My Back Hurts When I Take a Breath

I’ve recently had a lot of patients present with rib problems. They didn’t know it was a rib problem. So I thought I’d put out a little bit of information about it.

People come in complaining of back pain, and after an exam we determine that the source of pain is the rib head articulation. When I explain that to patients they ask me how their ribs could be hurting. The answer is not simple just like any medical explanation, but I’ll try to simplify. Your ribs attach to your spine with 2 joints per rib. Those joint complexes just like any other joint can be sprained, strained, inflamed, irritated, or just plain sad. As with other injuries these can happen a trauma, or over time with repetitive stress. The joint attachments are not the only thing that can be injured, but that’s what we’re talking about so we’re going to rule out fractures, tumors, and scary stuff like that.

How do you know if you have an injured rib joint complex? The most important way would be to come see me (www.drduncanchiropractic.com) or another qualified doctor and get it examined. If you are wondering, “is my back pain a rib problem?” then you already have back pain and should see a chiropractor anyway, but here are some common symptoms to indicate rib joints. Rib dysfunction pain is usually a sharp stabbing pain, that you just can’t get rid of. It can affect everything you do. It hurts to take a deep breath, raising your hands over your head reproduces the pain. The pain can go all the way around the chest or to the shoulder.

The good news is that rib dysfunction is usually a very quick easy fix. You can often get immediate and complete relief with just one adjustment. AND, it feels so good when it goes away.  I love fixing patients with this problem, because it’s one of those easy times when patients walk in with pain and skip out with a smile.  So, don’t delay see your chiropractor today.

So Many Drugs, So Little Time

I read an interesting article at TIME magazine’s website today, and it just came together with some of the other things that I have noticed recently. 

My grandmother came and stayed with us about a month ago and I noticed that she had a bag full of medication, probably 10 different prescriptions each day.  I was shocked.  I don’t want to be taking that many pills when I get to be her age.

I was at the pharmacy the other day and observed that THERE ARE A LOT OF DRUGS.  That realization hit me as I stood at the counter to get some medication for my daughter.  As odd as it may be for a chiropractor, I’m not opposed to medication.  I work with medical doctors, and appreciate the amazing things drugs can do.  My family of 5 may fill 2 maybe 3 short term prescriptions per year.

I stood at the pharmacy in disbelief just running the numbers in my mind.  There were thousands of prescriptions waiting to be picked up that one day in this one pharmacy.  There are pharmacies in every grocery store.  I wondered how many drugs this city was taking.

Then came this article showing that over 50% of all Americans are on medications not just short term, but for chronic conditions.  WOW!  What has happened?  I took a look at some research to see.

In the last 50 years medication technology took off.  From 1900-1950 life expectancy increased about 30 years.  From 1950-2000 it increased about 5 years.  In 1950 5% of our GDP was spent on healthcare in 2007 it was 16%.  People are taking less responsibility for their own health, but spending more on it.  Medicine has nearly destroyed infectious disease, but now chronic and degenerative diseases have taken their place.  Perhaps pills have made us lazy, or at least had a hand in it.  We may never overcome our desire for a quick fix with improved medicine.

What did our fore bearers do?  They didn’t have all these drugs yet they still lived good full lives.  Happiness levels haven’t changed as long as they’ve been studied.  I’m not saying we should get rid of drugs.  I am saying that perhaps we shouldn’t use them as much.  That goes for chiropractic as well.  If people just lived better, we wouldn’t be in the shape we’re in.

You know the number one treatment for heart disease is diet and exercise.  Just because you can take a pill or get an adjustment (more info) to lower your blood pressure doesn’t mean you should get lazy.

Just imagine what our society would be like if we lived healthily and utilized healthcare advances.

Once I Start - I Can’t Stop

I’ve heard it before, and in all reality it would be nice if it were true. Then I’d never need to find new patients .

People worry that once they go to see a chiropractor they’ll need to go for the rest of their life. They hear stories about people having gone to the chiropractor and being told that they need to come in 2 times per week for months and then even when they’re “cured” they’ll still need to come back every month or so. There is also the fear that perhaps this joint popping is addictive. Both of these myths, like all myths and stereotypes, have a basis in reality. Let me explain the reality and perhaps address where the myths came from.

First of all, there are people who may “need” to see a chiropractor the rest of their lives. Usually they are people with irreversible injuries or illnesses who require care on a regular basis to improve their standard of living. I once had a wonderful patient with MLS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease). She had serious pain all day every day. When she received treatment from me it relieved her pain for a little while. This enabled her to function better for what she had left of her life. It also enabled her medical doctor to reduce the amount of medication that she took. It was a joy to treat her. As a side note, for some reason after starting chiropractic care, the progression of her illness began to slow. She lived years longer than expected. I know of many patients who get chiropractic care like this. Cancer patients, patients with degenerative conditions, etc. In these situations chiropractic care can be a life saver and they look forward to the visits even if they are twice a week for the rest of their life.

The argument could be made that we are all breaking down and need regular maintenance care to improve our standard of living. I won’t argue that. I recommend to all of my patients some sort of regular care, but convincing an otherwise healthy patient to come and see me every week is not my style. Elite atheletes have proven this idea though. When Tiger Woods gets adjusted he’s not horribly out of sorts, he’s just looking for that extra 2 yards that having a finely tuned body is going to give him. Every one can be improved upon, but most of us aren’t looking for an extra 2 yards or that split second in a race.

The next issue is having to come in 2 times a week for months.   If I were to generalize, in my mind, it’s a math issue. if you have a serious enough issue that you see a chiropractor 2 times a week for 2 months and then 4 follow up visits then that’s 20 visits. At my time of service rate of $40 per visit that’s quite a chunk of change, $800. However, if you have the same issue that you see a medical doctor for, after 1 month you’re not responding to care (pain meds), and he then refers you to an orthopedist who recommends surgery, if it’s a simple procedure it will run no less than $5000. After the physical therapy and recovery from surgery you are out about the same amount of time as with me.  The breakdown is that you could see me once a week for 2 and a half years for the cost of a minor surgery without the risk, medications, or recovery time and that’s with out the cost of office visits, meds, tests, and a specialist.

So the next time your chiropractor says they’ll need to see you about 15-20 times, smile, and say, “whew, that’s it?” And if someone ever tells you that you get addicted to chiropractic “pops” just tell them that you’re addicted to health, like you’re addicted to exercise, and good food. You know, once you start exercising you can’t stop without horrible side effects.

Video Games Live

I love music, I play the trumpet, and sing. I love acting and the arts. Something that really lifts my spirits is live music. The symphony, the theater, concerts… As a chiropractor one of my niche group of patients is musicians. I love to treat them, and they all need me. I’ve already talked about repetitive stress injuries. Most musicians know about repetitive stress, and fear it.

I also love computer games. World of Warcraft is one of my favorite games ever. (Lvl 70 Warlock for the Horde!) Gamers and computer programmers also need chiropractic work.

This clip just blends some of my favorite things. There is a great company called video games live. I found out about them too late to see them when they came to Salt Lake City. I hope they come back I’d love to see this live. In the mean time enjoy the clip.

OK, I’m not getting the video to work, so here’s the link.

I’m sure you can also find plenty more at You Tube.

New CPR

I recently went to re-certify my CPR training, and I remembered reading about a new CPR being done in Arizona. Sure enough I found in March the American Medical Association published an article relating to it, and CNN reported on it. I thought it interesting enough to warrant a post.

Basically, in Arizona they found that survival rates tripled when rescuers abandoned rescue breathing. The new process for them is 200 compressions, shock, then repeat. This is great news.

The average person is not going to have a defibrillator, but they can do something. The AMA publication recommends that anyone who comes across a victim at least do compressions. The American Heart Association has acknowledged the research and recommend just compressions be done by untrained persons. They still train people with conventional CPR methods. I went through my re-certification with the Red Cross. They have not yet implemented this new method, saying that it still needs further research, though they say doing anything is often better than doing nothing. I’m not aware of any national organization that has adopted the new technique in their training.

The great news is that now anyone can help. Even if you’re worried because you don’t know what to do (like the actors on LOST) you can call 911 and then do chest compressions till someone better trained comes along.

One of the main reasons that I got into health care is because I hate feeling unable to help. Later this year I plan to begin EMT training. In chiropractic school we receive advanced first aid training, but it’s nothing compared with what paramedics go through. I may never have to use the training, but I want to know that I can if I need to.