Back Clinic Veterans Chiropractic, Physical Therapy Team. Our valued veterans deserve the best care to maintain their optimal health. Many of these individuals experienced injuries or may have developed medical conditions as a result of their military service. Through Veterans Affairs (VA) and other services available, a majority of individuals can be eligible to receive the necessary health evaluations and treatments for their prior or current symptoms of discomfort. Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or CAM, has been favored by many active-duty members and veterans alike.
A variety of treatment options are being used at a much higher rate by troops for stress management and for musculoskeletal injuries than their civilian counterparts. Chiropractic care has been frequently offered through the military health system for about a decade, encouraging its use for many troops. Dr. Alex Jimenez’s collection of articles covers a variety of medical options, as well as, offering chiropractic insight on injuries and conditions affecting the well-being of many individuals. For more information, please feel free to contact us at (915) 850-0900 or text to call Dr. Jimenez personally at (915) 540-8444.
Members of the military perform physically and psychologically demanding jobs every day. Research has found that conservative medical care, like chiropractic treatment, can absolutely help with back pain.
A study has shown that chiropractic treatment brought serious relief to female veterans with back pain.
Causes
The causes of back pain can be viewed as being mechanical, organic or idiopathic. Spinal conditions can be congenital or from birth and can be an acquired disorder that develops later in life.
Mechanical pain is triggered by spinal movement and involves spinal structures, like the facet joints, intervertebral discs, vertebral bodies, ligaments, muscles or soft tissues.
Organic pain is attributed to disease, like spinal cancer.
Idiopathic means the cause is unknown.
Back Pain & Female Veterans
Low back pain is a musculoskeletal condition and for female veterans has become a chronic condition. For these women, the condition seems to stem from repeated and prolonged deployments as contributors/causes to more prolonged injuries.
Female veterans had a higher rate of service-related disability compared to male veterans.
Having to live with a disease or chronic condition can impact the quality of life significantly. It can result in short- or long-term disability, it affects individuals financially from time off work and reroutes those financial resources to health care needs.
Chiropractic Research
Researchers reviewed 70 female veterans that utilized chiropractic treatment for their back pain.
The average patient was:
Around 35-40-years old
Veteran patients were included in the study by:
Visiting a chiropractic clinic over a 7-year period
Between 18 – 70 years old during treatment
Needed at least two treatments
Treatments included:
Flexion-distraction therapy
This is gentle intermittenttraction, along with manual pressure applied to the back.
Myofascial release
Massage therapy to muscles, joints, ligaments.
Spinal manipulative therapy
This involves the chiropractor�s hands performing�a high-velocity thrust to regions within the low back.
Spinal mobilization
Similar to spinal manipulative therapy, but with gentler repetitive motions around the affected area.
These treatments were applied alone or in combination, guided by:
The nature of the back pain complaint
Response
Pain severity
Patient’s preference
The patient’s tolerance of the various treatments
To help measure how effective the treatment was, the research team used the Back Bournemouth Questionnaire.
Pain is a complex biological process that involves both physical and mental health factors.
The test is one way to understand the multi-dimensional nature of pain.
Other factors to consider, specifically with military veterans were other health conditions like:
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Military sexual trauma
By comparing the patients Back Bournemouth Questionaire results at the beginning of treatment and then at the end, researchers found that these patients� low back pain improved by 85% with chiropractic treatment.
The American College of Physicians Clinical Practice Guidelines includes and stresses that doctors refer patients first to a chiropractor/physical therapist and undergo spinal manipulation as the recommended non-drug treatment for back pain before recommending medications or surgery.
The guidelines focus on:
Exercise
Stress reduction
Integrative therapies
Chiropractic spinal manipulation�treatment has been shown to effectively treat back pain for everyone.�
We focus on what works for you and strive to create fitness and better the body through researched methods and total wellness programs. These programs are natural and use the body�s own ability to achieve goals of improvement. To all of our veterans, we thank you for your service.
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It is important to know the cause of back pain to figure out the proper treatment plan. Otherwise, one could receive treatment for the wrong diagnosis and exacerbate the existing injury.
Our military members put their bodies through tremendous stress every day. Add to that minor to serious trauma and there is a strong case for chronic pain. This pain affects our veterans and soldiers on a daily basis, and interferes with their normal activities and impacts their ability to perform their regular jobs.
Too often, doctors dismiss the pain as �something you just have to live with� and write prescriptions for narcotics that impair and incapacitate the patient. There are better ways to manage a good bit of the chronic pain that members of the military live with each day. We’ll explore one way, mainly chiropractic, in today’s article.
Chronic Pain & Military Members
The regular demands of being a soldier, coupled with the stress that is prevalent, particularly among active duty military personnel, can create a perfect storm of sorts for chronic pain. When they are advised to tough it out or arrive at that option on their own, they usually do not get the medical attention they need. This can lead to exacerbation of the issue, compelling the soldier to seek treatment only when the pain is severe, or the condition is serious.
Single event trauma is all too common in this arena and plays a large part in the pain they experience, as does surgeries to correct injuries or trauma. However, the cumulative stress can have a detrimental effect on not just the condition and the pain, but the patient�s perception of the pain. In other words, it can cause them to experience the pain more acutely and have greater difficulty in managing it.
These issues are a part of the military and they aren�t likely to change. A chiropractor can help military personnel manage their pain, prevent injury, and regain flexibility and range of motion. It can be a solution that makes all the difference.
Alternative Treatments To Combat An Epidemic
Right now in the United States, opioid abuse has become an epidemic, yet doctors can rarely find viable alternatives that don�t have the dangerous and uncomfortable side effects � and that are not addictive. In truth, painkiller use is a growing problem with veterans and active military alike, mainly due to issues with substance abuse.
While their medications do relieve pain, the cost is just too great in many cases. Many people who take these pain pills report that they would live from pill to pill, their lives revolving around their next dose. That is why chiropractic is such an attractive option.
Chiropractic For PTSD
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition among active military and veterans. Studies have found that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is very effective in treating PTSD.
Matter of fact, chiropractic care has received very high marks in this area. Typically, it involves combining chiropractic with some conventional approaches in an effort to bring relief to the patient.
Through specific spinal manipulations called vestibular rehabilitation treatment (VRT), the body is brought back into balance. This technique has been proven very effective among individuals who have brain injuries that are combat related. In one study, patients who received VRT for two weeks reported a significant decrease in PTSD symptoms, including depression and anxiety.
An Army report recommended the use of alternatives to pain drugs, including chiropractic care, massage, and acupuncture.
Chronic Pain & Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care is a highly effective way to manage chronic pain and help speed healing from injuries. It is safe, non-invasive, and does not require any medication.
The chiropractor will use specific spinal adjustments and other techniques to bring the body back into alignment. A balanced body heals faster and experiences less pain.
The patient may also receive recommendations regarding lifestyle changes and dietary advice from their chiropractor which can help speed up the results and bring them to a place of less pain or no pain much faster.
Richard Overton, the oldest living U.S. World War II veteran, turned 111 on Thursday in Texas.
Overton, an Austin resident, served with the Army’s 1887th Engineer Aviation Battalion in the Pacific Theater from 1942 to 1945.
He celebrated his 111th birthday with a lunch party at the University of Texas club, which was attended by Austin Mayor Steve Adler and other dignitaries. Overton received many gifts, including an autographed football from the University of Texas, ABC News reported.
The mayor declared May 11 Richard Overton Day and temporarily renamed Hamilton Avenue, where Overton lives, Richard Overton Avenue in his honor.
A GoFundMe campaign in January raised funds to allow Overton to stay in the home where he has lived for more than 70 years since he came home from the war, rather than be moved to an assisted living facility.
“111, that’s pretty old, ain’t it,” Overton said, USA Today reported. “I can still get around, I can still talk, I can still see, I can still walk.” Overton credits “cigars and God” for his longevity, admitting he had already had a few cigars that day.
Overton, a sharpshooter in the war, has been honored numerous times for his service, including for his 107th birthday having breakfast with President Barack Obama in the White House.
Overton was born May 11, 1906, in Bastrop County, Texas, Fox News reported.
Twitter users in his community and from far beyond it shared their appreciation and good wishes with Overton to mark his special day.
@AP Happy Birthday Richard Overton. U are much loved in our state.Hope u see many more years.My aunt lived 2 106. You’re looking good.
Hundreds of thousands of veterans of the Persian Gulf War returned home with puzzling health issues that doctors couldn’t explain. Now, 25 years later, Gulf War Illness (GWI) continues to affect 25-32 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who served in the 1990-1991 war.
The condition is characterized by symptoms such as chronic headache, cognitive difficulties, debilitating fatigue, widespread pain, respiratory problems, sleep problems, gastrointestinal problems, and other unexplained medical abnormalities.
Twenty years of scientific research has traced these symptoms to Gulf War chemical exposures and the drugs taken during deployment that were meant to prevent or counteract these exposures. However, the vast majority of these studies have focused on neurological effects, but none have fully explained the body’s pathways GWI uses to affect the brain.
Now, a study from the University of South Carolina has found a gastrointestinal link that could not only help explain the health issues facing veterans, but may also point to new treatment options.
Researchers found that the chemicals, etc. that veterans were exposed to altered the microbiome — the bacteria that inhabit the gut. The affected microbiota then produce endotoxins, which pass through a thinned lining of the gut (called a leaky gut) and into the blood where they circulate throughout the body.
These compounds trigger an inflammatory response that, in turn, initiates several neurological abnormalities commonly observed in GWI.
“Humans and animals have specific types of bacteria that help aid various physiological processes, including digestion, absorption, immunity and gut integrity, and when external factors change the bacterial composition in our digestive systems, we have problems,” says researcher Saurabh Chatterjee. “Obesity, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and liver disease have already been linked with changes in bacterial composition of the gut.”
The study showed that not only did exposures to the suspected causes of GWI lead to inflammation in the intestines, they also lead to inflammation in the brain.
“Usually, the gut is very selective about letting only certain elements from what we eat and drink into our blood — thanks to good bacteria,” Chatterjee explained. “But when the composition changes due to an increase in certain bad bacteria, this causes disruption to the mucosal lining of the intestinal walls — leading more intestinal contents to leak into the blood.”
Once in the blood, the toxins travel throughout the body and affect different organs, including the brain. Once in the brain, the toxins cause the inflammation and neurological symptoms that previous studies have extensively linked to GWI.
“We know that many diseases like obesity, liver disease, and inflammatory bowel syndrome can be cured or at least decreased by consuming good bacteria, like probiotics,” Chatterjee said. “Now that this connection has been established, it opens the door to new studies where GWI patients take probiotics for a longer period of time and, hopefully, see improvement in symptoms connected with metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal disturbances, and maybe even neuroinflammation.”
Recent studies have indicated that gut bacteria have an impact on a wide range of health issues. UCLA researchers found that mice fed beneficial bacteria produced microbes known to prevent cancer. Researchers suggested ingesting probiotics like yogurt or probiotic supplements could help prevent cancer from developing.
Hundreds of thousands of veterans of the Persian Gulf War returned home with puzzling health issues that doctors couldn’t explain. Now, 25 years later, Gulf War Illness (GWI) continues to affect 25-32 percent of the 700,000 U.S. veterans who served in the 1990-1991 war.
The condition is characterized by symptoms such as chronic headache, cognitive difficulties, debilitating fatigue, widespread pain, respiratory problems, sleep problems, gastrointestinal problems, and other unexplained medical abnormalities.
Twenty years of scientific research has traced these symptoms to Gulf War chemical exposures and the drugs taken during deployment that were meant to prevent or counteract these exposures. However, the vast majority of these studies have focused on neurological effects, but none have fully explained the body’s pathways GWI uses to affect the brain.
Now, a study from the University of South Carolina has found a gastrointestinal link that could not only help explain the health issues facing veterans, but may also point to new treatment options.
Researchers found that the chemicals, etc. that veterans were exposed to altered the microbiome � the bacteria that inhabit the gut. The affected microbiota then produce endotoxins, which pass through a thinned lining of the gut (called a leaky gut) and into the blood where they circulate throughout the body.
These compounds trigger an inflammatory response that, in turn, initiates several neurological abnormalities commonly observed in GWI.
“Humans and animals have specific types of bacteria that help aid various physiological processes, including digestion, absorption, immunity and gut integrity, and when external factors change the bacterial composition in our digestive systems, we have problems,” says researcher Saurabh Chatterjee. “Obesity, metabolic syndrome, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and liver disease have already been linked with changes in bacterial composition of the gut.”
The study showed that not only did exposures to the suspected causes of� GWI lead to inflammation in the intestines, they also lead to inflammation in the brain.
“Usually, the gut is very selective about letting only certain elements from what we eat and drink into our blood � thanks to good bacteria,” Chatterjee explained. “But when the composition changes due to an increase in certain bad bacteria, this causes disruption to the mucosal lining of the intestinal walls � leading more intestinal contents to leak into the blood.”
Once in the blood, the toxins travel throughout the body and affect different organs, including the brain. Once in the brain, the toxins cause the inflammation and neurological symptoms that previous studies have extensively linked to GWI.
“We know that many diseases like obesity, liver disease, and inflammatory bowel syndrome can be cured or at least decreased by consuming good bacteria, like probiotics,” Chatterjee said. “Now that this connection has been established, it opens the door to new studies where GWI patients take probiotics for a longer period of time and, hopefully, see improvement in symptoms connected with metabolic syndrome, gastrointestinal disturbances, and maybe even neuroinflammation.”
Recent studies have indicated that gut bacteria have an impact on a wide range of health issues. UCLA researchers found that mice fed beneficial bacteria produced microbes known to prevent cancer. Researchers suggested ingesting probiotics like yogurt or probiotic supplements could help prevent cancer from developing.
Chiropractic Care & The Department of Veterans Affairs
The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) notes that for more than 10 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has included chiropractic services as part of the standard medical benefits package offered to all enrolled veterans. According to a new study conducted by researchers from the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the use of chiropractic services and the chiropractic workforce in VA has grown substantially since their introduction over a decade ago. The annual number of chiropractic visits has increased by nearly 700 percent, thus demonstrating more veterans have access to chiropractic care than ever before.
�Our work shows that VA has steadily and substantially increased its use of chiropractic services each year following their implementation in late 2004,� states lead author of the study Anthony J. Lisi, DC, Director of the VA Chiropractic Program, and Chiropractic Section Chief at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. He adds, �VA chiropractic care includes evidence-based, patient-centered treatment options that are in demand by veterans and referring providers. VA continues its efforts to ensure appropriate access to chiropractic care across the whole system, but as this paper shows, the progress to date has been remarkable.�
Military Healthcare/Chiropractic
Among the multitude of findings during an 11 year period, the study showed that:
? The annual number of patients seen in VA chiropractic clinics increased by 821 percent.
? The annual number of chiropractic visits grew by 693 percent.
? The total number of VA chiropractic clinics climbed 9 percent annually, and the number of chiropractor employees increased by 21 percent annually.
? The average VA chiropractic patient is male, between the ages of 45 and 64, is seen for low back and/or neck conditions, and receives examination, chiropractic spinal manipulation and other health care services.
Co-Author Cynthia A. Brandt, MD, MPH, Health Services Researcher at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Professor at Yale University School of Medicine states, �Chiropractic care is an important component in the treatment of veterans with spinal pain conditions. The trends we identified provide a foundation for further research to examine the optimal models of care delivery for patients.�
The study notes: �Our results indicate that VA chiropractic clinics saw a greater percentage of female and younger patients compared with the national VA outpatient population. This demographic tendency is consistent with the cohort of veterans from the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is known to have a high prevalence of musculoskeletal conditions.�
An Army report recommended the use of alternatives to pain drugs, including chiropractic care, massage and acupuncture. Here, Dr. Frank Lawler gives Spc. David Ash chiropractic treatment, January 7, 2011, in Tacoma, Washington. (Mark Harrison/Seattle Times/MCT)
Veterans With Back Pain
�The growing utilization of chiropractic services among veterans for pain management and other health concerns, particularly those in the Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation New Dawn and older adult populations, showcases the clear-cut demand for chiropractic care and is a direct reflection of the improved clinical outcomes and high patient satisfaction scores that have been documented previously,� says Sherry McAllister, DC, executive vice president, F4CP. �We commend VA for its participation in ongoing chiropractic research to help further improve the health and well-being of our respected and valued veterans.�
The authors also state that the growth in VA chiropractic use has occurred without additional laws mandating expansion. This suggests an increasing recognition of the value of chiropractic care in VA. In a recent editorial, VA Under Secretary for Health, David J. Shulkin, MD, cited VA�s chiropractic program as one example of the important health care expertise provided to veterans.
Doctors of chiropractic (DCs) � who receive a minimum of seven years of higher level education � provide non-operative management of conditions such as headaches, back pain, neck pain, or pain in joints, via a comprehensive approach including manual techniques and active rehabilitation. Chiropractic services are integrated with primary care, specialty clinics and rehabilitation, and provide a non-pharmacologic option for pain management, as well as general health and wellness concerns.
About Foundation for Chiropractic Progress:
A not-for-profit organization, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) informs and educates the general public about the value of chiropractic care. Visit www.f4cp.com or call 866-901-F4CP (3427). Social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube.
View source version on businesswire.com: www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160620005430/en/
Substantial Growth in the Use of Chiropractic Care by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP) notes that for more than 10 years, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has included chiropractic services as part of the standard medical benefits package offered to all enrolled veterans.
�Healthcare in the U.S. and the VA has operated on a �find it, fix it� reactive disease model,� Gaudet said in a recent interview. �What we�re undertaking is truly a paradigm shift that promotes health and wellness.�
As compared to initiating with a patient�s suggested complication or attempting to identify a condition early in its development, Tracy Gaudet believes healthcare providers should begin by understanding the veteran and their ambitions. She explains that medical staff at the VA shouldn�t be asking, �what�s the matter?�, rather, they should be asking, �what matters to you?�. The goal of complete health at the VA is to assist all veterans in order to determine their basic health achievement goals and desires and to also help them focus on all the areas of their lives that affect their health and don�t allow them to reach those goals.
�It�s not just a �feel good� program,� Gaudet noted, �but an approach informed by evidence that makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches as well as emphasizing self-care at all points along the spectrum of health and disease.�
This approach often takes veterans out of the clinic. The nine-week, peer-to-peer program emphasizes on guiding veterans through various questions to encourage them to discuss why they want to be healthy, what they want to accomplish and the kinds of relationships they want to have. According to Tracy Gaudet, the results have been astounding. Many veterans have found meaning and purpose in their lives again and connected to healthier lifestyles through these new programs being available at Veterans Affairs clinics. Veterans can then follow through with other available programs to help them reduce stress like meditation or they can increase their overall fitness levels. Additionally, as their health improves, the cost of caring for them drops. The complete health approach encourages veterans to make continuous changes in their health and life which may involve working on their closest relationships.
Dr. Alex Jimenez D.C.,C.C.S.T’s insight:
Many medical staff members at the Veterans Affairs Medical Clinics, such as Tracy Gaudet, MD, have been inspired to change their approach to medicine as well as transform the way they handle care to best provide veterans and active duty service members with the best possible benefits and opportunities to improve their health. The VA now focuses on granting veterans the ability to enhance their overall wellness and achieve their goals for well being. For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at (915) 850-0900.
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