, you can benefit from a healthy spine. Spinal health can be as important for your overall healing as proper nutrition. Are you and your family carrying the vertebral subluxation complex in your spines? Only a chiropractic spinal checkup will tell. A healthy spine can improve your life – see your chiropractor for periodic spinal checkups.

Migraines and Chiropractic Care

The pain of a migraine can be so searing you may as well drill a hole through your head. Then again this was the remedy of choice 3,000 years ago when evil spirits were thought to be the culprit behind migraines. While modern-day treatments have changed, the mystery behind the condition remains.

One popular theory: Migraines result from a chemical imbalance in the brain. Often a trigger, such as certain foods or hormones, can cause blood vessels to dilate in the brain. The vessels become inflamed, thus irritating surrounding nerve fibers. The nerve fibers then send messages back to control centers in the brain, which continues vessel dilation, thus kicking off a vicious cycle of violent pain.

There are plenty of drugs that combat migraines, though no magic bullet exists. Some studies, however, show that alternative treatments can complement mainstream medicine. A study from Northwestern College of Chiropractic in Bloomington, Minnesota, compared chiropractic manipulation with amitriptyline, an antidepressant commonly used to treat migraines. The study found that chiropractic healing was about as successful as the drug.

Chiropractors believe that some migraines originate in the spine. Often a misalignment of the vertebrae, or subluxation, can irritate the nerves that travel the length of the spine to the brain. This misalignment makes a person more prone to chemical imbalances in the brain. Some researchers say that realigning the vertebrae—a chiropractor's specialty—relieves the pressure against inflamed nerves and can in turn relieve the headaches.

For migraines caused by subluxation, chiropractors recommend gently stretching the neck—rolling and sudden movements should be avoided. To prevent subluxations, pay attention to your posture. For example, if you sit for long periods in front of a computer, move your body around frequently. Also, sleep on your side or back, and use a firm pillow that supports your neck.

Celebrities and Chiropractic Care

Famous people who use chiropractic care:

Mel Gibson, Joe Montana, Lance Armstrong, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robin Williams, Denzel Washington, David Copperfield, Whitney Houston, Alec Baldwin, Whoopie Goldberg, Ted Danson, Demi Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Steven Segal, Cher, Jerry Seinfeld, James Earl Jones, Clint Eastwood, Jane Seymour, David Spade, Shirley MacLaine, Madonna, Kenny Loggins, The Eagles, Van Halen, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin, Charles Barkley, Atlanta Falcons team, Dallas Cowboys team, Tiger Woods, etc.

MRI

MRI

MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and it is a test that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to make pictures of organs and structures inside the body.

There are several types of MRIs. There are head MRIs, chest MRIs, blood vessel MRIs, abdomen and pelvis MRIs, bones and joints MRIs, and Spine MRIs.

Bone and joint MRIs check for problems such as arthritis, bone marrow problems, bone tumors, cartilage problems, torn ligaments, torn tendons, or infections. It can also check for broken bones.

Spine MRIs check the discs and nerves of the spine for conditions such as spinal stenosis, disc bulges, and spinal tumors.

Sports Injury

Sports Injury

Pain in the upper back and neck is common. It can be acute (of sudden onset and painful) or can gradually come on through poor posture and other factors.

Some sports injuries in the upper back include: costovertebral joint sprain, Intervertebral sprain, Kyphosis, Inflamed muscle attachments, scheuermanns disease, and tight muscles in the upper back and neck.

Sports injuries in the neck include: whiplash, cervicalgia, radiating neck pain, stiff neck, stingers and burners, spinal cord injury, broken neck, neck strain, nerve root compression, dislocated vertebrae, and a fractured larynx.

Some sports injuries in the shoulder include: frozen shoulder, winged scapula, subacromial bursitis, impingement syndrome, glenoid labrum tear, referred shoulder pain, shoulder instability, pec major tendon inflammation, long head of biceps inflammation, subscapularis inflammation, supraspinatus inflammation, and rotator cuff tendonitis.

Chiropractic Care and Sports

Chiropractic and Sports

Many musculoskeletal complaints arise from injuries sustained in sports. Each year we see athletic performance draw closer to the limits of human potential. Understanding the biomechanical principles involved helps us to prevent injury and restore functional integrity and stability through rehabilitation. While our lever-like extremities transmit forces and motion at a distance, they also favor musculoskeletal injuries by amplifying forces acting on the body's neuromusculoskeletal system.

There are good reasons why the athlete should seek a sports chiropractor for the treatment and rehabilitation of a sports injury. Active people are physically and emotionally different from sedentary ones. Most physicians have not had special training in sports medicine or rehabilitation. Consequently, even outstanding physicians who don't treat athletes regularly, often make mistakes in the diagnosis and treatment of athletes' neuromusculoskeletal problems.

Sports chiropractic and chiropractic rehabilitation have developed at a considerable pace over the last decade. As with other areas of chiropractic, where knowledge and understanding are rapidly expanding, it is necessary for the chiropractor to first be given an adequate basic preparation, and then be reminded of the necessity to keep abreast of the latest developments and advances. Thus, appropriate and timely rehabilitation protocols are essential.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash

Whiplash Chiropractic

Pain and stiffness in the neck which may not come on immediately, but develop over the following 24 to 48 hours. You may have reduced range of movement in the cervical spine (neck). You may have headaches, dizziness, blurred vision (this should go within 24 hours, if they persist consult your doctor), pain and stiffness may last a few days, to a few weeks, depending on the severity.

The primary whiplash treatment for joint dysfunction, spinal manipulation involves the chiropractor gently moving the involved joint into the direction in which it is restricted.

Whiplash is common in car accidents, due in part to the fact that the muscles do not have enough time to brace during impact.

Simple cases of whiplash are the result of strain or sprained or dysfunction of ligaments in the neck. The muscles of the neck naturally spasm as a protective mechanism after an injury has occurred. This in turn can cause spinal misalignment which can irritate nerves reducing the body’s ability to heal itself.

Side Effects of Drugs

Drug Side Effects

There are serious health risks related to abuse of prescription drugs. A single large dose of prescription or over-the-counter painkillers or depressants can cause breathing difficulty that can lead to death. Stimulant abuse can lead to hostility or paranoia, or the potential for heart system failure or fatal seizures. Even in small doses, depressants and painkillers have subtle effects on motor skills, judgment, and ability to learn.

There is no denying that prescription medicines are life-saving sometimes when used to treat an illness or an injury. They are to be carefully used as per the doctor’s instructions or other healthcare experts. The same drugs when abused or misused can cause danger to your life. This is applicable even when prescription medicines are misused unintentionally. For instance, if you happen to take over dosage of a prescribed medicine accidently, the effects will be quite different than what you had imagined.

Side effects can occur when commencing, decreasing/increasing dosages, or ending a drug or medication regimen. Side effects may also lead to non-compliance with prescribed treatment. When side effects of a drug or medication are severe, the dosage may be adjusted or a second medication may be prescribed. Lifestyle or dietary changes may also help to minimize side effects.

Neck Pain Facts

Neck Pain Facts

Neck pain is a very common problem and the chances that it is caused by serious disease are very rare. Health practitioners can help suggest possible ways to control your pain and advise you of ways to deal with the pain and get on with your life. It is normal to worry about the cause of your pain and the impact it may have on your life. Talking with your healthcare provider about these worries and concerns can be helpful. You will usually find there is no serious cause of the pain and that there are ways to relieve the symptoms and get you back to your normal activities.

Often neck pain episodes will get better on their own as nature takes its course. It’s important to stay as active as possible as the old adage of bed rest and trying to completely avoid pain is not the best advice. Most people do just fine by staying active, coping the best they can, and modifying daily activities as to not re-agitate the tender tissues.

Back and neck pain are the most common chronic pain conditions. Back and neck pain can arise from soft tissues, bony parts of the back and neck, and joints holding the spine in alignment. It can arise directly or indirectly from the discs in the back or neck, and it can occur when nervous tissue, normally protected by the bones of the vertebral spine, is compressed by those bony elements.

The most common symptoms of neck pain are pain, stiffness, muscle spasm, clicking and grating, numbness or tingling, dizziness and/or blackouts.

Neck pain can also come from conditions directly affecting the muscles of the neck, such as fibromyalgia and polymyalgia rheumatic. Neck pain is also referred to as cervical pain.

Georgia chiropractors

Select Georgia Law

The scope of practice for Georgia chiropractors was completely revised and updated in 2007. Within this new scope of practice was a provision concerning chiropractic review agents.

GA Code Section 43-9-1 (3) 'Practice of chiropractic' shall also include peer review which is defined as the procedure by which chiropractors licensed in the state of Georgia evaluate the quality and efficiency of services ordered or performed by other chiropractors, including but not limited to practice analysis, audit, claims review, underwriting assistance, utilization review, and compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

Chiropractic Review Agent - GA Code Section 43-9-1

Evaluate the quality and efficiency of services ordered or performed by other chiropractors, including but not limited to:

Practice Analysis

Audits

Claims Review

Underwriting Assistance

Utilization Review

Compliance with applicable laws, rules & regulations.

Board Rule 100-17-.01 Review Agent.

(1) For purposes of this rule “Review Agent” means any person rendering a professional chiropractic written or verbal opinion, which has the capacity or intent of affecting the frequency, duration, necessity, or outcome of chiropractic treatment or patient care and who is being compensated by a 3rd party payer or other contractual parties.

(2) Chiropractic care shall include offering or rendering a professional chiropractic written or verbal opinion, which has the capacity or intent of affecting the frequency, duration, necessity, or outcome of chiropractic treatment or patient care.

*There are presently 16 Doctors of Chiropractic accepted by the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners as “Review Agents”.

100-7-.04 Standards of Practice

(d) It shall be considered unprofessional conduct to deny care for a covered condition or service by a review agent when there is a reasonable expectation for improvement or the patient is demonstrating a reasonable rate of improvement. A reasonable rate of improvement would be influenced by condition chronicity, patient age, co-morbid factors, frequency of care and exposure to activities that would impede progress.

(e) It shall be considered unprofessional conduct to deny care for a covered condition or service by a review agent for care to prevent the deterioration of a condition once the patient has achieved maximum clinical improvement, if sufficient evidence exists demonstrating that reduction or withdrawal of care has and will continue to have a deleterious effect on the patient.

Medical causation must be proved to a reasonable degree of medical certainty and cannot be based on mere speculation. Cannon v. Jeffries, 250 Ga. App. 371, 372 (1) (551 S.E.2d 777) (2001).

When should a review Agent be contacted?

1)    When there is no clinically significant reduction in symptoms over a 4-6 week period.

2)    When there is a reduction in symptoms with no reduction in frequency of care.

3)    When there is a diagnosis in one region but the doctors is treating more than that region.

4)    When there is more than three modalities performed in one visit.

5)    When there is only passive care and treatment for more than 4 weeks.

6)    Charges for range of motion testing on multiple visits.

7)    Treatment plans longer than 3 months.

8)    Fraud investigations.

9)     Impairment rating given before MMI is reached.

10)  TENS unit or other equipment given on the first visit.

11)  Notes do not document therapy to standards.

12)  X-ray of multiple areas that have no symptoms or redundant x-rays.

13)  Little if any notes provided to document care.

14)  Pre existing conditions.

15)  All permanent impairment or disability ratings.

16)  Gaps or delay in care.

17)  Multiple accidents or injuries.

18)  Charges appear excessive.

19)  Treatment of family members.

20)  Digital X-ray Analysis & other “special” testing.

21)  Notes appear to be redundant or “canned”.

22)  Low speed collisions with significant injury reported.

23)  Reported pain and disability is not proportional to the documented injury.

24)  Court cases

25)  Depositions

26)  Causation or apportionment is an issue.

27)  Scope of practice issues.

28)  Independent exams or records reviews.

29)  Clinical correlation

30)  “Unique” cases.